Hi everyone! So I came here looking for help and hoping someone can possible figure this out for me… I recently lost my best friend of 15 years and I’m looking to find one like her… I know she’ll never be exactly like her but I loved her breed, she was very smart, loving, attentive and so amazing. Here’s a picture of her here, I was told by a professional breeder that she wasn’t a pure shih tzu because she had a blue eye and I’ve always wondered and thought that she wasn’t pure because of her nose (longer snout and nose wasn’t squished). would be amazing if someone knew what kind of dog she was, maybe you have one that’s similar to her? Or if anyone is selling one that looks like her with a blue eye ❤️ Thank you
No one can tell you if she was truly a purebred bred or, if not, what she was mixed with. Any guesses would be simply that - a guess - and likely to be wrong. And if she WAS a mix, then buying another like her is irresponsible. It encourages people to breed mutts for money. My suggestion to you is to love her for being unique and find a dog you like for their own merits. If you buy a pure bred shih tzu, do so from a REPUTABLE breeder - one who does testing on the parents prior to breeding, who can provide the puppy's lineage back at least three generations, who has titles on the parents to show they are breeding for the betterment of the breed, and who properly socialize the puppy. Otherwise, go visit your local shelters and rescues and find a dog whose personality resonates with you regardless of breed.
Your lovely girl was very unusual in having a blue eye. I have occasionally seen it in a couple of larger breeds but I can't remember having seen it in a small or toy breed. She does look to be predominantly Shih Tzu and seems as if she had that cheeky fun-loving temperament that the breed has. If that was what you loved most about her, I would suggest you look for a pure-bred Shih Tzu. Every dog is an individual, not just the way they look, but in their personality too. Hold tight to your memories of the girl you have lost, but don't try to find an exact copy of her. Even if you did manage to find a Shih Tzu with one blue eye, it would still be a new individual, not a match for your lost girl.
Really sorry to hear about the loss of your pet friend. It is good that you are looking for a companion so quickly. My guess is that it could be a cross with a Maltese. If you are looking for a Shih Tzu I would agree with the previous posts to source a reputable breeder since the breed can suffer from a long list of hereditary problems. Meeting both parents will give us some indication of the temperament. Their rearing as puppies will be a key contributor as to how they will fit in with both ourselves and their canine community. I haven't got a dog from a shelter so I can't really comment but I did consider getting a chihuahua that had patellar luxation but then had a change of mind. If you do go down the route of buying a decent Shih Tzu, you may have to go on a wait list. Any cross breed has no guarantee on which traits the pup will inherit from the parents. It can be essentially a roll of the dice.
Dogs that have consistently excellent recall tend to be dogs that are naturally supremely handler focused and toy focused so they stay close to you because they want the toy or they want you to work with them and give them commands. Retrievers and herding dogs tend to fit this but on the downside they tend to be clingy and want attention from you often because their temperament is to be focused on you. Bully breeds are also handler focused but because of their high prey drive their recall may fail even with the handler focus.
