So. Who Has A Shih Tzu?? General Chat

I have a 3 year old male Shih Tzu. He is called Romeo and we love him to bits but just two problems,:

He grumbles all the time hehe. Not aggressively just grumblee. Does anybody else have this problem with a Shih Tzu?

He doesnt like other dogs. He tries to play fight with big dogs! Anybody else had any problems like this with a Shih Tzu?

We love him to bits though. He is our world and i dont know what i'd do without him.

Would love to hear from anybody else with Shih Tzu's xx Love Hollie

Play fighting is playing .......
How well socialised is he? Do you walk with other dogs or attend a dog club?

Ah, Thanks for the reply.

We walk with 4 other dogs.

Brodie a springer spaniel

Sandy a golden retriever

Jess a cocker spaniel

Tilly a springer spaniel

Coco a shih tzu

Rachael a staffordshire bull terrier

We walk with them every day however Romeo is the one of middle age. The bigger and older dogs are off lead most of the time and the younger ones are off lead to with the exeption of Brodie and Tilly. He hasnt really been that socialised which is where i think i went wrong but he was so timid and we had no other dogs we really knew at the time that werent bothered by puppies. The only dogs we knew were rottweilers staffy's and mastiff's. Those are the main dogs on our estate with the people we know. There were terriers etc but we werent well known with their owners unfortunately. We never put him in the puppy park because of all the other large dogs and i think we pittied his size too much. wish i had known then what i know now x

Not too late to start at a training class now

We have a 9 week old male Shih Tzu his name his Max so all the advice required would be helpful. We just cant wait to start taking him out. I have posted some pics up of him

My Sis has one pure bred and a cross... here are the gorgeous girls..

Delilah (pure bred)




Kizzy (shih tzu x bichon/poodle)

Jasoncathy:

Hiiaa i'm Shih Tzu Lover the one who posted this thread.
So are you enjoying your new puppy?
When we got Romeo a purebread Shih Tzu we never experienced the chewing that you do with most breeds. I will give you some adivice on how to skip the chewing stage. Always keep him occupied and happy. If you leave your pet in during the day like we do then leave him some chews to snack on however asses them before hand if they are safe to leave.
When you are walking them they are natural leaders. Dont pitty his size and as they are naturally protective they will have some aggression issues with other dogs. When walking him as a puppy i reccommend a spray bottle. When he barks or shows aggression towards another dog you spray the water infront of him. This isnt harsh and it snapps the pup out of bad habits before he gets into a routine of them.
They are naturally loving and will hug && Kiss you all the time. He wont settle for you and your partner kissing or hugging, little max will fight his way in there mind. lol.
Do you know the orogin of shih tzu's? If you do know this then this will explain alot.
They also have a tendancie to grumble or growl at you when you are hugging them. As they were guards for the temples in japan and korea they were taught to remain silent as not to alert any intuders that they were there. And when praised they had it bred into them they had to make noise when being praised, growling is the easiest noise for them to make. If you stop when they grumble you will find that they then attempt to nip lick of pull your hand towards them as they want you to continue tickling,stroking or showing affection towards them.

Lurrve Shih Tzu Lover
Feel free to ask any questions you wish
Hollie xx

Thanks a lot for the advice hollie will keep in touch.

Thats fine Jasoncathy

Hi Hollie,
How are things going. Max is coming along really well he 6 months old now. We get him the puppy cut every 6 weeks, and he look fab. You correct when u say he leads u on walks he so full of energy. Things are going well
Regards
Jason

Oh hey jasoncathy
Thankks for keeping me up to date,
Yepp Romeo is a natural leader on walks hahaa
Have you started letting him of the leader yet?
Many shih tzu's do the same behaviour:
- They chase dogs and bark at them as they are so full of energy they want to play constantly.
This shouldnt be un-expected hahaa
Lovely to hear from you again - Keep in touch
Hollie x
- Romeo says woof to max

Yeah let him off the lead when there plenty of free space. He good with other dogs just have good sniff and as you say wants to play. Plenty of fun ahead I think too. Bought him a Kong yesterday he love it trying to get the treats out

Ah - Thats great!
And you couldnt be more right if you tried, there is PLENTY of fun ahead hahaa
They're so funny and loving,
Enjoy the time you have with max and dont be frightened to try new things
Have you had that eye op on max??
Hollie x

What is the eye op? He did have a ulcer the other week had to get drops for him. Plus he sporting a black eye at present my daughter throw him his ring and it hit him on the eyelid.

Jasoncathy
Well shih tzu's are prone to having bad eyes its because they stick out so far so they can see past their furry face hahaa
Well do max's eyes get gloopy and does a brown stain run from them and stain his face?

Hollie x

He does have a lot of sleepy eyes we wash them daily. Noticed his bottom set of teeth are started to show now also

I'm getting a shih tzu in 3 weeks and I can't wait.
I've never had a dog before so I really don't know what to expect!
this site is excellent for me, just learning now in preparation for the real thing!!!

People often ask if there is a toy dog that is not yappy and I say of course the 'shih tzu' another toy with a sweet temperament.

Hi there, I own a Shihtzu he is 4 months old and I adore every inch of him.

Here is a pic he has quite long fur at the moment but on Tuesday he gets his first puppy cut with teddy bear face, I know he is going to look different but still adorable. His name is oozy cos he oozes personality and bounces everywhere lol, I waited a long time to get my pup and he was so worth it.