Umbilical Hernias or Delayed Closures are extremely common in the Shih Tzu Breed, regardless of what size they are. About 50 percent of the breed have them. These are right at the belly button area and appear as a tiny bulge, feel squishy, and you can push them back in. A weak area or hole in the abdominal wall at the umbilicus allows a small amount of fat to pass into a pocket under the skin. This creates a small bulge over the belly button. Very small umbilical hernias close with maturity. They are not a health issue, and do not affect the puppies quality of life, much like an "outtie belly button" in a human being. If you choose to have it repaired, it is recommended that it be done at the same time as a spay or neuter. Please make sure your vet is experienced with doing the umbilical fixes on many puppies, since while a minor incision, if they’re not experienced at this, they can create a health problem, that wasn’t a health risk to begin with. Inguinal hernias are rare and can be a fluke, or the combination of two dogs can pull out something uncommon as well. They are sometimes fatty pockets that regress on their own. While they are less common than umbilcal hernias and are internal, they can easily be fixed at spay or neuter, if they haven't regressed on their own. If they appear after the puppy has gone home, the breeder would like to be informed, as mentioned above it can be a fluke, but the breeder may choose not to combine those two parents for breeding again. They may not produce this with any other pairing, just like other traits.
Stenotic Nares and Tight Nostrils occur occasionally in the Shih Tzu Breed. Tight nostrils due to teething and Stenotic Nares or pinched nostrils are not the same thing. Although when puppies are starting to teethe, if the nostrils are smaller and/or more tight, the swelling of teething can cause some struggling in their breathing. Tight Nostrils will generally come on when the puppy is teething and sometimes not go away until the adult teeth have fully come in and may come and go as the puppy's gums are swelling from the teething process. Some puppies have a difficult time breathing out of their noses during this time, but as long as they are active and eating, sleeping and drinking normally, it is of little concern. Swelling of the bronchial tubes, gums, ear canals, and nostrils are all common while teething. During this time, they may snore, snort, sniffle, and breath through their mouths more often. Puppies will outgrow this once their adult teeth have fully come in. Do not let an over zealous vet talk you into surgery for a teething puppy or simply a puppy/dog, who does not have tight nostrils and because of their flat face and internal nasal structure, makes some snorting sounds or they snore when they sleep. A few of mine over the years snore when sleeping or snort sometimes and they breathe just fine. Stenotic Nares are common in brachycephalic breeds. The collapsed nostrils can lead to obstruction of the dog's airways. If they are extreme, tacking the nostril flaps back is recommended or surgery to enlarge the nasal openings in order to improve the dog's respiration.
Puppies are to be spayed or neutered at approximately 6 months of age, unless deciduous/baby teeth or tiny size/weight is the reason you and your vet decide to postpone the spay or neuter by a month or two, sometimes more. In toy breeds, postponing some is common because their adult teeth can take longer to come in. Keep in mind with males, we suggest by 7-8 months, since "lifting their legs/marking" can start at approximately 6-8 months old, if they are still in tact. There are exceptions regarding timing with some of my customers, who have teacup babies, tracking in the 3-5 lb range. Some customers have opted to wait to spay or neuter up until a year and a half because of their tiny size and that's their prerogative. In that case, if a female has a heat or a male potentially starts marking, there are disposable and washable diapers for girls and belly bands for boys. Regular tooth brushing should start as early as 8-10 months with a soft thimble made for dog’s teeth and/or a small toothbrush for dogs. Toy breeds have significantly smaller mouths than larger breeds, while having the same amount of teeth, so they are more prone to dental issues. It is crucial to get them used to regular brushing and is recommended a minimum of twice a week or more, for life. This will prevent anesthetic teeth cleanings, and they will live longer, healthier lives. There are now mobile dental hygienists for dogs and part time hygienists that come to vet's offices. This is not something available or affordable to everyone, so getting yourself and your dog used to teeth brushing routinely, is sometimes the only option. It is very normal for toy breeds from approximately 2-5 years and older to have several teeth removed at their initial teeth cleaning or when deciduous teeth are removed at spay and neuter time, especially if regular tooth brushing is not routine. This is due to their small mouths. Depending upon where the teeth left are located in the mouth, you may find that chewing becomes somewhat challenging for them sometimes. If that occurs, soaking kibble or wet food is suggested. Keep in mind that toys breeds have 42 teeth, just as larger breeds do, so no need for alarm when several are removed. It is very common.
Toy Breeds, mainly because of their smaller size, are more prone to reactions from vaccinations, over vaccinating by doubling up in one day, or medications that are neurotoxins. While we believe in vaccinating, of course, we recommend Titer blood testing which shows if your pet is immune or not to Distemper, Parvo or Rabies, then you can proceed accordingly. Monthly preventative heartworm, flea and tick medications, kill those things they are given for and can kill your baby or cause severe reactions, such as seizures and other health issues, and again even death. Please be advised and informed before rushing into monthly treatments that may not even be needed. Me and my breeder friend co-owned a litter and one of our babies died at a pet home by the third round of monthly heartworm & flea and tick medication, only to find out that there was not even heartworm, fleas or ticks reported or prevalent in their area whatsoever. Please do your own research and while we respect our veterinarians, every human and canine's biology is different and reacts differently to different things. I myself have food allergies that my brother does not. So if your dog is more sensitive or predisposed from their size and biological make up potentially to reactions, please be diligent in researching food ingredients, trying different foods out, medications and their potential side effects, detergents, cleaning products, fertilizer, even some vitamins their body may not agree with. Thank you!
