How to House Break a Shih Tzu

One of the biggest challenges with a new puppy concerns housetraining him. Puppies require a lot of time, attention and patience and this is especially true when trying to prevent the puppy from urinating indoors. While the success and timeline of this endeavor depends greatly on your individual puppy, some breeds are generally better at it than others. The American Shih Tzu Club lists Shih Tzus as one of the more difficult breeds to housetrain, but it is a necessary step in the puppy's development.

Things You'll Need

Gate
Puppy pads
Crate
Puppy mattress

Instructions

- 1
  Contain the puppy in a small area of your home whenever he is indoors until he is housetrained. Ideally this will be a location where you have hard floors and not carpeting. Use a gate to keep him contained so you can still interact with him and don't have to close the door. Shih Tzus need a lot of attention.
- 2
  Place puppy pads in the area where the puppy is kept indoors until the housetraining is complete. Replace them as soon as the Shih Tzu eliminates on them.
- 3
  Take the Shih Tzu outside every two to four hours as much as you can during housetraining. Shih Tzus are small dogs and likewise have small bladders. Go with the puppy and praise him profusely anytime he eliminates outside. Expand the length of time in between outings as the Shih Tzu matures and shows progress.
- 4
  Watch for signals such as sniffing or circling and take the puppy outside as soon as you see them. This usually indicates the Shih Tzu is about to either urinate or defecate.
- 5
  Place the puppy into a dog crate overnight. The crate needs to be an appropriate size for your puppy and there should be no food or water in it. A mattress and a chew toy will suffice. Shih Tzu puppies do not like eliminating on their bedding and are more inclined to hold their bowels overnight until they are taken outside. Take the puppy outside right before crating him and first thing when he comes out.