Advice needed on Shih tzu puppy

Betsy18

Hi

My 4mth old shih tzu is 98% housetrained now but i've a few problems/queries that i hope some of you will be able to advise me on. This is the 1st time i have had a puppy so i'm learning each day!

Firstly she snores really loudly, this isn't just when she is sleeping either she will sit in front of me looking up at me and snoring. is this normal for shih tzus or is her nose blocked up? ( she sneezes a bit too)

Secondly we started her on pedigree chum puppy food, but she was ill with parvo when she was 8 wks and whilst she was being cared for at the vets they changed her to science plan. that was fine but we still had a bag of pedigree left so we thought it was ok to mix it a bit with the science plan and when we ran out of the science plan we gave her the pedigree to see how she would do with it! i read on other forums how bad pedigree is for puppys so we decided to put her back on science plan this week. We had noticed on the pedigree that her poops were hard/solid whereas on science plan they were always soft/runny but last weekend i heard her let a cry out of her outside and when i looked out she was trying to go but seemed slightly constipated. when i seen this i dumped the pedigree and put her back on science plan only now. over the last few days tho her poos are very soft/runny and really stink. Also she has never pooped in the house but has had a few accidents the last few days in the house which has me concerned. she was also holding her toilet at night but has pooped the last 2 nights and this mornings was bad! she's eating fine and has access to water all day so i don't think she is dehydrated. is it the change of food or should i contact the vet about this?

Lastly we started training her on the lead and she was doing really well until the lead broke! i went to the vets to purchase a new lead and was advised to get a harness instead, i did this and its a nightmare! she will not walk alongside me now and is jumping up on my legs as i walk and pulling etc. i seem to have less control of her on the harness. would i be best to revert back to the lead?

i appreciate any advice which will help!

Thanks

B!:)

lorebringer

1) Shih Tzus have very short noses and snoring is very common. She may have an elongated pallet (due to such a short nose) which usually doesn't cause any problems but in a few cases (mainly dogs with very squat noses - Pugs and such) it may need to be dealt with by a vet. If she is breathing freely and her only problem is the snoring, she is probably fine. Perhaps talk to your vet the nest time you are in about it and see what they have to say but it is very common in short nosed dogs and most of the time is no problem at all.

2) She more than likely had a dodgy belly because of the fast switching of food. Keep her on the food she is now on for at least a week or two and see how she gets on. At 4 months, her stomach is quite delicate and will need time to adjust to a new food. Pedigree is a terrible quality food so switching her to Hills was a good choice. Not all good quality foods agree with all dogs and if you find she still has a runny tummy you may want to change her to another brand (slowly, over time - gradually reducing the current food and gradually increasing the new food until you phase out the old and she only eating the new). Other good brands are Burns, James Wellbeloved, Arden Grange, Royal Canin, Luaths, Eukabuna... there are lots to choose from! Do a little research online (and ask your vet if you are in) about food and choose one that you are happy to feed her.

If, however, the pooing gets worse (or if she stops eating, stops drinking, gets very miserable and sick) you will probably need to bring her to see a vet. Puppies can dehydrate and go down hill very fast so it's really better to be safe than sorry.

3) Harnessing is totally up to you - some people find it very helpful. If she is pulling there are harnesses available to help curb it (Sense-ation, Sense-ible etc) but she will still need training to walk well on the lead. She's acting up on her walk because she is not used to wearing a harness yet, try putting it on her around the house so that she can get used to it before venturing out on a walk and give lots of praise (and some treats!) while she is behaving with it on. The main rule is start as you mean to go on - if you want to harness her, stick with it and she'll get used to it and if you want to walk her on a collar and lead then do that. The one thing I will say about the collar is that because she is a small dog the vertebrae in her neck are quite delicate and if she is puller she may cause herself some damage.