Shih Tzu dog shows and Shih Tzu dog breeding attracts the interest of people from all walks of life ranging from royalty to the lady next door. Ordinary family folk attend dog shows and compete successfully with top-quality dogs they have bred themselves. A good dog show judge will disregard all but the dogs themselves when making a final decision. Who you are or where you come from does not matter in good show dog judging. The Shih Tzu dogs have to prove themselves, not the people. The dog game is simply a love of dogs.

Most of the people you will meet at a Shih Tzu dog show share an appreciation for their dogs. As with any hobby or profession, however, there are many different opinions as to what a dog show truly is. You might hear things like: ?it's a cult.? You will definitely hear about the politics and the enormous amounts of money people spend on the dogs and how much the dogs hate it.

Where the dog game takes each participant depends wholly upon the individual interests in the sport. There is a place for everything in the dog game ? breeding, exhibiting, judging, training and teaching. The dog game is forever changing. To begin the Shih Tzu dog game journey, you will need a purebred Shih Tzu dog of course.

Where did it all begin? Dog showing actually began in England year of 1859. The first recorded formally organized dog show was held in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England. The Newcastle show was limited to Setters and Pointers.

Dog shows were originally organized as a place for breeders to gather to have their breeding stock evaluated by someone knowledgeable in their respective breed. The decisions were based upon the theory that superior dogs were the most likely to contribute their good qualities to their offspring. A written description of an ideal specimen of a breed was established. These descriptions are known as ?breed standards.? Of all Shih Tzu dogs appearing before a knowledgeable judge or person, the dog that possessed most of the characteristics described in the standard won first place. The Shih Tzu dog closest in quality to the first-place dog was placed second, and so on. This same process continues today at dog shows.

If you live in the United States you will most likely be showing your Shih Tzu dogs under the American Kennel Club. The organization maintains offices in both New York City and Raleigh, North Carolina. The AKC is the largest purebred dog registry in the United States, but other domestic registries also exist.

The American Kennel Club is devoted to the advancement of purebred dogs and maintains a registry of recognized breeds. They adopt and enforce rules for dog events, dog shows, and obedience trials, field trails, hunting tests, lure coursing, herding, earth dog trials, agility and the Canine Good Citizen program.