Hello, I am Barbara Ann Ewer. My husband Larry and I started Bar-Lar Shih Tzu twenty some years ago. Over the years we have bred and owned over 40 American Champions. We are dedicated to producing the very best quality dogs possible. All of our breedings are carefully planned in order to produce our next show baby. We do occasionally have show prospects available and also pets. Our pet babies are sold with spay/neuter agreements and AKC limited registration. We do not sell dogs for breeding purposes. We are happy to share information about this breed. Below we will give you a look into our facilities as well as information on how we keep our dogs and what our routine is everyday. 
This is the way dogs should be properly raised in a breeding situation. If the standards are less do not support the situation by buying from them.

We built our home several years ago, and were fortunate to be able to design the floor plan to accommodate our needs for our dogs. Our kennel room is right off of our kitchen separated by our laundry room.  The room measures 20ft. x 20ft.  and is totally self contained.  It has its own hot water heater as well as a heat pump strictly for this room. This way we can control the temperature for maximum comfort as well as have plenty of hot water for bathing and proper cleaning. We use 4ft. x  4ft. individual pens for our babies to play in, 2ft x 4ft. and 3ft. by 3ft. pens for the show dogs to be separated in, and then we have 2ft. x 4ft. stack units for the girls to stay in. The Pens are chrome with vinyl coated hygienic floors in them.  This is very important for cleanliness. Puppies are interested in playing and they don't really pay much attention to what they run through. So the floors allow the urine and stool to fall through away from the puppies which is necessary for clean healthy babies.  Each girl has their very own compartment  so that we may be very aware of eating practices. This is very important due to the fact that a dog will not eat if it is not feeling well and also we can be assured that no one else is eating someone else's food or simply eating to much! Also some dogs require different nutritional needs due to age, pregnancy etc. All dogs like their own space and we have found that with this method they have a friend next to them but they can also have time to rest quietly with their own bed and toys. 
Below are a few pictures, to give you a peek while the crew is outside playing.

These 4 ft. x 4ft. pens are used for play pens for raising babies when we have them and also show dogs.

These are the stack units. They are individual rooms for the dogs to sleep and eat in. Each dog has their name on their heart tag. This is the right side of the room.

An extended view of the left side of the room

Our Routine & Play Area

Our day starts at 6 am when all the dogs go out on the deck to do their business and to play. While they are outside, pens must be wiped down with a bleach solution and water bottles filled as well as bowls filled and passed out with their food.  Babies have to be fed and given fresh clean bedding. They stay out about an hour and then everyone is brought back in for breakfast. While they are eating breakfast, paper is changed in pens that are messy, and kennel laundry is started. Then a needed coffee break! 

At 11 am everyone goes back outside to play on the deck.  Older puppies go out to play with the adult dogs as well. This is the time when sweeping and mopping are done. Also during this time is when I brush through show coats or bathe, clip, do puppies nails, pads and butts.  Anything that needs to be done for that given day. If the weather is cold or wet then everyone plays inside. Sometimes they get to stay out all day weather permitting, but if not they come in and play. They take a nap from 2-4 pm and then back out again. They love this time to play together and run and exercise. We repeat the same chores at night, with changing pen papers, water bottles, messy bedding etc.  We usually put everyone to bed for the evening around 8 pm.  
We leave the TV on at all times. Below is a picture of our play decks.

Home | About Us | Our Boys | Our Girls | Our Babies | Past Champions 

Shih Tzu Standard | What's New | Extended Family

©2001 Bar-Lar Shih Tzu All rights reserved.
Site Design by Bar-Lar Shih Tzu. Graphics may not be duplicated, copied, uploaded to another server or linked to. This website has been optimized for 800x600 resolution.