Shih-Tzu Genetics
By Karen DeAngelo

  I am a Shih-Tzu breeder with over 700 documented litters since 1986.
This below is based on my first hand experience and not genetic testing or laboratory testing.
All information given are the factual outcomes.
I have had many, many breeders  disregard my advise and have written me after the fact,
confirming I was correct after they produced disasters.   It is a free country and you
can breed what you want, but the wise heed counsel.  I am not trying to stop you from
cashing in (isn't that really why you breed such colors?), but my heart breaks to see
the outcome of greed when it comes to these dogs. Responsible breeders stay away
from know genetic disasters in dogs.

I have been accused of INTENTIONALLY Breeding dogs I KNEW had genetic defects.
THIS IS A LIE .
A customer tried to get me to pay him $5000. for an ingrown eyelash (Disticichiasis, see below)  on his dog after 5 years of owning it.
If you trim those eyelashes close, I have heard of them growing back inward.
This is a known problem in the breed.

On a personal note, I have TOTALLY CHANGED my views on genetic defects since finding out
that our 26 year old son has retinitis pigmentosa and it is a hereditary disease where the
gene is there and somehow mutates to attack the optic nerve and the victim goes blind.
Joseph has 3 children and 5 siblings.  NO ONE in our family EVER went blind.
Dr.'s tell me 50% of my children and grandchildren will have the disease.
We are devastated, to say the least.
I have 7 grandchildren and there will probably be a lot more.
There is a cure with stem cells, but it isn't released yet.
This has made me realize that I can only go so far in my shih-tzu breeding program and the
rest is a throw of the dice.  If I couldn't control my own beloved son from going blind, how could
I totally prevent some dog from a defect?

All questions are to be sent to ME about MY writings.
gloryridge2003@yahoo.com
I am glad to back up my facts with AKC Litter records.
Additional information is obtained by TOP  US VETS 
This page is copyrighted but you MAY LINK TO IT.
www.gloryridge.com/genetics.htm

I saw this (below) on the ASTC site and it blew my mind.  It amazes me how people will take genetically defective dogs and breed them. I omited the names.

Disticichiasis rarely just appears at age 3. It is usually long before that.  I would NEVER breed a dog with an eye defect, EVER. 

Shih Tzu breeder ------- had noticed that her 3-year-old champion show dog was having problems keeping his eyes open and seemed bothered by sunlight or bright light. Large, round eyes and a pushed-in face are among the prominent features of this lively toy breed.

----- who lives in ----- Fla., took Ledger to see an ophthalmologist at the University of Florida Small Animal Hospital in Gainesville. The diagnosis was corneal ulcers caused by distichiasis, a condition in which an additional row of eyelashes, or cilia, develop along the edge of the eyelids. Though the eyelashes don’t always turn inward, in Ledger’s case they did, irritating the cornea every time he blinked. The little dog had an advanced case with pustules that had formed beneath the eyelids

Note: A shih-tzu breeder who shows you solid pups out of
2 parti colored parents is a fraud. the DNA will prove it.
2 solids can have a parti, but 2 partis cannot have a solid (NO WHITE AT ALL).
Glory Ridge never breeds liver to liver, liver to blue or
 blue to blue. Chocolates are livers. 
Blues have blue noses, not black and have blue pads on the feet.
The results yield many defects in pups,
so be aware of this when you buy a pup from parents that are
these combos. Many die early or are still born.
You can buy these colors, but don't buy them from those combos.
I have found that even a Dam out of 2 liver parents will throw a large amount of defects,
even when that Dam is not a liver at all.  
 SOLID Whites tend to throw eye defects and whites must have cream on them to live past weaning.
Adult whites may appear white because the cream has faded out, but are not  TRUE albinos.
I have never seen a TRUE  albino live 2 weeks  past weaning
Livers and blues are a nightmare for defects. So are whites.

NEVER, EVER BREED A SHIH-TZU WITH EYES (OR ONE EYE) LIKE THESE!
IT WILL THROW EYE DISEASE IN THE PUPPIES.
Great pets, but don't breed them!

All dogs are genetically BLACK. Color comes up through black. Black to black can produce any color. Black is a DOMINANT gene. GOLD is recessive to BLACK, but DOMINANT to Liver. Liver is dilute. Dilute dogs (blues and livers and albino white) often have skin problems, along with other problems such as bad bites. Black to any color can produce Black. There are genes that can modify black to liver or blue dilute. Dilutes DO NOT have BLACK noses.  Dilutes bred together are a breeders greedy mistake that will backlash on YOU sooner or later.

