Your puppy is so adorable and affectionate it is hard to believe there would be times when her behavior would truly try your patience to no end. Try to understand her needs. If you will apply a few practical training techniques you will probably be able to reduce many of the problems that try your patience and some problem behaviors you can eliminate altogether. Chewing is one of the first problems a puppy may present to you. Chewing is very typical in puppies and a natural, necessary behavior. It does not mean the puppy has severe behavior problems or will end up a "biter," or end up destroying everything in your house. It just means your puppy is very, very normal. You need to learn how to teach your puppy to chew on appropriate items. Puppies may start chewing a lot at about four months of age because that is usually when they start teething and it will take several months for this process to complete itself. Teething makes their gums sore, so try to understand your puppy is probably in pain during this time and trying to eliminate that pain. Try to help your puppy by giving him objects he can chew on and that will help him through this teething process. We are not going to assume at this point in time that the puppy is exhibiting separation anxiety. Just start with treating the problem as a natural period of your puppy's life that you and he both can get through safely by introducing appropriate chewing objects. First of all, try to eliminate as many opportunities as you most possibly can for your puppy to chew on things you don't want chewed on. Don't let the bad habits start. Get several bottles of spray Grannick's bitter apple taste deterrent and training aid for dogs and keep them handy where you and puppy will be. Try to spray the stuff on things before puppy has the opportunity to find them, like the legs of tables, and furniture around the floor where puppy would have access to start a chewing game. Once you spray that stuff on the area (and it normally does not stain anything) puppy will run from the spot and over time may never bother the spot at all or again. If you catch him chewing on something, run for the bitter apple spray (or have a bottle handy as I mentioned before in every location where puppy might be) and spray, spray, spray. You will need to do this at least every 48 hours. Repeated behaviors is a big learning experience for puppies and dogs. If the experience of chewing on the leg of your favorite end table taste terrible he will eventually learn to stay away from that spot. He may never return. But then again, he might, so still keep your eyes open to areas your puppy or dog might chew on even months down the road after he has avoided the spot, he might return and if the place does not taste awful, he might chew even after his teething period. Always keep Grannick's bitter apple taste deterrent and training aid for dogs within reach in households where puppies and dog live. If you catch puppy or dog in the act of chewing on an inappropriate item just spraying the stuff is enough, you don't even have to say a harsh word to him. If you can remove items where puppy or you do will be, then this is also an option, but a person can't remove all their furniture just because puppy and dog lives with them. Some items can be stored in other places, however. This is called puppy proofing a room much like baby proofing rooms before the arrival of a baby or before babies begin to crawl and walk and discover their environment. Provide your puppy with Nylabones. These come in edible flavors as well as well as the hard plastic or whatever material they are made out of. These are excellent and come in petite sizes for the smallest of the Shih Tzu. Buy toys that say they are good to be chewed on and keep not more than 3 or 4 out at a time, then rotate them with new ones to provide variety. Puppies find a change in chewing objects interesting. When you are home you can interact with your puppy by sitting on the floor, casually place something tempting beside of you, such as your shoe or a pencil or an object puppy has shown interest in to chew on. Just as the puppy approches the object, give a firm "NO," but provide her with an appropriate chewing object instead like one of the toys mentioned above or a Nylabone. And remember repetition is the key to training your puppy. Do this over and over again and you will teach your puppy how to teeth and chew on appropriate items rather than inappropriate items. It takes time and patience on your part, but will be well worth it, and these training sessions can create an extra bonding time for you and puppy. |
