Suggestions for my new baby....

Hi Everyone, I'm new to the site.

I'm hoping that maybe I can get some much needed advice. I just adopted a 16 week Shih Tzu born on Oct 20, 2008. Yes before I get yelled at I already know what I did. I never planed to buy a PMP it just happen. I was very upset once I found out this was the case but I was already in love. I was lied to Thank God he is as perfect as he can be. Great loving pup. That I will cherish. How can people treat pups like that?

I already had him to my vet on Tuesday (we got him on Sunday) and he is in perfect health with no worms and up to date with all his shots. He already had a rabies shot and on Tuesday he got his 3rd distemper a very healthy baby. As soon as we got him I went to Pet Smart and got everything that i would need. When we got home he got a wash and blow dry. What a beautiful pup, very smart. He already knows to sit and I'm working on having him learn to stay.

I am a new puppy owner never having a dog before. I did growing up but not since I've been married. I adore this puppy and I'm hoping I'm doing everything right. Prior to him I had a inside bunny and a couple of lizards and birds.

First. He is a very good boy in the crate. I use the crate only when we go to bed which is around 10-11pm. I take him outside to pee and then put him in the crate in our bedroom.

The first night I woke him up at 3 to take him outside to pee but he didn't go and only wanted to play. Put him back in the crate. When I got up at 6:15 I took him out and he peed but within 15 minutes of coming in he pooed in the house. I told him NO in a stern voice and took him out again. The rest of the day he pooed and peed outside but later on that night he peed once in the house. It's kinda of hard to know when to take him out because all he does is sniff the house. There hasn't been any pets in this house for a long time.

The next night I didn't wake him up and he woke me up around 4 I took him out and he did pee this time. I put him back in the crate and when back to bed. In the morning I took him out around 6:30 and he peed came back in. I keep him out for a bit with me so he wasn't rushed but again within 15 minutes of coming in he pooed in the house. Again I said NO and told him outside potty and took him out.

Last night and the night before he went in the crate at 11 and he didn't wake me up to go out. At around 7 I took him out and BINGO he peed and Pooed. Never has he messed in his crate. I feed him twice a day and restrict water after 8:30 PM. The first couple of days he was leaving food but yesterday he ate everything in his bowl. Question how do you know your feeding him enough? I do remove the food after 15-20 minutes if he doesn't eat so maybe that's why he ate both meals in full.

My problem is he does good all day then when the kids come home 12 and 18 along with my hubby he seems to get off track. I keep and eye on him but he seems to sneak one in. Last night he even pooed inside after being good for two day with the poop. I feel like I might be doing something wrong. All day long I take care of the going outside but when the family comes home they want to get involved. Oh and he likes to eat it also....Not good. He doesn't tell me when he wants to go out so I just keeping taking him out and praise him like crazy when he goes. I'm sure the white straight jacket is waiting for me when the neighbors hear me....LOL

I will take him to get groomed as soon as he receives his last distemper shot which will be March 10th. Then I will also make an appointment to have him neutered.

I feel like a have a new baby in the house...LOL I keep checking on him to see if he is still breathing and make sure he is OK.

Am I doing something wrong? I will be getting a bell over the weekend to see if maybe I can teach him to ring it to let me know. I do keep and eye on him like crazy but as soon as I look away that is when it happens.

Any suggestions please suggest. I want to be a good Mommy.

Hi jasp615, and welcome to the site!

By the sounds of it, you are doing everything right...It just might take time for him to really get it. One thing I would like to suggest is to involve your family in the process of house training. You mentioned that once they come home he seems to get off track, ask the kids to watch him carefully and as soon as he seems a little distracted and sniffs - bring him out! Or you could tether him to you, so you could tell when he is ready to go, he would be right next to you all the time...
I think you are doing a great job, especially praising him ALOT (never mind the neighbours) when he does his business outside.
Keep it up and you will have a house-trained pup in no time! :thumbs up

(P.S. we need to see PICS!!!!)

