I thought that I would take an opportunity to blog about buying a new puppy. We all know that most of you are buying to find a new best friend, but in that process I see a lot of people get suckered and manipulated with puppy breeds and prices. Please do your homework before searching for your new best friend! Ask a professional what kind of breed would be right for you and your family or you can search Google for breeds you are interested in and see if they have the personality, loyalty, energy, etc, that is right for you.
I used to breed Boston Terriers and now breed Shih Tzu puppies, not just to breed them or make money, but because I LOVE puppies! I usually only breed my female once every couple of years. We will talk about that below.
Please remember that the breed standards in this post is about Boston Terriers and Shih-Tzus. If you are looking at other breeds, please look up their breed standards before you start you search. You can find the breed standard on the AKC website.
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1. You can look anywhere for a puppy... online, local or state paper, etc... and there is nothing wrong with that, but just make sure you see pictures of the puppy and puppy's parents before going out of town to see it in person. This will help you determine whether it is what you want and if it looks "Standard." Also make sure you ask the person selling the puppy if they are a breeder, selling for a friend, just a pet owner, etc, because you don't want a puppy who has come from a puppy mill... not because they won't make a great pet, but because of the health risks you take when you get one from mills. This also helps because most breeders mark up prices intentionally and most basic pet owners are usually not sure how much they should sell for, so may be higher as well. (Check local pricing of other puppies to get an average sell price.)
Make sure the breeder is also willing to show you both of the puppy's parents. In person would be the best option, but if it it was a female who they have taken to a stud somewhere else, make sure you get that information so you can track him down and see the father and his living conditions. When you ask to see the parents, also ask if you can meet at the breeders home or kennel, so that you can see the living conditions of the puppy and it's parents. If a breeder refuses or makes excuses, it's probably a good sign that they are lacking in something in some way (pet's health, not a full blood puppy, not actually owned by them, etc)
You want to see they puppy's parents so that you may see signs of hereditary health problems in the puppy and you will get a general idea of how your puppy may look when it is full grown.
2.
Avoid ads or breeders that use the term RARE!!! This is usually a scam to make more money off of a birth defect or to dupe un-knowledgeable future puppy owners into thinking something is rare when it is actually quite common.
Breed standards for Boston Terriers are strict, and if you are looking for a registered pet, I would hate for you to over pay and get a pet that would be "show disqualified," "defective," or just plain common. What they mean by "defective" is that the puppy doesn't match one or more of the breeds standards.
Some of the breed standards for Boston Terriers include:
Boston's should NEVER be solid white!! (with spots or masks) This is rare but is considered a "defect" and you should NEVER pay more for a Boston who is "RARE!"
Boston's come in all colors (brindle and wht, red & wht, blk & white, ect) but should ALWAYS have a saddle and full mask with white bellies and feet, and white nose. The mask should be a true mask that covers BOTH eyes, not just one eye, and sits from the back of the head all the way under the eyes. These are the parts that are colored. They can be black and white, brindle and white, blue/blue merle and white, fawn and white, or red and white! But non of those colors are considered rare, black and white is just most common.
Above, you can see beautiful breed standard Boston Terriers in Blue Merle, Red Brindle, and Fawn.
Above, Images of what your Boston should NOT look like. The first picture is a Boston with no saddle, mostly white. The second, a Boston with a half mask or hat (mask that doesn't cover both eyes like in the first pictures.) and a solid white Boston. These are no-nos for breed standards, but this is only if you want a registered pet!
The parents should be no more than 25lbs, which should tell you how big yours will be and he shouldn't be more than 25 lbs. If you are not looking for a registered Boston you may disregard the breed standard and find a pet that best suits you. I just hate seeing people pay more for a pet than necessary.
THERE ARE GIANT BOSTON TERRIERS! It isn't commonly seen in southern or west coast states. It is mostly seen in the east coast, but they are a really breed and are as big as Pit Bulls. I have only seen one in Oklahoma during my grooming days and he was from New York.
Breed standards for Shih Tzus include:
ANY COLOR or COMBINATION OF COLORS. I meet a man who was selling Shih Tzu puppies in a Wal-Mart parking lot for $500 each because they were solid black and he was telling everyone that was a RARE color in Shih Tzus, therefore, he was selling for more money. They were registered, and very good looking Shih Tzus at that, so they could have been sold for around $300 each, BUT black is NOT a rare color in Shih Tzus!
There are no rare colors in Shih Tzus! They also come with black or red noses. Some people will sell red nosed STs for more because they are harder to obtain in a general area, but they are not rare. And yes, STs even come in blue!!!
They should NOT have a nose longer than half of an inch long and it should set back in their face neatly and when their hair grows longer, should look like it is flat with their face. In pups, their nose should not leave their face. If you find a pup who doesn't have a "squished face" it will probably have a much longer nose and will not be standard. Lhasa's have longer noses, usually between half an inch and 2 inches long. Shih Tzus do not.
Their tails should curl around into a circle at least once, meeting from end to end. Some has "pig tails" that curl 2 or 3 times. but as long as it curls back and doesn't sit right on top of their back, they meet standard. It is hard to tell in puppies because their tails haven't started to curl yet. This is why you need to see the parents. If the parents tails are curled, it is a very good indicator that they are standard and your pup will be too.
