My Shih Tzu, Richard, is 9 years old. Ever since he was a puppy, he was always a chubby dog, but he also started to become much bigger than other Shih Tzus I had seen. He is a little bit fat, I guess you can say, but his paws, height, and length seem to be much bigger than any Shih Tzu I have ever seen. I forgot to mention how incredibly strong my dog is too! I have a friend that had not seen another Shih Tzu besides Richard, and when she saw another one she didn't think it was a Shih Tzu because it was so small. I can't help but laugh, cuz he is definitely not a normal dog.

I have papers that say he is a purebred Shih Tzu, but it's so hard to believe since I haven't seen another one like him. His doctors and groomer say that he is just big for his breed, but until I see another 28lb Shih Tzu, I will believe the papers. That's right, he weighs 28 lbs! I will try to post his measurements and a picture soon, but has anyone else seen a Shih Tzu that weighs this much? It's been years, and I am dying to hear what other people think!

Just like there are big/small of every breed I would not worry- what does the "breed" standard say? I hate using those things as guides - if he is overweight if he lost the weight would he still be bigger than the normal standard