phase out (fade) the treats used to shape the behavior. The next set of treats to fade will be those used to reward every correct behavior. You will always reward with praise and pats, but the treats will appear more randomly during training sessions.
Rule #9: Praise is the ultimate reward. Food rewards or playtime with a ball or toy are great rewards but your praise is what your Shih Tzu values most. Words of delight and physical pats and rubs are the ultimate reward for your dog.
Rule #10: It has to be fun. If your Shih Tzu doesn’t think you’re playing with him when you’re training, then you’re not making it enough fun for the dog.
Puppy Pointers
Puppies present a unique training problem to the owner: brief windows of opportunity. Very young puppies play hard, eat, relieve themselves, and sleep—not necessarily in that order. Finding a time when your puppy is focused enough on you to provide a productive training period can be difficult.
If you understand that your puppy can’t focus for long periods (or take much of anything very seriously, for that matter), you’ve got a leg up on training. To be effective, you will need to keep your sessions exceptionally brief (maybe just a few repetitions of one or two exercises). Keep in mind that training can be impromptu and that you can perform these quick training sessions multiple times during the day.
TZU TIP
When using treats as lures and rewards, it’s important that your Shih Tzu be a little hungry. If he’s just eaten a meal, he won’t be as motivated to work for food.
When training your puppy keep these pointers in mind. In addition, here are some more puppy-training tips.
1. Always end a training session on a good note. Have your puppy finish with a successful repetition—it does not have to be the exercise you’re working on, particularly if your Shih Tzu is having a difficult time.
2. Only train when you are in a good mood; your puppy will quickly sense your frustration, even if it’s not with him.
3. Have lots of patience. Shih Tzu puppies are easily distracted by the tiniest of things. His attention span will improve as he ages. When you see that he is maintaining his focus a little longer, you can work up to longer training sessions.
4. Burn off a little steam. If your puppy has lots of excess energy and can’t focus because he’s really wound up, play with him. Play zoomie around the house. Toss a ball. Go for a little walk. Then get your Shih Tzu’s attention for a mini training session.
5. Keep the puppy “joy” alive. Remember, it’s easy to squelch your puppy’s enthusiasm with just a single harsh word.
Working with Adult Dogs
Old(er) dogs can learn new tricks. In fact, the adult Shih Tzu will enjoy the extra attention she receives from you during training sessions. Training is also helpful in maintaining an elderly dog’s cognitive abilities.
A benefit to working with the adult Shih Tzu is that he has a considerably longer attention span than a puppy. If you’ve adopted a Shih Tzu, you may find that your dog already knows a few commands.
A potential challenge to training an adopted dog is that it is possible that his previous owner may have been hard on him and possibly “soured” the dog to training. All is not lost if you suspect this is the case. If you make sure that training sessions do not remotely resemble work, your Shih Tzu will likely respond to them quite enthusiastically.
When working with a rescued Shih Tzu, be aware of potential “hot spots,” areas on his body where the dog seems to be hypersensitive to touch. Painful experiences, such as being struck or grabbed roughly by the collar, will remain in a dog’s memory for a very long time. If you find an area where your dog dislikes being touched, check with your veterinarian to make sure that your Shih Tzu is physically okay. If there is no underlying injury or disease that is causing pain, and you can pretty much narrow down the abnormal behavior as a response to touch or handling, then approach training keeping this in mind.
The beauty of positive, reward-based training is that even the sensitive dog can be trained without being touched. As your adopted dog gains trust in you (and you in him) and his confidence levels rise, you will be able to handle him with fewer and fewer problems. He may never quite overcome his sensitivity to being touched in a certain area, but he will tolerate you touching him.
For most rehomed Shih Tzu, however, over-training or poor training aren’t the issues; it’s usually that the dog was turned over to a rescue or shelter because of a lack of training. Though working with an untrained adult dog can be challenging at first, once you’ve got the ball rolling and the adult dog begins to understand what this training thing is, she tends to learn very quickly.
Working on basic commands is extremely helpful in gently establishing who is the leader in your home. Training prevents a pushy Shih Tzu from becoming the self-appointed boss of the home. The more time you put in to your dog’s training, the deeper your bond will be with your dog.
Older dogs benefit from the mental stimulation that training can provide.
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