The Shih Tzu's Relationship To The Pekingese

Some westerner breeders challenge the assumption that the Shih Tzu from Tibet were on occasion interbred with the native Pekingese to reduce the Shih Tzu to a smaller size. However, there are those in China at the time who probably have a better position to know exactly what did happen. There are several statements made by different people who was actually in China at the time the Shih Tzu were crossed with the Pekingese. Colonel Valentine Burkhardt for one points out that the Shih Tzu were most definitely crossed with the Pekingese. The Chinese did not breed by pedigree. They bred according to the image they had of the Lion Dog. Cross-breeding with the Pekingese was apparently done to reduce the size of the Shih Tzu. It is also felt the cross-breedings occurred to flatten the forehead, making it more lion-like in Chinese eyes. There was a definite "Peke cross" in England in 1952 with the specific purpose of eliminating certain faults in the breed. The cross was done with the full knowledge of the British Kennel Club. This cross was made under the supervision of Miss E.M. Evans, a distinguished breeder of the Pekingese, who grew to love the Shih Tzu and felt a conviction that this step was necessary for the betterment of the breed in England. In defense of her action, she explained that the Shih Tzu in her homeland of England were "too large, too high on leg, too long of muzzle with very bad pigmentation and too closely inbred." Miss Evans bred a Shih Tzu bitch, Elfann Fenling of Yram, to a beautifully coated black and white Pekingese, Philadephus Suti T'Sun of Elfann, who had perfect pigment and large dark eyes. His only fault was straight legs. The offspring of this outcross were bred back to purebred Shih Tzu, one from each generation, and the successive breedings were fully recorded with the British Kennel Club in the crossbred register. This outcross proved to be quite successful in correcting the pigmentation and creating the shorter leg Shih Tzu. During this time period the Shih Tzu were mostly terribly big, near 18 pounds in weight. The smallest one found by Mrs. Jungefeldt was black and white named Fu-Ling of Clystvale. He was low on legs, strong chest and weighed about 9 ½ pounds, and probably the smallest Shih Tzu in England at the time.