Temperament tested · Health guaranteed
AKC Shih Tzu · Houston, TX
Mending hearts. Building families.
Shih Tzu puppies raised on a service dog curriculum, temperament tested at nine weeks, and matched to your actual life.
✓Health tested parents
✓Temperament matched
✓Raised in our home
AKC Shih Tzu · Houston, TX · Temperament matched
Mending hearts.
Building families.
Shih Tzu puppies raised on a service dog curriculum, temperament tested at nine weeks, and matched to your actual life, not to whoever called first.
✓Fully health tested parents
✓Temperament tested & matched
✓Raised in our home
Temperament tested
Scored before
you choose
Every puppy is evaluated at nine weeks against the traits that actually predict how they’ll live with you.
Matched
To your home,
not your turn
You don’t pick from photos and hope. We match by need and lifestyle, then you choose from your best fits.
Health tested
Proven
on paper
Parents are fully health tested before breeding, and every puppy leaves here health guaranteed, not promised.
Verified & certified
Ready now
Pups looking
for their people
These pups are ready to go home now. Every one has a completed health record and a temperament score.
Applying costs nothing and holds nothing. It’s simply how we get to know you before a puppy is on the table.
The new standard of puppy raising
Three things we
will not skip
01
Health, proven on paper
Every parent is fully health tested before they’re ever bred. Puppies leave with a health guarantee, not a promise.
02
A service dog curriculum
From week one our puppies work through an advanced curriculum: handling, sound, surfaces, problem solving. Confidence is built, not hoped for.
03
Matched, not picked
At nine weeks each puppy is temperament evaluated and scored. Then we match: your home, your pace, your people.
How it works
From here to your puppy
01
Apply
Fill out the puppy application. It’s free, it’s the first step, and it tells me about your life at home.
02
Talk to me
Once you’re approved you’ll get a link to schedule a call. Bring every question you have.
03
Choose a list
Join an expecting list or the Ultimate Match Program with your deposit.
04
Get matched
At nine weeks, after evaluations, you select the puppy who actually fits you.
Most families are on a list within a week of applying.
Take the quiz · two minutes
Which temperament
belongs in your home?
The cutest puppy in the litter is not automatically your puppy. This quiz tells you what temperament to look for, so when the photos start arriving you already know what you’re looking at.
Prefer to read first? Download Program at a Glance, everything about how we breed, in one place.
From our families
Homes that found
their match
“Ara matched us with a puppy I would not have chosen from a photo. She was right. He is exactly the dog our house needed.
The MerrillsDallas, TX
“We came in wanting a color. We left understanding temperament. That conversation changed the whole experience.
Janine R.Atlanta, GA
“Our girl flew to us with a nanny and walked into the house like she’d always lived here. Nothing about it felt like a transaction.
Tom & ElisePortland, OR
Then & Now pupdates from past families are on the site too. Years later, still sending photos.
Raising my own Divine Pups became
My life’s purpose
Family has been the force behind this program from the start. Some of our adults live here in our home. Others live with doting families who send me photos I still open immediately.
My mission is to breed dogs who are healthy, and behaviorally healthy. Well tempered. Beautiful, yes. But sound first.
I want them to mend hearts and build families. And if it’s their destiny, some Divine Pups will go on to serve as ESA, therapy, facility or service dogs.
The power of a dog can only really be explained by people who’ve felt it. I’d like you to feel it too.
Ara HugheyCertified Dog trainer · puppy evaluator
Questions
Asked most
often
Still stuck on something? Text me. I’d rather answer it now than have you guess.
How do I reserve a puppy?
Start with a puppy application. Once I’ve received it you’ll get a welcome email from ara@yourdivinepup.com. Check your spam folder, it likes to hide there. From there we schedule a call and talk about lists.
What does temperament actually mean?
Temperament is a dog’s nature: individual differences in behavior that are biologically based. It isn’t coat, and it isn’t trained behavior like sit or stay. It’s who the dog is. We score for specific traits so we can match puppies to families by need and lifestyle.
What Shih Tzu colors do you have?
All of them, over time. Per the AKC, all Shih Tzu coat colors are permissible, and there’s real variety here: black, gold, chocolate, brindle, parti, plus pigmentation variations. Our colors page walks through each one.
What is a puppy curriculum?
An advanced service dog curriculum we run from the first week: early neurological stimulation, novel surfaces and sounds, handling, problem solving. It’s the work behind a puppy who meets new things with curiosity instead of panic.
Can you get a puppy to me if I'm not in Houston?
Yes. We deliver nationwide through our pet nanny service. Your puppy is accompanied the entire way, never shipped as cargo.
The first step is small
Let’s find out which puppy is yours
The application is free and takes a few minutes. No deposit, no commitment. Just the start of a real conversation.