Imperial and Teacup Shih Tzu. The AKC recognizes only one Shih Tzu breed dog. The dog weighs between 9 and 16 pounds (4.08 to 7.25 kilograms). Many times, when a breeder breeds for dogs on the lower end of the weight scale (closer to the 9 pound weight), they will use the term of Imperial, Teacup and so forth.
What is an Imperial Shih Tzu? Often, if a breeder is selecting their dogs to achieve a smaller size, they will call the variety of dog Tea Cup or Imperial.
There's only one breed that's recognized by the American Kennel Club (AKC), and it's the Shih Tzu. The standard Shih Tzu weighs between 9 to 16 pounds (with some even weighing 19 pounds) and measure 11 inches maximum at the withers. However, there are a lot of Shih Tzus that fall below these measurements.
Use these handy Shih Tzu Puppy Weight Charts to determine how big your puppy. Tzu puppies, I encourage you to read our article on Imperial Shih Tzu Dogs.
The Imperial Shih Tzu, also called the Teacup Shih Tzu, is a super-small version. (well below the official breed standard suggested weight of 9 to 16 pounds), .
Bellow are a 4 pictures of different Shih Tzu all pictured at 8 weeks old, all pictured with the same coffee cup to compare sizes. Tiny imperial girl weighed 12 oz.
A Shih Tzu should weigh between 9 and 16 pounds, but some breeders produce, and some misguided puppy buyers want, even smaller dogs. So-called Teacup or Imperial Shih Tzus are simply dogs below the minimum healthy size for the breed.
