Shih tzu how long they live

Shih Tzu life span How long do Shih Tzus live? Shih Tzu dogs have an average lifespan of 11 to 16 years. Getting a Shih Tzu dog is a responsibility that last from the moment you bring the Shih Tzu puppy home to the moment of the final good-bye.

When choosing Shih Tzu as a family dog, many people wonder about the life expectancy of ShihTzu. This is an important question because a dog that you choose will be your family member for many years to come. Each dog breed has its own life expectancy with smaller dog breeds enjoying a longer lifespan in comparison to larger dogs. Learning more about Shih Tzus life span and what can help to prolong your pet's life can help to properly care about your pet and to do your part in raising a healthy and happy dog that can love you unconditionally for many years to come.

Factors that affect Shih Tzu lifespan Life span of small dog breeds such as Shihtzu is determined by many factors that include internal factors as well as external factors. For example, Shih Tzu dog's genetics may help to estimate how long a Shih Tzu dog may live. At the moment I have a 15 yr. He is and always has been enormous. He was twice the size of his siblings at birth. He is all muscle. I live for this dog because he cannot get around without me or another trusted family member.

He sniffs your leg or foot to establish WHO is with him and he follows you no matter what. He eats normally, he drinks normally and by all appearances seems to be a happy boy. But I notice things that others may not. His schedule seems to have reversed. Sleeps all day and wants to be catered to at nighttime.

He never complains or cries and pees and poops correctly. He lives to eat I guess. He eats his breakfast first thing in the AM and then eats his lunch and eats his dinner He is not over fed as we just divide his daily food ration into 3 equal portions with a doggy treat between meals. I disagree and sorry you Feminists, my word is the final word in my home. I believe my doggy is a bit foggy because of his age and his health issues but if a dog still enjoys his food, and pees and poops normally and more importantly, loves us and enjoys being pet by us.

Are my family members correct? Should I end the suffering they are convinced he is in? What a lucky dog to have such an incredibly loving father! I agree with Marie. Thanks fir sharing your story. It brought tears to my eyes because my father was fiercely loyal to his family and pets, too. God bless you!!

I inherit my mother in laws shih Tzu 14 years old now and this dos is driving me crazy, For a few month after my mother in law died, Sarah is the little dos name, she will run away like looking for her, I guess she could not understand what had happened, it has been two years and she acts like she was never trained, now she pees and poop everywhere, wakes up in the middle of the night thinking is day time, wants to eat all the time, I have diapers everywhere but she will find a spot where there is no diaper and will do it.

Because she is old and has had a trauma I dont say anything but I really dont know what else to do. My Bruno. Went to heaven this year. I believe dementia was also starting to set in. And hearing loss and losing eyesight.

He had a very strong heart and was such a good dog. I miss him terribly. I feel like I gave up on him. I know I gave him a good life but I still miss him so much. It seems like yesterday I brought him home is a tiny puppy. I will never be the same again. I just lost my Gizmo last night. He was a few months short of his 16th birthday. I tried everything to keep him from being put to sleep. But he was very ill and started to have brain sesures.

I am missing him so much. Steve my little doggo Maxis 13 and starting to have seizures- do you know why this happened to your Gizmo?

I miss my Max so much it hurts. I wish I had paid much more attention than I had. IDK if I can say I ever done enough. Hi Thomas, my Gizmo 16 years and a half just went to heaven.

I can totally relate to how you felt and probably still feeling. Gizmo has not been his usual self for some time now, I was selfish for holding on to him as long as I did! My condolences to you! RIP Bruno! My darling boy Parker is almost 16 and barely shows his age. Walkies are much shorter now, his hearing has always been a little selective, so maybe only slightly diminished with age if at all and eyesight is excellent.

Yes, I am acutely aware how fortunate I am, and I do not take it for granted. I have a 17 year old shih Tzu Jack. He is my baby. He is a happy dog! As our fur babies age I think what as Heller my jack out is a good diet, exercise, and lots of love. I give him daily a raw diet with Veges, sardine oil, bone broth, and colostrum. I walk him shirt walks three times a week and give him lists of love.

We have a 13 year old his name is Romeo. I was furious when I saw hubby had purchased a dog. But when I saw Romeo at 6 weeks I fell in love plus he is all black. Now Romeo is blind and deaf hubby is tired because our daughter has moved out but she never did much for Romeo any way. Hubby wants to put him to sleep but I told him not to. Ask your hubby when he becomes a senior if he wishes to be thrown away. Unconditional love is what that dig gave to your family, please be a responsible pet owner and care for him during his elderly years.

