From Sedona, Arizona to Illinois
Shih Tzu Puppies for Sale in Illinois
Most of my Illinois families are not in Chicago, and that changes the advice completely. Downstate, the sensible route is usually a nanny into Midway and a drive home, or a transporter to your door and no airport at all. In the city you have a choice of two, and only one of them is any fun to cross with a puppy under your arm.
Chicago has nonstops from Phoenix to both O’Hare and Midway, about three and a half hours, and Midway is the easier of the two with a carrier. Central Illinois connects through Chicago or drives up to it; a fair share of my Illinois enquiries have come from Springfield, Champaign and Peoria rather than the city.
Flight from PhoenixAbout 3 hours 30 from Phoenix
RoutePHX nonstop to ORD or MDW; Springfield and Peoria connect
Puppies now6
Cargo holdNever
Available Puppies
Every puppy we have right now, all purebred, raised in our home and ready for a family in Illinois.
How your puppy travels to Illinois
Fly to Phoenix, meet me and the puppy, fly home together with it under the seat. Three and a half hours is comfortable for an 8lb puppy. If you would rather not travel, a flight nanny takes the same nonstop and meets you at arrivals. Downstate buyers sometimes prefer the nanny to Midway plus a drive, and either is fine.
Not sure which way suits you? Tell me where you are and I will tell you what I would do.
Getting a puppy to Chicago, Naperville, Springfield and the rest of Illinois
Chicago and Naperville share O'Hare and Midway, both nonstop from Phoenix, and Midway is far the easier of the two to cross with a carrier. Rockford is about ninety minutes from O'Hare. Springfield, Peoria and Champaign are the downstate three and none has a direct option, so for those it is a nanny into Midway and a drive down, or a transporter to your door and no airport at all.
Keeping a Shih Tzu in Illinois
Chicago winters are the famous thing and they are not a problem for this breed: the coat handles it, the walks are short, and the risk is salt on the pads and wind off the lake, so boots and a quick route. Summer humidity is the season that asks more of a flat-faced dog. In an apartment or a suburb, a Shih Tzu is about as easy a dog as there is.
Shih Tzu breeders in Illinois
If you searched for Shih Tzu breeders in Illinois and found an Arizona kennel, that is because I say where I am rather than pretending otherwise. What the distance buys you is a puppy raised in a house in Sedona, and one nonstop from Chicago. No application, no deposit, no waitlist.
Whether you are in Chicago, Naperville, Springfield, Peoria, Rockford, Champaign or anywhere else in Illinois, 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 Illinois: your questions
Do you sell Shih Tzu puppies to Illinois families?
I do, and rather more of them to the middle of the state than to the city. Chicago has two nonstops from Phoenix, O’Hare and Midway, both about three and a half hours. Springfield and Peoria connect, or people drive up to Chicago, or a transporter brings the puppy the whole way. If you searched for a breeder in Illinois and found an Arizona kennel, that is because I say where I am rather than pretending otherwise.
O’Hare or Midway?
Midway, if you have the choice. It is a far smaller airport to walk across with a carrier and a puppy, the security queues are more predictable and the drive out is shorter for most of the south and west of the city. O’Hare is not a problem, it is simply more airport than you need for this. Downstate buyers quite often have a nanny bring the puppy into Midway and then drive down, which I think is the sensible way round.
Is a Chicago winter a problem for a Shih Tzu?
Not at all. The coat handles it, the walks are short in that weather anyway, and the two real hazards are rock salt on the pads and wind off the lake, so boots and a quick route rather than a long one. The harder season is July, when the humidity works against a flat face. In an apartment or out in the suburbs, this is about as easy a dog as there is to live with.
How much does a Shih Tzu puppy cost in Illinois?
$700 for a boy and $750 for a girl. No application, no deposit, no waiting list, and no queue to join before you are allowed to ask a question. What the distance buys you is a puppy raised in a house in Sedona rather than a listing on a classifieds site, and one nonstop from Chicago. The first-year numbers.
Other states I am asked about
- Shih Tzu puppies for sale in Arizona No flight needed
- Shih Tzu puppies for sale in California About 1 hour 20 from Phoenix
Before you commit from Illinois
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 Illinois
Tell us whereabouts you are and which one caught your eye, and we will take it from there.