First you want to ask yourself, why did you purchase a shih tzu? I have seen people with dogs, even shih tzu, who chain the dog to a backyard tree and visit the dog only to provide water and food. I think to myself, that has to be a very lonely life for that shih tzu. I also know those owners are missing out on a lot of the enjoyment of owning a shih tzu. If you never to communicate with your shih tzu or you never try to communicate with your shih tzu, you truly do not need to purchase one. Shih tzu especially are "people" dogs. They thrive best emotionally and mentally upon the relationships and interactions they have with their people. There is nothing that make my shih tzu happier than to be involved with every activity of my life. To learn how to effectively communicat with them is an ongoing project for me and one I feel worthwhile to both of us, or in my case, all of us.
Talking to your shih tzu is not necessarily communicating with them. We need to learn how our shih tzu understands what we say to them and we need to understand what the shih tzu says back to us. When you communicate effectively with your shih tzu you will find you possess more influence over your shih tzu's behavior without having to resort to punishment of any sort.
Our dogs are so much a part of our human community and separated from their lives in the wild, they no longer are able to fend for themselves. They provide us with beauty, loyalty and a connection with nature. We have to provide them with food and care. We are also responsible for providing mental stimulation and social graces needed to live well in our human world. Chaining a shih tzu to a dog house or tree in the backyard is just not acceptable. If I know for certain this will happen to my puppies, there is no amount of money I would accept to put them in that type of environment.
If we will try to understand our shih tzu and develop true communication with them, the understanding will open up new ways of looking at this world. I have gained a virtue since owning shih tzu. That virtue is "patience." How my shih tzu have taught me patience is actually a mystery to me that I cannot put into workds at this time. I just know I have greater patience with all aspects of my life since living with shih tzu.
I believe shih tzu have emotions much like humans. I witness these emotions more at times of shih tzu mothers raising puppies. I have seen them express great joy and times of grief. I have seen them wipe their eyes with their paws as if to wipe the tears away at the loss of one of their babies. For this reason, there is no researcher that could ever convince me shih tzu at least do not have emotions, and these emotions are much like humans. Because of these times of their emotion expressions, we have a stronger bond to each other and both our lives have been enriched. We need to pay close attention to what I shih tzu are saying to us. In the case with a grieving mother, it is my responsibility then to try and comfort her during a difficult time. We owe our pets much more than the material things of life such as food, water, toys, soft beds to sleep in, etc. We need to learn how to effectively communicate with them, myself included.
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