The ancestors of our Chinese
Imperial Dog originated in
the Imperial Palace Of
China. The Chinese Imperial
Dog was called Imperial,
Hah-Pah, and the solid
colored imperials were
called Chin Ssu Ha-Pah in
the Chinese Imperial Palace.
In early English books they
are called Imperial or
“Pekinese Type” when they
didn’t know what
to call them. The
Imperial was always a
separate dog from the
Pekinese, Shih Tzu and Lhasa
Apso. They were being bred
along side them in the very
early days but they were not
the same dog. The Shih Tzu
came much later.2 The Shih
Tzu Kou or Liondog, as the
early Imperials were called,
were bred in the likeness of
the Buddhist perception of
the lion because when Buddha
came to earth from heaven he
rode on a lion. Therefore,
the Imperials were also
believed to be holy or
tribute dogs and were highly
prized. When an Imperial
became too large then it was
put to death as it was
highly undesirable. As you
can see from this antique
Chinese fan that the
Imperial was a small dog
indeed.1
In later years these larger
Imperials were called a Shih
Tzu. An old tapestry
picturing an Imperial, Shih
Tzu and a Pekinese was found
recently dating to before
the time of Christ. You can
see the complete difference
of the dogs in this
tapestry. This puts to death
a rumor that an Imperial is
a Shih Tzu and that a Shih
Tzu is a mix between a Llasa
and a Pekinese. The Shih
Tzu, Pekinese and Imperial
have been completely
separate breeds of dogs for
more that 2000 years. The
early ancestors of the
Imperial were given to the
emperors of the Manchu
dynasty of China as gifts of
great honor and were only
allowed to be owned by the
emperors. In China the dogs
became little temple dogs
and were kept in the palace
and carefully guarded and
cared for by the court
eunuchs. As the lion dogs
were the property of the
Royal family, they were not
widely known outside the
Imperial Palace and it is
said that anyone unlawfully
owning one was sentenced to
death. However, it is
thought that puppies which
did not meet the Dowager
Empress’s high standards,
were secretly sold by the
eunuchs to the nobility
outside the palace. The
Dowager Empress Tzu-Hsi was
greatly interested in dogs
and during her reign she was
personally concerned with
their breeding and welfare.
They were bred to be loyal
companions, bed warmers and
would lie across the feet of
the Emperor and Empress
while taking would take care
of court business to keep
their feet warm. She would
keep a few Imperials and
Shih Tzu around her at all
times. At one time it was
the fashion for the dogs to
be carried in their kimono
sleeves.2
After the death of the
Dowager Empress in 1908, the
breeding of the dogs was no
longer important. The young
Emperor and Empress were not
interested in the dogs and
some were given as gifts to
noblewomen and men in
England and the
Netherlands.3 This is how
the Imperial was introduced
to the west. In 1938 an
individual standard was set
for the Shih Tzu. At the
time the dog fanciers did
not know what to do with the
Imperials so they lumped
them together in with the
Shih Tzu. In the United
States, fanciers obtained
the first Shih Tzu in the
late 1930’s and they gained
even more popularity in the
1960’s with many imports
coming from England and
Europe.
Our Chinese Imperial Dogs
went to the Netherlands and
Australia and were kept pure
bred and small.4 In the
1960’s a small few breeders
brought them to the United
States. These breeders
fought hard to get them
recognized but in their
ignorance the AKC would only
classify our lovely Chinese
Imperials as Shih Tzu.5
This is how many of the
imperials became mixed with
the Shih Tzu. Now the
dedicated breeders of the
Chinese Imperial Dog are
fighting just as hard to get
them recognized again.
We have been quite
successful so far.
The Chinese Imperial dog was
first accepted as it's own
breed separate from the
Shih Tzu by the NCA as of
March 2005 and by the CPR,
UABR, and the NKC in
2006. The Chinese Imperial
Dog is also internationally
recognized by the IPDBA.
A breed club has been formed
to support this new breed
and is dedicated to
promoting and preserving
this wonderful little dog.
After many years
of breeding the
Chinese Imperial
Dog and creating
flat baby doll
faces without
sacrificing the
health or
personality, I
have finally
been rewarded
with my dogs
becoming their
own breed.
The Chinese
Imperial is a
very tiny dog
with tons of
personality.
The Chinese
Imperial is
purebred dog
that is
registered with
the National
Canine
Association and
the Certified
Pet Registry.
I personally
started with
tiny lines that
someone had been
working on for
about 15 years,
who got her dogs
from someone
that had been
breeding tiny
for many years
in another
country and then
for the last 18
years I have
sized them down
even further. A
select few
breeders decided
they would like
to show their
dogs and not be
restricted from
the show ring
just because of
size. We then
started looking
for great
registries to
register and
show our dogs.
The Chinese
Imperial is also
lovingly
referred to as
Imperials, Imps
or CID's.
The standard
size Shih Tzu
breeder would
have you believe
that the
Imperial is a
myth or
unhealthy but in
this video you
can see the
cutest TINY Shih
Tzu. She looks
quite healthy to
me. Wouldn't you
say?...
