We were lucky to catch up with Sheri Stevens recently and have shared our conversation below.

Sheri, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

As a child I was not allowed to have a pet. As an animal lover that was a difficult thing. I enjoyed spending time at my paternal grandparent’s home because they had a dog named Meg. My grandpa was a breeder of pigeons and hunting dogs in his younger years. I didn’t know what that meant as a child, but I could often be found in the empty ‘dog building’ with Meg, as she showed me all of the secrets that the building held. I have never forgotten the feelings of peace and comfort that Meg offered me.

When I got my first job after graduating from college, it was at an animal hospital. I could often be found during my lunch hour pouring over the vet’s books of dog breeds. I learned so much about each breed and the purpose for which they were bred. This is the first time I fell in love with the Shih Tzu breed. I loved their beauty, desire for companionship, and spunky personalities.

When my oldest daughter was 8 weeks old, we got our first puppy, Xena. She was a beautiful AKC Brittany Spaniel. When we picked her out it was the first time we saw her and never heard from the breeder again, as was common during that time.

With the arrival of Xena into our family all of those feelings of childhood peace and companionship returned. I began entertaining the idea of breeding her to create another generation of amazing hunting and companionship puppies.

I got busy learning as much as I could about how to be a good breeder, how to raise puppies, and conformation.

I soon learned that there were not many breeders who cared about what happened to their puppies once they left nor did they care about the longevity or health of puppies. Likewise, many breeders were not willing to share what they knew. Books became my best resource. My vet was helpful, but didn’t have any experience breeding or raising puppies.

I also found that there weren’t, at the time, many resources available about how to raise a confident, healthy puppy. So I got busy studying my litters. I watched carefully how they developed, how they learn from each other, and learned from their mother, etc. I also began finding more resources from established breeders that scientifically corroborated what I had discovered by studying the growth and development of my own litters.

I have developed and frequently added protocols to help my puppies as they grow. My desire is to not only have healthy adults, but to raise puppies who are adaptable and can easily be incorporated into any home.

People are also important to me. I relish the relationships I am able to develop with my clients as they watch their puppies grow up week-by-week and as the years progress.

As the years passed I saw an increasing need for mentors of new breeders. I remembered my early years and the difficulty I had in finding reliable information. So, I began mentoring several breeders and continue to enjoy good working relationships with many breeders across the US.

I feel that my approach to breeding and client relations is raising the bar for what clients can expect as they are looking for their next best friend. I offer quality, experience, reliable integrity, and lifelong assistance, not just a cute puppy.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My name is Sheri Stevens. I am a wife of 29 years, mother of 6, and the founder and owner of Shurbeez Shih Tzu LLC.

As a family team, we provide quality, purebred Shih Tzu puppies that have been raised in a loving home environment.

When you pick a puppy from a breeder with over 23 years experience, you can expect that you will be getting the best that we have to offer. We spend countless hours studying, networking, and keeping up on breeding best practices, veterinary journals/studies, and latest genetic discoveries and know what that means for our beloved Shih Tzu breed.

Each puppy has been dewormed regularly, seen a vet and has a clear bill of health, had a clear fecal test, has been vaccinated twice for parvo/distemper and is usually finished with all puppy shots except rabies (due after they go home at 20 weeks old), is microchipped, has received regular grooming, beginning obedience training, expert socialization, beginning crate training, exposure to other animals and pets, kids and adults of all ages, daily adventures, beginning potty training, bite inhibition training, daily playtime with people, sound desensitization, and so much more.

Puppies have grown up in a loving home and are used to regular contact with people. Our family works together to raise these puppies to be the kind of amazing companions they were bred to be.

We conscientiously begin with top quality Shih Tzu, from top lines, sound confirmation to breed standards, and select dogs only with the best temperaments. We genetic test our dogs for any breed related diseases through Embark, Canine HealthCheck/Neogen, Paw Print Genetics, and/or UC Davis. We want to ensure that our breeding dogs are not only physically, mentally, developmentally, and temperamentally sound for breeding, but that they will not pass any detrimental diseases on to the next generation for potentially avoidable diseases that we can rule out.

