From Sedona, Arizona to Florida
Shih Tzu Puppies for Sale in Florida
Florida is the longest single flight I send a puppy on and the hardest summer any of them live through, and you should know both before you fall for a photograph. The flight is genuinely fine: four hours nonstop from Phoenix into Orlando, Tampa, Fort Lauderdale or Miami, with your puppy asleep in a carrier under the seat in front of you. July is the part that takes planning, because a flat-faced dog cannot cool itself in wet air.
Florida and Arizona have a lot of people in common: a good many of my neighbours spend half the year in each. Phoenix flies nonstop to Orlando, Tampa, Fort Lauderdale and Miami in about four hours, which is a comfortable single hop for a puppy that never leaves your lap.
Flight from PhoenixAbout 4 hours from Phoenix
RoutePHX nonstop to MCO, TPA, FLL or MIA
Puppies now6
Cargo holdNever
Available Puppies
Every puppy we have right now, all purebred, raised in our home and ready for a family in Florida.
How your puppy travels to Florida
Fly into Phoenix, meet me and the puppy, and fly home together. Four hours is the longest single flight on this list and it is still fine for an 8lb puppy in a carrier under the seat: fed a few hours before, a short walk before boarding, and it sleeps the way it would in a car. If the timing does not work for you, a flight nanny takes the same nonstop and meets you at arrivals. Cargo is never an option, and in a Florida summer the airlines would refuse a flat-faced breed in the hold anyway.
Not sure which way suits you? Tell me where you are and I will tell you what I would do.
Getting a puppy to Orlando, Tampa, Miami and the rest of Florida
Orlando, Tampa, Fort Lauderdale and Miami all take the nonstop from Phoenix. Sarasota is an hour south of Tampa, so that is the same flight and a short drive. Jacksonville is the one city on this list with no direct option at all, so for north Florida it is either a connection or a transporter to your door.
Keeping a Shih Tzu in Florida
Florida humidity asks more of a Shih Tzu than any other climate on this list, so it is worth knowing before July. A short-nosed dog cannot cool itself when the air is wet, so summer means early walks, an air conditioned house, and a coat kept in a shorter cut than you might see on a show dog. Do that and they thrive; there are more Shih Tzus in Florida than almost anywhere. Winters, of course, are perfect.
Shih Tzu breeders in Florida
If you have been looking for Shih Tzu breeders in Florida, you have probably seen a lot of prices with a state name after them. I am in Arizona and I say so plainly. What that buys you is a puppy raised in our home rather than a listing, on one direct flight, with no application and no deposit.
Whether you are in Orlando, Tampa, Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Jacksonville, Sarasota or anywhere else in Florida, the route is the same one and the offer is the same: the puppies available now, and a straight answer to anything you ask.
Buying a Shih Tzu puppy in Florida: your questions
Do you sell Shih Tzu puppies to Florida families?
I do, and Florida and Arizona have more in common than most pairs of states on this list: half my neighbours spend part of the year in each. Four Florida airports take a nonstop from Phoenix, around four hours. Fly out, meet me and the puppy, fly home together the same day. A nanny will take the same flight if you cannot. There is no version of this where a puppy travels in the hold, and in a Florida summer the airline would refuse a flat-faced breed down there anyway.
Is four hours too long for a puppy to fly?
No, and I will give you the routine rather than just reassure you. A light meal a few hours before, water right up to boarding, a pad in the carrier, and a proper walk before you go through security. Then it sleeps, the way it would sleep in a car. Four hours is the longest leg on this list and it has never been the hard part of a Florida placement.
Will a Shih Tzu cope with Florida humidity?
It asks more of them than any other climate I send to, so plan for it before July rather than during. Early walks, a house kept cool, and a coat cut shorter than you would see on a show dog. Do that and they do very well: there are more Shih Tzus in Florida than almost anywhere in the country. And the winters, of course, are as good as it gets for a dog like this.
How much does a Shih Tzu puppy cost in Florida?
$700 for a boy and $750 for a girl. If you have been searching a while you will have seen plenty of prices with a state name stuck on the end of them. I am in Arizona and I say so on every page. What the distance buys you is a puppy raised in somebody’s home instead of a listing, on one direct flight, with no application and no deposit. The first-year numbers.
Other states I am asked about
- Shih Tzu puppies for sale in New York About 5 hours from Phoenix
- Shih Tzu puppies for sale in Michigan About 3 hours 40 from Phoenix
Before you commit from Florida
Ask us anything about the puppy you like. We are happy to send more photos and tell you all about them before you decide.
Worth reading first: how big an about 8lb Shih Tzu actually is, what one costs in the first year, and what to have ready before it arrives.
Ask about a puppy for Florida
Tell us whereabouts you are and which one caught your eye, and we will take it from there.