Shih Tzu Aggression

Question
My puppy (Rocky) is a 19 week old MN Shih Tzu.  We have had him for 2 weeks and are crate training him.  On average he stays in the crate for about 1 1/2 to 2hrs and then is taken out to do his business. We allowed him to play with his toys in a confined area  1 to 2 times a day for about 1/2 hr.  On two occasions he has growled at us when he is reprimanded.  The first occasion was when he was jumping and biting one of my younger boys pants.  We told him "no Rocky" (firmly without screaming) and removed him and be continued to go back to him and pursue him and growl at him.  The second time was when I was holding him on my lap and he wanted to go down and I said no.  The way I handled it was by putting him back in his crate and while it may not seem like the right thing to do because I don't want him to see it as a punishment to be in there I didn't want to reinforce his behavior by holding and petting him.  Lastly, he was playing with a toy and my husband wanted to play fetch and he became snippy and barked at him and went after him to bite him.  We then put him in the crate and brought him out again shortly thereafter and allowed him to play again.  What is the right approach to this type of behavior and is it normal for a Shih Tzu to behave this way?

Answer
Dear Liz,
Thanks for writing. You are on the right track with your crate training routine.

It sounds like you have a communication problem :). Your puppy is playing and responding to the reprimands as if he were interacting with another puppy. This is usually the result of how people play with puppies.  

If any of the play involves wrestling, getting on the floor, rolling, shoving, hands on dog, chasing, et cetera- you've been telling this guy that you play like puppies play.

The key to Play-Biting is to
1) prevent the behavior by how you interact
2) stop the play the instant he bites
3) redirect him to bite suitable items and then praise him for doing so.

If he is only focused on biting hands or pants and you can't seem to get him interested in biting toys, he either needs some exercise or he needs a nap.

Change the way you reprimand him. Saying NO is almost like a challenge to some puppies. They have no idea of what NO means, but take it as a battle cry!

Tell him NO and then show him the meaning by your actions. Just stop interacting with him, walk away. That will teach him that NO means he crossed the line and you are leaving him because of his actions.

Crating as punishment can be tricky. If he doesn't know what he did to get isolated, he might start to dislike his crate. On the flip side, holding him and petting him would tell him that you liked his behaviors and it might increase them - as you indicated.

When they Play-bite, I usually just stop interacting unless the pup is "wildly focused" on biting, then I say something like "Ooops, you blew it" the instant he bites and then I crate him for a few minutes. Take him out, coax him to play nicely and then praise him. If he starts to bite, repeat the sequence. He'll need several repetitions before he will learn.

Are you teaching him sit, down, stay, leave-it, go-to-place, walk nicely on lead? These are basic skills all dogs should learn. Training teaches dogs about our language and our expectations.

Play-biting is a stage of development. With the right input from the family, it will pass.

Good Luck. Thanks for writing.

One more thing- always supervise all play between kids and dogs. Make sure your kids don't interact with their hands by wrestling or shoving. If Rocky chases and bites your children, he can't be left loose to practice. Attach a leash or longer line so you can prevent Rocky from play-attacking your kids.

You'll be able to let them play - after Rocky and your children both learn how to interact with each other. For now, kids should play hide-n-seek or fetch or sit-for-treats, or take your kids on walks with Rocky.

Thanks again.

Alan J Turner
http://howsbentley.com