We are the type of people who care deeply and develop relationships with those who choose puppies from us. We love to get regular updates and pictures, hear about the successes and frustrations of new puppies, and especially be there for dogs and the wonderful people whom we have entrusted with our beautiful pups.

Our puppies are all AKC registered fully by us before going to their new homes. Their registration certificate will be emailed to their new owners after we receive confirmation of their contractually obligated spay/neuter by 6 months old. (**All of my puppies are sold on a strict spay/neuter contract.) I am very serious and ethical about the health and well-being of the dogs I produce and expect those entering into contracts to be the same.

The price of our puppies is not based on gender, or fad trends like color. Each puppy in the litter is the same price for Limited AKC Rights. They are all raised with the utmost attention to the details ensuring that they will be wonderful companions and treasured for life! Puppies that need intense care, supplementing, and monitoring are the same price as all other puppies in their litter. I don’t believe in charging more for a puppy that is a trendy color, or that needed special care.

We have a flight nanny available (they carry the puppy in a soft sided carrier in the airplane cabin with them) for those who do not live within driving distance. They deliver puppies from our local airport to the client’s local airport.

I love to be the flight nanny for my puppies- traveling with my own puppies and meeting new owners face to face is my preference. New owners pay for my flights and the in-cabin pet fee, most of the time it can be less expensive than a flight nanny – Ask me about this service if you’re interested.

Many of our dogs and puppies are suitable for and have been trained as therapy dogs, medical alert dogs, service dogs, and emotional support dogs. They also thrive as beloved pets. We begin at an early age to teach our puppies to communicate well and they become easily trainable because of our foundational groundwork.

We offer our puppies to those individuals and families who are looking for more than just ‘any puppy’. We have an application process that begins with filling out the application on our website and also includes a video interview. We maintain a paid waiting list for those who are serious about getting a puppy from us.

We love to offer the priceless opportunity of watching your puppy grow up with multiple photos and videos each week so you can see everything that we are doing.

We strive to help our clients feel prepared to receive their new puppy by offering insights into care, training, and all aspects of raising a puppy. We care about our puppies even after they leave our care.

I am available for consultation at any time for our clients, those on our waiting list, and anyone who cares to ask.

For more information about us, our dogs, our program, or our application process more information is available on our website: shurbeezshihtzu.com

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

Many people think of a breeder having endless playtime with darling puppies, endless puppy kisses, and sweet picture perfect moments.

While there is a lot of that, there are things we deal with that we don’t often speak about. No one wants to hear about the amount of puppy poop we deal with, the drama between feuding breeders, or the boring part of record keeping. By far the worst thing we deal with is the death of puppies.

It hasn’t happened often, in my 23 years, but it is never an easy experience. I remember each puppy I’ve lost and know the reasons behind each one, but the hardest one was a little black and white male from my Ukrainian girl, Charlee.

She has always had pretty uneventful labor and deliveries – known as whelping in the dog world. This litter was no different. All four puppies were delivered in a timely manner and all four were beautiful boys with amazing markings.

But soon after birth, I began noticing that this little boy was not latching onto a teat well and he was traveling in endless circles. These are signs of midline and neurological deficiencies. He definitely had a small cleft in his palate which is not an easy thing to deal with, not horribly difficult, but not an easy fix either. But, with the added difficulty of his apparent neurological deficit I agonized about what to do.

I knew that his cleft palate would make effective nursing from his mother impossible. Although I had never experienced a cleft palate, I knew what to do, having studied extensively for any possibility. So I supplemented him by tube feeding him. This is a nerve wracking process with a tiny newborn, he weighed 4.2 oz at birth but was down to 3.4 oz after less than 6 hours. With any newborn weight loss is never good, but especially with tube feeding, losing weight is not a good sign.

