Shih Tzus are known for their round faces, flowing coats, and affectionate personalities, and these 29 Shih Tzu coloring pages capture all of that charm across a range of sweet and playful poses
The fluffy coat details and expressive faces give young children plenty to explore with their crayons, while the intricate flowing fur makes these equally rewarding for older kids and adult dog lovers.
All pages are free black-and-white PDF printables in both US Letter and A4 sizes, easy to download and print at home or drop into a daycare or classroom session without any prep.
If you'd like to explore more breeds, our dogs coloring pages collection has plenty more to discover.
A Shih Tzu doesn't really have fur - it has hair. Long, silky, straight hair that flows all the way down to the ground like a tiny walking curtain. That means your pencil strokes should be long and smooth, running downward from the back and sides in straight lines. No circles, no scribbles, no short flicks - just long, gentle, even strokes from top to bottom.
The name "Shih Tzu" means "little lion" in Chinese. It's a very old breed that was kept by Chinese royalty hundreds of years ago.
Shih Tzus come in almost any color combination you can imagine - black and white, gold and white, brown, gray, solid black, or a mix of three or more. A lot of them have a white stripe running from the nose up between the eyes, with darker patches on the ears and back. That stripe is a good place to start because it anchors the whole face.
Some of our Shih Tzu coloring pages show the dog with a topknot - that's when the hair on top of the head is pulled up into a little ponytail or bow. If yours has one, color the gathered hair slightly darker than the rest of the head to show where it bunches together.
A Shih Tzu's hair can grow so long that it covers their eyes completely. That's why many owners tie it up or trim it short around the face.
The face is flat and round with big dark eyes set wide apart and a very short nose. Because so much hair falls around the face, the eyes can get a bit lost. Make them nice and dark - almost black - and leave a bright white dot in each one so they peek out through all that hair.
For the body, work in sections. Start at the back and use your long downward strokes to color one "panel" of hair at a time, making each section slightly lighter or darker than the one next to it. This stops the coat from looking like one solid block and gives it that layered, flowing look.
