My Experience Breeding For Imperial I started in 1988, with some tiny, and some standard. In 1991 I bought 2 tiny males .. 6 lbs each. I bred one of the males to a 12 lb female. She had 6 pups; 2 were standard 2 were small and 2 were Imperials. I kept back a 7 lb female and bred her to the other male, she had 4 pups. 2 were 7 lbs and 2 were 6 lbs. I kept a 6lb female and bred her back to a 6 lb male. She had 4 pups one was 3 lbs, one was 3 1/2 lbs and two were 4 lbs. Note that as you downsize the pups you also reduce the numbers in the litter. It is impossible to breed a standard female with a tiny male and have 6 or 7 pups and they all turn out to be small or Imperial. This is genetically impossible because with a dog with the large gene is dominant, while the small gene is recessive. Just like Black is dominant and white is recessive. You will always get some standards and tiny's. The smaller the female the smaller the litter size. When you breed tiny females to tiny males you will usually get Imperials and tiny but the litters will be smaller in numbers. It is all in the genetics. Talk to breeders and ask questions ... Never, Never, Never, will you ever breed a large female to a tiny male and get all small or Imperials! Mother Nature doesn't work like that. In order to keep track of which pup will be Imperial or tiny you should have a baby scale. Pups under 2 lbs at 8 weeks are tiny, the more under 2 lbs they are, the tinier they will be full grown. Here is an example: Black is dominant White is Recessive (hidden) Big is Dominant Small or imperial is recessive Breed big (dominant ) to small (recessive) you will end up with 1/2 and 1/2. It works the same with colour; that is why it is so hard to find an all white Shih Tzu. Please ask the breeders questions before making a decision. Anyone can say they have Imperials. I had a lady tell me her 12 lb dog was an Imperial (For the record: anything 6 lbs and under is an Imperial). Make the breeder prove they are selling what they say they are. A good breeder will keep records of all of their pups. Ask former customers to keep in touch, and call former customers see how the pups turned out. Knowledge is power. There's always more to learn! Borrow Books from the library, talk to more than one breeder, do your homework!!