Ta Maria Shih Tzus

The story of our kennel started in 1986. At that time I was ten years old and I had always wanted to have an own dog and finally my mum agreed to buy me a puppy as a birthday present. We went to see the litter at the breeder’s home and it was love at first sight. My little puppy, “Tintti”, was the sweetest thing I had ever seen, she was so loveable, funny and cute, and she stole our hearts for the breed forever.

Tintti’s breeder induced us to the first dog show. I still remember it very well. It was a hot summer day and the judge was all rounder and breed specialist Rainer Vuorinen. I was showing Tintti myself and it was really exciting. Tintti got a prize of honour and I was so proud of her! That day I was bitten by a show bug. We were not so great at the beginning but we were having a lot of fun. We got really interested in showing and later on, also breeding and we bred our first litter in 1992. We imported dogs from Sweden, England and Germany and based our breeding in lines from Tangse, Santosha and Lin-pearl’s kennels.

Over the years we have bred and owned many dogs, all of them have been important for us, but for some of them I would like to give a special attention in this connection. Our first really winning dog was Int & Fin & S & Est Ch FinW-96 NordW-97 Tangse son of the Gun, “Harry”. We bought him as a youngster from kennel Tangse. He had a beautiful head with big dark sparkling eyes. He was a great personality; masculine and arrogant but loving and tender at the same time. Harry won Speciality in 1996 and 1997 and was the most winning shih tzu in Finland in 1997. Harry taught me a lot about winning and I own a great deal to him as a handler.

Another important dog in the beginning was bitch called Int & Nord Ch FinW-98-99 NordW-97 Mai-tai’s Daisy May. She was bred by a Swedish breeder U-C Jungh and also her we bought as a youngster. She was a sound golden white bitch with great characteristics. She just loved showing and became the most winning Shih tzu in Finland in 1998. Daisy was bred to our German import Lin-pearl’s Disco Dancer and she produced a litter of 4 puppies including Int & Nord Ch Bsg-99 FinW-02-03 SW-03 Ta maria Dancing May, “Minea” and Int & Fin & BaltCh EstW&LvW-96 EstW-98 BaltW-98 FinW-98 Ta maria Dancing Master, “Brandon”. Among all the dogs we have bred Minea was, and still is, my biggest favourite. She was not only a wonderful companion and a unquestionable head of the family, but also a great show dog and a wonderful mother to her puppies. Minea was top winning Shih tzu in Finland in 2002 and 2003 and best veteran in 2002-2005. She was bred to our English import Fin Ch Santosha Red Admiral and from that litter we got two speciality winners, Int & Nord Ch WW-03 Tamaria Mayflower “Demi” and Int & Nord Ch Bsg-99 FinW-00 Ta maria Red Rouser, “Amos”. Amos was also top winning shih tzu in Finland in 2001 and our highlight with Demi was when she won World Winner title in Dortmund in 2003.

However, the most winning dog we have owned and showed is Int & Nord Ch FinW-01-02 SW-03 Tangse Robin Fantasy. Robin is a son of Amos and bred by Rose Åkersten in Sweden. He came to us from Sweden as a youngster. Robin is a loving and tender companion and really attached to his family. Robin has had a remarkable show career, he is a speciality show, group and BIS –winner and he was top winning Shih tzu in Sweden in 2003. The absolute highlight of his career and also mine was in 2004 when Robin won Best of Breed at Crutfs judged by David Crossley. It was a dream came true - experience and I feel very privileged that I have had a dog like Robin to show and chance to live up such unforgettable moments. Robin has now retired from his show career after being top winning shih tzu in Finland in 2006.

Past ten years we have been top winning shih tzu breeder in Finland and in 2003 our kennel was awarded Vuolasvirta –prize for quality breeding. Dogs have always been mother-daughter hobby for us and I feel there is no one without the other. Following the birth of my two girls we have spent now less time showing and breeding for a while, but our story continues and perhaps in the future we have small helping hands in the ringside. All in all, it has been a privilege to share our lives with these wonderful little dogs! I hope you enjoy your visit on our website!

- Maria