Agility Jump height for Shih Tzu?

How tall is the dog?  There's different heights and the dog jumps whatever height is the one below the dog's height.  For example, Chopper is 21" so she jumps 20".  The next jump height is 24" so the 25" GSDs are jumping the 24".

What organization?  AKC, NADAC, USDAA, CPE, UKC, etc.  There may be some differences, but probably 8 inches.

I can give you the NADAC information out of my handbook --  Small dogs with withers 11" and under jump 8".  Withers 14" and under jump 12".
 
If you enter Veteran (dog or handler) and/or Skilled, you can opt to drop down one height division -- meaning that your 8" dog would jump 4".  The 4" division is the lowest division in NADAC.

Harley is just about 10 inches at the whithers.  We did agility at the fair.  I think the jumps and tire were set to high for him.  Here is a picture what do you think?  The other dogs ranged from a sheltie to lab sizes.  They seemed to be higher then when we were taking classes.

The jumps in your photo appear to be set at 8".  The tire is tricky to set for small dogs and I will say that the tire in your picture does look like a bit of a stretch to be in the 8" division.  We once had to lower the tire to the ground for our 4" Miniature Daschund in class.  lol

A 10" dog should be able to handle 8" jumps no problem with training.  Dogs aren't born knowing how to jump, though -- you do need to work on it and use exercises to improve their jumping skill.  I'll also tell you now that jumping on lead is difficult for dogs.  Your dog would have a much easier time of it off leash.

I'm guessing they were using equipment belonging to an AKC club at your fair -- the jumps are set as low as they will go, and in AKC they don't go lower than 8" (I believe).  We have a couple of sets of jump standards at my club that only go down to 8" and we have to make a cross rail when the 4" dogs run.

I don't believe the jump height looks uncomfortable for your dog.  I think, instead, that he is having more problems with the restrictive short length of the leash he is on.

Like KarissaKS said, the jumps look like 8" and that should not be a problem for your dog dog do if she's had some training.  That being said, I certainly wouldn't start an 8" dog (dog who jumps 8") at 8" any more than I'd start a 24" dog off at 24".  In AKC, and most other venues, if you have a dog that would jump 8", you can entered the perferred class and jump 4".  The perferred class allows a dog to jump on jump height lower than its regular class and has extra time to do the course. 
 
Other important considerations for doing agility with a dog are: the dog's physical condition (most dogs are overweight), the dog's age, the outside temp (very important for short nosed dogs), the ground surface, etc. 

Thanks everyone...my son had him in agility.  I think it was hard for him to keep the leash loose yet not get caught on the obstacles.  The only obstacle he had trouble with was the tire..I know the tire was higher then he is used to.  We did on  leash at the fair since we are still very new to agility.

I've seen nasty accidents and dog's confidence totally ruined by leash-use on agility obstacles, and am firmly against it. If you can't control your dog off-leash you need to work on that before you approach an agility obstacle. Most GOOD beginner classes have sturdy fencing around the agility area and only allow one dog to work off-leash at a time.

Easy....this was a course offered by 4-H and they had the kids using the leash.  Keep in mind this was for kids to give them a chance to see if they liked it enough to pursue other places.  I understand your concerns.

I have two in my classes and I would not ask them to jump any higher than 8 inches, ever.  They are short legged, long backed dogs with a trend to the heavy chest.  Meaning they seem big around for their size.  And Buddy, the Shih Tzu in my monday class, is absolutely adorable and his fur is so soft!!! 

And the comment about GOOD agility classes... well, most people that begin in agility have no idea what it's like and just want to try it.  That's the way I was.  I have since worked on our off-leash work through our agility training and see why you would make this statement, but you would get far fewer people in classes if you required that for beginners.  It takes some practice and a good instructor keeping an eye out but it is possible to work a dog on leash over obstacles without snagging the leash on it.  Using jumps that are shorter than regulation helps in this aspect greatly.

It would be great if that was the case for all beginners, but it's not.  It's reality and if you required that of beginners, many clubs would probably have problems making ends meet if they did not fill their beginner classes most of the time.  And the people that KNOW this, meaning agility persons with their next agility pup in training, are going to be at that stage anyway but you are less likely to see those folks in the beginner classes because they typically have lots of the equipment already and can move into the next level class instead.

First of all, I don't think anyone should run an entire course with a dog who is not trained well enough in agility to be able to successfully complete the course off leash.
 
That said --- In the beginners class most, if not all, of the dogs tend to learn the obstacles on leash.  One at a time.  Then you start stringing a few things together, but you still keep it very short because the longer the "course," the more likely it is for the handler to get left behind and yank on the dog (thus discouraging them).
 
I think that the average adult is more than capable of handling a leashed dog over jumps and through weaves.  I short child is not.
 
In my beginners agility class we had a small 10-12 year old girl with her overly rambunxious young dog (the mother came but only watched and attempted to catch the dog the many times he got loose).  It was obviously very difficult for the girl to keep up with her dog while at the same time raising her arm high enough to clear the jump standard while holding the leash.  The end result was that her dog would spring over the bar only to be lynched and flung backwards when he hit the end of the leash.  The weave poles were physically impossible for this girl to get her dog through, even with the use of guide wires, because she could not maneuver her arm over and through the poles as we adults could.  Both girl and her mother "hit the mats" while chasing their dog because the dog got loose many times thanks to the young girl not being able to adequately control it.
 
This trio did not come to any further classes after the first night.  My instructor offered them private lessons (starting with obedience) and they did not take her up on it.  We were all so thankful to have them out of our agility group.
 
While I want to encourage junior handlers in agility, I do think that perhaps their training approach needs to be done a bit differently --- starting by taking more than the average number of obedience classes to ensure that they are coming into agility with a dog who responds well off lead and has a very reliable recall.  This will make their journey into agility far easier and more enjoyable for everyone (dog included).  Taking these classes in obedience will also teach the kid HOW to train and give them the tools they need to properly read their dog.

Harley has taken beginner obedience as well as beginner graduate classes.  The ring if you could call it that at the fair was not completely fenced in...which we knew ahead of time....therefore we went and did it on leash.  Not a safe thing for a dog to be running loose at the fair. 
We will be continuing obedience training as well as the agility. 
We also tested for Canine Good Citizen and he passed[].

It takes some practice and a good instructor keeping an eye out but it is possible to work a dog on leash over obstacles without snagging the leash on it. Using jumps that are shorter than regulation helps in this aspect greatly.

 
Tashakota-
 
The other thing that I've done that seems to help is for me, the instructor, to hold onto the leash.  That way the handler can focus on what he/she needs to - hand movement, where she's going, rewarding at the right time, etc.  And I can focus on the dog and leash (and what the handler is doing).  Otherwise it's really hard to learn the right body language, and hold onto the dog, and keep the leash out of the way, and watch where you're going and pull treats out of the pouch, etc.
 
 
Firestorm-
 
Looks like you have a great little dog there!  Shi's are wonderful fun little dogs.  Continue to enjoy you pup.

Harley looks great! What fun for your kids []   Chopper's trainer has a little boy and he began running her dogs (GSDs and a Golden) during competition at age 4!!