New puppy help!

Please can you answer some of my questions. I have just got an 8 wk old puppy. He is doing very well and is almost toilet trained. My problems are that he seems to have a mad hour running randomly around bumping into everything and biting everything including me. There is nothing I can do to stop him. When he is biting he jumping up and twisting round to bit. Please help. Also can you tell me how long roughly a shih tzu will be when fully grown. I never have has a dog before so any advice is helpfull.

Please can you answer some of my questions. I have just got an 8 wk old puppy. He is doing very well and is almost toilet trained. My problems are that he seems to have a mad hour running randomly around bumping into everything and biting everything including me. There is nothing I can do to stop him. When he is biting he jumping up and twisting round to bit. Please help. He is playing with his toys and chews very aggressively growling and grunting with them. Also can you tell me how long roughly a shih tzu will be when fully grown. I never have has a dog before so any advice is helpful.

Hi there, how exciting a new puppy. I am very jealous.

I think from what you are saying, this is just puppies for you. They are used to playing like that with their brothers and sisters. So he is seeing you as them and playing with you. I have two and they do play aggressive with each other sometimes.

The noise they make is so funny. They are barmy little dogs but they are loving and kind if treated well.

In connection with how big they are, it depends, as my girl is 8kg quite petite and the boy is 12 kg an similar size to a cocker spaniel.

Hope this helps - I will look at your other post.

Victoria

I thought there were some more questions..... I hope everything I have advised makes sense. Hope I am on the right lines....I am sure others will advise soon. My two are a year old in March.

Please post some pics soon as everyone would love to see him.

Victoria

Thanks, how do i play this with him with out me been frightened and getting hurt. Can I get him to stop this behaviour if so how. If not what age should it settle. As i am not sure how long I can cope with it.

Hi there and welcome to the forum and the elite group of shih tzu owners If you look in the video section here for a video clip called "fighting with wolfie" you can see how I play with my lone shih tzu using a glove puppet. This is brilliant when they are little as it protects your hands and arms from those needle sharp teeth. What you are describing is perfectly normal behaviour and what makes this breed so special.

I would also recommend you try and get your hands on a copy of The Shih Tzu by Audrey Dadds. They are out of print at the moment so are quite hard to come by but you can usually get a copy on ebay and often amazon. It doesn't matter which edition you get they are all brilliant. If you can't afford to buy one then ask at your library for now. I know that once you read it you will want your own copy one day... anyhow reading that will give you a lot of valuable knowledge about the breed, how to take care of your puppy and also show you how what your little one is doing is very very normal... it is a really easy read tooas Audrey used to write as she would talk to people and her love of the breed shone out of everything she did! You really should NOT be frightened by a little puppy playing rough and this suggests to me that you have perhaps had little experience with dogs so the other thing I would suggest is for you to find a local puppy class and get yourselves enrolled 1) for your puppy to be socialised and 2) for you to learn how to train him and also gain some experience around dogs. I hope that helps xx

Have bumped the video to make it easier to find and joined the two threads to make one so it isn't quite as confusing

Hi and welcome to the forum. I had similar problems with Mali when she was tiny. I would be taking the washing out to the line and she would come running up behind me and nip my legs.She stopped around 8months. As far as Iknow it is normal Shih Tzu behaviour. And for running madly around at a hundred miles an hour. I have two girls now and it is so funny to watch them chasing each other and soon tires them out .I like to play 'hide and seek' with mine and they love that. Any pics yet we all love to see photo's of puppies on here?

hiya, i have 4 adult shih tzu's and i breed so have pups around now and then.

my lot run round and round play fighting, they go behind one sofa around and out the other side, then around the coffee table and then around the chair. and they do that about 6 or 7 times before they catch each other or fall down exhusted lol. its so funny we are so used to it we say here we go again! and lift our legs off the ground hahaha
it doesnt matter where they are if they feel a moment coming they do it.

my boys are totally different sizes. the kennel club say to show in england the standard is 12lb - 18lb. and my louigi is 11lb very small and his brother (from the same litter) monty is 18lb. my tia & poppy are 14lb.

as for the biting if you do not want to play rough with you pup, you must try letting out a yelp sort of like one of their litter mates would. if they bite you and it hurts, yelp each time and they should stop sometimes they might think its a game. so if that happens when it bites you and its too hard yelp and then walk away and ignore it for 10 mins. can seem crule since their to lovely and fluffy little things but it does work!

