LULU- 3 year old shih tzu bitch

it is with so much sadness that i'm needing to re-home a lovely 3 yr old bitch,,,

Now about Lulu, she is 3 years old, i didnt get her from a pup she was about 5 mths when i got her off someone who was treating her badly, she was ok to start with but from about 18mths she started growling at each member of the family starting with my husband, eldest daughter, my young son and eventually me.
She has not been spayed but did have all her needles.
We have thought long and very hard about this, and every time we think about re homing her were talk ourselves out of it because we feel were giving up on her and she is a beautiful dog with a lovely face, but we do feel if we dont do something soon and she bites one of the children we would never forgive ourselves. we do not have any other animals and she seems not good with other dogs/animals, she is very possesive with items/food. I feel she would be better with maybe some one living alone or an older couple who dont want a touchy feely dog,she follows me everywere as though she doesnt want to be alone but pick her up or cuddle her and she deffo isnt into it(but try telling kid that)all they want is a dog to play with...i do hope someone can help befor she bites and a drastic action is needed....we live in merseyside,,,ifanyone is intrested please leave a number and i'll contact you ...thanks

Hello and welcome to Whispers. So sorry it is in sad circumstances.
I think if you contacted one of these rescue Centres they would be able to assess Lulu and find the right home for her. Have you tried a behaviorist to see if they can see why she is behaving like this? It could well be how she was treated before coming to you.We are all a very friendly lot on here so ask away if you want to know more.



Wirral, Liverpool & District - Mrs J Ashton, Telephone 07775 952660, Email jo_walmsley at hotmail.com

Shih Tzu Rescue (North West area) Elain MacDonald Tel 0161 624 3171, Fax No 0161 627 2459, Email elainmacdonald@fsmail.net

Hi Carol and welcome to Whispers. It is such a shame you have had to come to this decision, but hopefully it will come to a suitable ending.

As sands-62 has said, have you seen a behaviourist to see if they can help with Lulu's problems as it does sound as if she could have been treated badly before she came to you. It may just be a matter of helping her to trust humans again, and realise that we aren't all nasty people.

I assume you have had her checked by the vet to make sure there isn't an underlying problem which could cause the problems you have described? It could be something very simple.

Thanks guys,, and yes no medical problems evident as such,,,i have thought and spoken to a behaviourist but as sad as it sounds it has to be a on going thing which as a working mum i havent got the funds to do on a regular basis,,,i have followed all the tips given to me about her thiking she is the boss ,walking in rooms first feeding her second and being tough when she glowls etc... but sadly it hasnt made any difference,,, think having young children around is not helping as they dont follow through the advice all the time so i feel i'm running round in circles.....i cant bare the thought of her sitting in a little kennel waiting for that someone to choose her thats why i thought someone may take her on rather than sending her away and hoping for the best...but thanks for your thoughts guys appreciated ...luv Carol xx

Lesley (simbalove) is away at the minute, but she is the expert in behaviour and will have lots of ideas you could try to solve the problem if you can wait for her to come home. I know she will work with you to solve the problem, and come up with lots of suggestions for you to work on.

i would try anything and will wait.............just hope she dont bite in the meantime...fingers crossed...thanks xxx

Glad you are gong to wait for Lesley, she will really do her best to help you, and has 30 years experience of the breed so knows everything there is to know about them.

Thanks for your help,,,,i will try anything but if there is anyone who fits the bill for a good home i wont be ruleing it out ...aaarrrr dont no what to do xxxxx

Whilst all shih tzu like to be around their people many of them don't want to be cuddled and can feel threatened if they are restrained. Because they look so cute and cuddly like little teddybears it is easy for people to treat them as such but they are still dogs and need to be trained... as do any children in a dog-owning family.

Children need to learn good dog ownership for safety's sake. I would seriously recommend a class run by someone offering the Kennel Club good citizen scheme as they work with the whole family if needs be and I think this is what is needed here. If you don't have the time or finances to commit to a 10 week course then I would urge you to contact any of the shih tzu rescue - the two mentioned above and also the southern shih tzu rescue... or you could contact Friends of the Animals RCT http://www.friendsoftheanimalsrct.org.uk/contact.html or the Little Dog Rescue http://www.littledogrescue.co.uk/ContactUs.html

In the meantime - or if you do want to work with her - then you need to lay down ground rules for the family so that they are safe. Do some clicker training with her using treats as a reward and do it with the children using the clicker and treats as she learns the commands so that they are bonding and developing a pecking order. Supervise the kids feeding her ie getting her to sit and wait while they put down the food and then telling her when to eat it.

Show the children how to play with a dog - ie throwing a toy for her to fetch.

Also make sure she can have children free time where she feels safe, secure and out of harms way when the kids are running around or being loud or she is just tired and wants a rest.

For the time being all cuddles and petting must be out as far as the kids are concerned... this has to be whatever dog it is.... eventually Lulu will come to them/you for petting but it has to be when she wants it not forced upon her which is threatening to any dog (just because some dogs tolerate it does not mean it is right).

To counteract the growling have an empty coke/drinks can with a couple of small stones in to hand and if there is any growling then just shake the can to break the situation then distract her with a toy or titbit... get her to sit or go down.

I think that is enough to start with - don't shout at her for growling or look directly into her eyes (very important you tell the kids that as it is also threatening) use the stones to break/distract the situation in emergency and praise good calm behaviour only. Keep your voice calm and quiet whatevder the situation.

Let me know how you get on x

Hi ...wish i could write saying all is ok but it isnt,,,,,my beautiful LULU is not getting any better at in ,in fact i would say she is getting worse..........maybe she dont like us anymore!!! its a thought ............anyone who could give her a lovely home please please get in touch...dont even want to think of what i may have to do xxxxxxxx

aww bless her theres a lady on here wants another shih tzu maybe she would be interested xx

could you maybe let her no for me or give her my mobile.....i'm lost cant put her in kennels i'd never sleep, least if i new she was going to a nice home it wouldnt be to bad xxxxthanks carol xx

I'll link this page to her topic for you its awful but if youve tried you cant do much more xx

thank you so much...i'm really so so sad but yes i cant do much more xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx