shih tzu

Question









































I have 3 females shih tzu. If I pet on Precious then Fancy jumps on her and Spirt jumps on her. If I pet on Fancy then Spirt jumps on her. If I pet on Spirt there is no fight. What should I do.  

Answer
This behavior is caused by rank issues among your females.  Obviously, Spirit is the higher ranking with Fancy second and Precious last.  You need to establish some psychological and physical control.  Learn about positive reinforcement training and teach each dog, separate from the others, one solid behavior (which will take weeks.)  Make each dog earn every interaction with YOU.  If your dogs perceive YOU as "leader", a simple low verbal correction from you will stop this behavior among them.  BUT...you need to do it correctly.  Training is NOT about coercion, pain and dominance.  It IS about teaching a dog to make choices that will reward it.  Read Patricia McConnell Ph.D. on dog psychology and positive reinforcement training and pay a visit to karen pryor's web site.