hope this helps. xxx

Thanks for all your help. I will give te glove puppet a go. I have tried the yelping but this just excites him moreand he then plays rougher. I cannot ignore him as he is usually hanging on to a sock, slipper, trouser or skirt hem xx[img][/img]

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aww he is lovely!! bless him lol so he is one of those who the yelping excites then lol, well try lesleys good glove idea and play with him until he is worn out, then he might sleep and leave you alone for abit until he is ready and recharged again lol. good luck! xx

You have to admire the little monkies. It is part of their character he will grow out of it . I think he is absolutely gorgeous I would just say be firm with him and enjoy they grow up so quickly.As I said previously Mali did the biting thing but grew out of it. I tried to give Mali a toy to play with when she went for my legs.Fortunately Tasha didn't do it.

Hi thanks for all advice. You are right I have never been around dogs before. I have enquired at the vets and they do a puppy party so we will go along once he has had his last lot of injections. I have also ordered a glove puppet now. Please can you tell me if it is normal for him to get hic ups 2-3 times a day

hehe yes i think it is as mine regulary get them even the very young puppies. makes me laugh. think all it is, is eating and drinking then bouncing around. mine still get it every now and then. xxx

awww thats a cheeky look hes giving the camera! soo cute. i have a litter of 3 at the moment and i love having the pups around but its sooo hard as i always want to keep them, cant help but love them all.

Please can you tell me at what age he should start to bark. Although I am enoying the quiet at the moment except for the grunts and groans hehe

My two girls rarely bark. The breed in general are very quiet.We have been having some work done around the house this week and Tasha who just coming up to 16 months has been barking to warn us that someone was out there.But that is unusual.Hope this helps.

It depends on the individual dog when I had six together there was one who rarely barked but she would alert the others to anything they should bark at and then stand there waiting for them to bark

Josh was quite small when he barked protectively (but then he did most things at an early age including raping my arm )

Your puppy looks very cute... I love it when they have the devil in them... they have more character when they are like that.

I hope you really enjoy watching your puppy and seeing him do his first ever things. Try and enjoy every minute because they grow up so quickly and then you feel sad when they stop doing those puppy things xxxx

I have jsut read back through the posts as I missed the earlier photos (been rather busy of late and just dashing on and off here) - he is such a cutie pie!!

Anyway - do give the glove puppet a try as he will love to have a rough and tumble fight with you (as he would with his siblings) and also it helps develop a bond between you and confidence too. A way to wear him out when he is feeling boisterous is to throw a small toy for him and get him to fetch it for you. Its just like having a baby around - they eat, sleep and then have shortish periods through the day where they have a burst of energy and need to dash round everywhere!

Even older shih tzu will do this mad dash around - it can be so funny watching them chase, fight and run from their imaginary friend!
If his biting gets out of hand (at a time when you don't want him to bite you) then just fold your arms and turn away from him and ignore him - as squealing can sometimes spur them on - it did with Josh. In fact he was quite a tinker... the first time he hurt me with his teeth in play I squealed and he was so shocked he came over to me and licked me to death. After that if I squeaked he would just apply a little more pressure to see if he could squeak me again!!
Just don't let him rule the roost... if the play is too boisterous then you decide to stop it (by ignoring him... turning your back) he will soon get the message and really enjoy the fights and play you share with him.
There is a section on here about clicker training too. I have organised it into sections starting with how to start the training and then the basic tricks and commands you can teach. Get yourself a clicker from a pet shop or off the internet and have a go. You will be amazed at how quickly he will pick up tricks and learn to sit, lie down etc and it will engage his active enquiring mind The when you do get to a puppy class you will be feeling so proud of him when he can do the things that other people haven't bothered to teach their pups and you will be streets ahead then too. xxx

CLICKER TRAINING FORUM

awwww the photos are lovely. Love his colouring. The advice above is excellent and hope it has made you feel better. Everyone on the forum are really friendly and helpful!

Roxy is a right little yapper but Rooney only barks if he hears somone at the door. We are always telling Roxy to be quiet.....politely - Little verberler.

Thanks for all your advice I will take it on board. I just want to enjoy him and him enjoy his life with us.

and you will - he is a lovely puppy btw