For as long as I can remember, I have been a dog lover. It didn’t matter what breed it was, I loved any dog I encountered. I have loved and lost many dogs in my life, but they have all taught me valuable lessons along the way. As you’re reading this, you probably get the impression that I am much older. Be prepared….I am only 29. Although I am young, I’ve had experience with breeding and whelping litters since I was five. I use this experience along with the knowledge I have gained from hours of research and discussions with other Shih Tzu breeders to build and perfect my own breeding program. Before I get into my experience with dogs, I believe it’s fair to let you get to know me as a person first.
Anyone who truly knows me knows that my priority is my future. I believe in the value of a well rounded education and have faith in all the opportunities that an education can provide me. I graduated from Kennesaw State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology and a minor in Statistics. Both subjects are a far cry from having a career with animals, but I have found that they both provided me with valuable skills to build a successful breeding program and business. I hope to eventually earn a PhD in Quantitative Psychology and conduct research on animal behavior and training techniques and use the data to help my future customers with training, understanding, and bonding with their new puppies.
My first experience with breeding was when I was five years old. My aunt owned a Lhasa Apso named Bear and a Shiba Inu named Sheba. Looking back on it today, the many litters that Sheba had with Bear were irresponsible and only came about out of the laziness of my aunt not getting them spayed and neutered. I do not believe in purposely mixing breeds and I especially do not believe in letting your dogs mate just because you will not have them fixed, pure bred or not. However, things happen for a reason and had it not been for the irresponsibility of my aunt, I would not have gained the experience. It broke my heart giving the puppies away because I was not allowed to keep one. I grew up with my grandmother and she was strict about not having dogs in the house. If she only knew what our house would be like today! I now own six Shih Tzu and one Jack Russell/Brittany Spaniel mix named Sydney.
I hope after reading this that you have developed an informed opinion about me and have hopefully earned a little more of your trust. I love my dogs, I enjoy what I do, and I hope I can pass that joy along to someone else with one of my puppies.
– Tonya Williams, Shih Tzu Guru
