Abstract The nonlinear propagation of dust-ion-acoustic shock waves (DIASWs) in unmagnetized dusty plasma comprising inertial ions, non-Maxwellian electrons with two distinct temperatures, and negatively charged dust is investigated in this article using a different approach based on the Sagdeev pseudopotential theory. The reductive perturbation approach is used to produce the KdVB and mKdVB equations and a comparison of their analytical and numerical solutions is shown. The effects of various parameters consisting of macroscopic non-thermal, ion-kinematic viscosity, etc. that significantly alternate the qualitative properties of DIASW are discussed. Both oscillatory and monotonic natures of the dispersive-diffusive shock wave structures are described in the present study. It has also been concentrated on nonlinear dynamics in such a plasma environment. The findings of this study should aid in understanding the nonlinear dynamics of wave damping and interactions in space and laboratory dusty plasmas, where the most relevant plasma parameters are kinematic viscosity and macroscopic non-thermality.