They should have hair, not fur. (This is also hard to tell in pups for look for it in the parents.) The Shih Tzu is hypo-allergenic because of this and a reason why a lot of people own them. It is called "ever-growing hair" because it grows like a human's and only sheds as much as we ourselves would. Fur on the other hand stops growing at a point and begins to shed out and a new coat comes in to replace the old fur. Most Shih Tzus have straight flowing hair, but every now and then you will get curly coats, mostly in liver colored Shih Tzus. I have added some pics below to show you what a grown out ST looks like, the first 2 pics, and the other is of my male, Elvis, with his summer cut.
They should be between 8 and 16 lbs. This is the AKC standard. If they end up weighing more than this, they have probably been cross bred somewhere down the line with Lhasa Apsos, which can be up to 35lbs.
Here are some pics, one of a Shih Tzu and one of a Lhasa Apso, which are the same color, but you can tell the differences in breeds. This is quite accurate in size comparison and you can see that the Shih Tzu (top) has a shorter, scrunched face, and is smaller all around. The Lhasa (bottom) is much larger with a longer nose and longer legs. They look so similar because the Shih Tzu was created by breeding the Pekingnese with the Lhasa.
3. There is no such thing as TEACUP or IMPERIAL SIZES in any breed except for Tea Cup Chihuahuas! This is also a defect scam. Breed standards say Bostons and Shih Tzus shouldn't be less than 8lbs. Do not pay more for a "teacup" dog or "Imperial" sized dog. Breeders use this term for runts in the litter or breed smaller sized individual dogs within a breed to create the smallest size possible because they know that not everyone is knowledgeable about what they are buying and sell them for more money. If they dog isn't registered, but is "Imperial" or "Tea cup" do NOT pay over standard non-papered pricing for the puppy!
Statement written by ASTC - American Shih Tzu Club
Distributed by AKC - American Kennel Club
"There is no such thing as an AKC-recognized "imperial" or "teacup" Shih Tzu.
These terms are sometimes used by unethical breeders to create a market for undersized
and often unhealthy Shih Tzu that do not conform to the AKC breed standard.
While a reputable breeder may occasionally produce an undersized Shih Tzu, such puppies
should be sold as pets and not used for breeding.
4. Registered vs. Unregistered puppy prices:
Most of the time a good rule of thumb is to take the unregistered price of any dog and add $50 to $100 for papers and add $50 to $100 for Championship bloodline. Championship bloodline means that at one point in the family tree, an ancestor entered the breed standard dog show and was found to be the perfect dog to set example for breed standards. That is why you sometimes pay more for CBL puppies. But, you should take generation into consideration. If it was 10 or more generations before your puppy, then you shouldn't pay more for CBL.
Prices may very on the breed depending on the location of the seller. Do you research in the area you are looking to see what the most common price is. You can compare prices online.
Emample: You have searched your area and come to find that $200 per puppy is the average price for non-papered puppies in your area. We now know, because of our rule, that we add $50 to $100 to that for papers, making the average registered puppy (breed of choice) between $250-$300. We see an add for puppies that say "Registered with Championship Bloodline" and they are priced at $600. From our rule of thumb we know that we only add another $50-$100 for CBL, making the puppy worth between $300-$350. That puppy would be greatly overpriced at $600.
5. Try not to take a puppy before they are 10 weeks old. Puppies learn their social skills from their biological pack, including their mother, father, and litter mates. Sellers try to sell them early (at 4-8 weeks) either because they do not know better, or because they don't want to put the effort into socialization and need fast cash. This is a very important time for puppies and will determine how they interact with other people and dogs throughout their lives. You can always ask the seller if they would be willing to keep the puppy until they are at least 10 weeks old if they are selling at an early age. If they are not, it is a good indicator that they are only trying to make cash and with that come neglect. It is okay for you to take a puppy at 4-10 weeks, just not recommended. If you do, make sure they have at least their first shots to prevent Parvo or Distemper from something or someone (including other pets) in your home. I would suggest only taking a pup this early if you have bonded with the pup and know that this is your new best friend without a shadow of a doubt and hopefully you have other dogs in the home that they pup can learn socialization from. Lots of Vet clinics and Doggy Day Cares provide pup play dates or social times for younger, under socialized pups.
Also, I would take into consideration that Bostons are VERY gassy dogs! lol And they usually are consistently smelly. I had a full Boston and now have her son who is half Boston Terrier and half Shih Tzu and I have to give him gas medicine on a daily basis because sometimes it can upset their digestive system and cause diarrhea and discomfort. They need a strict diet and NO HUMAN FOOD! (That goes for Bull Dogs and Pugs as well!) Usually, feeding them on a schedule instead of leaving food out all day will help and there are special dry foods to cut down on the flatulence.
They are also VERY hyperactive, and need daily exorcise to drain their energy. You should challenge them mentally also, because Bostons are so eager to please, they are very easy to train. They can get destructive or bark incessantly when left unchallenged and un-exorcised.
Shih Tzus, however, are low energy dogs. They love to be walked, but do not require it to be drained. They are actually pretty lazy as some times, and unlike Bostons (each dog is individual) are harder to train because they are more cat like in the sense that they would rather lay around than play fetch and like to be their own boss.
I wish you well on your search for you new best friend!
List of Registries for dog breeds and standards:
AKC (American Kennel Club) All breeds
ADBA (American Dog Breeders Association) Pit Bulls
UKC (United Kennel Club) All Breeds
ASTC (American Shih Tzu Club)
Dog Registry of America (
http://www.dogpapers.com/) All Breeds
ACA (American Canine Association) All Breeds
And there are many more for many breeds. Check online when you see something in the ad that you're not familiar with... for instance:
9 weeks old pit bull pups, registered ADBA.
Just google it and make sure that it's a credited Registry.
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