Shih Tzu Info Center | Age| Weight Chart

Shih Tzu Information Center

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Age

Overview

Shih Tzu puppies grow fast! There will be many phases that bring your Tzu from puppy to adult dog.

Is it true that dogs age 7 years for each of our years? No !
Small dog breeds age differently. The 7 = 1 year saying is a general saying...each type of dog ages differently.

Let's discuss:

The age equivilent of the Tzu at each age of the dog
At what age your puppy will be an adult dog
Important Milestone ages
Tips on caring for a senior Shih Tzu

Your puppy will grow faster than you can imagine!

Shih Tzu Weight Chart

If you are looking for a Shih Tzu weight chart or a Shih Tzu growth chart, you've come to the right place. Many owners want to know how big their Shih Tzu will grow to be. With such a variance in weight of the Tzu, only the AllShihTzu Experts have a very detailed weight and growth chart. For more details, click here.

Age Equivalency Chart

As your Shih Tzu ages, their needs will change. It is important to understand the age equivalency of your puppy. Small dogs breeds generally have a bit of a longer life span than large dog breeds. Medical advances and proper breeding has made a huge difference in the life span of dogs. In the 1930's a dog normally lived for about 7 years. Now, we can expect a Tzu to live approximately 16 years ! Let's see what age your Tzu really is:

Shih Tzu Age	Human Year Equivalent
6 months	3
1	7
2	10
3	15
4	20
5	30
6	40
7	44
8	48
9	52
10	56
11	60
12	64
13	68
14	72
15	76
16	80

Milestones in the Life of the Shih Tzu

Age 3 weeks- At this age, the Shih Tzu puppy is beginning to open their eyes. Vision may be a bit blurry, but will improve rapidly.

Age 6 weeks - The puppy is beginning to wean and usually enjoys venturing out a bit into the world. The puppy must still remain out of public areas until he or she has had all of their shots; however the 6 week old Shih Tzu will love to wander around the home, seeing new things, hearing new sounds and exploring. A house must be safe-proofed.

Age 8 Weeks - At this age, in most states in the US, it will be legal for a Shih Tzu puppy to be given to his or her new home. If training has not begun, the puppy is ready ! The pup at this age will should be on almost a full diet of regular puppy food and be will weaned from mama. In some cases, a puppy needs more time and may not be ready until 10 weeks. Puppy teeth will usually be all grown in at this age.

Age 5 to 6 months - This is the teething age ! Don't worry, you will make it through this stage by supplying your pup with ice cubes and high quality teething dog toys, which can be put into your freezer to make them nice and cold.

6 months to 1 year - It is during this time that a female Shih Tzu will generally enter her first heat. It is strongly recommended to have your female spayed, if you will not be breeding her. Doing so will greatly reduce the possibility of cancers and infections.

1 year old - This is now the age when your puppy is considered to be an adult. Puppy food can be switched over to a high quality adult dog food...However, as we discuss on our Feeding Section, we highly recommend only feeding a Tzu home cooked food...the only way to ensure that your Shih Tzu is eating real food, with zero fillers.

8 years - The Shih Tzu is now consider to be a senior dog . Feeding should change over to senior dog food and increased veterinarian visits will be among the needed changes.

More Information

Looking for a Shih Tzu growth chart? We have one for you. In addition, during the puppy stage, each month of the Shih Tzu brings its own challenges. During the adolescent & adult stage, there will be new, interesting & sometimes puzzling behavioral and training challenges. To learn how you can learn all there is to now, click here to see what the AllShihTzu Experts have for you.

Taking Care of Your Older Shih Tzu

There are steps that you can take to keep your older Shih Tzu in the best of health.

Obtain steps or ramps for any furniture that your Shih Tzu used to jump up and down from. This is usually the sofa and your bed. Doggie steps are such a great help and will help to protect your dog's hips and joints by eliminating impact from jumping. This can be a great strain on the fragile bones of the dog.

Start feeding your older dog a very high quality senior dog food. The older Shih Tzu digests food differently than a young pup or adolescent and is in need of extra calcium and nutrients that are not available in their regular dog food.

Veterinarian visits should increase at this point. Geriatric testing must begin. The senior Shih Tzu should have regular checkups twice per year, in addition to any visits for unexpected health issues.

More Information

As you know, this is a simple overview of senior care. To learn much more detailed information for the senior Tzu, click here to see what we, the AllShihTzu Experts, have put together for you.