Lacey my chocolate girl

by Sandra
(South wales)

I bought Lacey at 9 weeks,as I loved the deep colour chocolate brown, but at 5 months, she started changing, and now at 8 months she as grey streaks ,running from her back , down to her behinds and running through her tail. Her eyes were green, but now are more Amber, but she still has the brown nose and brown pads.

At six and a half months she had a cut and the grey streaks seem to go, but soon came back.

I traveled 4 hours to get this colour, and fell straight in love with her.

But only to find the breeder said her dog was out on a long walk. So I didn't see her mam, who was supposed to be pure black.

And she said she used her son's dog for stud, which was deep chocolate brown.

She didn't give me any pedigree papers, as she said she was selling her much cheaper than any one as she was being sold as a pet.

She advertised her as would be weighing no more than 6lbs, when fully grown as she was a imperial Shih Tzu, but when she was weighed at 3 and a half months, she was nearly 5lb.

I rung her and questioned this and asked her to at least send me some pics of mam and dad so that I could see their size, but she never sent any.

So I can't go back to see as I wasn't given anything.

Saying that she is such a shy lovely natured Lill girl, and I would not swap her for the world 😃.

I just will have to wait to see what colouring she will go when older.

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Janice Here, from Miracle Shih Tzu
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Conscientious long-time Shih Tzu breeders can often predict with a certain amount of certainty how a puppy's color will change over time. They can do this because they have bred a puppy's parents before, may have used both grandparents in previous matings and even know the great grandparents and how the coat colors have been passed down from generation to generation.

This ability on the part of the breeder is not magic, but rather the ability to have a keen eye, keep good records, and have a decent long term memory. This method has been used over the centuries for all sorts of breeding decisions, long before the word, "genetics" was ever coined.

We do know much more today, thanks to genetic testing, but the field is still growing and changing. As more tests are developed, someday we may be able to say with certainty what color a Shih Tzu puppy will be as an adult.

For now, we know that all colors are acceptable and there are no colors in the Shih Tzu that are associated with any type of disease. That is the good part.

It is fun to learn about genetics, but in the long run, as Sandra pointed out, we will love our dog, no matter what color they are now or will become.

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