Here is our rugrat. I believe they might have cut his hair so I'm waiting patiently to have him groomed. I love the long hair and will probably keep it but around his eyes need grooming.

I have Shih Tzu, yours is really cute. I would take a pair of scissors and keep the hair in front of his eyes trimmed. If you start now and take your time it will not be that hard to do. As it grows back fairly fast, it is better if you can do this yourself. If you intend to keep the coat long, you should be starting to train him to lie down on his side for grooming so he won't get matted. When their adult coat starts to come in around 7 or 8 months, they are more inclined to mat so I sometimes clip them right down especially if it is summer time as their coat grows back pretty quickly.

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj282/Kyllobernese/HPIM3307.jpg

Attached is a picture of my Shih Tzu. She is five months old and has just started in Obedience classes.

Hi and welcome to the board! Your little one is definitely a cutie and it sounds like you are doing everything right. 16 weeks is still very young to expect a pup to remember to ask to go outside, it can take several months before they are fully trained. When the family comes in, obviously the pup's attention focuses on them and not on whether or not he has to potty, so it will be up to you and the family to keep an eye on him. Of course, lots of praise and treats after a good job helps. As for "schnacking" on the poop, you will have to pick it up right away, and tell him No. There are some food additives that you can buy that should deter him, but they don't work for all dogs. It might also have somethig to do with the brand of food you are feeding him.

Keeping a tzu in a long coat is not an easy or quick job and depending where you live, it isn't always practical. If summers are really hot, the tzu will not be happy. If you want to keep the hair under his eyes long also, start now with just a little bit of vaseline and stick them down :D It takes a while to train that hair, but you can train it to lay down and then no trimming is required.

Good luck and please post lots and lots of pictures!

btw....does he have a name yet???

Thank you so much for all the great advice. I live in Philadelphia, PA (USA) and yes it can get really hot so maybe for the summer I will have him cut short. Some of the Shih Tzu that I have seen groomed in my area look like rats which I think is just a bad groomer so I will see how this groomer will do. I don't want a long coat like the show dogs I just didn't want him shaved.

Heather is also a cutie. I can't believe that a pup can change your life so much and bring so much fun into your life. It's like having a baby all over again. I also see how the hair is cut away from the eyes. This will be my next mission.

I do brush him everyday but he insists on biting the brush or comb. He's a bit to jumpy to try to cut the hair in front of his eyes on my own. I will need help for this. I did try to do this a couple of days ago but I was to scared.

I pick up the poop right away one so I don't forget and step in it out in the yard and another reason so I don't get kisses with poopy breath.

Yes the doggy has his name it's "Versace" It just seemed to fit him.

Versace sure is a sweetheart! :flirt:

Right now he just wants to play with the grooming tools--if you try it again when he's getting sleepy after a long play session, you may have better luck. :D

You've gotten some great advice on the inappropriate pooping issues...patience and consistency are your best tools. He'll come around :thumbs up

And I hear ya about the poopie breath! :laughing: We have 3 who will shnack...they keep us hopping in the morning when we're trying to be 5 places at once picking up poop as they're zeroing in. :D One thing that helps is teaching a 'leave it' command. You can train using treats...not poop :D...and eventually he'll get to the point where even with the temptation of delectable poop in front of him, he'll back off when he hears 'leave it'. (Most of the time, anyway... :o We do have success with that here, but not 100% of the time :yuck: :o)

Another question. I'm feeding him Eagle pak puppy formula and mixing in some wet food puppy plate. This is what they told me they were feeding him. He's not the greatest eater. He is getting better with the food down for 15-20 minutes then removed until dinner time. Some days he will eat it all and then some days he will leave some. I'm still trying to figure out what a good amount is to feed him. They told me 1/2 cup of dry and 1/2 can of wet but that just seems way too much. I've been giving him 1/4 cup of dry and 1/4 cup of wet and that seems to be more on target. When do you know when to increase? Do I give him more food if he cleans his plate?:shrug: