Shih Tzu food to avoid, and what to feed instead

A Shih Tzu weighs 4.5 to 8 kg, about a fifth of a Labrador. Many of the foods that poison dogs work by dose per kilo of body weight, so the bite that a big dog shrugs off can make a Shih Tzu ill. Here are the foods to keep away, the Pakistani dishes that cause most of the trouble, the human foods that are fine, and how much to feed a day.

What foods can a Shih Tzu not eat?

Never give a Shih Tzu these:

• Chocolate: Its theobromine and caffeine overstimulate the heart and nerves. Dark chocolate and cocoa powder are the worst.
• Grapes, raisins (kishmish): Can cause kidney failure, and no safe amount is known.
• Onion and garlic: Damage red blood cells, raw, cooked, fried or powdered.
• Xylitol: The sweetener in sugar-free gum and sweets. Drops blood sugar fast and can damage the liver.
• Macadamia nuts: Weakness, wobbly back legs, tremors and fever.
• Alcohol: Toxic at doses that seem trivial for a person.
• Coffee, energy drinks: Caffeine, the same family of poison as chocolate.
• Raw dough: Swells in the stomach and turns into alcohol. An emergency.
• Cooked bones: Splinter and can tear or block the gut.
• Salt: In quantity: vomiting, extreme thirst, and at high doses seizures.

Each name opens its page in Can my dog eat?, our food checker, with the amount that causes harm and what to do.

Why does a small amount hurt a Shih Tzu?

Because the danger is counted per kilo of dog. For a 6 kg Shih Tzu:

• Chocolate: mild signs can start from about 54 g of milk chocolate, or 24 g of dark.
• Grapes: vets treat more than one grape per 4.5 kg as a risk, so one or two grapes are already a call to the vet.
• Onion: about 30 g, a quarter of a medium onion, cooked or raw.
• Xylitol: one or two pieces of sugar-free gum can poison a small dog.
• Macadamia nuts: about 4 to 8 nuts.

Which Pakistani foods should a Shih Tzu not eat?

Pakistani cooking is built on onion, garlic, salt and oil, so most of what is on the dastarkhwan is off-limits. Keep these away from your Shih Tzu:

• Biryani: Biryani has onion, garlic, salt, oil and chilli, and chicken biryani has cooked bones. A stolen mouthful isn't an emergency; a plateful, or a swallowed bone, is a call to your vet.
• Nihari: Nihari is onion, garlic, chilli, heavy oil and salt, and it often has bones in it. A lick of the gravy isn't an emergency; a bowlful or a bone is a call to your vet.
• Seekh kebab: Kebab mince has onion, garlic, salt and heavy spice mixed all the way through. A bite isn't an emergency.
• Paratha: Paratha is roti cooked in a lot of ghee or oil, and that much fat can upset a dog's gut. A stolen bite isn't an emergency.
• Samosa: It's fried, salted, spiced and usually filled with onion. A bite isn't an emergency.
• Achar: Achar is very salty and oily, often with garlic and chilli. A taste isn't an emergency.
• Mithai: Very high sugar and ghee, and many mithai have raisins in them, which are toxic. A bite of plain mithai isn't an emergency.
• Chai: Milk, sugar and a little caffeine. A lick from a cup isn't an emergency.
• Dry fruit: Mixed dry fruit almost always contains kishmish (raisins), which can cause kidney failure in dogs, and the rest is concentrated sugar.
• Chicken skin: Skin and fat trimmings are a common trigger for a painful, inflamed pancreas. A small bit isn't an emergency.

Which human foods can a Shih Tzu eat?

A few plain foods are safe as small extras: no salt, no oil, no masala.

• Plain boiled rice
• Cooked plain egg
• Carrot
• Cucumber
• Apple, cored and without seeds
• Plain cooked pumpkin

Keep all treats and extras under 10% of the day's calories, and never in place of a meal.

How much should a Shih Tzu eat a day?

Weigh your dog first: the breed standard says 4.5 to 8 kg, but in a UK study of more than 11,000 Shih Tzus the adults averaged 7.9 kg, and obesity was among the ten most common problems. Then find the weight below.

Grams of our cooked fresh food, in 400 g packs, from the same rule as our feeding guide and quiz. If you feed kibble, use the chart on your bag: the two are not interchangeable gram for gram.

Your dog's exact grams and cost a day, in 60 seconds →

• 210 g morning
• 210 g evening

For a 6 kg Shih Tzu. Weigh the whole day's amount in the morning, so the second meal can't turn into a bonus one.

Start from the chart, then adjust:

• +15% Very active
• −10% Neutered or spayed
• −10% Older dog
• −10% Carrying extra weight
• +8% Too lean

What is the best food for a Shih Tzu?

A complete dog food, weighed every day, with treats kept small. Shih Tzus are a flat-faced (brachycephalic) breed with a small mouth, and our food is a fine mince with shredded vegetables, so there is nothing hard to crunch. Our two 400 g recipes are sized for small dogs:

• Chicken & Veg Grain Free Chicken and vegetables, no grain, for dogs that avoid grains Rs 420 a day, 6 kg
• Chicken & Veg with Rice Chicken and vegetables with rice Rs 420 a day, 6 kg

On the Monthly Plan a 400 g pack is Rs 400; one pack at a time it is Rs 500. To try it first, the 1 Week Trial is 7 packs at half price. Switch over a week with our 7-day switching plan.

Do Shih Tzus have teeth problems?

Often. In the same UK study, gum and tooth disease (periodontal disease) was the single most common problem in Shih Tzus, and the authors named mouth care a priority for the breed. Across all breeds, a UK study found the smaller the dog, the higher the odds of periodontal disease. Ask your vet about brushing, and to check the teeth at every visit.

What should a Shih Tzu puppy eat?

Don't use this chart for a puppy. A growing dog needs a puppy food and an amount set by its age. Our recipes are made for adult dogs, so message us with your puppy's age and weight before switching. The foods to avoid above apply even more: a puppy weighs less still.