A lion dog and a northern spitz
The Pomshi puts a Pomeranian and a Shih Tzu together, and the two halves come from opposite ends of the map.
The Shih Tzu is Chinese, and the name means lion dog. The breed took shape inside the imperial palaces, built from small Tibetan dogs sent to Chinese emperors as tribute, and for centuries it existed almost nowhere else: a court companion bred to be carried, admired and kept close. The Dowager Empress Cixi kept large kennels of them in the late nineteenth century. The handful of dogs that founded the modern breed left China in the 1930s for England and Norway, and the Shih Tzu reached the American Kennel Club’s Toy Group in 1969. What it brings to this cross is a sturdy, low-slung frame, a long flowing coat and a temperament shaped by an extremely long history of living indoors with people.
The Pomeranian comes from the other end of the world and the other end of the thermometer. It sits at the small end of the northern Spitz group, its working ancestors earned a living outdoors in cold weather, and when the breed came down in size it kept the whole northern kit: a stand-off double coat, small pricked ears, a wedge face and a plumed tail carried up over the back. What it brings here is alertness, spring and colour.
What the cross actually produces
There is no standard for a Pomshi, no ring and no fixed type to breed toward, so a litter arrives as a set of individual answers rather than a matched set.
Most adults land between the two parents in size, commonly seven to fifteen pounds and seven to eleven inches at the shoulder. The Shih Tzu contribution is what makes the practical difference. It gives the dog more bone, a wider chest and a lower centre of gravity than a Pomeranian has, so a Pomshi feels solid in the hand: a small dog you can lift with one arm, built more like a brick than a bird.
Coat runs the whole distance between the parents. A Pomeranian-leaning coat stands away from the body over a dense undercoat and turns over with the seasons. A Shih Tzu-leaning coat is longer and softer, hangs rather than stands, and keeps its hair in the coat. Plenty of Pomshis carry some of each. Muzzle length, ear carriage and adult size all travel independently of the coat, so a puppy can have Pomeranian ears above a Shih Tzu coat, and littermates often differ noticeably from one another.
Colour is wide open, because both parents come in a wide range. Cream, gold, red, sable, chocolate, black, black and tan, blue and silver all turn up, along with parti-coloured dogs carrying white with patches of anything else, frequently with a white blaze up the face and a white tip to the tail from the Shih Tzu side. Puppy colour is not final colour either, and most Pomshis shift a shade or two as the adult coat comes through across the first year.
Character indoors
Both parents are companion breeds, which makes this a companion dog twice over. A Pomshi wants to be in the room with you and preferably on you: on a lap, against a thigh, tucked into the corner of the sofa nearest whoever is home. It treats being included as the entire point of the arrangement.
The Shih Tzu side brings an unhurried, easy manner and a real talent for lying about companionably. The Pomeranian side brings the spark: an interest in what is happening outside the window, a readiness to announce that someone has come up the path, and rather more opinions than seven pounds ought to hold. Together they make a small dog that is affectionate and calm at home and lively the moment there is something to be lively about.
They are good company for adults, for older children who like a dog with a personality, and for anyone in an apartment. They usually settle in easily with a resident cat, since neither parent brings a hunting drive to the table, and they get on happily with other small dogs. With larger dogs, most Pomshis are entirely confident and will introduce themselves without hesitation.
Meeting a wide range of people, floors, noises and calm grown dogs through the first six months is what turns a bold puppy into a settled adult, and it is worth building into the routine from the first week the puppy is home.
The grooming week
Coat is the main ongoing routine of owning a Pomshi, and it is worth setting out what it actually looks like, because a few minutes most days makes the whole thing straightforward.
Most days: a comb through the places that knot first, which are behind the ears, under the collar or harness, in the armpits, around the back legs and under the tail. Two minutes, done properly, right down to the skin.
Once or twice a week: a full session with a slicker brush and a steel comb, plus an undercoat rake if the coat leans plush. Work in lines from the skin outward rather than skimming the top, so that the whole coat gets attention rather than just the surface.
Every couple of months: an appointment with a groomer. A puppy trim keeps the length manageable and suits the weather here, and if your dog inherited the standing double coat, ask for a tidy rather than a close clip, since the outer coat keeps sun off the skin.
Between grooms: keep the hair around the eyes trimmed back so the dog can see out, and get the puppy used to having its face handled early so that stays a non-event. Nails a little and often, ears wiped with a soft cloth while you are already brushing, teeth brushed from the first week.
Training and the daily routine
Pomshis are quick and they enjoy the process, so training goes best in short, cheerful, well-paid sessions. Three or four minutes at a time, finishing while the dog still wants another go. Two minutes before dinner and two more while the kettle boils gets you further than half an hour at the weekend. Small soft treats, mark the behaviour the moment it happens, and the same word from every adult in the house.
House-training runs on the clock. Small dog, short intervals: out first thing, after meals, after naps and after play, out with the puppy so the right thing gets paid for in the right place, and a crate sized to the dog so the schedule is easy to keep. Think in months rather than weeks and it goes smoothly.
Two other lessons earn their keep. Teach a settle and a quiet cue early, while the reporting is still occasional, and reward the pause rather than the noise; building the habit is far easier than unpicking it at two years old. And set the household up for a small, light dog: steps or a ramp to the sofa, a harness rather than a collar on the lead, and a rule that the puppy is put down to walk rather than carried from room to room.
Exercise is modest and real. Two short walks a day plus some indoor play suits most Pomshis, and the walk is more about the news than the distance. The bigger lever is mental: a scatter feed across a rug, a stuffed chew, a food puzzle that has to be nudged around the floor before it gives anything up. In a Florida or Tennessee summer, walk early and late, choose grass over hot pavement, and keep water within reach.
Come and meet one
Coat type, size and manner all vary between littermates in this cross, and those are exactly the things that shape daily life with the dog, so it is worth seeing the puppies rather than choosing from a picture. Two minutes on the floor tells you more than any description of the cross can.
Our Pomshi puppies come from our network of licensed breeders, and our team can tell you what a particular puppy’s coat has been doing and how it has been getting on with people. We have a store in Orlando and one in Nashville, and you are welcome to sit with a puppy for as long as you like before deciding anything. Find directions and hours, and ask about financing while you are here. Every puppy here goes home with its vet records, its vaccination history and a health warranty, and our team will walk you through what those cover.