They are the most affectionate breed. Why not find a family that will care for him for the remainder of his life. Animals are so precious!!! I lost both of my shitzus in the past six months. Toie was 15 and a half years old she had a large cyst on her back leg that a vet would not remove.

It ended up killing her. She was my sweet little girl she was 8 pounds. I lost my Beethoven on the 6 of august he was also 25 and a half the vet said they lived a very long life I miss them very much.

I just lost my Shih Tzu a week ago. I took it very hard. She was almost She developed a growth on her breast that started about 2 years ago and it gradually got bigger over the years. The mass was never a problem for her until it kept getting bigger and ran out of room to grow and a ulcer formed and eventually became infected. I struggled with whether to have her go through surgery being that she was already 13 when it developed. But I had no idea it would grow the way it did.

Not sure if the infection or old age or a combination of both took her out. The ulcer was infected before and with antibiotic treatment, she bounced back within a week. That was about 6 weeks ago. But not this time. It eats at me because I feel like I failed her and that I made the wrong decision not doing the surgery when it was smaller 2 years ago. But IDK. Overall I think I gave her a pretty good life. I mean, how else would she have lived to this age right.

My Cleopatra is 12 years old. She has cateract on one eye and the pressure has gone up and the Eye Vet says eye needs to be removed, The other eye she is going blind eventually. She get 4 eye meds daily She is in a deep sleep most of the day. I wake her up and she just fall right back into deep sleep snoring. Its a big decesion to what to do. She been in my life from the day she was born.

She ia the sunshine of every day I wake up. A cupie doll. She is the sweetest dog I have ever had. Hang onto the time remaining. One is 13 years old and the other one is 12 years old. I can see them slowing down and am afraid of the day when they are no longer with me. They sleep a lot but still get around. I have to pick them up. But both my girls love to go for walks with their leash on. Lots of joy and happiness from them.

I love my girls!!!!! My Toto will be 17 July 18th, Walks four times a day and loves his treats. My 4 year old Shitzu keeps him going I think. He has a lot of issues w skin allergies and dry eyes. We give him apaquil daily and takes eye meds every 8 hours for tear production.

My guy is 14 this summer, his name is dil. He has skin infections and gets ear infections easily and he does not produce tears anymore in his left eye. We treat this all. Chip just turned He has slowed down and is hard of hearing has a hard time seeing up close. According to the Oldest. Based on what we know about Smokie, we know it is possible for a Shih Tzu to be 20 years old, but this is extremely rare. In simple terms, you should not expect a Shih Tzu to live to be 20 years old.

It is very, very unlikely. If yours does, it could rival Smokie as being the oldest living on record. Health and genetics play a huge part in how long your Shih Tzu will live for. There are also certain health problems you will need be aware of, that typically account for more deaths in this breed than others. The above information is a quick primer on the Shih Tzu life span.

If you are still seriously considering buy a dog like this, you should read the rest below… it will help to prepare you! Shih Tzus are small, stocky dogs with long hair. As companion dogs, they are ideal for less active owners as they do not require much of an exercise regime.

They do not view themselves as guard dogs and therefore do not bark or yap much. This makes them ideal for owners who live in built-up areas. A Shih Tzu will not have a suspicious bone in its body.

This is the type of dog that will gleefully welcome burglars and hopefully delay them with their cute antics until reinforcements arrive. They are independent dogs and despite their innate intelligence, are seemingly difficult to train.

They probably have long memories of their elite standing in Tibetan society, and do not see the need to follow orders. Unfortunately, there is a long list of physiological features of the breed that can cause health and hygiene problems, and affect how long your Shih Tzu will live for. The Shih Tzu has a double coat of fur. It has an undercoat for warmth, much like ducks have downy feathers. It also has a coat with longer strands which helps this breed in colder weather.

These hairs get caught in the longer coat and can cause matting if the dog is not groomed often. If the long hair is cut in line with the shorter coat, less grooming is required but the continuous shedding of its hair will become more noticeable. The breed is also prone to skin allergies , so take care when choosing grooming products and parasite treatments, such as tick and flea powders, etc. The skin allergies and possible infection, as well as overgrown hair, can cause the dog problems in the ear.

Getting water in the ears, during bathing or swimming, as well as a build up of ear wax, can exacerbate these.