There are very good one's out there as well as bad one's. Hopefully I can help with your choice of pet, and help you to choose one wisely. If you decide on a Shih-Tzu I can help, as I have 5 of my own. I suggest a training cage. After a very short period of time you will see, if you leave the door open to the crate they will go in there when they just want to be left alone to rest.
Some people like to wait until puppy is better trained before starting self feeding.
They will bark at strange noises but are not known to be hyper little barkers. Something I like most about the Shih-Tzu is that they don't really need alot of walking. In this respect these little sweeties are great for elderly people.