An Open Fontanel is seen in several toy dog breeds. The fontanel is the area at the top of the skull where the bone plates merge. When babies, both human and dog, are born the bony plates of the skull are usually partly soft and separated. Usually this area closes but sometimes the bone plates never completely fuse, leaving a small hole in the top of the skull that has a soft mushy feel when you touch it like the soft spot on an infant. The affected pup can still live a long, full and active life. Precautions the owner should take include protecting the puppy from being hit on the head, preventing situations where the puppy might fall and not allowing the puppy to jump from furniture, beds, etc. These are precautions that should be taken with ANY puppy of ANY size anyway, so just be aware that the tiny open spot at the top of the head is unprotected and of course, they should always be supervised with small children, open fontanel or not.
It is very common for the very tiny t-cups (2.5 to 4 pounds grown) to have an open fontanel considerably longer than the larger Imperial Shih Tzu (5 to 9 pounds) and of course the Standard size Shih Tzu (over 9 pounds). It is very rare though that they do not close completely by the age of one year old. Open fontanels are not life threatening. Open fontanels are actually quite necessary as young puppies just as the soft spot on a baby. They enable the head to mold so that they will fit through the birth canal and they enable the brain to grow within the skull without being squished and putting pressure on the brain. Open Fontanel is NOT the same as a hydrocephalic puppy. Some vets are not familiar with open fontanels and can cause undue alarm to puppy owners.
Both are very common in puppies. Every puppy is treated for round worms, coccidia and giardia. Treatment is started on mom on day 56 of pregnancy to prevent any possibly transmission from mom to babies once they are born. At 6 weeks, puppies are treated for 3 days with Safeguard or Panacur which covers both round worms and Giardia. This is repeated every 2 weeks until a puppy goes to their new home. Giardia is a very tricky little protozoan parasite. Stool samples can test negative with absolutely no symptoms at all one day then a puppy can be stressed by riding in a car for the first time, going on a plane, to a new environment etc., and the giardia cysts lying dormant in the intestines will hatch and cause giardiasis. Treatment unfortunately does not kill dormant giardia cysts, so try as we might, we cannot guarantee that a puppy will not develop giardiasis once they go to their new homes. If your puppy develops giardiasis, it is important to start treatment immediately with medication from your vet. Some vets will use Panacur, as we do, Strongid or Flagyl-(Metronidazole), if treatment is ever necessary at any time throughout their lives.
Dogs with ear flaps that go down are more prone to ear infections due to more heat, therefore more moisture, which can cause yeast. Also, their ear canals is where ear mites can live, lay eggs and cause irritation and itchiness like yeast as well. Ear infections and yeast in general can be caused by moisture, environmental issues, allergies to yeast in food or other ingredients in food, dust, carpeting, carpet cleaner, pollen, weather changes, detergent, fabric softener, bleach, or a host of other things. Also, depending upon how much hair grows in their ears the shape or size of their ear canal, can make them more or less prone to ear infections, because each dog is different. I personally use "ALL" detergent recommended by dermatologists, allergists and pediatricians that is 100% free from perfumes and dyes. This particular detergent is great for dogs or people with skin sensitivity/issues and all types of allergies. When your Shih Tzu is groomed, sometimes the groomer pulls ear hair. While this keeps their ears cleaner and easier to treat, it also can make the inner ear skin raw and itchy when it is first pulled. If a drop of water gets in their ears when grooming, that also can cause a yeast infection. It is important to be aware that any number of things can cause your puppy or dog to have itchy ears. If the ear infection is not obvious, sometimes your dog or puppy can act depressed or walk funny from a deep inner ear infection. Do not automatically assume they have some sort of neurological damage or an illness. Immediately book a vet appointment and have your vet check their ears first with an ear cytology, to rule that out before alarm or panic sets in. This is more common than one would think in the Shih Tzu, so rule that out first.
Coprophagia is a common issue in dogs, especially toy breeds. If you do not know what this is, it is poop eating and it can be disturbing. There are a few reasons I have observed that can trigger puppies to start. First, their Mommies clean/eat their baby's poop from birth, so sometimes the puppies follow Mommy's behavior. Some puppies I have seen play with, eat or hide their poop or their sibling's poop, like a toy, even while they have several other toys to play with. When I started breeding and acquired a boy and a girl from the same breeder who were siblings, the boy did not eat his poop, but the girl did. That taught me a lot and reinforced what I observed when I rescued. It is a very common, yet an individual behavior. The myth that it was only some rescues of mine who never were given enough nutrition or food possibly, I then had to rethink. Although, I am sure in extreme neglect or abusive situations, that could cause this as well, obviously with having food 24/7 for them here, I realized and my veterinarian educated me, that it can happen in any puppy. I have also been told by a handful of customers over the past 10 years, that their new pup started eating their poop within a few days of arriving to their new forever homes. Even when they had not done it here. Having fostered 48 rescue Shih Tzu before I bred, I noticed that their nervousness in a new environment can also trigger this behavior as a territorial reaction to needing their own things and own space to make them feel safer. Sometimes this happens with no seemingly good rhyme or reason, although can be remedied over a relatively short period of time with consistency.
