The guide
Shih Tzu Sizes, Explained Honestly
Teacup, imperial, toy, mini, standard. Five words, one breed, and a lot of confusion that is mostly deliberate. Here is what each one means in pounds, and where my own dogs sit.
There is one Shih Tzu, with a standard of 9 to 16lb, and every other word is a description of where a particular dog falls. Mine are about 8lb: small, under the standard, and not teacup or imperial. This page exists because two of my own pages answer searches for those words, and I would rather explain the whole thing once than repeat half of it four times.
The words, in pounds
| The word | What it means in pounds | Is it a real variety? |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | 9 to 16lb, the breed standard | Yes. The only one that is. |
| Toy | The group the whole breed belongs to | Yes, as a group. Every Shih Tzu is a toy breed. |
| Mini, miniature, small | Informal. Usually under 9lb | No. A description, not a variety. |
| Imperial | Informal. Usually about 6lb and under | No. A marketing word for an under-sized dog. |
| Teacup | Informal. The same as imperial, sometimes smaller | No. The same word with a different label. |
| Mine | about 8lb grown | Small, purebred, and not teacup. |
The only line in that table with a registry behind it is the first. Everything else is either the name of the group the breed belongs to, or a word somebody attached to a small dog to describe it or to sell it.
Where mine sit, and how I know
about 8lb. I know because the parents live with me and I have weighed them. A Shih Tzu almost always finishes within a pound or so of its parents, so when I say every puppy on this site will be a small adult, that is what I am going on. It is the only method that works.
What I cannot do is promise a specific number for a specific puppy, and I will not. Anyone who does is guessing.
Teacup and imperial
Two words for the same thing: a Shih Tzu that finishes under about 6lb. Neither is recognised by any kennel club, and neither describes anything about the dog except its weight. Producing them reliably means breeding the smallest dogs in each litter to each other, generation after generation, and I do not do that.
So if you searched for either word and arrived here, the honest answer is that I do not have one and would not sell one as such if I did. What I have is an about 8lb Shih Tzu, which is very often what people wanted when they typed the word. Teacup Shih Tzu puppies for sale, and imperial Shih Tzu for sale, each answered in full.
Toy and mini
Toy is simply correct: the Shih Tzu is a Toy Group breed and always has been. Mini, miniature, small and tiny are descriptions, and a fair one for a dog that finishes under the 9lb floor of the standard, which mine do. Neither word claims anything a buyer can be let down by, which is why I am comfortable using both.
Toy Shih Tzu puppies for sale, and mini Shih Tzu puppies for sale.
Height, and how a puppy grows
An adult Shih Tzu stands somewhere between eight and eleven inches at the shoulder, and a small one sits at the bottom of that. Growth is quick early: a puppy roughly doubles between eight and sixteen weeks, is most of the way to its adult weight by six months, and fills out until about a year. The coat keeps changing well after the frame has stopped, which is why a fourteen-week-old can look bigger than it is.
Ask us and we will happily send photos of a puppy with its mother, which tells you more than any chart.
Still not sure what size you want?
Tell us what you are picturing and we will help you find the right puppy.