The honest case against
An Honest Look at Why People Say Shih Tzus Are the Worst Dog
Five complaints, conceded one at a time with the real Singapore numbers. Then the two that get worse here, the two that get easier, and five honest reasons to walk away.
Nelson and Kim, Curious Tails · AVS licence AS24J00046
Are Shih Tzus really the worst dog?
No, though every complaint behind the label is real. The Shih Tzu is a high-upkeep companion breed that needs daily brushing plus a professional groom every 4 to 6 weeks at $75 to $120 a session, roughly $900 to $1,400 a year, on top of toilet training that runs 4 to 8 months, a flat face that struggles in tropical heat, alert barking, and a strong dislike of being left alone. Whether that adds up to "the worst" depends on your hours, your neighbours and your grooming budget.
Every complaint, conceded first
Why do people say Shih Tzus are the worst dog?
About 50 people a month in Singapore type "why shih tzu are the worst dog" into Google, and the answer that comes back names five things: grooming labour, a stubborn streak, a flat-faced health profile, barking, and separation anxiety. Its sources are a Quora thread titled "are there any disadvantages of having a Shih Tzu", a Facebook group and two videos, not a vet. Two results further down, the same page describes the breed as playful, affectionate and good with children.
Both descriptions are accurate. They describe different households, not different dogs. So is a Shih Tzu a bad dog? No. This is an honest Shih Tzu review written by people who sell the breed, which means the concessions below matter more than the counter-argument, and each of the five Shih Tzu complaints is stated fairly first, with real Singapore numbers attached.
The phrase spread through overseas listicles, videos titled some version of worst dog breed, and training blogs such as the training blogs that made the phrase popular. Google's related searches for the query run to "10 reasons not to get a Shih Tzu", "Shih Tzu behavior problems" and "what are common problems with Shih Tzu dogs", so the Shih Tzu drawbacks people worry about are consistent. Every one of those pages was written for a household with a garden and a temperate autumn, which is why the honest answer to "should I get a Shih Tzu" reads differently here.
5
Complaints, all real
2
Get worse in Singapore
2
Get easier here
0
That are deal-breakers alone
Complaint 1: is Shih Tzu grooming really that bad?
Are Shih Tzus high maintenance? On the coat, unreservedly yes, and this is the complaint we concede fastest. Shih Tzu hair grows continuously, so it does not shed out, it mats in, which is what turns the Shih Tzu high maintenance coat into a standing monthly bill. Budget a daily brush plus a professional groom every 4 to 6 weeks at $75 to $120 a session, in line with Singapore grooming price surveys, so the Shih Tzu grooming cost Singapore owners meet in practice runs roughly $900 to $1,400 a year for the life of the dog.
Singapore makes it harder than the overseas guides admit. Humidity and constant aircon cycling knot the coat fastest behind the ears, under the collar and on the hind legs. Skip a fortnight of brushing and the mats tighten against the skin, at which point a good groomer will either charge a dematting fee or shave the coat right down. They are right to do it. Cutting tight mats out at home is how dogs get nicked.
Google's related question, "what is the downside of owning a Shih Tzu", currently answers itself with PDSA's line about the coat being really high maintenance. The honest fix costs five minutes. Brush down to the skin daily, keep a puppy cut through the hottest months, and book the groom before the coat needs rescuing. We set out the grooming commitment, costed in full, including what each coat style adds to the bill.
The grooming bill, plainly
- Daily brush, five minutes, right down to the skin
- Professional groom every 4 to 6 weeks
- $75 to $120 a session at a salon
- $900 to $1,400 a year, every year
- Dematting or a shave-down if you fall behind
- First professional groom included with every puppy
Complaint 2: are Shih Tzus hard to toilet train?
Yes, harder than average. Most Shih Tzus take 4 to 8 months to become genuinely reliable, not the two weeks a puppy blog promises. A puppy holds on for roughly one hour per month of age, so a nine-week-old physically cannot wait out your commute, and a clever dog with options will choose the rug.
