Shih Tzu personality traits/aggression

[Nancy 1]

Sadie has been very good since we brought the new baby home. She has not barked or growled at the puppy. She looks very intently when I hold the baby. Remember Sadie does not let me hold her long or sometimes at all.
She sits in my husbands lap and watches me with the baby.

I make sure I pet Sadie and and pick her up to love her also.

Sadie has looked a little depressed. I think she thinks we won't love her anymore.

Granddaughter just came to see the new baby. My son told her she needs to go see Sadie too.

I told her to put baby back in playpen and pick up and love Sadie. Sadie is not aggressive to granddaughter and always wants her to pick her up so she can give her kisses.

Usually when someone is holding new baby, someone else is holding Sadie.

My labradors sniffed out new baby and wagged tails, so I guess she has been accepted by them.

[CrazyTzuLady 16]

I am glad to hear everything is going well so far.

[Tzu_Luver 4]

Sounds like your new baby has adjusted well to the family and is accepted by all. Who knows, she may be the key to bringing out the best in Sadie. I really hope so for everyone's sake. BTW have you ever thought about taking Sadie to obedience school. Shih Tzu are very stubborn so they are frequently enrolled in obedience school. They can def. have very arrogant attitudes. Ming is my most stubborn tzu. He never comes to me when I call for him. He just wags his tail as if he's saying I'm glad you're talking to me, but, I'll come when I decide I want to.

[Tzu_Luver 4]

I just got a chance to check out your new princess's pictures. She's a doll baby. I can definitely see the brown patches amongst all the black. Ming Ming has dark chocolate colored patches through out his black hair. He's also got dark brown fur on his bum. He's had these patches since he was about 6 months old. I think they were always there, but, they were just so dark it was hard to distinguish the brown from the black. Then as he got older they lightened up and now you can see them pretty good. I'll have to take some photos sometime. But my point is your little one will probably keep her coloring as well. I don't know what it is about black / white but they seem to stay pretty true to their colors. I guess technically Ming is actually brindle and white, but, oh well.

[Lolap 0]

I am glad that things seem to be working out btw your pups! Your new puppy is ADORABLE! she has the cutest face! Can't wait to see more pics

[janemin 5]

[quote name='Sally' post='64544' date='Dec 7 2007, 10:05 PM']I guess she feels the need to be in charge. I like The Dog Whisperer shows, but if you do not do the training daily and all the time, it will not help. Do you know what NILF training is? It is VERY easy and all positive. I do not use negative training.

NILF is Nothing in Life is Free. You go out of the door first, they sit and wait and you say "OK>" I always do this. The door belongs to me. YOU have to claim the couch, etc as yours. Let your furkid on the couch only if you want and if they sit first. The sit is like saying "Please."

Breafast and dinner is a good time to train. Tell your baby to sit and stay while you place the plate down for her. Then say "OK." She may then eat. Give a treat after something is done first, sit, lie down, etc.

Teaching tricks and obedience is the most important thing. Going to classes. This helps you become the leader. They want us to lead. Just like kids need boundries. They feel safe and cared for.

It is never too late to learn tricks. Trudy does many many tricks. Plays a little piano, rings a bell, dance, sit, stay, come, says "Hello" in her own voice. SO many. She loves to learn and get treats and praise.

I hope this helps. She really needs to be trained and you all and she will then be happy. Good luck!

Here is a little video of her doing a couple tricks. My little bird LOVES the piano, you can hear her.

[url="http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v492/Sally11/?action=view&current=PianoPlayer.flv"][img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v492/Sally11/th_PianoPlayer.jpg[/img][/url][/quote]That video was great.Trudy you are so talented.

[Nancy 1]

Picking out my puppy was difficult because they were all equally beautiful.

I saw the picture of my pup first in a link from the newspaper add.

She was the first of the 3 left to come see me and after playing with all 3 and I said ok, who wants to go with me. She was the one who came toddling over.

I picked out my first Shih Tzu, who think she belongs to my husband, so I decided to let this one pick me out.

I have not named her yet. I usually take some time before I name any of my dogs.

My oldest labrador named herself. Grandmother was Chelsea, and mother was Kacie. Son thought we should name her Kelsie, but she never came when we called this name.

One day I just started calling out some names and when I called out Abigail (Abbie for short) she turned around and came immediately as if it had always been her name.

