Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #500377 in Books
• Published on: 1992-10-21
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 160 pages

Synopsis
The shih tzu has soared in popularity in Britain and is at number 11 in the Kennel Club list of registrations for 1991 with more than 4500 new registrations. The author of this book, Juliette Cunliffe, is an international championship show judge. She traces the shih tzu from its origins in Asia to its place as a leading show and companion dog in the West. The book includes practical advice on rearing, grooming, diet and health care.

About the Author
Juliette Cunliffe is an international Championship Show judge, and is a successful breeder and exhibitor. She has a special interest in Asian breeds, and has travelled extensively to carry out her own research. Juliette is the author of a number of successful books on canine matters, and writes regularly for the dog Press, both in the UK and overseas. Her qualifications include Credits in both the Judging Diploma and Breeding Certificate awarded by the Canine Studies Institute. She is the Honorary Secretary of a Breed Club, and her lectures and slide talks are much in demand.

Excerpted from The Complete Shih Tzu (Book of the Breed S.) by Juliette Cunliffe. Copyright © 1992. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
As with so many of the breeds of Asian origin the history of the Shih Tzu is veiled in a certain amount of mystery, but it is clear that the breed has roots in both Tibet and in China. Now classified as a Chinese breed, there are many breeders who consider it rather more Tibetan than Chinese. Certainly there has been much confusion and intermixing of Chinese and Tibetan breeds through the centuries, and so I feel it highly relevant that we begin by looking at the contact between the two countries and the fascinating roles dogs have played in these regions. In doing so, we shall have a sounder foundation upon which to build our knowledge and interest in that most charming character, the Shih Tzu. Although, historically, there have been times when the Chinese and Tibetans have co-operated with each other with certain cordiality, since the seventh century there has been strife of one kind and another, and safe passage between the two countries has not always been guaranteed. As acts of diplomacy, Chinese brides, frequently of royal rank, were taken by Tibetan nobles. One of the earliest of these was the Tibetan King Srong-brtsan-sgam-po who, in AD 640, was given a Chinese princess as a bride, as was his brother. It follows that gifts were also exchanged between members of these two great cultures. Mythology abounds in both, and it is important to bear in mind that written historical records in Tibet were not kept until around AD 639. It has been said that the Lhasa Apso, clearly a close cousin of the Shih Tzu, and a breed which is always associated with Tibet rather than China, has been in existence since 800 BC, but without tangible written evidence, it is difficult to substantiate such claims.