The stubbornness is real, but it is low compliance rather than low intelligence. This breed spent centuries being carried around as a companion, not taking instructions in a field. Routine beats repetition: one toilet spot chosen once, scheduled meals, a trip out after every nap, and a reward within seconds of success. We break the whole schedule down in our guide to how long toilet training really takes.
First-time owners in Singapore are also pointed to the AVS pet ownership course around licensing. Do it early rather than late. It sets expectations before the first accident, not after the tenth.
Nobody buys a Shih Tzu for its obedience. That was never the product.
What actually shortens it
- One toilet spot, chosen once and never moved
- A trip out on waking, after every meal, after every nap
- Reward within seconds, at the spot, not back in the kitchen
- A playpen whenever nobody can watch the puppy
- The free first lesson with an AVS-certified trainer, booked in week one
Complaint 3: is the flat face a real health problem?
Yes, and anyone telling you otherwise is selling. The short muzzle is a health profile, not a styling choice. PDSA's Shih Tzu breed health notes list brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome, dry eye, cataracts and rostral bite problems (crowded, displaced teeth) among the conditions this breed is prone to, alongside an average lifespan of over 10 years.
Singapore turns the breathing question into a daily scheduling question. Heat intolerance is the honest term for it: a flat-faced dog cools itself less efficiently than a long-nosed one, so a midday walk in full sun is not a shorter walk, it is a risk. The eyes sit forward and exposed, which is why the top knot is an eye measure rather than a bow, and why dry eye and corneal scratches come up so often in owner threads.
None of this is a promise of trouble, and none of it is cancelled by paperwork. Careful management reduces risk. It does not remove it. The full version, with the vet sources attached, sits in our guide to the flat-face health picture.
| What it is | What it means at home | What lowers the risk |
|---|---|---|
| Brachycephalic airway (BOAS) | Snorting, snoring, tiring quickly on a warm walk | A harness rather than a collar, cool-hour walks, keeping weight down |
| Prominent eyes | Dry eye and surface scratches are the common ones | Top knot to keep hair off the eye, a daily wipe, a vet check on any squint |
| Crowded teeth in a short jaw | Plaque builds early and the breath goes first | Tooth brushing several times a week, started in puppyhood |
| Drop ears in humidity | Warm, damp ear canals need watching | Dry the ears after every bath, check them weekly |
| Reduced heat tolerance | Midday heat is a genuine risk, not just discomfort | Aircon or a fan, water on every outing, no walks at noon |
Heat stress is an emergency, not a grumble
Heavy laboured breathing, bright red gums, heavy drooling or collapse on a hot day means cool the dog with room-temperature water and get to a vet immediately. Walk early morning or after dark, never at midday, and keep water and shade within reach on every outing.
Complaint 4: do Shih Tzus bark too much for an HDB flat?
They are alert barkers rather than constant ones. A Shih Tzu announces the lift, the corridor and the delivery rider, then usually settles. In a flat with shared walls, that announcement is a neighbour question rather than a footnote, which is the part overseas guides never mention.
Training moderates it and rarely deletes it. Most of the fix is management: block the sightline under the door, tire the dog before you leave, and never shout back, because shouting reads to a dog as joining in. HDB's pet-keeping conditions put persistent nuisance squarely on the owner, so it pays to solve it in the first months rather than the second year.
What sets a Shih Tzu off, and what actually helps
- Corridor footsteps and voices: block the sightline so the gap under the door stops being a viewing slot
- The lift chime and the delivery rider: a fan or radio for masking noise, and reward the silence rather than the bark
- Boredom through a long afternoon: a lick mat or food puzzle before you leave, not after the barking starts
- Being left alone: short practice absences from week one, built up slowly
Complaint 5: the velcro dog nobody warns you about
The complaint buyers discover last is the hardest one to undo. Shih Tzus were bred to sit on people, so attachment is the product. A dog that follows you to the bathroom is behaving exactly as designed.
