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While I love my Shih Tzus dearly, there have been two problems. #1, I spoiled them rotten and they are very hard to housebreak. #2, they are poo eaters and my Vet told me this may or may not go away. My vet told me it's a habit and some outgrow it. My one has not. I've tried pumpkin, pineapple juice and even cayenne pepper! Believe it or not, the little Shih Tzu will eat poo with cayenne pepper! Ok, so not as much, but still...
Otherwise, they are adorable little babies full of love and I have no complaints. Sweet, loving, licky (although I am conscious of the licky stuff), they are mommy's little angels.
My Shih Tzu has had 2 accidents inside since he was 11 weeks old, and has been barking to go outside since he was 12 weeks old. Wasn't that hard. Consistancy, and Cheerios for a treat when he went is what worked for us.
Poop, on the other hand, he never has eaten his own, but where we used to live we had rabbits and he loved the little "chocolate balls" they left behind. Vet said nothing we could do about it, and put him on Interceptor for his heart worm medication because besides heart worms, it also prevents other types of worms, including the ones he could get from rabbit poop. At 3 years old he has discovered the cat litter box. I'm not so upset about him eating the poop than I am about him eating the clumping cat litter.
You're gonna LOVE LOVE LOVE your new baby! My hubby says 1 Shih Tzu isn't enough, but I say 1 Shih Tzu and 3 cats are plenty! I'm the one that scoops the poop - whether it is inside or out - so my word goes on this. For now. Maybe when we get our fence put up......
We did have a hard time house-breaking our shih tzu. I had read in a shih tzu book that consistently taking them out at regular intervals while also controlling access to food and water (ie don't just leave it out for them) is key. Also, to not just put them in the backyard for a while and then let them in. Rather, take them out on a leash so you are there to reward them instantly for going relieving themselves outside, then immediately bring them in. This really worked! It took months of taking him literally once an hour, and keeping him in a kennel while gone and at night, but now he is excellent about it and has not had one single accident since he was 6 mos. old (he's almost 2 years now). He now knows that leash = go outside to go to the bathroom. He will go sit by the back door, and I'll grab the leash and put it on him. Once outside he will immediately go to bathroom and run back to the door to be let in. It fantastic and quick. No waiting around!
We got lucky on the poop eating thing. Our never did this, thankfully. But have read it can be a problem with this breed. Good thing he's not into it, as he likes to give kisses like crazy.
One thing though, he's extremely protective. He's very cuddly, but it's on his terms. And he's a barker. Wow does that boy love to bark at things out the window. He does it with a cute 'howly' sound, and it's not loud, so it doesn't bother us. But when company comes over he will bark like mad and the only way we've found to calm him is have the stranger give him a treat. Then voila' he calms down...
My little Brandy is so cute. She is petrified of thunderstorms. When it storms, she hides under the bed.
She does something that is so cute: she will eat two or three dog biscuits and then bury them under the pillow on our bed.
She also likes to chase grasshoppers.
She loves to ride in the car. She is so spoiled, because we give her food from the restaurant every night, and still give her her own dog food. We give her small amounts of people food, and she never gains weight.
Our little one was extremely easy to housebreak. We got her when she was 12 weeks old from PAWS (Helen Krauss Foundation). We housebroke her by the cage method. We left her out when we were home, but if we went away, we put her in the cage. If we could take her with us in the car, we did. But if we were working, we put her in the cage.
She was housebroken in 3 months.
She has been a great little companion for us since day 1.
My Brandy is a gold Shih Tzu. She is gold, white, with black in the face and on the tips of her ears and feet.
Our vet's wife grooms her for us. Right now she has a puppy cut for the hot weather here in Duncannon, PA, but in the winter we keep her about 4 to 5 inches long and brush her every other day.
You look in those big brown eyes and all you see is love!
She has made this past year bearable for me, because we recently had to put my mother in a nursing home for Alzheimer's.
We had mom here with us for about a year, and Brandy helped her with her disease.
My little girl also loves to roll in the snow. But she absolutely hates the rain. She will hold it forever when it is raining out. She must have a really strong bladder.
My little girl also loves to roll in the snow and then lick it. But she absolutely hates the rain. She will hold it forever as long as its raining out. But she never pees or poops in the house.
She did that only a few times when she was a puppy, but she hasn't done that since.
Marie Russell brandy@ptd.net Duncannon, PA, Perry County
We spoil our little girl rotten too. She is treated like royalty, but then again she comes from a line of royalty, considering Shih Tzus once graced the palaces of the emperors of Tibet. I would say that makes her royalty, wouldn't you?
My poor little girl is suffering from outdoor allergies right now. She is on Prednisone and Simflex. The Prednisone makes her so sleepy and thirsty. She drinks alot so she has to pee alot. The rash on her belly is going away slowly but surely. I cannot give her any treats right now, only dog food for itchy skin and coat.
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Brandy, my Shih Tzu
Brandy
Brandy my girl
My poor little girl is suffering from outdoor allergies right now. She is on Prednisone and Simflex. The Prednisone makes her so sleepy and thirsty. She drinks alot so she has to pee alot. The rash on her belly is going away slowly but surely. I cannot give her any treats right now, only dog food for itchy skin and coat. 
