Shih Tzu problems

Andrew33

Hi all,
We got a Shih Tzu back in april and he settled in really well but for the last couple of weeks he's been scraping the internal doors when we go to bed and seems to have developed really serious seperation anxiety. I ignore it but he can keep at it for an hour and gets himself worked into a right state. Needless to say, the doors are destroyed but I couldn't care less about them, its the hound that's important, the missus eventually gets out of bed and goes down and sits with him for a while but I think this is reinforcing his behaviour?

Also, a food question. We feed him the dry nuts (Lusa or something), very similar to Burns and meant to be just as good but we usually mix in a bit of potato and broccolli which he loves, His muck is a bit soft so I'd like to try and get him exclusively onto the dry stuff but he won't eat it on its own, should I just starve him into submission? doesn't seem right somehow.

andreac

Hi, yes when your OH goes down to the dog she is basically rewarding the bad behaviour and giving him attention so he knows that the more he scratches, whines or whatever that you will eventually come down.

I would suggest a crate for him to sleep in at night and this would stop the door being scratched plus its a safe cosy den for him to go asleep at night.

Try really tiring him out before bed or give him a kong or something to chew on when you go to bed and leave it with him to keep him occupied but i would suggest a crate.

I would gradually reduce the nice stuff you have in with the dry food over a week or so, so he eventually eats it with only the nuts. Dogs can be fussy but also very clever. he knows if he doesnt eat you will give him something nice as you feel sorry for him.
A dog will never go hungry so you need to be tough and patient. My dog wouldnt eat for 3 days as he was holding out for something tastier. It was my own fault as i had started adding nice things in with it and then he wouldnt eat without it so i had to get tough.

So put the bowl down, leave for 15 mins, take it back up even if not eaten. Do not offer anything until next mealtime and repeat process. Its important that the dog gets nothing else, no treats, bar his meal you offer him. It could take a day or 2 or 3 for him to realise he gets nothing else so he will eat up eventually, trust me.

With regards his soft poo, has it always been soft? If so it could be the food is not agreeing with him but try for a week or so without adding anything and see does it improve, if not you might need to consider changing brands as it might not agree with him, hence the soft poo.

sex panther

I love shih tzus ive grown up with them they are my favourite doggies,

I agree with the cage/crate thing my sisters pug was freaking out being left alone at night, i thought it was a bit mean locking him in the cage but now at night he runs into it automatically she has his soft bed in there with water and some toys and he's happy out, she doesnt even close the door of the cage anymore. i think having a routine will do him good, best of luck

Andrew33

Thanks folks, its the tough love route so!

ha-ya-said-what

Very tough love, the whining, scraping etc are traits of the Shih Tzu. They attention seek and if you in anyway reward them for it they will continue and slowly get worse to a dominating stage where they will try tell you what to do via whining, yelping & barking & it can get to a stage where you find it uncontrollable.

A crate is your best friend with a Shih Tzu for night time. If he starts to whine during the day for no reason at you along with some little grunts, pick him up and put him outside and close the door, do it each time and ensure that all in the household follow the same rule. They can be trained that whining means going outside .... not getting what they want.

Trust me it is not a serious anexity problem, it is just the trait of them and they can develop it at the drop of a hat. You could get a crate and go for another 7 months no problem and then all of a shot, he could try it again! Like Andreac said try wear him out at night so he'll sleep through and not have a need to wake up

Morganna

Try a crate .

boardbrowser

I'm in agreement with not 'starving a dog into submission' either.
It's like suggesting that for breakfast for example we should not eat anything but dry museli because it's good for us and an addition of plain yougurt, berries or milk might dilute it's goodness therefore we should just eat it and accept it.
with so many brands of premium hypo allergenic wet food ( james well beloved and berties natures harvest) and rehydrated foods such as Land of holistic pets ' robbie's holisitic cusine for dogs' all of which contain no additives, artifical colourings or preservatives you are not compromising your dogs' nutirition but enhancing it in my opinion.
when you think about it, what were people feeding our dogs before commerical dog food was invented- yes leftovers ( real meat+ veggies more than likely ).
i'm all for balanced nutrition but also for our beloved dogs to enjoy their meals and not forced to eat dry food only to the point of hunger when an addition to make the dry food more palatable can only prove to add nutritional value.