Training a Shih-tzu to be clean in the house is the same as for any dog or puppy. Don't be one of the people who return their puppy to it's breeder because they can't house train him. All house breaking problems can be traced to the dog owner (you!) not the puppy (unless your puppy is sick of course)..

On the plus side Shih-tzus are intelligent and with a bit of patience can be easily house trained. Just follow the suggestions below and you'll be supprised just how quickly your new companion can be clean in the house.

• Decide how you are going to house train your puppy and then stick to it.
  
  
• Training your puppy to go on paper is fairly easy, just make sure everyone in the household is briefed that if he shows any of the signs of going, place him on the paper immediately. Be careful about leaving other paper lying around the house. Your puppy can't tell the difference between his paper and your Sunday newspaper!
  
  
• Puppies almost always want to go after eating, waking up from a sleep or if he gets excited. Be ready to place him on his paper or take him outside at around these times.
  
  
• Make a note of how long he can go between relieving himself. Then take him out to relieve himself 5-10 minutes before he would normaly want to go.
  
  
• Always accompany him when he needs to go. This way you'll know if he's been and you will be able to praise your puppy when he does finally go.
  
  
• Small dogs and Shih-tzus in particular only have tiny bladders, be prepared to take him to his spot frequently as when they need to go they really do need to go!
  
  
• Take your puppy out to relieve himself as often as possible, every hour in the early stages if you can.
  
  
• Start to notice your puppy's body language; often you will be able to tell he needs to go by his behaviour. If he starts circling, sniffing or digging it's almost certain he wants to go.
  
  
• As soon as you can, get a vet to give him a health check. Worms or sickness make it much harder for your puppy to remain clean.
  
  
• If you have decided to take him outside to relieve himself always use the same spot
  
  
• Train your puppy to go on command. Always use this command whenever you want him to go. Be careful you pick a word or phrase you don't use all the time in the house. "Good dog" would be a poor choice!
  
  
• Always calmly praise your puppy when he's been.
  
  
• One of the best ways to house train a puppy is to place him in a restricted space. Puppies and dogs will avoid relieving themselves anywhere near their sleeping place. A crate is an ideal place to put your puppy when he can't be supervised. The space is too small for him to be able move far enough away from his sleeping spot to relieve himself. He will therefore try harder to "hold on" until he can go outside or be placed on his paper. Don't leave him unsupervised and in his crate for too long as even though he won't want to go in his crate, eventually he will be forced to. This will only reinforce the bad behaviour we are trying to train him out of!
  
  
• Puppies are sneaky! You can be watching him like a hawk but as soon as you take your eyes off him for a second to answer the phone, down goes the bottom and he pees right in front of you. Don't get mad! Just stay calm and clean up the mess as if nothing had happened. It can be hard, I know. I've house trained many puppies; don't take your frustration out on the dog as it's counter-productive and will slow down your progress. It may even mean in the future he'll hide to relieve himself.
  
  
• Some stupid people will tell you to rub your dog's nose in it's own mess if it has an accident. Please don't do this, it's cruel and serves no purpose. You will just frighten your puppy and make your problem much worse. Be calm :)

Your new puppy will be trying very hard to please you. Be consistent and show him exactly what you want him to do. A dog or puppy will not train himself! You or someone need to be at home with him for the first few weeks to reinforce the behaviour you want. Try and take a couple of weeks off work or ensure someone is at home to supervise your puppy. If you intend to leave him on his own for 8+ hours and expect him to be clean, guess what, he won't be.

Most important of all have fun with your new house mate! Puppy days can be a pain but they do pass - honest!

All the best,

Laura