[ngandkoi 3]

no shihtzu do not have an aggressive bone in their bodies they are renown for their gentle ways...either your dog is a product of bad breeding or she is sick as it is not normal for any dog regardless of breed to be this way....
yes it will pass through the line if this particular bitch is bred....i breed for good temperments along with other desirable traits so if it is bad breeding it means the breeder let a bitch be bred with suspect temperment and that is not responsible breeding.

i suggest you have her checked out at the vet it could be something simple like hormones or something that needs attention...

rose

[Nancy 1]

When I took Sadie to the vet recently, I asked about something to calm her down when I groom her. Vet gave me a sedative.

It worked pretty well. Gave her the best groom she ever allowed me to give her at one time. Even got toe nails and hair between foot pads trimmed.

She will allow me to brush and fix her hair on her head if she is in the mood. I think this is because she likes me to get the hair out of her eyes so she can see. But the rest of her body is always a fight.

Got her head done and put on her Elizabethan collar to do rest of grooming. I only got nipped once. The drug slowed her down considerably. She was too slow to get me when she tried to bite. Before we finished she had started to calm down. My hope is eventually she will give in and I will no longer have to sedate her for grooming.

She has been pretty good since the new puppy came. Only had 2 bad spells in the last week. The grooming episode and one where she went berserk over food. I let her gnaw the end off a chicken bone and she went after me when I would not give her the hole thing. Had to take her to the kitchen for a water bath and time out the rest of the day in her crate.

She now knows when I am headed to the kitchen sink during one of her growling snapping spells and will stop instantly when she realizes we are headed there. She does not like the water sprayed or poured on her head.

I do not know if this is a good thing to do, but so far nothing else has stopped one of her rages except for the water.

Today she actually got in my lap for loving and gave me kisses. She does this all the time with my husband, but has been totally ignoring me since her grooming and food episode earlier in the week.

Maybe one day I will win, or die trying. I can see headline now, "GROWN WOMAN SUCCOMBS TO 15 LB. SHIH TZU WHILE TRYING TO BE ALPHA DOG"

[BusterBoo 4]

Have you tried working with a behaviourist? It sounds like you might have to get some extra help. Having to sedate your dog to do a grooming must be hard on Sadie and you.....

IMO.....having to take your furbaby to the sink and hose her down to calm her down isn't a good thing. She needs positive reinforcement, lots of discipline but in a good way. When you say you put her in her crate for the rest of the day ...... does that mean you lock her in the crate while you and family are walking around? She is probably very confused since you feed her in the crate and then punish her in the crate.

I hope you can find someone who can help you with Sadie, I am sure she is such a sweetie, ask your Vet to recommend someone to help you out ... she just has to learn how to live in your world.....

[mel 251]

[quote name='Nancy' post='64540' date='Dec 7 2007, 06:25 PM']Hello,

I am new to this forum. I have a 3 year old shih tzu named Sadie.

I found a lost Shih Tzu several years ago and we all fell in love with him and finally his owner posted signs about lost dog and we returned him.

We bought Sadie the same day. She was 7 weeks old.

I got 3 books on Shih Tzu before I bought her, but they do not accurately describe the personality traits or answer other specific questions about the breed.

I have always had Labradors and have 4 at the moment. Labs are easy. Loving, dependable, obedient, could not be made to bite me.

Sadie, my shih tzu, on the other hand, is a definite hand full. She can be very sweet and loving and she can be a tazmanian devil. (my son says the spawn of satan).

She has food aggression. Do not pull her hair ( this means brushing), do not wake her when she is tired, do not touch her tail. She will attack and bite. She sounds like a tazmainian devil when she gets into one of her rages.

She thinks she is the little princess, I think she is a little shi*. Don't get me wrong, we do love her, but I cannot imagine that anyone else would want to deal with her. They would probably have her put to sleep.

She was supposed to be my dog, but she is my husbands dog and she lets me know it. If I call her to put her out to potty, she may run, jump in my husbands lap, raise her lips in warning and start to growl at me. I do not let her get away with it, she goes out anyway, but to keep her from biting when she gets like this you have to grab her by the nap of the neck and then put your hand under her to lift her or she will totally try to eat you up.

