| I have wondered just who are the ancestors of the | | | | pharoah hounds and Ibizan hounds. I have to admit the |
| shih tzu. Like all other dog breeds, shih tzu ancestors | | | | only one in this group I recognize is the "greyhound." |
| most likely come from five choices: Grey Wolf, Golden | | | | Our shih tzu was not in this group at all it seems. |
| Jackal, Coyote, African Wild Dog. It is hard to imagine | | | | However, less frequently, were paintings of small, |
| our little shih tzu baby dolls has any of these wild | | | | short-legged dogs, (not our shih tzu) in domestic |
| characters in their background. According to | | | | settings. They could have been the watchdogs for the |
| researchers, all canines have their roots in one of | | | | Egyptians or just simply pets. |
| these five categories. I don't think I could ever be in | | | | The Romans were crazy about dogs and seemed to |
| love with a real live wolf or a coyote. A coyote makes | | | | realize they could choose dogs to mate based on |
| those strange sounding "howls." I have some shih tzu | | | | appearance or behavior and develop specific abilities. |
| that have a howl sound rather than a bark. | | | | They had guard dogs and dogs who fought in battles. |
| Out of the five groups, wolves and dogs share 71 of | | | | They had a variety of house dogs including one that |
| 90 charted behavioral patterns, more than any other | | | | most likely was of the Maltese type. |
| two canid species. My thinking is then probably most | | | | The Chinese emperors were quite fond of pets. Their |
| breeds as we know them today have the wolf as its | | | | puppies had human nurses and their adult dogs had |
| ancestor. The fact that the shih tzu has ancestors in | | | | human servants. The Pekingese exists as a breed at |
| the wolf family, however, does not thrill me in the least. | | | | least from the period of A.D. 700. They were |
| I cannot imagine sharing my bed with a real live wolf. | | | | developed to resemble the spirit lion to ward off evil |
| The shih tzu faces are so sweet and innocent. A lot | | | | and bring good luck. The chin were sometimes called |
| of my shih tzu look like chinese men and women in the | | | | "sleeve dogs." There are ancient imperial dog |
| face. They do not seem like even "dogs" to me. | | | | cemeteries scattered about Beijing in China. Pekingese |
| The Egyptians had a real talent for taming animals and | | | | dogs were very often entombed with their emperors. |
| kept a variety of pets. They probably receive the | | | | The thing that really amazes me is how the faces of |
| most credit for the domestication of the cat, but there | | | | some our shih tzu look like the faces of chinese men |
| were dogs in the Egyptians' homes as well. We can | | | | and women. How did the Chinese accomplish that? |
| imagine this because of the many canines that prance | | | | During the 14th Century the Chinese began to |
| across egyptian tomb paintings. Some of those | | | | recognize the dog's many functions such as being able |
| canines have been identified as greyhounds, salukis, | | | | to lead the blind. |