The gene that produces the smaller Imperial Shih Tzu has always been there (see What Makes a Small Dog Small) and they are not the "runts of the litter" nor do they have more health problems than the standard size Shih Tzu.  The Imperial Shih Tzu have the same life span as the larger Shih Tzu and any genetic issues the Miniature size Shih Tzu may have are the exact same genetic issues that face the Standard size Shih Tzu.  While we love the Standard Size Shih Tzu, we, as do many others, prefer the Imperial Shih Tzu, Tiny Type Shih Tzu, Miniature Shih Tzu, or Teacup Shih Tzu's size.  Their compact size makes them easy to take with you where ever you go.  They fit nicely in a purse or one of those cute little doggie travel bags. We have carefully selected our Tiny Imperial Dogs & Shih Tzu for quality, health and temperament. We strive to produce Imperial Shih Tzu puppies to have short level backs, no eye white, straight legs, baby doll faces and tiny noses on nice round heads and sweet expression.  Our dogs are not kenneled and they are part of the family.  Our Chinese Imperial and Shih Tzu puppies are born and raised in doors and spend their first few weeks in my bedroom.  Once they start to play, they are moved down stairs during the day and they are handled and loved daily (hourly is more like it).  When it's time for bed, they go back upstairs to their upstairs pen in our room.        
    Genetic testing is done on our Imperial Shih Tzu that we intend to breed for carriers of many recessive heritable diseases including but not limited to JRD, as well as coat color and parentage confirmation.  All of our Chinese Imperial Dogs are registered with the Chinese Imperial Dog Registry of America once they reach 14 months old and certified to be under 9 pounds, and under 9" at the withers.  Our dogs are all registered as Shih Tzu with The American Kennel Club.
    Most of our Imperial Shih Tzu will grow to be under 8 pounds but we do occasionally have small Standard size shih tzu.  Our Imperials and Shih Tzu puppies are sold as pet's to loving pet homes only. Pricing reflects limited registration.  Breeding rights may be granted on a case by case basis to select breeders who we know will take the same care to assure the quality and health of these Tiny Imperial Puppies as we do.  We offer a 3 year health guarantee (please see our Guarantee & Contract page).  We also provide a lifetime of support for our puppy buyers.  We welcome any and all questions regarding our own dogs and the breed in general. 
We normally do NOT take deposits on puppies until about 4 to 5 weeks of age.  We want to assure that we know what we have and have a better idea of size,quality and any potential health issues before we take a deposit on a puppy.  If you are interested in one of our puppies, please contact me and I can put you on a waiting list and you will be contacted once I have a better idea of what we have.  We ask that you fill out a puppy buyers application so we can get an idea of what kind of home our puppies are going to.  Pictures are updated weekly after 2 weeks of age
    Please see our Available Puppies page for available Chinese Imperial Puppies or Shih Tzu Puppies and our
Litters Due page for expected puppies.  
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My name is Diana and I am the current secretary of the Chinese Imperial Dog Club of America.  I am a married mother of 4 beautiful grown daughters and one grandson by my oldest daughter and a grandson and granddaughter from 2 of my step daughters.  I do licensed childcare in my home and the children do a wonderful job of helping to socialize the puppies.
    Here at Lil' Darlins' Chinese Imperials & Shih Tzu's,we strive to produce healthy well adjusted Chinese Imperial (Imperial Shih Tzu) Puppies and Shih Tzu that conform to the standard of the breed. Sometimes called Imperial Shih Tzu, Teacup Shih Tzu, Tiny Type Shih Tzu or Miniature Shih Tzu, The official term for the smaller version of the Shih Tzu "Chinese Imperial Dog". 
    We at Lil' Darlings Chinese Imperial's are dedicated to the improvement of the Chinese Imperial Breed. While the Chinese Imperial is a smaller version of what we know today as the Shih Tzu, they (Chinese Imperial Dogs) are being recognized as a separate breed by some registries.  The American Shih Tzu Club does not recognize the smaller size and therefor our beautiful dogs cannot be shown in the AKC sanctioned shows. If you have done any research on the Imperial size Shih Tzu, you have no doubt discovered that the American Shih Tzu Club does not approve of the smaller version of the shih tzu going so far as to call them unhealthy, and substandard.  They say that the Imperial Shih Tzu breeders have downsized the Shih Tzu in the name of the all mighty dollar.  Well, that couldn't be farther from the truth. Those who know the true History of the Chinese Imperial Dog believe that the smaller version came first. The small gene has always been there and Imperial Breeders have been working for many years to produce healthy Chinese Imperials.  The truth is these dogs are NOT runts!  They are not sickly or unhealthy in any way.  We love the Shih Tzu. We just prefer ours smaller and apparently so do a lot of people as there is a high demand for the under 9 pound size. While still recognized as Shih Tzu by AKC, our dogs are registered with AKC as Shih Tzu.  There are several historical accounts that the original (what is referred to as the Imperial Shih Tzu) dogs were the prize possessions of the Imperial Palace and the larger less desirable size dogs were not kept in the Palace.
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11 week old Chinese Imperial Puppy at 2 pounds