The mismatch is hours, not temperament. A household out of the flat from eight in the morning until eight at night produces a bored, vocal, occasionally destructive dog, and then describes the breed as difficult. Practise short absences from the first week, before the habit sets, and build up in small steps rather than jumping from ten minutes to a full workday.
If nobody is home most days, choose a different breed. That is a straight answer, and it is far cheaper than discovering it in month four.
Honest absence limits
- Under 6 months: 2 to 4 hours, with someone checking in
- Settled adult: 6 to 8 hours if the routine is fixed
- Twelve-hour days: the wrong breed, honestly
- Build up from ten minutes, never from a full day
- A pet camera tells you whether it is boredom or panic
The complaint that is actually a myth: do Shih Tzus need no exercise?
No, and this is where the worst dog lists have it backwards. PDSA puts the requirement at an hour of exercise every day to keep a Shih Tzu fit and healthy. The no-walk lapdog line is a sales convenience, not a care instruction.
In Singapore that hour has to be split and timed. Two shorter outings, early morning and after sunset, do the job. One long midday walk does damage. Indoor play, sniffing games and a slow potter around the flat fill the gap on wet days or brutal afternoons.
Under-exercised Shih Tzus are the barky, restless, chewing ones. A large share of the behaviour complaints in those lists begins here rather than in the breed.
1 hour
Exercise a day (PDSA)
2
Short walks, not one long
Never
Midday, in the heat
Indoors
Backup on hot or wet days
Which complaints get worse in Singapore, and which get better?
Two of the five complaints get worse in Singapore and two get easier, which is why an American list of reasons not to get a Shih Tzu is a poor guide to keeping one here. Humidity accelerates the matting. Tropical heat compounds the flat face. The space complaint disappears entirely, because a flat is the housing this breed was actually built for.
The legal question is settled too. The Shih Tzu sits on the approved small-breed list at item 48 under HDB's guidelines on keeping pets, with one approved dog per flat and a fine of up to $4,000 for keeping a breed that is not on the list. Overseas complaint lists assume a garden, a temperate autumn and a licensing regime nobody reads. None of that describes a Singapore household.
| Complaint | Overseas assumption | Here |
|---|---|---|
| Coat and matting | Groom every 6 to 8 weeks | Worse. Humidity pushes it to 4 to 6 weeks, tighter in the wet months |
| Flat face and heat | Watch it in summer | Worse. A year-round scheduling rule, not a seasonal one |
| Space and exercise | Needs a garden and one long daily walk | Easier. A flat suits the breed; split the hour early and late |
| Keeping one legally | Rarely mentioned | Easier. Approved at item 48, one dog per flat, licence handled at purchase |
| Barking | Annoys the household | Level. Shared walls make it a neighbour matter; training makes it manageable |
What do the complaints actually cost per year in Singapore?
Grooming is the running cost that decides everything else. Budget $900 to $1,400 a year for a professional groom every 4 to 6 weeks, the same band local Shih Tzu care and cost guides arrive at. Over a decade of ownership that total passes what you paid for the puppy.
The rest is smaller and mostly avoidable. Falling behind on brushing converts a $95 groom into a dematting job or a shave-down. Eye wiping and tooth brushing cost minutes rather than money, right up until they get skipped, at which point they turn into vet visits.
Set against that, our all-in price of $3,888 to $4,888 is the small number. Buyers routinely negotiate hard on the purchase and then meet the grooming bill in month two with no plan for it. That order of surprise is precisely what produces a worst dog review.
The yearly ledger, honestly
- Professional grooming: $900 to $1,400 a year
- Dematting or shave-down: only if you fall behind
- Daily brushing: five minutes, no cost
- Eye and face wiping: daily, no cost
- Puppy price: $3,888 to $4,888 all-in, once
- First professional groom: included with every puppy
Half of these are mis-selling complaints, not breed complaints
A fair share of Shih Tzu worst dog reviews are not really about the dog. They are about what the buyer was told, which is why people say Shih Tzus are bad news one week and post photos of theirs asleep on the sofa the next. "Low shedding" gets sold as low effort, when what it actually means is that the hair stays on the dog and turns into mats. "Good for apartments" gets sold as easy, when approval is a licence rather than a personality.
