A Shih Tzu puppy is surely one of the most entrancing creatures imaginable! Shih Tzu are wonderful companions whose affectionate, playful and endearing ways will brighten your lives for many years to come. It is my hope that this booklet will provide you with some hints to make your puppy’s first days with you fun, easy and rewarding!! The most important thing to remember about your puppy is that she is just a little baby! She needs lots of sleep, and she also needs lots of quiet time. A new home can be overwhelming to a little puppy, so she needs lots of consideration, patience and a gradual introduction to your family. In a few weeks, she will be wearing you out, but moderation is the watchword at the beginning! Always be careful when you hold and handle your puppy. When you pick her up, always support her under the chest. Always carry your puppy with both hands, and keep a gentle, but firm, grip on the puppy. It is a good idea to have kids only hold the puppy when they're sitting on the floor, so that there is less risk of dropping the puppy and possibly injuring it. |
| Welcoming Your New Puppy |
| Puppy’s First Night |
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Up until now your puppy has been sleeping with her mother and her littermates, so it is very likely that she will be lonely when she spends her first night alone. You can help her to get used to sleeping alone by leaving a radio playing quietly for her and giving her a blanket and a toy to sleep with. She may still cry, but she will be comforted by the sound and this should help her to learn to stay by herself throughout the night. In a few nights, she should be used to this new routine |
| Essential Puppy Equipment |
| • Crate with a wire mesh floor (this can be either a high impact plastic crate, or an open-sided wire crate. It should be large enough so that the puppy the puppy can easily stand up and turn around in it, but not so large that the puppy gets ‘lost’ in it. Puppies like to feel secure, as if they were holed up in their ‘den’.
• Baby gate (this is very useful to keep your puppy out of harm and out of mischief!) • Dog bed (can be either a metal, fleece, or ‘bean bag’ style. Really not an ‘essential’, but greatly appreciated by most puppies!) • Collar and leash (I prefer to use an all-in-one nylon collar and leash combination, but a cloth or leather collar also work very well.) • Puppy food (I use Purina Little Bites dog food or Eukanuba Small Breed Puppy Chow, but there are many other very good dog foods available. I feed my dogs Pedigree canned dog food, but again, there are many good dog food brands available. You can experiment to see what type your dog seems to like the most) • Water and food bowls (preferably heavy metal or crockery. Water bottles on stands are also good.) • Grooming equipment (a good wire pin brush is essential, as is a wide-toothed comb. A fine tooth metal comb is good for combing the face and whiskers. A gentle slicker brush such as the "Doggyman' slicker by Millers Forge is an extremely useful tool for grooming the legs and the underside of the puppy) • Dog toys (fleece, latex and hard rubber toys are the safest. Knotted up socks are a perennial favorite, as are tree branches fresh from the yard! Squeaky toys are fun, but you do have to watch that the puppy does not remove and swallow the squeaker!) • Chew bones, milk bones and other treats (in moderation, of course!) Make sure that all rawhide products are domestic in origin, since some imported rawhide has been cured with harmful chemicals that might make your puppy ill) |
| Feeding |
| Your puppy should be fed four times a day until she is three months old. Her morning meal should consist of about half a cup of milk with about two tablespoons of Eukanuba Small Breed Puppy Chow mixed in. You can gradually add in a little bit of Pedigree canned dog food to this mixture. The noon meal should be about half a cup of Eukanuba Small Breed Puppy Chow that has been mixed with milk or water. You may add a little milk to this mixture if you like. She should be fed the same meal at mid-afternoon. Her evening meal should once again consist of milk with Eukanuba Small Breed Puppy Chow mixed in.
From three to six months, your puppy should get three meals a day. The evening meal can now be eliminated. The amount of food should gradually be increased as your puppy’s appetite increases. You can switch to Purina Little Bites Dog Food at about six months of age, if you wish. From six months until your puppy is a year old, she should be fed twice a day. At a year of age, you can feed just once a day, with a snack in the morning or at bedtime, or you can continue to feed two meals a day if you prefer. Fresh water should always be available for your puppy. You can use either a water bowl or a water bottle, or a combination of both, but it is important that you check often to see that there is enough water remaining for your puppy. |
| Leash Training |
| Leash training should be started as soon as possible because Shih Tzu are much easier to leash train when they are babies. Lead training should be made fun for the puppy with frequent rewards and much praise. You should break your leash training into several very brief sessions each day. These sessions should be about five minutes long each. At first, just place the leash around the puppy’s neck and let her drag it around in the house (while you supervise, of course!). After a few days, you can start to pick up the leash and let the puppy lead you around. You can then gradually train your puppy to follow you by using her favorite toy or treat. When she starts to get the idea of following you, you can begin to get her to go where you want her to go by gently tugging on the leash and rewarding her when she goes where you want her to go. All of this takes a bit of patience, but within a few weeks she should be a pro at this leash stuff! |
| Paper Training and Housebreaking |
| Paper training and housebreaking are a matter of time, common sense and patience. Always remember that your puppy is just a baby and will require several weeks to get the idea of paper training and/or housebreaking.
The most important aspect of housebreaking is establishing a consistent routine. Always take your puppy to the same spot outdoors, and, if paper training your puppy, always place the papers in the same area. It is important that the puppy knows where ‘her’ spot is. I find that it works well to train the puppy to both use newspapers and to go outside. Dogs seem to prefer going outside, but paper training does come in very handy during snowstorms, torrential rainstorms or at 2:00 in the morning… Puppies need to eliminate: • after eating • after playing • after waking from a nap • first thing in the morning • before going to sleep at night Taking your puppy out at these times will greatly facilitate the housetraining process. Of course, these are not the only times that you will have to take your puppy out, when you see your puppy circling around and sniffing the floor, make sure to take her out… When you take your puppy out, always use the same word or phrase such as ‘Go out’ or ‘Go potty’. Make sure to repeat this phrase when your puppy is actually eliminating, so that she will associate the words with the ‘deed’. When your puppy performs correctly, make sure to praise her and make a big deal out of it! Your puppy will soon want to use the right spot, and will naturally want to keep ‘her’ house clean! |
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