How to Rehome a Shih Tzu

The Canadian Kennel Club describes the Shih Tzu as "outgoing, affectionate, happy and friendly," and adds four words that explain half the surrenders: "Daily brushing is essential." The recurring reasons owners reach the rehoming decision:

• The owner's health, not the dog's. Shih Tzus are a favourite breed of older owners, and when illness, a move into assisted living, or a death in the family arrives, the dog needs a new home through nobody's fault. If this is your situation, our guide to rehoming because of owner illness walks through it, including how family members can handle a rehoming on someone else's behalf.
• The grooming workload. That gorgeous coat mats fast without daily brushing, and professional grooming every four to six weeks runs over a thousand dollars a year. Households discover the workload after the puppy cuteness fades, and a chronically matted Shih Tzu is an uncomfortable dog.
• Flat-faced vet bills. Shih Tzus are a brachycephalic breed with the eye and airway problems that come with the face: prominent eyes prone to ulcers and dry eye, breathing that struggles in heat, and notoriously crowded teeth that need dental work.
• House-training that never finished. A common, honest small-breed confession. Years of intermittent accidents wear a household down.
• A toddler-and-tiny-dog mismatch. A sturdy breed by toy standards, but rough handling from very young children can overwhelm a small companion dog into snapping.

None of this means your dog is a problem. It means circumstances changed or the coat won, and a thoughtful rehoming fixes exactly that.

Small cute dogs attract applicants fast, so the work is filtering. Three checks matter most.

1. A real grooming plan. Ask directly: how will you keep the coat maintained? The right answer names a groomer and a budget, or commits to a short puppy cut and regular brushing. An adopter who has not thought about the coat is the same setup that produced the matting that may have led here. There is no shame in saying your dog does best in a short cut; say it.

2. Money for a flat-faced breed. Eye emergencies, dental extractions, and airway issues are the breed's known costs. Ask how the household would handle a significant vet bill and whether they have insurance or savings. This question predicts whether your dog gets treated or surrendered again.

3. The right household pace. This breed exists to sit with its people. Retirees and quiet households are often the best possible homes, and long-empty-house workdays are the worst fit. If there are children, ask their ages and watch a meeting; gentle school-age kids are usually fine, grabby toddlers usually are not.

Small companion breeds are the most in-demand category in Canadian rehoming, so a healthy young or adult Shih Tzu with honest photos and a fair fee typically places in two to five weeks, and interest often starts within days. Seniors take longer but this breed has an unusually strong senior-adopter following: plenty of retired households specifically want an older, calmer small dog. A dog with chronic eye trouble or a big dental backlog takes the longest and needs a financially ready home, so put the medical picture in the listing and let it do the filtering.

Shih Tzu disclosure is mostly medical and grooming, and all of it is normal for the breed, so hiding it gains nothing.

• Eyes. Any ulcers, dry eye, daily drops, or vet ophthalmology history. Prominent Shih Tzu eyes are fragile and the new home needs to watch them.
• Teeth. The last dental, anything the vet has flagged, and any extractions. Crowded flat-faced mouths make dental disease near-universal in the breed.
• Breathing and heat. Snoring is normal; struggling in warm weather or after mild exercise is worth stating so the new home manages summer properly.
• Grooming reality. Matting history, how the dog tolerates the groomer, and the cut it lives in. Include a photo in the practical short cut, not just the show-coat glamour shot.
• House-training, honestly. Where the dog actually is, and whether pads or belly bands are part of the routine. Small-breed adopters expect imperfection; surprises are what end placements.

Charge a modest rehoming fee. For a healthy adult Shih Tzu a fee in the low hundreds is normal in Canada (this is a directional range, not a fixed rule). Small, popular companion breeds are exactly what resellers and free-animal collectors scan listings for, so the fee plus a vet reference is your first filter. If the dog has a dental or eye backlog, price honestly rather than discounting to move faster; the right home cares about the history, not the price. You can donate the fee to a rescue afterward if you would rather not keep it.