The clearest example is the size label. "Mini", "imperial" and "teacup" Shih Tzus are marketing rather than a breed standard, and the premium attached to them buys risk instead of value. We refuse the label outright and do not sell on it.
Our own version of honesty is uncomfortable at the counter. We ask about grooming-readiness before we discuss price, which loses us sales. We would rather lose those than place the wrong dog in the wrong week. If you want that conversation before you fall in love with a photograph, message us on WhatsApp.
Half the complaints in those lists belong to the seller, not the dog.
Are Shih Tzus the worst dog for a first-time owner?
Not usually. The Shih Tzu forgives inexperience and punishes absence, which makes it a reasonable first dog for someone who is home a lot and a poor one for someone who is not. Temperament is the easy part: sociable, confident, sturdy enough for children, patient with older adults.
The hard parts are logistics. Can you brush daily, book a groom every 4 to 6 weeks, hold a toilet routine for months, and keep a flat-faced dog out of the midday sun? Four honest yeses and inexperience stops being the problem. There is more on what the breed is actually like to live with if you are still weighing it up.
Four questions that decide it
- Will someone be home for most of the day?
- Is $900 to $1,400 a year of grooming inside your budget?
- Can you hold a toilet routine for six months without giving up?
- Can you walk early and late instead of at lunchtime?
What Shih Tzu owners themselves say
The top organic result for the negatives of this breed is a Reddit thread, which tells you something about who readers trust on the question. Owner threads on r/Shihtzu outrank every polished Shih Tzu pros and cons article because they are honest rather than optimised.
The cons owners raise are consistent: eye and face upkeep, the sheer grooming labour, small tantrums when told no, and a dog that objects loudly to a closed door. The same threads then list the reasons they would buy another one: affection, humour, and a small dog that fits a flat without complaint. Genuine Shih Tzu regret in those threads almost always traces back to hours or money, not to the animal, and it is owner-reported rather than ours.
The honest owner threads and the worst dog listicles describe the same animal. Only one of them lived with it.
When the complaints win: what happens to the dog
A complaint that goes unmanaged tends to end in a rehoming. SPCA Singapore's 2025 welfare report records 58 abandonment cases in 2025, down from 120 in 2024. Abandonment is a small slice of a much larger welfare caseload, and the pattern behind it is usually ordinary: cost and care load, not a bad dog.
A grooming bill nobody budgeted for is exactly that kind of load. So is a flat-faced dog in a household that walks at noon. Neither looks dramatic on day one, and both compound quietly across a decade.
Decide before you buy, not after
If the honest version of this breed does not fit your week, the responsible move is to say so now. Rehoming a dog at eighteen months is the expensive version of the same decision, and the dog is the one who pays for it.
Five honest reasons to walk away from a Shih Tzu
Here is the list we would want to read if we were the buyer. If any single row describes your household, the Shih Tzu is the wrong dog for you, and no amount of training fixes a structural mismatch.
None of this makes it a bad breed. It makes it a specific one, which is a different thing entirely.
| If this is true | Then |
|---|---|
| You will not brush daily or budget $900 to $1,400 a year | Pick a short-coated breed and save yourself twelve years of guilt |
| The flat sits empty ten to twelve hours a day | Pick a more independent breed, or wait until the hours change |
| You need a dog that is quiet by default | A Shih Tzu will announce your neighbours to you, daily, for years |
| You want a fast, eager-to-please trainee | Choose a working or sporting breed; this one negotiates |
| You are shopping for a "mini", "imperial" or "teacup" | Walk away from that seller, and from us too if we ever offered it |
So who is the Shih Tzu genuinely the best dog for?
