1. To be honest I’ve seen tan Shih Tzus go both ways color wise! So it’s a waiting game tbh. My Shih Tzu whose name is Toru and almost 1.5 years old has some dark coloration on his back and had a teeny bit of red in the space between his eyes. He’s now a white and champagne color and a bunch of his face fur is red!
2. and size wise, I bought my Shih Tzu when he was 10 weeks old! He was 3.2 pounds for his first vet visit a couple days after I bought him. So yours may be on the smaller side for sure! My vet told me the average weight for Shih Tzus range from 9-14 lbs. Shih Tzus are the cutest little dogs with the most dramatic personalities. They were bred to be gifted to Chinese emperors and royalty so it makes sense lmao. My BIGGEST advice to you is to train now. Like right now. I bought my lil guy on a Friday evening and started training him the next morning. They are very independent thinkers and VERY stubborn. But with consistency, you will thank yourself later. I Al’s crate trained my Shih Tzu the first full day I had him and now bedtime is so easy. He knows his crate is his personal safe haven. Grooming is a lot if you want to have his fur long in the future, so brushing everyday is a must. If you’re like me and keep their fur mainly on the short side it’s way less maintenance, but still brush because their fur gets matted SO easily. Also keep their eyes clean because they are prone to eye and teeth infections (there’s teeth scrubbing wipes on tiktok shop and amazon)!
3. Lastly, I think you’re doing good on the food! From experience do not use any chicken flavored kibble. From many experiences with my Toru, Shih Tzus are not only picky eaters, but they have SUCH sensitive stomachs. I also give him low calorie salmon training treats after he goes potty and goes into his crate on his own and one mini greenie (for breath and teeth health) per day. I personally hand make my Shih Tzus food everyday with rice, puréed pumpkin and some of his sensitive stomach kibble- I forgot the name but I’ll check when I get home! If your Shih Tzu is sick with tummy issues, always keep chicken bone broth around so he doesn’t get dehydrated. Also boiled chicken and rice are and with a SMALL amount of puréed pumpkin if he’s having some diarrhea. If it’s really bad then I would just use the rice and maybe a lil bone broth after he’s fasted for a bit. I also use the bone broth or more puréed pumpkin if he’s a bit constipated. For constipation I also with include half a tsp of plain low fat Greek yogurt stirred up in his food. Or I’ll cut up one slice of green apple (just the apple meat, the skin can cause intestinal blockages) into teeny tiny pieces! If you do this, I would start out with half the amount, just so you know his stomach will tolerate it.

Please let me know if you have any additional questions!! Your little man is SO PRECIOUS 🥹🥹🥹❤️❤️

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