Coming to Terms With Too Much Shih Tzu Barking
If most shih tzu owners are asked about any literal pet peeves about their er, pet, most answers would dwell on the dog’s barking. When something bark-worthy catches the attention of these dogs, they will want to work up quite a racket. If nobody stops them, they usually could even keep it up for nearly half an hour! Any owner that wants to do something about it will of course turn to Shih Tzu training.
Not that an alarm dog will have nothing to do anymore; it’s just that it will take time for them to figure out that some things do not really need barking at. It is really up to you as dog owner to decide if that stretch of time for learning is going to be annoyingly long winded or mercifully short. If the barking is not called for, tell the dog “No” calmly. Otherwise, praise them for letting you know, and tell them not to bark anymore, since you know already.
Among the types of shitzu training, reward training is superior to and fairer than a training rooted in punitive measures. But to distract your dog from barking (and to get it to do something else) you need to use devices that neither seem to reward nor punish. A noise maker is one such item. A can with sealed popcorn or beans inside will make an effective distraction.
But barking may not be the only concern in a young or untrained shih tzu. Such a dog may also develop the habit of whining when left alone for a while. Granted that all dogs are prone to separation anxiety; but it is a different matter all together in the case of the shih tzu that has nervous tendencies when it fails to catch a glimpse of its humans for just minutes. The solution is exercise, like walking for up to a half-mile per day , or playing fetch. Another solution is to get two shih tzus, not just one.
But when we consider human actions from a canine point of view, some of these actions do indeed suffer from inconsistency and bad example. Behavioral training needs to inspire in any dog owner a major shift, since a trainer needs to basically be a teacher and leader, too. This also means helping other people to have good manners to the dog, e.g. not scaring it if it is easily afraid. In other words, the good manners of people also teach dogs a lot.
Some simple ways to complement a no-barking training is to get the shih tzu puppy or dog oriented to crowded places, other dogs and situations. This way, they learn to overcome fear in the first place. Another big step is to contain your own fears or anger, as your shih tzu may pick up the inadvertent example of your negative emotions. They also need to be helped to feel secure despite their size; otherwise, fear biting grows in partnership with fear-induced urination.