Genetic Science is one of the fastest advancing technologies today but breeders breed faster and can obtain observations faster.


      Let's END the FICTION. I want to discuss the FACTS as we know them in 2010.
This information is advancing rapidly and may be outdated by the time you read it. 
but I try to update this every time I get new information. HOWEVER there are some FACTS that don't change. I would like to discuss those.  I am not giving to these FACTS to talk you INTO buying one of my pups.  This is about LIES told to get you to buy other peoples pups. Lies that are all about MONEY. People will tell you anything to make a lot of $$ off of you.  
The biggest lie is the "IMPERIAL SHIH-TZU GENE" that is spoken of as "special". Yea, it's "special" alright.  It is called a "DWARF".  Why you want to buy an animal with an obvious genetic defect is beyond me. It's like buying a lame horse or a car that won't start.  But what's gets me even more is what kind of reputable breeder representing this breed would breed anything with an OBVIOUS GENETIC FAULT?  I certainly would not. This is PUPPY-MILL mentality. People try to talk "genetics" to impress you when they claim they know how to "get Imperials".  
ANY animal can be downsized by inbreeding.
READ MORE:
"imperial shih-tzu"
Inbreeding also raises the chances of genetic defects. 
Only experienced breeders
who know their dogs should inbreed and know several generations of the lines behind them. STILL there is the genes hidden that no one can "see" on the outside.
       THESE ARE THE FACTS AS PRESENTED BY Vets, AT A RECENT GENETIC SEMINARS I ATTEND as often as possible to get the latest research..

Very Latest on Juvenile Kidney Disease
 

NEW (2007) Direct Genetic Test

In the spring of 2006, after sequencing several candidate genes associated with kidney development, researcher Dr. Mary Whiteley of Dogenes, Inc., discovered two mutations on a gene associated with kidney development that appeared to be responsible for juvenile renal dysplasia and developed direct (rather than the less accurate linked marker) genetic tests for them. Late that year, while doing DNA sequencing on three other breeds also affected with JRD, she uncovered another mutation on the same gene that was studied in the Shih Tzu and Lhasa Apso breeds. Within the other three breeds alleles A and B were present, but there were some dogs with JRD that did not have either A or B but still had JRD. This meant that there appeared to be another mutation either in the current gene or in another gene that participates in the renal dysplasia disease process.

DNA sequencing from these new breeds revealed another mutation in the same gene as the one that had the A and B alleles found in Shih Tzu and Lhasa Apsos. Upon further investigation, this mutation was also discovered in Shih Tzu and Lhasa Apsos. This new mutation is much stronger than A or B and has serious consequences to the geneʼs ability to function correctly.

The high frequency of A and B in Shih Tzu and Lhasa Apsos affected with JRD initially made them appear to be the defects that caused JRD. However, by researching the other breeds that had entered the study that also have JRD, it now appears that this new mutation is the actual cause of the disease. It appears that this new mutation is inherited with the A and B alleles most of the time, and therefore the overall frequency of the disease-causing mutation and the genotype (diagnosis) should not change significantly. A screening test has been developed for this new mutation, and Dogenes testing for mutations A and B has been discontinued.

Because this new mutation appears on the same chromosome (and the same gene) as the mutations Dogenes had been testing for, but was not picked up earlier in the research, all of the dogs that were submitted in the research study and those dogs that were tested for A & B in 2006 are being retested.

ILike the earlier and now-discontinued tests for A and B, the simple and noninvasive test for this newly-discovered mutation is performed from a DNA sample collected on a cheek swab by the owner of the dog. To find out more about this new test and how to obtain cheek-swab kits to have your dogs tested, please revisit this web site as this information becomes available or go to www.dogenes.com.

So where do we go from here? Once the retesting program has been completed, additional information about this newly-discovered mutation, how it behaves, and how Shih Tzu breeders should proceed will be made available on this website and at www.dogenes.com. Meanwhile, as with the now discontinued tests for A and B, it is not necessary or even desirable to test pet puppies for the mutation, as it is likely present in many Shih Tzu who will live out normal lives with no clinical symptoms of the disease. Pet owners may, however, want to perform tests such as urine specific gravity, E.R.D.-Screen urine, BUN, and creatinine that may identify a severely affected puppy.

Initially, all dogs that may be used for breeding should probably be tested for this new mutation so that strategies to eliminate the chromosome with mutant allele from your breeding program can be employed. Only one test, rather than two, will now be needed, which significantly reduces the cost of testing. From that point, the test results will determine how much or how little future testing of breeding stock will be needed. If you breed two dogs that are free of this newly-discovered mutation, there is no need to test their puppies. You only need to test when you introduce a new animal into your breeding program.

