Shih Tzus are mixed from Pekingese (mainly a companion dog but more on that later) and Lhasa Apso, mainly an interior watchdog.

So yeah, while mainly a "companion dog", they were known as "sleeve dogs" and while being fluffy and nice to look at, also served as a sort of ancient version of mace.

Throw a few mean spirited Pekingese dogs out of your sleeves, confuse the attackers and make your escape. Not for the common populace, but for Chinese royalty.

So yeah. Dogs are bred for jobs. Some of them just become.. obsolescent. And if the dog race isn't that cute (spit-fire dogs), they tend to die out. Pekingese are cute though, so...

Meanwhile Chihuahuas: "I am small and full of spite, don't get close unless you want a bite"

Literally true and when the job is replaced by machinery, the dog becomes extinct.

Witness: Turnspit Dogs: bred to run on wheels that turned a spit of meat over a fire.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turnspit_dog

True! I had a herding dog (if that’s the correct term) once and she would always be very nervous if the herd (my family) was getting too far away from each other and start to nip at our ankles to get us closer to each other again. Great dog!

Sending this to my best friend whose special interests are dog training and animal genetics, who this will make extremely happy, thank you! 😊

I might be a border collie.