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Personality

Shih Tzu Personality

This article dives into the quirky and lovable personality of the Shih Tzu. Wondering what kind of temperament and antics you might see? How a Shih Tzu might change your daily life or how your Shih Tzu's personality compares to others? We've got you covered. Alongside the official breed standard traits, we'll share insights from a poll of Shih Tzu owners. They'll tell us firsthand about the real personalities of their canine family members, from the adorable to the unexpected. Get ready to learn all about what makes a Shih Tzu's disposition truly unique.

Shih Tzu Personality & Traits: A Guide from Major Kennel Clubs

As you may know, kennel clubs are organizations that oversee dog breeds' standards, registrations, and competitions. They set "official breed standards," which are guidelines describing the ideal characteristics, temperament, and appearance of each breed. These standards help maintain the quality and health of breeds over time.

While official breed standards include descriptions of a breed's ideal temperament and personality traits, it's important to remember that not every dog will fit these descriptions perfectly. It is simply an "ideal" that should come across for dogs competing in the showring and is a general guideline for what to expect with the breed.

With this in mind, these are the personality and traits expectations for Shih Tzu dogs for the AKC, CKC, UKC and FCI:

AKC: As the sole purpose of the Shih Tzu is that of a companion and house pet, it is

essential that its temperament be outgoing, happy, affectionate, friendly and trusting towards all.

CKC (Canadian Kennel Club): Shih Tzu are distinctly arrogant with a character all their own. They are exceptionally good natured, affectionate and intelligent. They are full of life and have an air of importance that cannot be denied.

UKC (United Kennel Club): Since the sole purpose of the breed is that of a companion and house pet, the dog’s ideal temperament should be outgoing, happy, affectionate, friendly and trusting toward all. Its expression is warm, sweet, wide-eyed, friendly and trusting. Disqualifications: Viciousness or extreme shyness.

FCI (Federation Cynologique Internationale, English: International Canine Federation): Intelligent, active and alert. Friendly and independent.

Real Shih Tzu Temperaments: What Owners Say

We at AllShihTzu previously conducted an online survey of 2,749 site members, about their Shih Tzus' personalities, traits, quirks and more. Among the respondents, 68% were from the US, 13% from the UK, 7% from Canada, with the rest hailing from various countries around the world.

The number of male to female Shih Tzu dogs were almost equal, with just slightly more males (54%) than females (46%). The ages of the Shih Tzu were 40% young adult (1 to 3-years-old), 34% adult (4 to 8-years-old), 13% puppy (under 1-year-old), and 12% senior (9+ years).

You'll be surprised and sometimes amused by the answers we've received. Let's take a deeper look into the traits and personality of this amazing toy dog breed.

Words to Explain the Shih Tzu Breed:

In the poll of 2,749 Shih Tzu owners, we asked them to describe their Shih Tzu's personality in 3 words.

The top 5 words entered were: Affection, happy, loving, playful and sweet

And the top 50 words (in alphabetical order) were: Affectionate, beautiful, bossy, cheeky, clownish, comical, compassionate, cuddly, curious, cutesy, diva, energetic, entertaining, excited, feisty, friendly, funny, gentle, goofy, happy, hard-headed, human, hyper, intelligent, intuitive, joyful, lovable, loving, loyal, nosy, perceptive, persistent, picky, playful, possessive, proud, questioning, sarcastic, sassy, serious, shadow-like (following), silly, smart, snuggly, spunky, strong willed, stubborn, sweet, teasing, tough.

Fill-in-the-Blank:

We asked Shih Tzu pet parents to fill-in-the-blank: "My Tzu definitely has a "look" that he/she gives me sometimes and that look means _________ ".

Here are some of the top answers:

Please don't leave me.
Take me with you.
Where's dinner?
Take me for a ride.
Me?
I know what I did wrong, I'm so sorry.
Pay attention to me!
What are you doing, Mom?
I love you.
What's in it for me, cookies?
Play with me, I'm bored.
I need something.
Hold me!
I'm cute, aren't I?
You haven't played with me today yet.
I want to go too!
Why don't you know what I want?
Scratch me, now!
If you don't rub my belly soon, I will lick your face!

Which Celebrity?

We asked owners: If your Shih Tzu suddenly morphed into a human being, which celebrity/ famous person would he/she most be like?

