House training a Shih Tzu puppy can be difficult if you don’t know what to expect from this lovely breed of small dog; don’t let the dog shows fool you, it takes work to instill some discipline in this dog. One of the reasons for the lack of ease has to do with the inability of this dog to receive punishment like other medium or large sized dogs. Your puppy could end up becoming less and less sociable the more often you punish him. It could, as some owners have reported, just do the opposite of what you expect it to do.
A Shih Tzu puppy will relieve himself when he can and will have little control over when that happens at first. As a puppy owner, your best bet is to quickly take him outside or to a designated bathroom area; be sure to cover that area with lots of old newspapers. You’ll have to fight a lot of fires at first, as this pup tends to do his job every few hours. It is not always possible to be there at home to take care of your dog, so it will be worth it when you install it.
However, if you are nearby, look for telltale signs of impending urination and poop. Common signs include whining and crying, sniffing the ground, and being anxious in general. The moment you see these signs, carefully pick up the puppy and run to the newspaper area or outside.
Following a schedule is another way. Typical times include right after eating and after a nap. If you can get into the habit of taking the puppy to the potty area, indoors and outdoors, then you can develop a habit of going to the potty area when it has to go. That, of course, is the goal. As long as your puppy moves to the potty area alone, you should praise him generously, because it can take a long time for that to happen.
You need to praise your puppy generously every time he does the right thing. And this brings us to the personality problem that the Shih Tzu has: good luck if you can make this breed do what you want. The point is, you need to feel like you can do what you want and get praised for, so you need to create an environment where that dog can be praised for relieving himself in the right place.
What you want to see is an effort on your puppy’s part to hurriedly move to the designated potty area, even when urinating on the way. Don’t expect to wake up the next morning to a well-trained dog – that just doesn’t happen. You should establish a routine and an environment that encourages the puppy to relieve himself and then be praised.