Please remember that the more Shih Tzu that are tested, the more we will learn. In her research, Dr. Whiteley is particularly interested at this point in receiving cheek swabs from Shih Tzu puppies that die during their first week. For more information about the disease or the testing program, contact ASTC Gene-Mapping Committee co-chairs at ningsia@clearwire.net or joawhite@juno.com, watch this site, or go to www.dogenes.com.

1. ALL DOG GENES HAVE NOT BEEN MAPPED GENETICALLY YET. THERE IS NOT EVEN A TEST TO EVEN IDENTIFY THE COMBINATION OF NUMBERS OF THEM.  ONLY 25% OF ANIMALS ARE GENETICALLY TOTALLY NORMAL.  A KNOWN CARRIER OF A GENETIC DEFECT SHOULD NEVER BE BRED.  A KNOWN CARRIER WILL BE THE OFFSPRING OF A CARRIER OR HAS PRODUCED A DEFECT THEMSELVES. 
A breeder can only breed to the best of their knowledge and then there is a chance
a hidden gene will pop up. If you expect a breeder to produce a genetically perfect dog, you are unrealistic. 

2. THERE MUST BE A GENE FROM EACH PARENT TO SHOW ITSELF IN THE PUP. THESE GENES ARE RECESSIVE AND MAY NOT SHOW IN THE PARENTS UNTIL THE 2 CREATE THE PUP. IF YOU SEE A SERIOUS GENETIC DEFECT IN THAT PUP, YOU SHOULD NEVER BREED THOSE 2 TOGETHER AGAIN. YOU SHOULD NEVER BREED THE DEFECTIVE ANIMAL. ONLY BREED BEST TO BEST. If the dog is the only good pup in a litter IT SHOULD NOT BE BRED, as those gene from those other pups are hidden in the dog and will come out somewhere. There are 2 types of defects: Congenital (the pup is born with from factors besides genetic defects and genetic disorders (determined by the genes, DNA abnormalities and mutation abnormalities).
 SO THOSE OF YOU BREEDING "DWARFS" ARE PASSING ON DWARFISM GENES.  THIS PRACTICE IS INEXCUSABLE, ALONG WITH THE BREEDING OF ANY KNOWN GENETIC DEFECT! (SEE #5 BELOW)
REMEMBER: BEING A LITTLE BIT 

3. DON'T BREED FOR PEDIGREE ALONE. BREED BEST TO BEST ALWAYS! CULL HEAVILY TO IMPROVE THE BREED.

4. HIP DYSPLAGIA IS RARELY SEEN IN SMALL BREED ANIMALS. "93% of Hip Dysplagia in shih-tzu never radiates pain or discomfort and most people are unaware they have hip dysplagia. Glucosamine helps the joints". Dr. Skip Tanger DVM, Orthopedic Specialist, OK City, OK.
RECENT STUDIES SHOW THAT LAX JOINTS IN PUPS IS NOT HIP
 DYSPLAGIA,  BUT LARGE BREED PUPS NEEDS TO RECEIVE PROPER NUTRITION FOR THE HIP NOT TO GROW TOO RAPIDLY BEFORE IT DEVELOPS PROPERLY. THE 1ST 60 DAYS OF LIFE IS CRITICAL FOR BALANCE DIET. LARGE BREED PUPPY FOODS ARE FORMULATED TO PROVIDE BALANCED NUTRITION TO PREVENT HIP DYSPLAGIA. NEVER SUPPLEMENT A PUP WITH VITAMINS OR CALCIUM UNLESS PRESCRIBED BY A VET! IF YOU ARE FEEDING A HIGH QUALITY FOOD, SUCH AS IAMS THEY DO NOT NEED SUPPLEMENTS. YOU WILL CAUSE HARM TO THE PUP!  DO NOT BUY JUNK FOOD!!!!!  IF YOUR PUP IS WEAK IN THE LEGS IT NEEDS EXERCISE AND TIME.  TRUE HIP DYSPLAGIA DOES NOT SHOW UP UNTIL AGE 2 YEARS!!!! TESTING A PUP BEFORE THEN IS USELESS.  BREEDERS CAN SELL YOU A SOUND PUP AND YOU CAN RUIN THE PUP IN 60 DAYS WITH BIOCHEMICAL IMBALANCE FROM JUNK FOOD!
    DO YOU OWN A LITTLE YORKIE DIAGNOSED WITH "WEAK KNEES"?   EXERCISE ON A SOLID FLOOR TO STRENGTHEN! 

