I fought him off for a year and a half, but my stepson really wanted a Shih-Tzu. I was afraid said stepson would dominate the family with a spoiled show dog, and I wanted nothing to do with that. After heavy lobbying, I finally gave in. We met with the breeder, and I saw how well two of them acted together; so I got one for myself because I figured if we had two, they would be more likely to act like real dogs. I named mine Ralph, after Jackie Gleason's Ralph Kramden character. Sure enough, Ralph fits his name. My 18-yr-old stepson does spoil his dog Harry and drives me crazy when he talks baby talk to it, but both does have turned out to be splendid, 20-pound pets.
I wondered how these little dogs would survive here in the Sierra Foothills, and they do quite well - they have to be on leashes, but they love to hike.
-Joe-