Wish me luck!

You beliving that she is ready and ACTUALLY being ready are to seperate things. with no health testing done ect she should not be bred. period. you dont know if she has any genetic defects that can be passed on. I dont know what genetic issues the 'tzus have. But what ever they do have I sureley would have gotten that hecked first.

wont be some "elite" breeder breeding this way...

Tzu's have PLENTY of issues...as do many Toy and Brachiocephalic breeds. Liver, heart, eyes, knees...MINIMUM that should be tested.
Stud and bitch BOTH.

What bothered me is that she admitted that her dog had a " few "faults."...mainly with her face .............

If we only bred faultless dogs there would be no more dogs. However, basics include HEALTH TESTING, and maturity before breeding.

Agree , add that and no testing isn't the way to go .

I don't think head faults are necessarily the kiss of death for a breeding career, especially in a breed like Shih Tzu (which, like collies, has a very specific head type that is the ideal, with MANY factors that can all individually vary- it's not like a Cardi head where you check off the boxes- ears at proper set & large enough and not TOO pointy, eyes not too round or too big or too small, and general profile okay).

All that said - health testing is a must. At least eyes and patellas!