Shih Tzu

Judi's Story - My ex-wife's experience with Petland.

Shari's Story - An independent testimonial regarding Petland's treatment of animals.

It was apparent fairly early that Maggie was sick. She had a kennel cough that required antibiotics to stop. (Kennel cough is highly infectious and is quite common in puppy mills.) She had some rectal bleeding but this turned-out to be due to some ham-handed care from the veterinarian who saw her. She has some extra teeth that will require surgery to remove. (You may wonder why my ex-wife and I bought her and the answer is that she wasn't coughing at the time and I didn't know enough to check her teeth, etc.)

We never received the papers that were promised and we discovered the price charged was almost twice as much as is typically charged by professional Shih Tzu breeders. We clearly failed to research the purchase but we never dreamed we could be making such a mistake in dealing with an apparently harmless little store.

All in all, there is hardly a word that was told to us by the people in Petland that was true.

If you are not familiar with the criteria important in evaluating the dog, take it to a vet. You wouldn't buy a car simply because you liked the color, so don't buy a puppy just because you like its coat. And don't be so sure that the puppy's coat color will remain true! Check the look of both parents because that's the only way you're going to be sure you'll like the appearance of the puppy when s/he is an adult. While they shed very little, their hair does grow very quickly and the cute puppy color may change completely by the time s/he becomes an adult. Also, if the parents have unruly hair, you can expect a great deal more maintenance. Their hair matts very easily and all the more if the hair is programmed by genetics for unruliness.

The following information regarding the Shih Tzu's overbite / underbite was contributed by Charlee B from the Puget Sound Shih Tzu Fanciers:

Check the dog for an inguinal hernia. While this is fairly common in the breed, you should be aware of the potential before you buy the dog. You won't want to subject your dog to surgery unless absolutely necessary.

It's difficult to tell with a puppy but the stance of the dog is important. It should be cocky without being aggressive.

Don't take a puppy home before it is eight to ten weeks old. To move them out quickly, some breeders will wean them very young. The puppies are extremely cute at that age but you do them no favor if you take them home too soon.

If you're not a breeder, don't plan on becoming one as a hobby. It isn't a hobby, it's a profession and should be left to professionals. I'm not snooty about extensive breedlines but I do know that dogs without them are more likely to wind up in the pound when people abandon them.

We didn't get the 'best' dog I might have but she was still a great pal and remains one to this day for my ex-wife. My only point is that you should always deal with a professional breeder. Ask for pictures of the parents and perhaps the grandparents as well.

In closing, please don't let me deter anyone from buying a Shih Tzu. They are absolutely charming little dogs. As with just about everything else, know your dealer.

P.S. I've received an indignant letter from an owner of a Petland store and he claims his is not run like the one I've described. Perhaps not but there are two of them within five miles of my original home and both of them work the same way: Their salesfolk work on commission and they sell extremely over-priced, badly-kept animals.

I received the following email and have Shari's permission to reprint it. I have removed her last name to protect her privacy.

I bought a blind shih tzu puppy. He's so sweet. I paid $700 for him. After the vet faxed them a declaration about his condition, they had the nerve to call me and tell me they would give me back $450 and sell me the blind puppy for $150. Talk about slime.

Shari in St. Louis

Follow-up email after requesting permission to add her emails to this page:

Oh please make my day. They finally agreed to give me 2/3 of my money back - they actually charged me $150 for my little blind puppy. I quit trying to dicker with them. Now since this happened, I went back in a couple of petstores, and it is just so blatant that these petstores, like Petland, are perpetuated by animal cruelty. I didn't believe it until this happened. I didn't think people would sink that low. Petland was bright and cheerful. We have named him Chocolate - and he is so precious. They wanted us to bring him back and exchange him - and we said no way because they would just destroy him in some horrific way - ( I read what they do). The vet said that something was wrong with the nerve in his eyes, I hope they didn't hit him or throw him around. Lucky we have the other shih-tzu. They play all day and Gizmo is always protecting him. He'll be just fine. Everybody thinks he is so sweet. Thanks for everything you do

Shari in St Louis