After retiring from teaching 30 years in elementary school, I decided to devote my life to one of the loves of my life: Shih Tzu’s puppies. I realized this was a big undertaking so I went into a partnership with my best friend, Butch. In the summer of 2002, I married my partner and now we reside as Butch and Jerry Lamb in northern Oklahoma, with our furry little family.
It is our purpose at Little Orchids to do as much as possible to improve the breed. At Little Orchids, we strive to breed the best in health, beauty, intelligence, and personality in our little Shih Tzus. They are all our babies and live in the home as part of our family. Our babies are played with by both children and adults from birth and adapt well to new homes. Each of our adults has its own endearing personality trait.
We DNA test for renal dysplasia and breed to eliminate this dreaded disease. We are dedicated to improving the breed through the testing of our adults and selecting mates that will give the best and healthiest puppies. We currently have four Shih Tzus carrying no markers. We carefully breed so that our puppies will have no more than one marker and most of them will be clear from markers. Each of our adults has a full exam and blood workup yearly to make sure we are producing the healthiest puppies.
We do guarantee our puppies for two years for life-threatening genetic problems. Our babies from the parents we will be breeding in the future have ranged between five and 13 pounds when grown. We aim to breed within the standard weight, but some are at the lower end of the standard and produce puppies at times that are even smaller. All of our puppies have AKC registration. Our Shih Tzu’s have very plush coats but do not seem to tangle badly when properly cared for. Puppies are individually priced depending on color, marking, pedigrees, and confirmation. In addition, they carry genes for a variety of colors including the chocolate, white, and blue. Some of them have white stocking feet, white collars, and white tipped tails. We are now breeding some solid colors as well. Puppies are 8 to 12 weeks old when they go to new homes (older if you are seeking a puppy with show possibilities). Dew claws are removed, vaccinations up to date, and each puppy is carefully health checked by our vet. Each baby leaves with a puppy pack of his food, his favorite toys, and a snuggly blanket that smells like his brothers and sisters as well as the application for AKC registration. We do not take deposits until puppies are born but, we will be glad to put you on a list to be notified when we have puppies so that you will have an opportunity to purchase your favorite puppy. Beginning at the time of birth we hold puppies with a $100 non-refundable deposit; although the deposit can be applied to a later puppy. When we have a very special puppy that is priced considerably higher we require a $250 deposit. We have rarely had to ship our puppies but have met people from all across the United States for a reasonable charge. Some families choose to fly to our airport and take their puppies back with them to insure a calm happy arrival to their new homes. We feel we can insure happier puppies and families when we hand them their puppies ourselves. Means of getting your healthy, happy baby to you is certainly open for discussion and suggestion
People often feel proud when owning a shih tzu because they are beautiful, but the true joy is the personalities you see in them. We feel our shih tzus are the true basis of our program. We are describing the endearing qualities that we see in each of them below:
Mei Saki is a real beauty. He is champion sired and comes from a long line of champion show dogs including a Best of Breed Winner at Westminster. Mei Saki's dad was a blue and white. We love breeding Mei Saki to our girls, as we get some beautiful black and whites and a chance at a blue. We are sure that they will have good confirmation and excellent coats. Mei Saki is sure he is the King around here. When he is placed in any competitive situation he becomes Mr Showoff. He is sure he is the only canine that anyone is looking at and can he prance! We find that Mei Saki's puppies think they are from royalty and it shows in their attitude and gait also.
I call him my little "Frog Prince." Romeo is one of our puppies from Jerico and Francee who are both retired and living in pet homes. He is sweet with all of the shih tzus young and old. He has a beautiful shiny thick coat. He has the agility of his mom. He has thrown some beautiful puppies and we are anxious to see this first litter from our Ginger. He has thrown some solid puppies as well as ones with the big white hourglass and stocking feet. He has those huge big black eyes. Many of his puppies have been at the lower end of the standard in size, but at the higher end in movement, confirmation and looks. We are blessed to have him back with us. He is very bright and has such a good time playing with the others. We have found it conforting to have Romeo with us after feeling compelled to give Jerico a chance at a special happiness in a pet home.
We only breed our girls occassionally. Our girls each have champions in their pedigrees. We have tried to provide a variety of colors with our females. Each has her own distinct look and of course personality.
