Shih Tzu – Training Your Shih Tzu Not To Bite

Bringing home a new shih tzu puppy is always an exciting time.
Introducing the new shih tzu puppy to the family should be fun
for both yourself and your shih tzu puppy. One of the first
challenges, however, to the excitement of the new shih tzu
puppy, is curbing inappropriate shih tzu puppy behaviors.

Preventing biting and mouthing Biting and mouthing is a common
activity for many young puppies and dogs. Puppies naturally bite
and mouth each other when playing with siblings, and they extend
this behavior to their human companions. While other puppies
have thick skin, however, humans do not, so it is important to
teach your shih tzu puppy what is appropriate, and what is not,
when it comes to using those sharp teeth.

The first part of training the shih tzu puppy is to inhibit the
biting reflex. Biting might be cute and harmless with a 5 pound
shih tzu puppy, but it is neither cute nor harmless when that
dog has grown to adulthood. Therefore, shih tzu puppies should
be taught to control their bite before they reach the age of
four months. Shih tzu puppies normally learn to inhibit their
bite from their mothers and their littermates, but since they
are taken away from their mothers so young, many never learn
this important lesson. It is therefore up to the humans in the
shih tzu puppy’s life to teach this lesson.

One great way to inhibit the biting reflex is to allow the shih
tzu puppy to play and socialize with other shih tzu puppies and
socialized older shih tzu dogs. Shih tzu puppies love to tumble,
roll and play with each other, and when shih tzu puppies play
they bite each other constantly. This is the best way for shih
tzu puppies to learn to control themselves when they bite. If
one shih tzu puppy becomes too rough when playing, the rest of
the group will punish him for that inappropriate behavior.
Through this type of socialization, the shih tzu puppy will
learn to control his biting reflex.

Proper socialization has other benefits as well, including
teaching the shih tzu dog to not be fearful of other dogs, and
to work off their excess energy. Shih tzu puppies that are
allowed to play with other shih tzu puppies learn important
socialization skills generally learn to become better members of
their human family. Shih tzu puppies that get less socialization
can be more destructive, more hyperactive and exhibit other
problem behaviors.

In addition, lack of socialization in shih tzu puppies often
causes fearful and aggressive behaviors to develop. Dogs often
react aggressively to new situations, especially if they are not
properly socialized. In order for a shih tzu dog to become a
member of the community as well as the household, it should be
socialized to other people, especially children. Dogs make a
distinction between their owners and other people, and between
children and adults. It is important, therefore, to introduce
the shih tzu puppy to both children and adults.

The best time to socialize a shih tzu puppy to young children is
when it is still very young, generally when it is four months
old or younger. One reason for this is that mothers of young
children may be understandably reluctant to allow their children
to approach large dogs or older puppies. This is especially true
with large breed dogs, or with breeds of dogs that have a
reputation for aggressive behavior.

Using trust to prevent biting Teaching your shih tzu puppy to
trust and respect you is a very effective way to prevent biting.
Gaining the trust and respect of your shih tzu dog is the basis
for all dog training, and for correcting problem behaviors.

It is important to never hit or slap the puppy, either during
training or any other time. Physical punishment is the surest
way to erode the trust and respect that must form the basis of
an effective training program. Reprimanding a dog will not stop
him from biting – it will simply scare and confuse him.

Training a shih tzu puppy not to bite is a vital part of any
puppy training program. Biting behaviors that are not corrected
will only get worse, and what seemed like harmless behavior in a
shih tzu puppy can quickly escalate to dangerous, destructive
behavior in an adult dog.