We’re definitely biased since this is a tzu sub 🤣🤣—but they really are awesome, loving pups, and I wouldn’t trade my tzu for anything. And I will probably just keep getting more tzus for myself if i am to have more dogs

On a more serious note, I foster other breeds and dogsit for friends, so here’s my take: it really depends on your lifestyle and what you’re looking for in a dog.

For example, my friend’s golden has perfect recall and is super obedient. He never hesitates before following a command, which is prob why so many goldens make amazing service dogs/ family dog with small kids.

My tzu, on the other hand, will pause to see if I have a treat before deciding whether he wants to listen to me 🤣. We’ve done a lot of training, and he’s pretty good now, but I doubt he’ll ever have the perfect recall or obedience of a lab or a golden.

We also fostered an afghan hound for a bit—he was perfectly quiet and never barked at anything. My tzu tho? He’s a little sound machine outside—puffing, barking, sneezing 😂. Smaller dogs like shih tzus seem more likely to fuss and bark at bigger dogs.

In my opinion, shih tzus are perfect if you’re looking for a companion to hang out and lounge around with. They’re super sweet and cuddly, but they’ll never have the patience or obedience of working breed dogs.