I keep hearing of how Shih Tzu's can be snappy and bad tempered and not good with children.

What are the chances that our 13 week old puppy who loves our 6 and 4 year olds and meets strange children at school everyday will turn out to be snappy.

He is just getting to the stage where he is starting to bark and growl at strange noises but the rest of the time is so laid back and accepts everything the kids do to him (with my supervision of course)

I hate the idea that he might change!

IMO, although I don't have any experience with Shih Tzus, as long as he is exposed to them, socialised etc, like he has been from day 1 and doesn't have any bad experiences with them then it should be ok.

My grandmother used to keep poodles and although as they got older, were more grumpy, they were tolerant of kids as I used to stay there a lot and she used to have all the neighbourhood kids in.

All dogs are capable of being snappy and bad tempered, some breeds being worse than others and of course they are moulded to a certain extent of the experiences in life that they encounter.

But I would say, just keep doing what you're doing with him. Nobody can say for certain but it sounds like you're giving it the best possible shot ;)

I can't claim to be an expect but I did do a very deep search into all breeds to find the one I feel is ideal for me. Along the way I read quite a bit about the Shiz Tuz and most say they are very good with kind children if brought up right. I had a quick look in Dogs Today magazine's website and you can phone the following breed expects for free advice. I think you best do that for peace of mind but I'm pretty sure you haven't got a great deal to worry about. ;)

Breed advice

    * Mrs Goodwin 01795 830247
    * Lynn Gildea, puppy enquires NW, Cheshire, Manchester 0161 282 2347 (m/a)
    * Mrs P Maule 01443 435208 (e)
    * Beryl Harbison 01305 889289
    * Mrs Osbiston 01942 825948
    * Anne Harkness 028 9044 8691

Hey that's great, thanks for the phone numbers and the encouragement.
It's good to be prepared :)

You're welcome, hope it helps put you at ease. :)