5. DWARFISM IS A GENETIC DEFECT OF THE BONES AND JOINTS.
IT IS A RECESSIVE GENE AND SHOULD NEVER BE REPRODUCED INTENTIONALLY! GENES CONTROL THE GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT WITHIN THE ENVIRONMENTAL LIMITS. YOU CAN INTENTIONALLY STUNT GROWTH FURTHER BY IMPROPER NUTRITION AND ENVIRONMENT.  
    Inbreeding will reduce size, but it is not to be done by the inexperienced breeder, however, these are not dwarfs. Dwarfs have large heads.

6. KIDNEY, LIVER AND THYROID TESTING IS ACCURATE IF THE DOG HAS THE DISEASE AT THE TIME OF TESTING.  GENETIC MAPPING FOR KIDNEY DISPLAGIA HAS A WINDOW OF ERROR AND IS NOT 100% ACCURATE IN ALL OF THE CASES.  WEDGE BIOPSY IS THE ONLY TESTING MOST ACCURATE AND MAJOR SURGERY ON THE DOG.  Recent findings have proven RD testing is highly unreliable, but PROVEN lines are MORE reliable. PLEASE REFER TO ASTC for more recent findings.
LOW LEVEL INFECTIONS CAUSE BLADDER STONES ALONG WITH IMPROPER DIET.  
       I am suspicious that dog with LOW TEMPS have low thyroid, but have not proven it.  

7. CONGENITAL DEFECTS CAN BE CAUSED ALSO BY MUTATION OF GENES REACTING TO CHEMICALS, TEMPERATURE, DRUGS, BACTERIA, VIRUSES, EVEN BAD WATER.  PROFESSIONAL BREEDERS SHOULD BE KNOWLEDGEABLE ABOUT THESE CONDITIONS. I HAVE SEEN GROSS DEFORMITIES IN PUPS FROM DAIRY BARN FLY SPRAY USED IN THE KENNEL!  THIS IS THE SAME FLY SPRAY USED IN THE DAIRY THAT PRODUCES MILK WE ARE DRINKING!  
       I HAVE SEEN FOLIC ACID SUPPLEMENTS ELIMINATE CLEFT LIP AND PALATE.  Dr. Hutchinson DVM says this doesn't work. I haven't had a cleft lip or palate since giving 400 mcg daily to bitches in heat. He says it's genetic. I haven't changed bloodlines.  I think Dr. Hutch is THE BEST info in the nation...but I will still give this water soluble vitamin unless the clefts return.
      BREEDERS NEED TO BE KNOWLEDGEABLE ABOUT CHEMICAL REACTION IN BREEDING DOGS! THEY NEED TO CONSTANTLY STUDY AND BE AWARE OF NEW FINDINGS. 

8. WHITENESS AND DEAFNESS IS LINKED GENETICALLY. THE WHITE GENE IS RECESSIVE AND NEVER SHOULD BE CROSSED WITH ANOTHER RECESSIVE GENE SUCH AS LIVER, BLUE OR WHITE.   I AM SPECIFICALLY SPEAKING OF SHIH-TZU, BOXERS,DOXIES, SCHNAUZERS,  SCOTTIES, ECT.
DO NOT BREED BLUE X BLUE, LIVER X LIVER, WHITE X BLUE or LIVER=
high possibility of stillborn pups! Breed dominant to recessive.

9. EYES CAN BE CLEAR FROM BOTH PARENTS BUT THERE IS A 25%-50% CHANCE A PUP CAN INHERIT A EYE PROBLEM IF BOTH PARENTS CARRY A RECESSIVE GENE FOR EYE DISEASE. CERF CERTIFICATION IS NO GUARANTEE THAT THE PUP WILL NEVER DEVELOP AN EYE PROBLEM LATER .  
      Cherry eyes are more common in flat faced dogs and can be repaired
with no damage to the vision. Some vets clip them out. Others claim they must to expensive surgery to prevent dry eye.  My daughter had them clipped out of her bulldog without developing dry eyes. 
  This is a cherry eye (green is flash):

It looks like a cherry in the corner of the eye.
     NOTE: I HAVE FOUND THAT IF SHIH-TZU ARE BORN WITH ONE WHITE EYE RIM (OR BOTH WHITE, NO PIGMENT) MAY CARRY OR WILL DEVELOP EYE DISEASE.
CRYSTAL BLUE EYES IN SHIH-TZU ARE NOT GOOD AND MANY A DOG WITH THESE
EYES GO BLIND EARLY. JUVENILE CATARACTS ARE ALSO VERY HEREDITARY IN PUPS AND I HAVE HEARD OF PUPS GOING BLIND WITH THEM BY 8 WEEKS! MAKE SURE YOUR BREEDER KNOWS WHAT THEY ARE DOING!!!
A shih tzu with one blue eye is NOT RIGHT.  The eyes should be dark and clear.  Liver dogs will have 2 light eyes that look green.