During all of this time – each hour seems like an eternity when you have a puppy who is not thriving – he continued to have the same mobility issues and only rested when he was wrapped in a blanket and nestled into my neck. Otherwise, the traveling in circles and the inability to stay upright for long was an exhausting process to watch.

I made the decision to take him into the vet the morning after he was born. The vet asked a few questions, confirmed his cleft palate, and watched his mobility difficulties. She told me that it was common with midline defects that if we ‘see’ one deficiency there are commonly 2 to 3 others that we cannot see. She agreed with me that he would never have a quality of life and that I had done the right thing by bringing him in to be humanely put down.

When she confirmed my fears I couldn’t hold back the flood of tears. I knew that I was doing the right thing for his little, precious body, but it still ripped me up inside.

Now, years later, I still think about that sweet little boy who only got a few hours in my loving care. I wonder, could I have tried anything else? Should I have just kept tube feeding him and faced whatever came? But, after much pondering and heartfelt contemplation, I really feel that I did what was best.

Would another breeder given him a chance at life? Maybe. Could he have had a short and sweet life? Maybe. Could he have overcome the severe neurological difficulties he had? Definitely not.

I am confident that I made the right decision as a breeder even though it was one of the most difficult things I’ve experienced. I have great compassion for my fellow breeders who are faced with the decision of a little life that’s snuggled into their neck.

This loss has helped me not only be more compassionate for the losses of my fellow breeders, but has also taught me that even when the worst happens, we can still look to the future for the beauty life has to offer. His precious life had meaning to me and his loss, known only to me and a few others, will not be forgotten.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

When I started my breeding career I felt very alone. For years I felt like I had to learn everything on my own, do everything on my own, and that there was no support to be had. I am referring to breeder community support.

There was a feeling out there about being extremely private in what your own breeding practices were. Guard your own strategies, processes, and knowledge. The prevailing unspoken philosophy seemed to be, ‘Don’t provide any fuel for the fires of criticism and judgement that are surely out there.’

In my own personal experience, the breeder I got one of my foundation dogs from was friendly, and I considered her a mentor of sorts. I was thrilled when I asked her a few questions and she openly answered- but I began to see that it was only if it was a surface type question. “Where do you get your whelping pads?” Or, “what color would you call this puppy?” Those were acceptable questions.

But, if I asked anything to do with ethics, specific practices, etc. – she would shut down and act suspicious. “Why did I want to know?” “Why are you asking?” “Who told you to ask me that?” These were all actual responses to questions I asked.

Naturally I stopped asking and continued on my journey alone. Studying alone. Finding answers alone.

But it wasn’t until someone else approached me with a question that I had to open myself up to the possibility that I could be a force for good within my own breeder network. I could create the support for others that I lacked when I was starting out. I could openly share and help not only my fellow breeders, but clients. I feel like people are searching for an experience that is open, informative, and friendly.

I began helping breeders who were asking questions on FaceBook forums. I openly took new breeders under my wings and mentored them. Then, as I was creating my own website. I wanted it to be a place that anyone could access information that would help them find a healthy puppy, know how to select an ethical breeder, potty train their puppy, and so much more. Education and knowledge are freedom, and I feel that I can empower others by sharing what I know.

Recently my sister and I began doing a weekly Instagram LIVE with each other (she is also a breeder) to inform and empower responsible pet owners and fellow breeders alike. It is our Breeder Knows Series.

We share topics that interest us and we like to provide a friendly forum to openly discuss topics that are useful.

I feel like as I participate in being a voice of open education for pet owners and breeders that I have reversed my previously held notion that I was in this alone.

Contact Info:

• Website: ShurbeezShihTzu.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/shurbeezshihtzu
• Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/shurbeezshihtzu
• Youtube: https://m.youtube.com/@ShurbeezShihTzuLLC

Image Credits
Sheri Stevens