A palace dog's face, topknot tied your way
Shih tzus were palace dogs before they were lap dogs, and plenty of them still carry themselves that way. What makes yours yours is the face in the middle of all that hair: the round dark eyes, the beard, the topknot tied the way you tie it. Everything here begins with your photo, which means the grooming and the expression come out as they are.
Free preview · no payment required · $49.99 $34.99
How this coat prints
A shih tzu's coat is long, fine and parted, and in a photo it behaves like silk — smooth highlights running down its length, very little texture in the shadows. Gold-and-white, one of the most common colourings, is light and warm all over, so a dark, cool shirt like navy frames it best. For black-and-white, liver and brindle shih tzus, butter does the light-shirt job, giving the darker patches something bright to sit against. In a short puppy cut the face and beard carry the whole look, so the photo has to be close enough for the fringe around the eyes to read as hair rather than haze.
The photo to use
Re-tie the topknot before you shoot: whatever state it's in ends up on the shirt, so a band that has slid to one side prints at that angle. Comb the fringe away from the eyes too — they're big, dark and the centre of the face, and a single stray strand across one reads as a scratch once it's printed. Brush the beard last; it's where breakfast tends to linger, and the artwork keeps anything it finds there.
Presets that suit this dog
Shih tzus were favoured at the Chinese imperial court, so a jewelled crown and an ermine-trimmed cape simply restore the old dress code, and nothing covers those big dark eyes.
Nothing on the head and nothing over the eyes, just a striped straw and a strawberry shake, so the topknot, its bow and those big dark eyes all stay in the picture.
Cool Mom knots its lemon-print scarf at the side of the neck and leaves the head bare, so the topknot gets to sit up above a strand of pearls instead of under a scarf.
Questions
Puppy cut or full coat — which prints better?
Neither; each prints as the dog you have. A puppy cut shows the eyes and the shape of the head more plainly, while a full coat gives the artwork long, flowing hair to render. Choose the photo that looks like home.
Can you keep the bow in her topknot?
If it's in the photo, usually yes, on presets that leave the head uncovered, like Milkshake or Cool Mom. Your Majesty puts a crown on top and Cool Mom Classic wraps the head in a silk scarf, so there the bow gives way — and Bootleg 90s strips accessories off entirely.
Is a shih tzu too small for the print to look right?
Size isn't the issue: the artwork is the same size for every dog, and the dog is composed to fill it, whatever it weighs. What matters is a photo taken close enough that individual strands show on your screen.
Ready to see yours?
Upload one clear photo. We'll make the artwork and show you the shirt before you pay anything.
See my dog on a shirt →