10. CANCER IS ON THE UPSWING IN CANINE AT A YOUNGER AGE THAN EVER BEFORE. SOME THEORIZE THAT BOMBARDING A PUP WITH SO MANY VACCINES IS A POSSIBLE CAUSE FOR GENETIC MUTATIONS PRODUCING CANCER.  THIS IS SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT. I HAVE HAD VETS WANT TO RE-VACCINATE MY BUYERS PUPS BECAUSE THEY DIDN'T GET THEM FROM MY VET. THIS IS RIDICULOUS. I AM A LICENSED NURSE AND CAN CERTAINLY HANDLE A PUPPY SHOT. I FEEL THESE VETS ARE LOOKING TO MAKE MONEY AND PUT THE PUP AT RISK OF OVER DOSING THEM WITH VACCINE!  I recommend vaccinating every  year.

11. American Shih-tzu Club OPINIONS:
     I recently read on The American Shih-tzu Club website some mis-information. I have the deepest respect for these people, but they sometimes misrepresent issues that are fiction. One of these issues is a breeder should not breed a dog every heat. Dr. Robert Hutchinson, DVM of Cleveland, Ohio, one of the TOP Artificial Insemination Veterinarians in the USA, recently spoke at another seminar I attended on this topic. FACT is IF you don't breed the Bitch EVERY heat, her uterus is actually more unhealthy NOT pregnant. The endometrial lining builds up and is at more risk for disease than when pregnant.  Dogs fertility drops at age 6 and therefore the dog does not have many years to reproduce, especially if you skip heats. He states this is a misconception and an outrageously wrong practice for a breeder. If the Bitch is in good health, there is NO reason NOT to breed her EVERY HEAT. I have personally found nature skips conception of heats it deems unlikely for pregnancy and I don't have to do it.  Judging a breeder by skipping heats tells me, if anything, the breeder is uneducated to the latest veterinary medical knowledge.  ASTC also states if a breeder has more than one litter at a time, this is not good. FACT is dogs throw each other into heat. it is rare I don't have 2 litters coming closely together. ASTC claims breeders can't take care of 2 litter correctly. This made me laugh! I have had 6 children, among them, 1 severely handicapped and a set of twins too.  I lived through THAT and if I can't take care of 2 litters of pups at a time, I better be ready for the NURSING HOME or the GRAVE.   I am also a former nurse of which I had 8 patients (2 critical) to be taken care of for a 12 hour shift on any given day. 2 litters of puppies hardly compare to THAT. I think you get my point. 
    ASTC also advocates pups NOT be taken from their mother of siblings until 8 weeks of age. Never to be sold before 12 weeks.  I have been breeding shih-tzu since 1986 and have rarely ever seen a bitch stay with her pups past 6 weeks.  Once that pups starts teething, Mom wants no parts of the chompers!  We socialize our pups with HUMANS 6-8 weeks and then sell them, if they are ready. At 10 weeks of age they are highly trainable and BOND quickly. This is the age I want my pups in their NEW home, especially THERAPY dogs to be trained.  

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     I WOULD LIKE TO STATE AS A BREEDER I WOULD NEVER INTENTIONALLY BREED A KNOWN CARRIER OF ANY GENETIC DEFECT.  I CULL HEAVILY AT 8-12 MONTHS THE DOGS I HAVE BOUGHT OR RAISED THAT DO NOT MEET MY EXCELLENT STANDARDS. I SELL THESE DOGS AS PETS. THEY ARE ALL SOUND PETS. CONTACT ME IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN ONE OF THESE SHIH-TZU.  MY GOAL IS TO BE THE MOST TRUSTED SHIH-TZU BREEDER I CAN BE. 
 I WANT YOU TO HAVE A COMPANION FOR MANY MANY YEARS THAT IS HEALTHY AND LOVING.  

KAREN'S NOTES
 

PAWSITIVELY, 
KAREN DeANGELO
GLORY RIDGE SHIH-TZU
WHERE ALL EFFORTS ARE UNTO THE GLORY OF GOD!

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   NOTE NEW E-mail: gloryridge2003@yahoo.com

started 2/24/01