Shih Tzu Breed Magazine - Showsight

Shih Tzu

ALL COLORS ARE ACCEPTABLE BY WENDY PAQUETTE COLORS AND MARKINGS

L et’s compare Standards from around the world: AKC —“All are permissible and to be considered equally.”

CKC —“All colors are acceptable providing they have black noses, lips and eye rims. The exceptions are the livers and blues which have pigmentation that compliments that particular color.” There is a DQ for “one or two blue eyes.” FCI —“All colors permissible, white blaze on forehead and white tip to tail highly desir- able in parti colors.” UK —“All colours except merle permissible, white blaze on forehead and white tip to tail highly desirable in parti-colours.” Basically, the four Standards say the same thing: All colors are to be treated equally... but are they? I have dabbled in solid colors over the past 50 years of breeding. However, I’ve always found it very frustrating that solid-colored Shih Tzu (or those with dark faces) are often overlooked. Why is that? They are the same breed and should be judged accordingly on structure, like all the parti-colors. Too often they are at the back of the line as judges (and sometimes, of course, breeders) are not fans of the solid colors. The solid-colored dogs, however, may be the breeder/owner’s preference. So, when judging breeding stock, they should be given equal consideration.

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