Teaching Your Shih Tzu With Confidence And Respect

The first thing that any successful animal trainer must do is
win the confidence and respect of the animal to be trained. This
important piece of advice definitely applies to the training of
Shih Tzu. As social pack animals, dogs have a natural need to
follow a strong leader. Setting yourself, the owner or handler,
up as this leadership figure is the basis of any successful Shih
Tzu training program.

Until your shih tzu has learned to trust and respect you, it
will be difficult for any training program to be successful.
Trust and respect are not things that can be forced, they must
be earned through positive interaction with your four legged
companion. After the Shih Tzu has learned to trust and respect
the owner, he or she may be amazed at how quickly the training
sessions progress. Many new Shih Tzu owners mistake love and
affection for trust and respect. While it is of course good to
shower your new Shih Tzu or Shih Tzu puppy with love and
affection, it is also important to gain its confidence and
respect. It is also important to not allow the Shih Tzu puppy or
Shih Tzu dog to get away with everything it wants to. It is easy
to let a Shih Tzu take advantage of you, particularly when it is
so cute and adorable. It is important, however, to set
boundaries, and to establish acceptable and unacceptable
behaviors. Shih Tzu actually appreciate these types of
boundaries, since they are similar to the rules that the pack
leader establishes in nature. Every dog in the pack knows what
is expected of it, and knows its place in the pecking order.
This kind of structured hierarchy allows the pack to function,
hunt and survive as a single entity. Your Shih Tzu is actually
seeking this type of leadership. If he or she does not get
leadership from you, he or she may be frightened or confused.

In addition, failure to gain the respect of the Shih Tzu is very
important to the well being of both the human and the Shih Tzu.
A Shih Tzu that lacks respect for its human owner can be
dangerous as well as hard to live with. It is important to
establish firm boundaries of good and bad behavior, and to
consistently, effectively enforce those boundaries.

When dealing with a Shih Tzu puppy, it is important to start
gaining his respect and trust as soon as possible. Establishing
an early bond is the best way to move the training and
socialization process forward.

It is also important to make the initial training sessions
short. Shih Tzu puppies have a notoriously short attention span,
and even older untrained Shih Tzu may be unable to focus for
more than 10 or 15 minutes at a time. It is best to make the
lesson short and positive than to stretch it out and create a
negative experience.

It is also a good idea to start and end each session with a
period of play. Starting and ending the training sessions on a
high note is important. Shih Tzu make quick associations, and
creating a positive association with obedience training will
help to create a happy, healthy and well adjusted Shih Tzu. A
happy Shih Tzu will be easier to train, and more willing to
please.

It is also important to keep the Shih Tzu from becoming bored
during the training sessions. Many Shih Tzu owners make the
mistake of drilling the Shih Tzu on things like basic obedience
skills, heeling, sitting, etc. While these obedience skills are
important, and it is true that they will form the basis of more
advanced skills, it is important to mix things up and make
things fun for both yourself and your Shih Tzu. The more variety
you provide the better your Shih Tzu, and you, will enjoy the
training sessions.