My 8yr daughter has gotten a shih tzo puppy that she is training to be shown in 4H with lots of help from me. However even after researching the breed, we have more questions as we need help sorting though info. For example we have heard they were hard to housebreak yet, Balto (the puppy) is almost housebroken at 14 weeks during the day at least. He also gets along famously with our other three older dogs, Trigger(lab/golden mix)., Pongo(very petite lab) and Hobbes (lab/shephard mix). We have also heard that some say they are catlike and won't listen while others say they are intelligent and easily trained. So shih tzo owners can you help clear some of this up and tell us how this breed really does act?
shih Tzu questions?
- Thread starter 3dogmom
- Start date
A well raised shih tzu generally is a delightful little dog. Personable and yep imo pretty easy to train using positive methods.
Most shih tzus in this country are products of BYBers and puppymills. Many of these puppies lack the exposure and the environment at a young age to thrive in the average pet home later and lack the bond with people, the stable temperament, and health that should be part of the breed.
Most shih tzus in this country are products of BYBers and puppymills. Many of these puppies lack the exposure and the environment at a young age to thrive in the average pet home later and lack the bond with people, the stable temperament, and health that should be part of the breed.
What exactly do you mean by "positive methods"? There are so many ways to train a dog that my head swims. My daughter uses a Halti to walk him not because she has too but because she's more comfortable walking him that way since she has grown up using one on the big dogs.
if most come from irreputable sources, that kind of explains why our vet referred to him as a " nice sensible-sized little tank".
if most come from irreputable sources, that kind of explains why our vet referred to him as a " nice sensible-sized little tank".
Housebreaking I'm not sure of, my uncle used very punitive methods to housebreak his Shih Tzu and it took over a year. She gets along great with most dogs, she's undersocialized so you can tell that she's not entirely comfortable but she's friednly and happy to meet other dogs (except my dog).
As far as training goes Phobe is an absolute joy to train. I clicker train and she caught on quick to offering behaviors and experimenting with her behavior to see what I want. She's very clicker saavy and can figure out what I want very quickly. Learning the verbal cue takes her a little bit but nothing ridiculous. I love training her. Her overall personality gets on my nerves (she's a BYB dog raised by people who don't know about socialization) but as soon as I start a training session with her I love her again. She's so fun to train. I think using any sort of correction would be terrible, she's very soft and even if I'm simply getting frustrated she starts getting nervous and then starts having trouble concentrating. They may have gotten their "stupid" reputation from people who use leash pops, physical manipulation, and other forms of punishment in their training. That would shut Phoebe down and she would perform a lot worse.
As far as training goes Phobe is an absolute joy to train. I clicker train and she caught on quick to offering behaviors and experimenting with her behavior to see what I want. She's very clicker saavy and can figure out what I want very quickly. Learning the verbal cue takes her a little bit but nothing ridiculous. I love training her. Her overall personality gets on my nerves (she's a BYB dog raised by people who don't know about socialization) but as soon as I start a training session with her I love her again. She's so fun to train. I think using any sort of correction would be terrible, she's very soft and even if I'm simply getting frustrated she starts getting nervous and then starts having trouble concentrating. They may have gotten their "stupid" reputation from people who use leash pops, physical manipulation, and other forms of punishment in their training. That would shut Phoebe down and she would perform a lot worse.
We're using a crate and ex-pen for housetraining. However Balto seems to be well socialized as we take him everywhere we take the big dogs or is at least getting there. I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one who has suspected a bright dog in that head as he's seemed to learn how to sit when fed by osmosis.
- Joined
- Oct 14, 2006
- Messages
- 15,349
- Likes
- 0
- Points
- 36
Sometimes smaller dogs are slightly more difficult to train than larger dogs, because they have smaller bladders and need to go out a little bit more often. If you're at home, though, it shouldn't be very hard using a good method (like crate training).
Shih Tzus are intelligent little dogs. Unfortunately like Kat said, many small toy breeds are overbred and bred in deplorable conditions because they sell for a huge profit. They are also often allowed to get away with murder in a way bigger dogs never would be. A healthy shih tzu puppy raised properly using positive reinforcement can learn many commands and tricks, as well as basic manners.
Good luck with little Balto. There is a lot of good information on Chaz, so feel welcome to stick around the forum and ask any more questions you have. As you know, there is a lot of conflicting information about dog training available both online and in books and on tv...your best bet is to use common sense and thoroughly research whatever methods you decide to use.
Shih Tzus are intelligent little dogs. Unfortunately like Kat said, many small toy breeds are overbred and bred in deplorable conditions because they sell for a huge profit. They are also often allowed to get away with murder in a way bigger dogs never would be. A healthy shih tzu puppy raised properly using positive reinforcement can learn many commands and tricks, as well as basic manners.
Good luck with little Balto. There is a lot of good information on Chaz, so feel welcome to stick around the forum and ask any more questions you have. As you know, there is a lot of conflicting information about dog training available both online and in books and on tv...your best bet is to use common sense and thoroughly research whatever methods you decide to use.