Exercise

Another great quality of Shih Tzus is that they 'exercise' themselves. If you have a staircase in your house, and you give them lots of toys, they will play with their toys and run up and down the stairs all day! Don't get me wrong, they still LOVE to go for walks and enjoy the outdoors, but if you have a busy lifestyle, you do not have to walk your Shih Tzu everyday like you might need to do with some other breeds. My dog Chocho especially loves to play fetch with himself - he would throw his toy high up in the air, sometimes across the entire room, and go fetch it! He would do this at least once a day, usually for about 5 minutes at a time, or until he is exhausted!