shih-tzu house training

Shih-tzu house training

House training a shih-tzu is much the same as house training any dog or puppy. Many puppies are returned to their breeder because they fail (the owner, not the dog!) in this task. Don't let it be yours. Most house training problems are caused not because the puppy can't be house trained but because you the owner have not communicated properly what you want him to do.

The good news is, if you follow the simple rules that follow consistently, house training your shih-tzu will be a breeze.

• You must decide in advance how you are going to house train your puppy. Are you going to paper train him or always take him outside.
• If you are going to paper train remember to prepare an area beforehand and ensure everyone knows where to take puppy if he needs to go.
• Your puppy should never relieve himself unsupervised, you should accompany him every time. That way, you can praise him when he goes and you'll know he's been!
• Puppies and particularly shih-tzu's only have small bladders, so when they need to go they really need to go right now. So it's important you recognize the times and signs that he wants to go.
• The times puppies almost always want to go are straight after eating, when he gets excited and soon after he's woken up from a sleep or nap.
• Take your puppy potty as often as you can, once a hour at first if you can manage it, because the fewer mistakes he makes the better.
• If your puppy starts wandering around, looks uncomfortable and is sniffing the floor chances are he wants to go and is looking for a suitable spot.
• Always get your puppy looked over by a vet. If he is ill or has worms, house training will be made even more difficult.
• If you choose to only allow him to relieve himself outside then choose a spot and encourage your puppy to go their every time.
• Use a command like "go here" or any other word or phrase your not going to accidentally use. Never use "good girl" or "good boy" you could be in trouble!
• Remember to praise your puppy in a soft calm voice after he's been.
• Because puppies and dogs do not like to relieve themselves near where they sleep we can use this to our advantage by restricting his movements. One of the best ways to do this is by crating your dog. Crating is not cruel, you can read all about crating your dog or puppy here. Once you have a crate whenever you can't supervise your puppy you can place him in it. Be careful not to leave him crated for to long, eventually he is not going to be able to hold on any longer and he will relieve himself in the crate. This will reinforce the very behavior we are trying to eliminate so keep his stay in the crate short at first.
• No matter how vigilant you are sooner or later your puppy is going to have an accident. Don't get angry, stay calm and just clean up the mess as if nothing had happened. Remember about 5 seconds after he made the mistake he forgot all about it. So if you are angry or punish him he won't understand why. He is not human! Their is also the danger that in the future he'll hide to relieve himself.
• Do not ever be tempted to rub your dogs nose in his own mess. Remember it's cruel and will lengthen the time it takes you to house train him. Some people even think that it may encourage him to eat his own poo later on when he's an adult.

House training any dog is just common sense! The most important thing you can do to shorten the time it takes for your dog to be clean in the house is to spend time with him. For the first two to three weeks he should be constantly supervised. Consider taking your vacation when your new puppy arrives. Spend some time bonding with him and showing him exactly what you expect to him. Anytime spent with your young puppy will pay off ten fold when he's grown up because you will have set a firm foundation of respect and trust.

Have fun with your new family member but remember he is young and will make mistakes. I know I still do!

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All the best,

Laura

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