What Makes a True Liver Shih Tzu?
What is a Liver Shih Tzu?
If you’ve ever been confused about what a “Liver” or “Chocolate” Shih Tzu is – you’ve come to the right place!
In this post, we’re explaining the difference between a true chocolate Shih Tzu and other Shih Tzu colors that look similar, but are not technically liver or chocolate.
There is a lot of confusion in the Shih Tzu world about what makes a liver or chocolate Shih Tzu.
Some breeders falsely claim to be raising chocolate puppies, while others register their Shih Tzu as a “liver” on their pedigree, without understanding what it really means.
Liver is an accepted standard Shih Tzu color by AKC. However, whether a dog is a true liver or not is determined by pigment rather than coat color.
So what is pigment? A dog’s pigment is the color of their nose, lips, paw pads, and eye rims, (also known as their “points.”)
So this means that calling a dog with a brown coat and black nose “liver” is NOT correct. Just because a dog’s fur is brown, doesn’t necessarily mean that its pigment is brown.
This is also how you can tell the difference between a red Shih Tzu and a liver (chocolate) Shih Tzu. Because liver Shih Tzu coat colors come in all different shades, some can look more dark chocolate and others can look more red or orange. Even so, a Shih Tzu with a reddish coat color should NOT be registered as “red” if it has a brown (liver) nose – a common mistake many Shih Tzu owners make. Anytime a brown nose is present, that Shih Tzu should be registered as a “liver” dog, no matter the color of their coat. A red Shih Tzu would have a black nose.
Something else that’s helpful to know is that if a dog is truly liver (meaning the pigment is brown) then it is impossible for that dog to have any black hairs on them at all. The two recessive genes that MUST be present for the liver pigment to show will always eliminate any black.
In some cases, a liver dog will have super dark chocolate coloring that looks almost black, but, since it is genetically impossible for a liver-nosed dog to have black fur, it would have to be just a very dark chocolate. In other cases, a solid black dog will have shading on its coat that makes it look like a solid chocolate (liver) dog, but you will know that dog is not “liver” because of the dog’s black nose.
With all the amazing coat variations that Shih Tzu can have, it can be very hard to tell whether yours is a true liver, especially if you have never seen a liver Shih Tzu in person! That’s why it’s essential to go by the dog’s pigment color when trying to decide if you have a liver pup or not.
We hope this was helpful to you if you’ve ever wondered what a liver Shih Tzu is!
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