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Clipping Your Birds Wings
Clipping a pet birds wings is a common grooming procedure and is necessary for training as well as for your pets safety. You might feel like you are being mean to the bird, but the fact is that it does not hurt the bird and can help to keep him from...
Housebreaking A New Puppy
Although it doesn’t sound like the most appealing job in the world, housebreaking a new puppy will play an important part in bonding with the newest member of your family. It will teach you patience and leave you with a better understanding of what...
More Issues with Food and Family Pets
Recently, I went back to discussing food issues in some detail. It is important to understand that we do have ways of helping out pets not only with their diets, but with preventing things from happening long term. Obesity in Pets and Ways to...
The Dog's Internal Anatomy: Part 2 Muscles, Tendons, Ligaments, And Joints
For the next topic of the dog's musculo-skeletal system, I will be talking about four things. I will go over the muscles, tendons, ligaments, and joints. These four tissues help tie together the skeletal system, which supports the animal, and allows...
Training the shy or fearful puppy or dog
With dogs as with people, some dogs and puppies are naturally
more bold and daring than others. When you watch a group of
puppies play, it will quickly become apparent which ones are
bold and which ones are shy. Some of the puppies will hang...
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Shih Tzu - Train Your Shih Tzu Using Rewards And Positive Reinforcement
Training shih tzu and all dog breeds using positive
reinforcement and reward training has long been recognized as
both highly effective for the owner and a positive experience
for the dog. Positive reinforcement training is so important
that it is the only method used to train dangerous animals like
lions and tigers for work in circuses and in the movie and
television industry. Proponents of positive reinforcement swear
by the effectiveness of their techniques, and it is true that
the vast majority of shih tzu and other dogs respond well to
these training methods.
One reason that positive reinforcement training is so effective
is that is uses rewards to teach the shih tzu what is expected
of it. When the shih tzu performs the desired behavior, he is
provided with a reward, most often in the form of a food treat,
but it could be a scratch behind the ears, a rub under the chin
or a pat on the head as well. The important thing is that the
shih tzu is rewarded consistently for doing the right thing.
Reward training has become increasingly popular in recent years,
but chances are some sort of reward training between humans and
dogs has been going on for hundreds if not thousands of years.
When understanding what makes reward training so effective, some
knowledge of the history of humans and dogs is very helpful. The
earliest dogs were probably wolf pups that were tamed and used
by early humans for protection from predators, as alarm systems
and later for guarding and herding livestock. It is possible
that the wolf pups that made the best companions were the most
easily trained, or it is possible that these early dogs were
orphaned or abandoned wolf pups. Whatever their origin, there is
little doubt today that the vast variety of dogs we see today
have their origin in the humble wolf.
Wolf packs, like packs of wild dogs, operate on a strict pack
hierarchy. Since wolf and dog packs hunt as a group, this type
of hierarchy, and the cooperation it brings, is essential to the
survival of the species. Every dog in the pack knows his or her
place in the pack, and except in the event of death or
injury,
the hierarchy, once established, rarely changes.
Every shih tzu, therefore, is hard wired by nature to look to
the pack leader for guidance. The basis of all good dog
training, including reward based training, is for the handler to
set him or herself up as the pack leader. The pack leader is
more than just the dominant dog, or the one who tells all the
subordinates what to do. More importantly, the pack leader
provides leadership and protection, and his or her leadership is
vital to the success and survival of the pack.
It is important for the shih tzu to see itself as part of a
pack, to recognize the human as the leader of that pack, and to
respect his or her authority. Some shih tzu are much easier to
dominate than others. If you watch a group of shih tzu puppies
playing for a little while, you will quickly recognize the
dominant and submissive personalities.
A shih tzu with a more submissive personality will generally be
easier to train using positive reinforcement, since he or she
will not want to challenge the handler for leadership. Even
dominant shih tzu, however, respond very well to positive
reinforcement. There are, in fact, few shih tzu that do not
respond well to positive reinforcement, also known as reward
training.
Positive reinforcement is also the best way to retrain a shih
tzu that has behavior problems, especially one that has been
abused in the past. Getting the respect and trust of an abused
shih tzu can be very difficult, and positive reinforcement is
better than any other training method at creating this important
bond.
No matter what type of dog you are working with, chances are it
can be helped with positive reinforcement training methods.
Based training methods on respect and trust, rather than on
intimidation and fear, is the best way to get the most from any
shih tzu.
About the author:
Connie Limon is a shih tzu breeder. She publishes a FREE weekly
newsletter. A professional newsletter with a focus upon health
and wellness for you and your pets. Discounts are offered to
subscribers. Sign up at: http://www.stainglassshihtzus.com
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