A Shih Tzu is a proud and regal dog that likes things very clean and doesn’t really get trained. You can show a Shih Tzu what you expect it to do, but in the end if it does not adopt the behavior then you have a long road ahead of you. Punishment and negative reinforcement will cause all of your training to be undone and you may even have to reconnect with your Shih Tzu after any punishment. Your Shih Tzu only understands positive reinforcement so be patient and use good training.
At some point some Shih Tzu owners think that Shih Tzu paper training may work in their house breaking attempts. Housebreaking a Shih Tzu is a long process that can take months and the one thing you do not want to do is keep introducing new things into the process. This will confuse your dog and set back your training by months.
Housebreaking a Shih Tzu, even in the most ideal situations, can take up to six months to complete before the dog really gets it. So before you resort to Shih Tzu paper training you may want to make sure you have really given all standard housebreaking methods a chance first. Sometimes it just takes your Shih Tzu a little longer to catch on but standard housebreaking will work much better than the paper method.
It is assumed that you have established a living area for your Shih Tzu in your home because that is step number one in housebreaking. If the Shih Tzu is going in areas just around the living area then try expanding its living area to include the soiled areas and then move its bedding close to, but not on, the soiled area. Then resume normal housebreaking activities. A Shih Tzu will not soil where it sleeps so maybe it will understand going outside better if you keep forcing it to sleep near soiled areas.
Shih Tzu paper training can take longer than housebreaking and can undo any housebreaking training you have already done. If you would like to try it then move their living area to the spot they are soiling the most and cover the soiled spot with layers of newspaper. Praise the dog when it uses the paper and clean the papers often but always leave behind a small soiled area so they know it is okay to use the papers. Then slowly move everything towards the door and then start getting the dog used to going outside.
Housebreaking a Shih Tzu can be one of the most frustrating things you have ever tried but you need to be patient and stick with a housebreaking routine. Breaking that routine by moving the living space and adding newspapers will probably set your housebreaking back to square one so be patient and stick with the standard methods before you try the papers.
This article is full of helpful information about Shih Tzu training. You will be able to use this article along with dog training books to train your dog.
Posted under Dog Breeds, dog training
This post was written by admin on October 24, 2008