The Shih Tzu is the best dog for a home with someone in it. It suits flat dwellers who want a legal, sturdy, affectionate companion, families with young children, and older owners who want company rather than a training project. Small enough for a three-room flat, confident enough not to be fragile.
It also suits people who treat the groomer as a standing appointment rather than a nasty surprise. That is the whole test. Get that one habit right and every other complaint on this page shrinks to something manageable, across the ten years and more the breed typically lives.
30+
Shih Tzus placed
Item 48
On the HDB approved list
4–6 wks
Groom, for life
10y+
Typical lifespan
What we ask before we take a deposit
The first question is never about the puppy. We qualify buyers before price, so we ask whether you are set up for daily brushing and a $75 to $120 groom every 4 to 6 weeks, roughly $900 to $1,400 a year, for the dog's whole life. If the answer is no, we say so, and nobody pays a deposit.
After that, price is simple, because it is published rather than quoted on request. From $3,888 all-in, in a $3,888 to $4,888 band, with the first professional groom included, licensing handled at purchase, home delivery and playpen setup, a 30-item starter kit and a free first lesson with an AVS-certified trainer. We are an AVS licensed pet shop and our AVS licence AS24J00046 is checkable on the AVS public registry, so you can see how we place Shih Tzus in Singapore before you message anybody.
Message us on WhatsApp if you have read this far and still want one. In our experience that is a good sign.
Included with every Shih Tzu
- First professional groom, on us
- 30-item starter kit ($533 itemised)
- Free home delivery and playpen setup
- Free first lesson, AVS-certified trainer
- Licensing paperwork done at purchase
- 5-day bring-back-if-sick support
Keep exploring
Frequently asked questions
Why do people say Shih Tzus are the worst dog?
Five recurring complaints: heavy grooming upkeep, slow and stubborn toilet training, a brachycephalic health profile, alert barking, and separation anxiety. All five are true. None of them is a defect, and each one suits some households far better than others.
What are the negatives of a Shih Tzu?
The coat grows continuously and mats, so it needs daily brushing and a groom every 4 to 6 weeks. Toilet training runs 4 to 8 months. The flat face brings breathing and eye risks plus real heat sensitivity, and the breed does not cope well with long days alone.
How much does Shih Tzu grooming cost in Singapore?
A full salon groom runs about $75 to $120 a session, every 4 to 6 weeks, which totals roughly $900 to $1,400 a year for the life of the dog. Fall behind on brushing and you add a dematting surcharge or a shave-down on top.
Are Shih Tzus hard to toilet train?
Harder than average. Most take 4 to 8 months to become reliable because they pair a toy-breed bladder with an independent streak. A fixed routine, one unchanging toilet spot and rewards within seconds get there; frustration does not.
Is the flat face a serious health problem in Singapore heat?
It is a genuine consideration rather than a guarantee of trouble. A short muzzle cools less efficiently, so walks belong in the early morning or after dark, never at midday. Heavy laboured breathing, bright red gums or collapse is an emergency, so cool the dog and see a vet immediately.
Do Shih Tzus bark too much for an HDB flat?
They are alert barkers rather than constant ones, announcing the lift, the corridor and visitors before settling. Training and sightline management reduce it a lot but rarely remove it, so factor in shared walls before you commit.
Is a Shih Tzu a bad choice for a first-time owner?
No, provided somebody is home most of the day and the grooming budget is real. The breed forgives inexperience and punishes absence. It is a poor first dog for anyone wanting a quiet, low-grooming, low-fuss starter pet.
Meet your Shih Tzu
Come say hello at Balestier
2 Balestier Road #01-701, Singapore 320002 · Weekdays 12pm–6pm · Weekends 10am–6pm. Or message us first: tell us about your home and routine, and we'll tell you honestly if a Shih Tzu fits.
Still not sure it is your breed?
Read what the Shih Tzu is like to live with day to day before you rule it in or out.
See what living with one is like