History of the Shih Tzu In Europe

A Shih Tzu In Paris

The history of the Shih Tzu in Europe is very interesting. WeÕll start off with how they arrived in Europe from China.

According to records dating back to 1913, Shih Tzu were said to have a wide distribution in the Chinese capital, but it wasn't until the 1940s before they appeared in Great Britain.

One Shih Tzu dog named Wuffles was smuggled to England by a British couple living in China in the late 1940s as they were fleeing the country just ahead of the advancing Red Army.

Wuffles is where the history of the Shih Tzu in Europe starts!

Wuffles was a camel-colored dog, bred in 1948, and who sired a few litters before being killed by a truck in 1952. Another Shih Tzu left China before the Communist take-over; a black-and-white female named Mai-Ting.

Mai-Ting was evacuated along with British citizens from China to Hong Kong, and then eventually to England. Mai-Ting was bred to Wuffles and together they produced one daughter in 1950.

Mai-Ting spent three years of her life at the Royal British Embassy and Cyprus, and was 14 years old when she died in 1962.

It was believed that another female Shih Tzu has left China in 1952, but no records are available since the government ordered that no dogs were to leave the mainland.

Even though it appears few dogs left China, this breed almost became extinct there, since the Communists did not see a need for these dogs. In fact the secretary of the Hong Kong Kennel Club in 1966 requested some Shih Tzu from Europe to maintain their stock.

A few Shih Tzu had reached Britain and Scandinavia and Mrs. Kenrik Kauffman, wife of the Danish Minister to China, brought some to Oslo, Norway, when her husband was transferred to that country. These were registered with the Norwegian kennel club. The history of the Shih Tzu in Europe might have ended if not for Mrs. Kauffman.

These two little dogs increased her interest in the breed and two others were acquired; one puppy from the Imperial Palace and one from Shanghai.

A Shih Tzu puppy from these lines was presented to Queen Elizabeth, then the Duchess of York, in 1933. Elizabeth named the dog Choo-Choo, and he was used at stud in England.

This association with the Royal Family did much to bring attention to the breed in Britain, especially after it had enjoyed a similar royal position in its own country as well.

The Paris-educated Princess Der Ling, first lady-in-waiting to the dowager Empress of China was also a breeder of Shih Tzu and had dozens of them. She and Empress both loved the little dogs and it was the Princess Der Ling who was responsible for the extensive breeding programs carried on by French Countess d'Anjou.

By 1933 Miss E.M. Hutchins exhibited a few Shih Tzu at the Cheltenham show in England. A black and white male, named Lung-Fu-Ssu had been imported from Peking to Ireland in 1930 with General Douglas and Lady Brownrigg, who were to become prominent Shih Tzu breeders and showers in the future.

A photograph of these dogs can be found in various dog breed books. Originally the Shih Tzu was shown in the Apso classes but in 1934, the Tibetan Breeds Association ruled that the dogs from China were not Apso, and the name Shih Tzu was selected for them by the then Chairman of the Kennel Club, Mr. Croxton Smith.

On May 7, 1940 a separate register was granted to the breed and they were made eligible for championship certificates. This is the history of the Shih Tzu in Europe.