2 year old shih tzu

Question
We were recently given a two year old shih tzu who seems to have had no obedience training.  He is completely house trained with no accidents, but will not mind us.  He doesn't know anything about sitting, staying etc.  Is it possible to train a two year old dog and if so HOW????

Answer
Hi Kim,

Of course you can train a two year old. Believe it or not, your dog is eager to be trained. Dogs want rules and guidelines. It is when they are untrained without guidelines for behavior that they become stressed and create problems.

He doesn't "mind you" simply because he doesn't respect you yet. This is where the training comes in. Start with teaching him to walk on a heel. This will train him to both follow you and focus on you. When this is accomplished, move on to sit, down and stay. Lastly teach your dog the recall or "come" command. Once he is reliably able to do these core commands, you can then pretty much train him to do whatever you like.

For specific instructions on training these commands, I'd refer you to my website at http://wwww.perfectdogtraining.com/

Good Luck!
Sandy