Daisy is now retired. Our Daisy is such a delight to have around as well as producing beautiful puppies. For that reason we have some other girls out of her line. She is quite sure she is a princess and demands that people as well as the other tzus to treat her so! She insists that she is not like the other shih tzus and needs to go out by herself in the front yard instead of using the doggie door which leads to the backyard. We have surmised that she is a frontdoor dog! Her real love is Mei Saki. They just adore each other. The two of them have produced some of the prettiest puppies we've ever had. Sally Tzu, their baby is staying at Little Orchids
Pocahontas (Pokey) is a sister of Daisy but has surprised us with some beautiful new colors including a steel grayish silver. She and Daisy are sisters but very different. Pocahontas has the black mask and her puppies often end up with black around their eyes or with black masks. She is Butch's baby. When I ask her to follow instructions she would rather not so she jumps in his lap looks at me and wags her tail.....works every time! He just can't resist those big brown eyes. She is a lover and almost hugs when she is held. When Butch is out of town she carries around and sleeps on his handkerchief or in his chair until he returns. She knows that there are no rules for her and takes advantage of the fact. She is one character!
Our little Ginger Snap gives us a different look and a new champion line. She is a half sister to Daisy, but her sire is from a different line of champions. She is also at the smaller end of standard shih tzus and has a deep red color, black mask, and blue skin. She has a very gentle loving way about her. Ginger loves to play in the sprinkler and wading pool, and is a leader of the shih tzus when it comes to fun as she has most of them going swimming! She just loves to play with our younger puppies and is an excellent mommy!
If I were going to describe Piper in one word it would be "sweet." Piper is our little liver cream girl that is small but mighty. She is a half sister to Daisy with the same sire, but Piper's mom is a chocolate. Piper has a white sister so we never know what color of puppy she will have. All her puppies were very small when we bred her to our male Jerico who produces smaller puppies. We have also bred her to Mei Saki. She produced some beautiful puppies. One of her litters had mostly blue puppies with black masks. You can see how pretty they are on the Puppy Pages. Some of the puppies are going to be small standard sized while others are going to be below the standard size. We breed to stay within the standard size but will have some smaller puppies from Piper. Her puppies were so outstanding in quality. Any puppies that are under standard size will be placed as pets. Her puppies, like Piper, are very intelligent and active though quite loving and eager to please. They are extremely loving lit
Tsunami is the sweetest little guy! He can stand on his back feet and wave his little short legs at you as if to say...."pick me up and I will smother you in kisses." He weighs in at a little more than eight pounds. He may not be very big, but he has a mighty little heart! He is red sable in color and has a perfect confirmation and the thickest of coats! We will be anxious to breed him and expect to see some little chocolate puppies. We will breed him to our bigger girls to help keep size to small standard.
Sassy is champion sired and comes from a long line of champions. She has
the sweetest personality. She has good confirmation and a beautiful coat. She is a solid gold with black tippping. She has been an excellent addition to our furry family! Sassy has given us some beautiful solid puppies as well as some with hour glass and stocking feet markings.
Our groomer recently remarked that Polly Anna is a
combination of our shih tzu family. She is a Jerico grandbaby, Daisy, Ginger, Pokey,and Piper's niece. She is Mei Saki's baby. We are going to be breeding her to our little Tsunami. We have worked for a long time to try to get the best of what we breed into one little girl. She is a tease and lover and her intelligence often comes out when we would rather she forget or not go exploring! With some of her antics I often think of the song about Maria that the nuns sang in "The Sound of Music." We started to name her Maria for that reason, but we couldn't resist her Polly Anna personality and so named her. She and Sally are a couple of characters and they like our other tzus help to make each of our days happy ones.
Lola is a blue puppy from Mei Saki and a grandaughter
of Jerico's. She is smaller than we normally breed, but
since we've lost Jerico we will attempt to breed her if
she matures like we hope. We will breed her to
Tsunami. She is a spunky little girl. Her best friend is Polly Anna and they look comical together because of the big difference in their size. She is one of the really bright little ones that can sneak snacks from the big tzus by diverting their attention then grabbing them on the run! She is a welcome addition to our family.
We would like to help you choose just the personality you are looking for; whether it is a snuggly lap dog, a regal show dog, or a playmate. We feel that these little guys leave permanent footprints on our hearts, and we are always here to help with any questions you have about your babies even long after they are grown. We never grow tired of seeing their pictures, hearing stories about them, or having them visit us. Feel free to contact us to ask questions, see pedigrees, contract examples, pictures or references from our vet or puppy families. You may email us at: jerryjlamb@sbcglobal.net