If she is eating no one can go near her or she will attack and bite. If you drop a piece of food, she will drop down on top of it as if to keep some one from taking it. If you move after dropping it she will try to attack and bite you, not just me, but anyone.

I have tried a number of things. Time out in her house (pet cage and no she is not normally kept there, and has free roam of the house), I have scolded, paddled her with a newspaper-she does not care and gets even more aggressive with this and will attack newspaper and still tries to bite. I watched the dog wisperer and have flipped her on her back and put my fingers in her throat (like a dog that shows another dog that he is boss)when she gets into one of her rages, this will calm her down and stop her aggression for the moment.

When she gets in one of her moods, she can make one of my labs shake all over, one gets the heck out of her way, and one totally ignores her. They wanted to bite here when she was little and after I reprimanded them they do not touch her. Their punishment for her is to ignore her and not play with her, but they show no aggresion to her.

I have seen Sadie bite their ears when they come in the house. Once she sailed off the chair onto the back of one lab, like a cat jumping on her prey. She was not playing, but mad because they came into the house.

Do I have the only shih tzu like this?

Suggestions for getting rid of her aggresion and dominace, and incouraging her sweet loving moods instead.

Also, I think I would like another shih tzu, if I have a good chance of getting a non aggresive one. Is this personality trait an unusual shih tzu trait?

If I breed my female do you think this personality trait will be inherited?

I bought my shih tzu from a place reccommended by my vet, because they said pups from there were healthy and buyers had not had any problems with them. The breeder guaranteed their health for one year.

I just found out that she came from the famous Virginia puppy mill in the recent news. I suspect her aggresion may have been learned from her mother, because they were kept in small cages with other mothers and pups on both sides. (I saw pictures of the place). The dogs there were cared for and in good health, but lived in small cages.

Thanks for your opinions, suggestions and advice.

Nancy[/quote]


You have described my shihtzu "Buddy" to a Tee. He acts the exact same way. He is better though since he has been on Prozaq. He still has food aggression though and you dont walk by his bowl when he is eating nor do you try to take his empty bowl to wash while he is looking. He will bite. I've come to realize that this is just Buddy and I've learned to deal with it.

[Nancy 1]

Louise,

I talked to the vet about her behavior and she suggested I try the pill to calm her down. I used the lowest dose, since she said I could increase it. I do not think we have any specialist in our area for behavior.

She was groomed 3 times by 2 different groomers. She was not agressive to them the first 2 times.
The last time was different groomer and a very poor groom, so I suspect Sadie got difficult. Then I just decided to do it myself. Agressive dogs here are usually put to sleep to be groomed. I do not want to do that. I want her to learn to accept it. I am not mean to her, I just let her know it is going to be done.

I think many would just euthanize a dog with her personality, as did the other lady with a shih from the same place that I purchased my dog.

Yes she eats in her crate and her water bottle is there, but she is not crated at any other times and has free roam of the house, so she does not like to be confined. I am limited in the ways I can discipline her. The water in her face and having to stay in her crate are the only 2 things I have found that make any impact on her.

I am open to any suggestions.

I have always had labradors. Scold them or tap them with 2 fingers on the nose and they are hurt and remorseful. Not so with Sadie. She does not care.
If in a biting rage, she will not stop, until I discovered the water. Just a light spray, or a cup of water in her face. Now she stops before I get to the kitchen with her, so this tells me she is learning.

This is a learning experience for me and very few would have the patience that I have with her. She loves my husband and rarely has an issue with him. My grown son also takes her riding and plays with her and she is usuall ok with him.

Just do not:
Get close to her food.
Wake her if she is extremely tired.
Pull her hair, and this includes brushing and grooming.
Remove a tick. (Occasionally picks up one when she goes out-I live in country)
Take her from my husband's lap.

If she has her way, she is fine. And yes, she always warns you before she bites. But she will not hesitate to bite. She does not care if she gets a pop for it, she will bite and squent her eyes.

I came home from work today. Nobody home. Sadie very glad to see me, could not wait to be picked up and give me kisses. She was in her sweetie mood.

Most people just say, "Why do you keep her?"

To us she is just a bad child. So with the suggestions of those with experience here, I will keep working with her, and maybe one day she will become a better child.

