?The Shih Tzu breed has dogs of small sizes: their height measures from 8 inches and up to 11 inches and their weight varies from 9 pounds up to 16 pounds. The look of the Shih Tzu is extremely beautiful. It has a double coat - one long-haired luxuriant coat and the other soft and woolly. The owners of the dogs of this breed usually comb the hair on their head into a top knot, in order to keep it from falling into their eyes.

The name of the Shih Tzu dog breed means in Chinese the Small Lion and under this Chinese name the breed is known all around the world, though its' origins are in Tibet. Because they were secretly breed at a monastery in Tibet, there are no available information, at least in English, about this breed's origins and ancestors or about its' history in the Tibetan mountains, the first known documents mentioning only they were the favourite pets of the Manchu Dynasty Emperors of China, where the breed flourished around the 19th century. The dogs of this breed arrived at the imperial court of China as gifts from some Tibetan monks. Their Chinese name, the Shih Tzu, meaning in English the Tibetan Lions, is referring to their resemblance to little lions, because of their brown, long-haired and luxuriant coat. These dogs reached England around 1930 and from there they were brought to US by American soldiers. People of both England and United States instantly accepted the breed because of the dogs' beauty and friendly attitude.