I have a Shih-Tzu and she is delightful. We have a dog door, and haven't had any issues. Greta is about 2 years old. She is part of our pack of 4 dogs (until Friday night; my 19 1/2 year old Westie passed away). She gets along with all the dogs she has encountered, from Goldens to Bassets, and everything in between. Her coat does take some time, but it's not excessive compared to my terriers.(I've always wanted a Wheaton). If you let her hair grow long a daily brushing will do. I've found that a few drops of hair oil on a brush helps a lot because her hair is very fine and fluffy and hard to brush otherwise. The hair oil helps it lay down. I use a boar bristle brush followed by a courser plastic bristle brush. She doesn't get many matts, except a tendency for very small ones right behind her ears that are easy to take care of. I make a point of keeping the hair on her ears clipped short to promote air getting inside her ears. Wahl Stable Pro clippers work really well, as does a Flowbee when she needs a cut. She does seem sensitive to temperature and stays inside most of the summer , but loves to lay outside in the winter sun. For a small dog ( about 12 lbs) she has a really good barking voice, rather deep, and not at all yappy sounding. She actually doesn't bark all that much...unless she's got a squirrel up a tree. I found Greta as a stray and initially tried to find her a home (she was our 5th at the time; more than our city allows). She's part of the family now. At first I didn't want another long haired dog. But all in all she is about the same amount of hair care as my terriers, maybe a little easier because her hair isn't course. I've read that Shih-Tzu's are prone to dental problems so Greta and the gang get lots of dog biscuits and I check and brush them regularly. The only disposition thing I've noticed with Greta, and it may only be her due to her unknown original home background, is that she is very sensitive to being told "bad girl," so much so that the phrase is banned in our house. She has been exceptionally easy to train, though.

I suspect he does this when you're not around because he knows he's not supposed to be doing it. He may also be doing it because he's on the wrong side of the fence, and it's just easier to do it where he's at than returning to 'his' area to relieve himself. You may want to put a pad in the forbidden area as well, since he seems to be able to get to it. That being said, I don't like pee pads and wonder if he was trained to the outside before you got him. You didn't say. If he was, and you are using pads, you may as well say you are retraining him and he may be confused. Regardless........I hope you are taking him outside to run off his energy and letting him relieve himself there. Is that an option? Taking toys away won't accomplish anything. Reinforcing the positive is the way to train him, whether he's attention driven or food driven. You say recently but how recent is that? He may be acting out a separation anxiety or massive change of habit and environment. Have you considered crate training? This is not an impossible situation, but you may have to sort through a lot of variables to work out a useable routine and for sure you will have to invest some time and patience into the solution. The inside fence bothers me when you are not around. I have seen dogs literally hung up on them and dangling when the owners are absent.

Glad to hear she did well. Carmelita was micro-chipped during her surgery as well. I wasn't going to do it, but then decided I would. And just Tuesday I found a lost dog that did not have a chip!! She did eventually get returned to her owner, but it made me so, so glad I had Carmelita chipped!! The hardest part now will be trying to keep Gypsy quiet for at least 10 days! It lasted about 3 with Carmelita LOL. I just couldn't keep her down. My friend said the dog would only do as much as she felt she could, so that's what I went with. I did try to limit her doing any stretching or real running of any kind. I hope Gypsy feels better soon.

It sounds as though she has an extreme case of separation anxiety and unless you are confident in your abilities to retrain such a dog I think you are going to need to contact a dog behaviorist. The only thing I can suggest at this point is to see how she does when confined to a small room (laundy/bath) that opens to the main living area. Install a gate in the doorway so that she can see and hear you and the other dog, then start feeding her in the room with the gate always open. I suggest you also place a dog bed in the room so that she sees it as a safe place to hang out. Once she appears comfortable eating in the room (this may take several days or longer) close the gate and watch for any signs of stress. Don't baby her or talk to her when closing the gate.....in other words.....don't make a big deal out of it. If she likes food, reward her with some small liver bits when she's quiet and not showing signs of anxiety. If she likes toys or chews, give her one or more of those and if you think having the other dog with her lessens the anxiety, then leave him with her in the small room. It's possible that you may only be able to leave the gate closed for a few minutes, or less. If you see signs of her anxiety building up when you close the gate, distract her or give her a command to sit, reward her for obeying the command, then open the gate. You could start with one short session a day and over time increase the time the gate is closed. Increase the time only if she's showing improvement. Here is a link that might be useful: Separation Anxiety This post was edited by annz on Sat, Nov 22, 14 at 12:42