[FairyTail Josette 14]

Knowing Sadie came from a puppy mill environment, she was starved to death and they fought each other for what little food they were given, thus creating her agression, which is fear based. You now are faced with un-doing bad behavior, because she's been abused. I'm not so sure spraying water in her face is the answer long term, I'm afraid this may do even more damage to her emotionally,given her past experience. I know this must get very frustrating for you, I think a positive reinforcement would possibly gain better results. Our dogs mirror our emotions. Its very sad Sadie was subjected to such abuse before you came into her life.

[tzukeeper 12]

My approach with Sadie would be very different. NILIF would be a huge part of the plan. You can't put a dog in time out and expect them to know what that is all about. I have 2 females that have dominance issues with each other. There were times when they would lock faces during a fight and it was absolutely impossible to seperate them. I used a bath of cold water to get them apart. The water was a tool I used to seperate them if no one was here to help me. Dogs live in the here and now. Letting them know they have done wrong requires a swift and quick response. They are not spiteful. I never hit my dogs and seek to punish them to teach them a lesson. Repremand is no more than a stern "No" and a "touch"(not hit) at the exact time of the offense. You might be angry with Sadie for being aggressive towards you but showing that anger by putting her in a crate all day or spraying her in the face does nothing more than make you the bad guy. IMO these actions could actually make her aggression issues worse and make her fear you. Fear brings about aggression. I apologize if I sound harsh but I think you need to take a step back and re-evaluate the way you are handling this.

[ShihtzuBeauty 47]

[quote name='Chocolate Shih Tzu Candy' post='83558' date='Apr 27 2008, 12:32 AM']Knowing Sadie came from a puppy mill environment, she was starved to death and they fought each other for what little food they were given, thus creating her agression, which is fear based. You now are faced with un-doing bad behavior, because she's been abused. I'm not so sure spraying water in her face is the answer long term, I'm afraid this may do even more damage to her emotionally,given her past experience. I know this must get very frustrating for you, I think a positive reinforcement would possibly gain better results. Our dogs mirror our emotions. Its very sad Sadie was subjected to such abuse before you came into her life.[/quote]

I too would have to agree. I don't see where squirting her in the face w/water is going to help her behavoir or help her to trust you. I really feel for your situation I've never been faced w/one like this and I'm sure I would be devastated. I would for sure give the NILF a 100% try and if needed research to see if I could find anyone that would be able to help me. Big hugs to you I can only imagine how painful emotionally this must be for her and you family.

[FairyTail Josette 14]

I have been watching Victoria Stillwell, dog trainer, on Animal Planet. Shes on a t.v. series called, "It's Me Or The Dog." I have learned a lot from watching these shows. Just this morning, a couple had an aggressive dog. Stillwell says, aggressive dogs are under severe stress. Stillwell recommended a vet check-up, the dog had a thyroid condition which caused him anxiety. (I think someone here recommended a medical check-up.) After the meds, training began. Stillwell spoke of stress thresholds, which would be what you were speaking about what Sadie doesn't like, brushing/combing, touching of the tail, waking her when tired, much of this behavior goes back to the puppy mill, of where she was abused, in cramped quarters where she may have been possibly under attack from the other dogs, very common for dogs to be overly aggressive to one another kept in cages in mills. It was suggested to change her perception of dealing with brushing/touching her tail, etc...with positive training techniques, making it a positive experience. It was also suggested to minimize their stress level, with distractions, again positive. Stillwell uses the clicker method also with success. I hope this helps. We have a trainer at our local Animal Rescue League that works with dogs free of charge. Maybe your local A.R.L. could give you some assistance with Sadie.
I would love to see some pics of both of your fur-babies.

[Nancy 1]

Tzukeeper,

I appreaciate your input and everyone else's.

In answer to your post. Sadie has no fear. Absolutely none.

If you touch her when she is in one of her moods, she will not only bite you, but is likely to attack you. Touch her and she will come after you. It is as if she does not even hear you when she is in one of her rages. If you leave her alone she will get over it. But then she wins. It will just let her know she is alpha dog.

If she is in one of those moods you can say "NO" to her. She does not care and will not ackknowledge it. She may look at you and keep doing what she wants.

I have had her three years and only recently tried the water. It stops her. Then she acts as if nothing happened. She may be a little miffed because she is wet, but the aggression is gone.

Today she came running down the hall to son's room. She will occasionally poo there. She saw my son in there and went running down hall. I said "Sadie outside" I went after her to put her outside. She did not want to go outside (it was raining) and ran from me to get in her crate. When I reached for her she growled at me, tried to bite me and went in her house.

