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Preface

There is no question that the Shih Tzu is one of the most popular breeds in the country today. The breed has it all: beauty, intelligence, loyalty, and that little bit of spunk that makes this dog 100 percent “Shih Tzu.” If there ever was a dog bred to be a constant companion, the Shih Tzu is it.

However, no dog, no matter how bright and loving, comes prewired to be a perfectly behaved, well-mannered house pet. He doesn’t know where it’s okay to relieve himself, how to walk nicely on a leash, or that he’ll get more pats and loves if he sits calmly rather than jump up and do his Shih Tzu dance. Ready and willing as the Shih Tzu is to be the perfect pet, he requires training.

The purpose of this book is not to create the next obedience champion or top-ranked agility dog (though you might discover while working with your dog that he is capable of many great things). The real intention is to provide some insight into the way a Shih Tzu learns, unravel some of the mysteries of why he does the things that he does, and teach owners how to shape desired behaviors with positive, reward-based training methods.

Training Your Shih Tzu is not intended to be the “end all” gospel of training; it is a guide to training. Though most Shih Tzu possess certain breed characteristics that make them similar to train, each Shih Tzu has a unique personality with individual likes and dislikes, abilities and challenges.

Because of this, your Shih Tzu may respond better to some training approaches than others. For this reason, I’ve detailed several approaches and strategies for training different commands and behaviors. Experiment a little. As you work with your Shih Tzu, you’ll discover what works best for him.

Most importantly, it is hoped that Training Your Shih Tzu will help you to keep an open mind about new ways to train your dog. Training methods are constantly evolving. Positive, reward-based training is the approach of choice but, every day, people are coming up with more and more innovative ways to teach behaviors and solve problems. Keep your eyes and ears open. Read training articles. You may be the next person to come up with a different way to teach a Shih Tzu a new skill.

Always remember that if it’s not fun, it’s not (effective) training. Just ask your Shih Tzu! He’ll tell you!

NOTE: Many dog lovers feel that the pronoun “it” is not appropriate when referring to a beloved pet. For this reason, Shih Tzu are described as “he” throughout this book, unless the topic specifically relates to female dogs. This by no means infers any preference, nor should it be taken as an indication that either sex is problematic.