Training YourShih Tzu
Joan Hustace Walker
About the Author
Joan Hustace Walker is a member of the Dog Writer’s Association of America (DWAA) and The Authors Guild. The author of 15 books and hundreds of articles, Joan has been nominated for 27 national awards, and received the DWAA’s coveted Maxwell Award six times, including the award for the 2006 Best Single Breed Book. Joan has been active in conformation, obedience, performance events, and rescue at various levels of participation for the past 30+ years. She trained the #1 Whippet and #1 Hound in obedience when she was just 13 years old, and showed successfully in Junior Showmanship and in the breed ring. She currently serves as chauffeur for her daughter, Grace, as she competes with her Havanese in the breed ring and in Juniors.
© Copyright 2009 by Barron’s Educational Series Inc.
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means without the written permission of the copyright owner.
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Barron’s Educational Series, Inc.
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www.barronseduc.com
ISBN-13: 978-0-7641-4109-6
ISBN-10: 0-7641-4109-0
Library of Congress Catalog Card No. 2008025882
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Walker, Joan Hustace, 1962–
Training your shih tzu / Joan Walker,
p. cm.
Includes index.
ISBN-13: 978-0-7641-4109-6
ISBN-10: 0-7641-4109-0
1. Shih tzu — Training. I. Title.
SF429.S64W35 2009
636.76—dc222008025882
9 8 7 6 5 4 3
Acknowledgments
This book would not be possible without the kind and generous help of Barb Pennington and Carlene Snyder, who freely shared their years of experience raising and training Shih Tzu with me. Also, a special thanks to Rich and Linda Garrison, the Viola family, and my daughter, Grace. I’d be remiss not to give a special thanks to Gigi and Chewie, but I have a feeling they’d prefer some garlic chicken.
Cover Credits
Front cover: Jean Fogle; Back cover: Tara Darling; Inside front cover: Tara Darling; Inside back cover: Jean Fogle.
Photo Credits
Joan Balzarini: page 105; Kent Dannen: pages 5, 7, 33, 35, 41 top and bottom, 47, 48, 50, 63, 64, 85, 93 top and bottom, 110, 111, 117, 123, 125, 127, 128, and 132; Tara Darling: pages 4, 76 bottom, 99, 107, and 143; Cheryl A. Ertelt: pages 16, 51, 55, and 77; Jean Fogle: pages 11, 23, 31, 69 bottom, 76 top, 78, 81, 91, 120, 129, 130, and 138; Isabelle Francais: pages 12, 14, 36, and 95; Karen Hudson: page 71; Curtis Hustace: pages 2, 26, 27, 38, 72, 82 bottom, 89, and 121; Daniel Johnson: page 58; Paulette Johnson: pages x, 6, 13, 15, 19, 21, 24, 39, 43, 45, 57, 61, 67, 83, 113, and 136; Pets by Paulette: pages viii, 53, 60, 73, 92, 103, 106, 118, 133, 134, and 137; Shutterstock: pages 8, 46, and 79; Margery Squier: pages 3, 22, 34, 37, 62, 74, 97, 100, 119, 126, 139, and 146; Joan Hustace Walker: pages 40, 49, 69 top, 82 top, 84 left and right, 87 all, 88, 90 all, 96 left and right, 101 left and right, 104 all, 109, and 114 all.
Important Note
This book tells the reader how to train a Shih Tzu. The author and the publisher consider it important to point out that the advice given in the book is meant primarily for dogs of excellent physical health and good character.
Anyone who adopts a fully grown dog should be aware that the animal has already formed its basic impressions of human beings. There are dogs that as a result of bad experiences with humans behave in an unnatural manner or may even bite. Only people that have experience with dogs should take in such an animal.
Even well-behaved and carefully supervised dogs sometimes do damage to someone else’s property or cause accidents. It is, therefore, in the owner’s interest to be adequately insured against such eventualities, and we strongly urge all dog owners to purchase a liability policy that covers their dog.
Preface
There is no question that the Shih Tzu is one of the most popular breeds in the country today. The breed has it all: beauty, intelligence, loyalty, and that little bit of spunk that makes this dog 100 percent “Shih Tzu.” If there ever was a dog bred to be a constant companion, the Shih Tzu is it.
However, no dog, no matter how bright and loving, comes prewired to be a perfectly behaved, well-mannered house pet. He doesn’t know where it’s okay to relieve himself, how to walk nicely on a leash, or that he’ll get more pats and loves if he sits calmly rather than jump up and do his Shih Tzu dance. Ready and willing as the Shih Tzu is to be the perfect pet, he requires training.
The purpose of this book is not to create the next obedience champion or top-ranked agility dog (though you might discover while working with your dog that he is capable of many great things). The real intention is to provide some insight into the way a Shih Tzu learns, unravel some of the mysteries of why he does the things that he does, and teach owners how to shape desired behaviors with positive, reward-based training methods.
Training Your Shih Tzu is not intended to be the “end all” gospel of training; it is a guide to training. Though most Shih Tzu possess certain breed characteristics that make them similar to train, each Shih Tzu has a unique personality with individual likes and dislikes, abilities and challenges.
Because of this, your Shih Tzu may respond better to some training approaches than others. For this reason, I’ve detailed several approaches and strategies for training different commands and behaviors. Experiment a little. As you work with your Shih Tzu, you’ll discover what works best for him.
Most importantly, it is hoped that Training Your Shih Tzu will help you to keep an open mind about new ways to train your dog. Training methods are constantly evolving. Positive, reward-based training is the approach of choice but, every day, people are coming up with more and more innovative ways to teach behaviors and solve problems. Keep your eyes and ears open. Read training articles. You may be the next person to come up with a different way to teach a Shih Tzu a new skill.
Always remember that if it’s not fun, it’s not (effective) training. Just ask your Shih Tzu! He’ll tell you!
NOTE: Many dog lovers feel that the pronoun “it” is not appropriate when referring to a beloved pet. For this reason, Shih Tzu are described as “he” throughout this book, unless the topic specifically relates to female dogs. This by no means infers any preference, nor should it be taken as an indication that either sex is problematic.
1 Why Train Your Sh Tzu?
The Shih Tzu