There was no getting her without getting major bites, since she was in her crate and I could not grab her with out getting eaten alive. So I shut her door untill she calmed down.

What would have been a appropriate responce to this?

[tzukeeper 12]

Everything you have described makes me think she is reacting out of fear. She seems distrustful of you and unsure what your expectations of her are. I cannot say enough good things about the NILIF strategy. I noticed a difference in Pebbles within a 24 hour period. She is a different dog these days. It is such an easy method to use. Simply put, all of the resources belong to you and she has to perform a task to get anything. Don't leave toys or food out....only water. First teach her to sit on command if she does not already know how. Use a treat and gently push down on her behind giving her the treat each time. Within just a few minutes she will make the connection that she gets something good for sitting and will do it on her own.....make sure you treat her. Hubby has to be in on this too. She can't get in his lap until she sits. Getting in his lap is the reward. You go through doors first and make her sit before she goes through them. My Pebbles was food aggressive. I fixed this by hand feeding her. At first I used a spoon with canned food because I didn't want to lose a finger. Eventually I could hand her a piece of kibble and she would take it gently. I had to earn her trust and let her know that I was boss and had everything she needed. Now she looks to me for everything and waits until I say it is okay. If I were you I would click on the link below and take the 5 minutes it takes to read how to put NILIF into action. It might not solve all your and Sadie's issues but it's a start. I wish you much patience and really hope Sadie learns to trust and simply relax a bit.

[url="http://k9deb.com/nilif.htm"]http://k9deb.com/nilif.htm[/url]

You asked what I would have done in that situation.....If I had wanted her outside then she would have gone outside....crate and all!

[Nancy 1]

I have seen a change in Sadie's behavior since we got the new puppy (named new girl Lillie).

Sadie has been more obedient to me. Even came and sat in my lap a couple of times. She acts as if she thinks she will be replaced and therefore is trying to be a better girl.

Time will tell.

New puppy, Lillie is a doll baby. Very sweet and loving. A real cuddler and seems to be my dog.

Sadies favorite is still my husband. She mostly stays out of the puppies way, but was seen yesterday starting to play with new puppy, but only for a minute, then into my husband's lap.

[ShihtzuBeauty 47]

For the update! I hope this trend continues for all of you.

[CrazyTzuLady 16]

I hope she is finally on the right track for you. Pictures please!

[COCOonTuesdays 0]

my heart goes out to Sadie I think she is very confused. I hope you find a solution.

[FairyTail Josette 14]

for the update. My Maltese, Cody favors my hubby, too, I don't mind. Cody has some fear based aggression, adding Mandy to the mix helped Cody tremendously. I felt it was a risky move, adding Mandy, but, it worked out very well for us. Cody is terrified of any loud noises, thunderstorms, a motorcycle driving by, etc... he starts to shake and then would become hostile towards us. Since, getting Mandy that behavior has stopped for the most part. He stills gets scared when it storms, but, he comes out of it much quicker now.

I think on their own time Sadie and Lily will be best buddies, as long as Sadie still has her favorite spot on daddy's lap, and some things remain the same for Sadie that she enjoys. I think Lily will help Sadie like Mandy helped Cody.

[Wicket's mom 1]

Hi,

sure sounds like you have your hands full! It is nice to hear things are improving, and hopefully over time Sadie's will be behaving like the calm and loving shitzu you were looking for. Glad to hear Lilly is doing great

When are you getting pictures??

[valerieam 0]

I'm new to this site. I have a 4 month old shih/yorkie mix named Marley. I also have a 9 month old yorkie named Pippin. I would like to know more about shih tsu'. Marley has a strong personality. Even though he is half Pippins size and weight he rules the house. His first week here he would go after Pip with his mouth open like pac man and grab his fur and hang on. We took Pip and had his hair shaved so he had a better chance of getting away. He has also growled and napped at each of my adult daughters. I do not want this behavior to continue. I wondered if it was the Shih tsu in him that makes him so aggressive. I am going to talk to a trainer tonight to get some advice. I've had dogs all my life and never had one with such a dominante personality. He's been with us a month and I'm worried his behavior is going to get worse. When I read this post I thought "Oh no, this is where we're headed".