The answers were insightful as to this breed's personality. We were surprised how many people gave the same two answers! By a HUGE overwhelming majority, the 2 most popular answers were: Jack Nicholson and Chewbacca (great choices!).

Other popular mentions: Beyoncé, Lucille Ball, Mary Kate or Ashley Olsen, Brad Pitt, Cinderella, Shirley Temple, Jerry Garcia, Anne Hathaway, Elizabeth Taylor, Lady Gaga, Sandra Bullock, Grace Kelly, George Clooney, Robert De Niro, Kate Middleton, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Kate Winslet, Conan O'Brien and Jeff Bridges.

Top Behaviors Seen:

Through the poll, three behaviors were seen the most:

Staring into space/ at nothing: 40%
Barking at nothing: 63%
Seemingly seeing or hearing things a human cannot: 31%

And open-ended questions regarding personality and behavior led to two words being used the most to explain Shih Tzu dogs:

Walk/walking. Comments included:

Stubborn when I want to go a certain path on a walk.
Walking... pulls on the lead terribly.
Limited benefit from walks, stops and refuses.
Quite stubborn at times & sometimes stops on walks & refuses to move.
He needs to sniff everything and can’t focus on walking.

And eat/eating. Comments included:

Eating stuff she is not supposed to.
She doesn’t have a big appetite.
My dog’s a picky eater. He wants variety but then tires of it. I always have to find something new.
He can be fussy with eating and can go for hours not eating at all and that causes him to vomit up bile. I’m always trying to get him interested in food, it only works sometimes. He seems to forget to eat even though he has food in his bowl all the time.
We have found it difficult to settle him on any food. He does eat, but not as good as we are told he should. He now demands that I spike the kibble with meat, preferably filet mignon.

Reading Moods and Happiness:

Reading Moods: We asked about personality in regard to moods, and it's apparent that many pet parents are in touch with their Shih Tzu and vice-versa. The results were:

I can read my Shih Tzu's mood: 82%
My Shih Tzu seems to be able to read my mood: 70%

Happiness Levels: In regard to happiness levels, we asked owners to report the perceived level of their Shih Tzu's happiness, with three options. The results were:

My Shih Tzu is almost always happy: 57%
My Shih Tzu is mostly happy, but can have moods: 32%
My Shih Tzu has quite a few mood swings: 11%

The Silliest Things:

If there's one thing that you can count on, the Shih Tzu breed has a very amusing personality. We asked the open-ended question of "What's the silliest thing your Shih Tzu does?"...here are some especially entertaining answers!

Walking around with her Babble Ball in her mouth! It makes her seem as though she is talking!
Runs around our coffee table as fast as she can.
Jumping on the bed where I'd been placing 6" x 6" quilt squares. He grabbed a mouthful of the squares and ran circles on the bed messing the entire layout up. He was so proud of himself.
Chasing after the birds outside.
Beating up on everything in her toy collection.
Not letting me go out when I put my coat on.
The way she acts like she has no bones. She will be on the back of couch and drag her back half like it is not moveable.
Sorts licks out kibble and then only eats certain ones.
Sleeping on his back with all four paws up in the air.
Taking my other Shih Tzu for a walk on her lead.
He runs around the house at 100 mph when excited.
Nibbling on certain blankets.
Doing paw-stands while peeing so her back legs don't get wet but oh that tail, have to wash it all the time.
Crawls on her tummy backwards.

Challenges with Shih Tzu Puppies and Dogs:

We asked pet parents of Shih Tzu puppies and dogs about the biggest challenges they've encountered. The top answers were:

Housebreaking
Separation anxiety
Refusing to listen
Eating issues
No challenges that I can think of
Getting along with other dogs
Barking
Nipping

Human Equivalent:

We asked just those with adult Shih Tzu between the ages of 1 and 5 years old, "What is the human equivalent of your Shih Tzu's personality?", and the results were:

Young child: 32%
Toddler: 29%
Young adult: 21%
Adult: 18%
Teenager: 12%
Pre-teen: 8%
Senior citizen: 7%

A Final Note:

The Shih Tzu is a special breed indeed, bringing so much joy to our lives. While there is some level of consistency with personality, certainly we all cherish our little guys and gals for the unique individuals that they are. And we are sure they cherish you just as much!