This video will show you three ways on how to potty train your shih tzu. Different ways are given since some might work best on other dogs. First way Shih tzus can be easily trained due to its breed. They are also very smart. In terms of potty training your Shih tzu patience is the key. First you need to put some boundaries. Let your Shih Tzu know where will she do her thing. After that, praise them or give them some treats. Never use scolding or hitting as your training method. This can alienate your Shih Tzu. 1. Let your Shih Tzu stay in a crate. Put her inside when you can't monitor her. This should be big enough so that your Shih tzu can comfortably move around it. Put some toys, bedding and water. This crate plays an important role for your shih tzu's natural instinct. Since in the wild they sleep in dens. Place your crate outside if it is daytime, this will let your dog go in and out of the crate. This will also make the Shih tzu willing to enter the crate when you need to put her away. Never use the crate as a form of punishment. 2. Feeding schedule should be regular. Doing this will make your Shih tzu use the bathroom at regular time as well. If you can feed them at the same time each day much better. At the same time, Never control your dog's access to water this will make them unhealthy. Give them fresh water all the time. 3. Monitor the sign when your Shih Tzu needs to go out. Doing it for the first time, take your Shih Tzu out when you notice that she's about to use the bathroom. In that way she will learn to associate going outside with relieving herself. Some sign like squatting or sniffing, you need to take your shih tzu outside so she can eliminate. For puppies always remember they need to go out more often. They need to use the bathroom around every 2 hours. They are like babies you need to pay close attention to them. 4. Make a regular schedule of letting your shih tzu out of the crate. This can help you Shih tzu train itself to eliminate outside. Also this is much easier for it to wait instead of eliminating inside. Schedule at least 2 hours walk. After that your Shih tzu will eliminate less, then space out the time between walks. Best time to let your Shih tzu out is in the morning and before going to bed. Few minutes after eating. This will more likely prevent or lessen some likelihood overnight accidents. 5. Make a space for a potty spot. This can help training your dog. Your Shih tzu can recognize the smell of pee and poo, this will encourage it to eliminate again. Example: Have your dog eliminate in the corner of your backyard. This can help the training go smoothy. If you don't have a backyard try to find a place where there is at least a patch of grass. Then encourage elimination. 2nd way Reinforcing Behavior 1. Think of way on how to reward your Shih Tzu This kind of dog is friendly and they want to please their owner. Giving them reward when they eliminate can help with their behavior. Two main forms of rewards are praising and giving treats. You can bring a small bag of treats when you are going out with your dog. Praise your dog when the it eliminates outside. For example "Good dog" and pet it after. At first you can you treats to train your dogs but take it off when they already know how to eliminate outside. So you can prevent the dog to just expect treats for basic behavior. 2. Reward right away. Give the reward after she eliminate outside. Say "Good dog" or give it some treat after eliminating. Remember to always be consistent. 3. Think of a command. Example: "Go Chansey!" . This can remind your Shih tzu that when she needs to eliminate she should go outside. Say "Go Chansey" when you know she is about to eliminate. Then your shih tzu will learn "Go Chansey!" means she needs to use the bathroom. 4. Scold right away. When you see your Shih tzu eliminating indoors scold it right away. Say "No!" as you clap your hands. After that immediately take her outdoor to eliminate. Your dog should scold immediately or else she will not understand why is being scolded. 3rd way 1. Never punish your Shih tzu. Since they don't response well to punishment. If the accident happened already it is already too late to punish the Shih tzu. Punishing your Shih tzu after the accident will just make her confuse. Never use the dog's cage as a form of punishment. Also never use physical violence as a form of punishment. Yelling is also not a good punishment for your shih tzu. The only scolding method that you should use is to say "No!". If you raise your voice this will just frighten your dog. This will make your dog even harder to train. 2. Remove accidents thoroughly. If an accident happened clean the area thoroughly. You may use an odor-neutralizing spray and be sure to take off any traces of smell from urine and feces.They are drawn to smell. So if they smell urine or fences they will eliminate in that area again. 3. Have more patience. This kind of dog is highly trainable. It may take up to a few week to house-train it successfully. If this is an older Shih tzu. It may take longer for the training period. Try to train them consistently and your hardwork will surely pay off.
