Too much Shih Tzu playbites? What to do?

Puppies do playbite to initiate play and fun with their littermates, mother or with other dogs. Adult dogs also do this, but it is most often seen in little pups at around two to six months of age. As they say, this is the critical puppy period where the owner must be assertive to teach the pup the rules and regulations of the households. The stubborn Shih Tzu puppy is no exception to the playbiting rule. They are energetic creatures and would want to play with you – and even strangers, all the time. It may be fun at first, but you must know how to control such behavior that may cause further behavioral issues when he grows up.

The first to train your Shih tzu baby is his or her mother in the litter. The dam should be able to control too much biting by nibbling, biting and hollering on the pup to tell the young one to stop. However, since pups leave their mom at around 8 weeks of age, the pups are not yet fully trained to control playbiting. The human mom (which is you), on the other hand, usually has no idea on how to control playbiting and can even encourage it from time to time by happily responding and playing with the puppy. The best way to control a hyperactive Shih Tzu pup is to not show any positive reaction. Simply ignore and push him away. Grab him by the scruff and lift him up from the floor. Look at him in the eye and clearly say “No!” or “Stop!”. The most important thing is never break eye contact until the puppy does. In this way, you are asserting your authority over him and telling that you are the alpha dog in the relationship and what he is doing is something you do not approve. Keep repeating this until your pup shows some behavioral changes. This is very effective most of the time. But if it already taking more than 2 weeks and your pup is still exhibiting uncontrollable playbiting, then it is time to seek some professional canine help.