How to Stop a Shih Tzu Biting
Biting is a common behavioral issue with all dogs. As puppies, they begin biting to establish a position in a pack. The biting behavior continues until they have discovered who is the dominant in the litter. However, if there are no other puppies or dogs to chew on, they will view their humans as their pack and will start chewing on them. This is not necessarily a bad behavior, but if it is not controlled, it can become problematic. There are ways to take control of the bad habit of biting, but you must first take into consideration the reason for the behavior. There are many factors that can contribute to a Shih Tzu biting habit.
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In order to keep a Shih Tzu from biting as an adult, you must take control of the biting habit as a puppy. Puppies, like human babies, associate with their mouths. Biting and chewing on things identify what that thing is to them. They will also chew and bite when they are teething. Puppies also like to play and can get rough in establishing boundaries. Most puppies will bite in play, so it is important to get control of this behavior before it gets out of hand. If your Shih Tzu puppy is biting you while playing, the best thing to do is to stop playing and refuse to play further. If you continue to play while the puppy is biting, it teaches the puppy that biting is acceptable and it will be more difficult to teach the puppy otherwise. Remove what the puppy is biting on and tell it “No Bite”, or a similar command, in a firm tone. Reward the puppy as soon as they stop biting with a treat or a chew toy.
A chew toy is an excellent way to divert unwanted biting and chewing. Giving a puppy something that is okay for it to bite helps establish parameters of what is acceptable and what is not. Repeat the method of removal and reward until the biting behavior ends. However, if the biting behavior is because your puppy is teething, they will eventually outgrow it when their adult teeth come in. It is also a good idea to keep a few chew toys around just in case their biting habits become direct at peoples limbs or their own limbs. They are essentially chewing to relieve the pain in the nerve endings of their gums. By freezing a chew toy and giving it to them when they start to bite, you can curb the problem before it because too severe.
Biting as an adult can become a problem with Shih Tzu dogs, however, it is important to find the reason for the biting before you start trying to retrain. When a Shih Tzu begins biting as an adult, it is typically out of pain or from displeasure with something. It is best to make sure that they are not in pain, first. When your Shih Tzu starts to bite, take it to a vet to determine if there is anything physically wrong with it. In the wild, dogs and wolves cannot show pain or illness as it could result in its death from an opportunistic predator or pack member. This carries over into domestic breeds as well and will cause the pet to bite or act aggressive when they are sick or in pain.
If your Shih Tzu is not in pain, then it is most likely a dominance issue and can be corrected, but not without difficulty. Shih Tzu, like most small breed dogs, will become territorial and can start to act aggressively. They are trying to establish a new base of dominance. Typically, this can be caused by a lack of dominance in the owner. “Time outs” can be used in this instance to help correct the biting issue. When your pet bites or nips for this reason, take them out of the spot that they are having dominance issue with, reprimand them with a “no biting” command, and put them in a bathroom or another such quiet place alone. Once time out is over, let the Shih Tzu out and go back to the area that was problematic. If the biting continues, repeat the method until the biting stops. Reward the pet when they are calm and are not being aggressive.
