What Age Will a Shih Tzu Stop Growing?

Video Transcript

"Hello, my name is Dr. James Dee. I'm with Hollywood Animal Hospital in Hollywood, Florida. What age does a Shih Tzu stop growing? Those are great little puppies and that's a good question because I think most of us are confused. Normally, a dog, any dog of that size as an adult, you're going to expect them to stop growing close to a year, maybe 14 months. They're certainly not going to put on very much size after that, unless we spay or neuter and then we may put on some weight later on. Now, the Shih Tzu is a breed in itself, but any time we have a small breed like this as small puppies, we have to be very concerned about low blood sugar in these little things. When we see them coming in at seven, eight weeks of age, we normally are going to be adding something like some Karo Syrup, NutroCAL, honey, maybe twice a day in addition to their normal food. This is going to help us prevent the hypoglycemic side effects we can see in these smaller breeds. But the Shih Tzu is a terrific puppy with a little pushed in face. Also of health concern with the Shih Tzu, is an ocular discharge. They'll tend to have, on occasion, a collection of material on the face and that can just be cleaned away with a little warm water compress. Diet needs for the Shih Tzu are the same as any other of the smaller breeds. The normal growth diet up until eight months of age, seven or eight months of age, and then going over to a regular adult food. The vaccine history or vaccination protocol should be the same as any other of the smaller breed."