What We Expect From You

Chimera Shih Tzu puppies are a life committment!

Thank you for loving our puppies the way we do!

As owners of a Chimera Shih Tzu puppy, we do have certain standards and expectations. We are flexible, understanding, empathetic, and certainly will do anything within our reach to help you and your Chimera Shih Tzu to enjoy each other’s company all the way to their senior years. The following are our basic expectations.

Proper Care

We understand everyone does pet parenting in their own style. That’s perfectly fine! We do not micro manage. We simply want to ensure the pups are healthy and happy through their many years. Please ensure you are willing and able to to provide proper care of the puppy/dog, including regular veterinary care, adequate protection from elements, regular grooming to maintain healthy skin and coat, enrichment, and proper nutrition. We expect families will do their due diligence to protect puppy from disease, injury, and parasites, by working with their veterinarian to develop and maintain a care plan. If you need help identifying particular issues of risk, or how to best care for your puppy or adult, please reach out. We are always willing to offer advice and potential solutions.

Training & Socialization

You may or may not choose formal training, but all dogs benefit from some form of training, even if it’s just feedback from you throughout their day. Praise and rewards make a big difference. Even potty training is training! Teaching them their name, to come when called, to sit politely for treats, to not gnaw on people, to play gently with other dogs, these are all parts of training. We highly recommend finding a certified trainer in your area and asking their recommendations on training courses. Puppy classes serve wonderfully as both training and socialization!

All dogs deserve socialization. This does not have to mean forcing your puppy into crowds or to dog parks. We simply want the dogs to be able to live and enjoy life without being fearful from a life of isolation. Take your puppy for regular early grooming appointments. Take them in the car with you on short trips. They don’t need to get out of the car or go inside a business, just a drive around to get used to being in the car and seeing the world around them. If you go to the pet store to pickup dog food or treats, let them tag along! Take them to meet and visit neighbors. If there are similar sized dogs nearby, ask to setup play dates. We have seen horror stories on the news of dogs that have been left in cages, covered in their own feces, matted, and scared of everyone. No dog deserves that! If you are ever struggling to care for your Chimera Shih Tzu, please please contact us. We will help, either with support or bringing the dog back home. No judgement, we just want to help the dog.

Microchip

All puppies are microchipped before they leave us. In your paperwork folder, we have included a microchip sheet detailing your pet’s microchip brand, microchip number, and where you can register the microchip with your information for free.

We do have all microchips in our name as secondary contact, as the breeder. We do NOT want to take anyone’s pet away. We most certainly want them to stay with their loving families. However, if you cannot be reached, or heaven forbid, if someone intentionally dumped one of our dogs, if they end up at a shelter, rescue, vet clinic, or found by a good samaritan, we want to be able to bring the dog back home with us. They should never be anyone else’s responsibility (like a rescue). We gladly take responsiblity for every dog we produce, until their last breath. If their owner is unwilling or unable, we will step up and be there.

Always Welcome Home to Chimera Shih Tzu

This is a big one for us, so we mention it many times in different places. Chimera Shih Tzu puppies of any age (young to old) are welcome home at any time in their life for ANY reason. No questions asked. Ofcourse if there is anything we can help you with or advice we can offere to help you keep your beloved pet, we would appreciate the opportunity to discuss to see how we can help. However, if you decide you cannot keep your Chimera Shih Tzu, please know they are welcome here and you don’t owe us any explanation or reason. We will not pass judgement or shame. There is nothing more honorable and respectable than putting your pet’s welfare first – by bringing them to the safety net that we provide here. We appreciate the opportunity to be there for all the Shih Tzus that we bring into the world.

Please understand we do not offer refunds for returned dogs. We do not buy dogs back. We are simply willing to take on the future responsibility of a dog that you are no longer able or willing to care for.

Reasons why you may choose to return your Chimera Shih Tzu:

• Divorce
• Moving
• Financial struggles
• Inability to provide vet care and grooming
• Losing your home
• Owner passes away
• Health challenges make caring for pet difficult
• Training challenges
• Conflict with family members or other pets in the house
• Changed life situation
• Lack of time to care for pet

While any of these scenarios would be unfortunate, we understand life happens. We are not here to shame anyone or pressure them into continuing a care they are not able to commit to. Our first priority is the welfare of the dogs. If that means taking the responsibility back ourselves, that is perfectly fine. That’s what we are here for.