Hello Zach, , I suggest combining a few things in your case. You need a way to communicate with him so I suggest teaching the Quiet command from the Quiet method in the article I have linked below - don't expect this alone to work but it will be part of the puzzle for what I will suggest next. https://wagwalking.com/training/train-a-shih-tzu-puppy-to-not-bark Next, once pup understands what Quiet means you will choose an interrupter - neither too harsh nor ineffective. A Pet Convincer is one example of an interrupter. A pet convincer is a small canister of pressurized, unscented air that you can spray a quick puff of at the dog's side to surprise them enough to help them calm back down. (Don't use citronella and avoid spraying in the face!). In situations where you know pup will bark or is already barking (catch them before they bark if you can), command "Quiet". If they obey, reward with a treat and very calm praise. If they bark anyway or continue to bark, say "Ah Ah" firmly but calmly and give a brief correction. Repeat the correction each time they bark until you get a brief pause in the barking. When they pause, praise and reward then. The combination of communication, correction, and rewarding - with the "Ah Ah" and praise to mark their good and bad behavior with the right timing, is very important. Once pup is calmer in general after the initial training, practice exposing him a lot to the things that trigger the barking normally (make a list - even if it's long). Whenever he DOESN'T bark around something that he normally would have, calmly praise and reward him to continue the desensitization process. Don't skip the desensitization at the end - that will ultimately have the greatest effect on pup's new quieter behavior staying with him long term as he matures more, and the tendency to bark increases once territorial behavior increases with mental and sexual maturity. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

Oct. 4, 2021

Hello Muditha, Recruit friends and family pup doesn't know to walk past them while on leash. Watch pup's body language and have the person stay far enough away that pup stays relaxed. As the person passes pup and pup is reacting well (don't reward while aggressive or acting fearful), then have the person toss several treats gently toward pup's paws and continue walking. Have lots of different people do this in lots of different place - without approaching pup after. You want pup to begin to associate the people with something fun happening and take the pressure of petting away at first before pup is ready for that part. As pup improves, have the people gradually decrease the distance between them and pup. Once pup can handle people walking right by and dropping treats, practice the protocol from the video linked below. The dog in that video has a history of aggression. In your case, pup is just lacking in socialization, so I wouldn't add in the discipline like Jeff does in the video, instead just focus on the rewards or interrupting pup with your voice if needed. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIJoEJfTS-E Finally, during all of this, practice desensitizing pup to handling and touch using their food. As often as you can, feed pup their meals one piece at a time. Gently touch pup in an area while feeding a piece of food. Touch their should - feed a piece. Touch their back - feed a piece. Touch an ear - feed a piece. Touch their collar - feed a piece. Touch their paw - feed a piece. Touch their belly - feed a piece. ect... Do it gently and start with areas pup is most comfortable and work up to the other areas as pup improves. When pup enjoys your touches, add in other people pup knows touching, like family members. When pup can handle that add in gentle strangers once pup has completed the other training and is more comfortable with strangers. Don't rush these things but do practice very often and with lots of different people. Watch pup's reaction and go at a pace where pup can stay relaxed - the goal isn't just for pup to act good but actually feel better about people - so pup staying relaxed and happy around people is what you want to reward, which will mean going at the pace or distance pup an handle. When pup is a little more comfortable with people, as soon as possible enroll pup in a puppy class. In order to be entered in a puppy class pup will need to be no older than 6 months, so don't wait long. Expect pup to bark a lot the first couple of classes, many puppies do. Often a puppy will hide and bark and watch the other puppies play for the first couple classes, then start to get curious and want to play themselves after a couple classes and pick one puppy to engage with. From there pup's social skills will usually grow until they are playing with multiple puppies by the end of the six weeks. Pup needs a lot of socialization as you know, and the best way for a puppy to get used to other dogs is with other puppies who have similar ways of interacting and playing, to learn social cues and confidence from. You likely won't find a class that meets every one of the criteria from the article below, but this article will at least give you an idea of what to look for, to get closer. Prioritize classes that have time for moderated off-leash puppy play, and a variety of puppies, instead of just one other puppy. https://www.petful.com/behaviors/puppy-classes-when-to-start/ You have to wait a while for some classes, so while you work on socialization with people, I would go ahead and find a class you want to do and potentially register for the future class to start. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

July 12, 2021

Hello Shelley, If pup is doing it due to separation anxiety, you can use a separation anxiety protocol to address the underling issue. If you have anything absorbent in the crate, remove that and use a non-absorbent bed instead, like www.primopads.com or k9ballistics crate mats. What's pup's bathroom and eating schedule look like right before crating him? Many dogs will need to poop 15-45 minutes after eating, even if they just went potty and peed right before. If you are taking pup potty, feeding them, then crating immediately or taking potty again too soon, that urge to poop might be hitting pup while crated instead of pooping outside before being put in the crate. Changing the schedule so pup is pooping outside could help in that case. I would very thoroughly clean the crate with a cleaner than contains enzymes either way. Since the previous accidents will encourage future accidents in the crate due to the small if the smell isn't fully removed. Only enzymes typically remove the smell to the level a dog's sensitive nose needs. Many pet safe cleaners contain enzymes if you read labels for the word enzyme or enzymatic. Nature's miracle for example, has a spray that contains it, but not all of them do so check the label. Some dogs will have accidents in the crate because they have lost the natural desire to keep a confined space clean. In those cases, you will need to switch tactics by using something like an exercise pen or different type of crate. Is pup normally potty trained while out of the crate and only pooping in the crate or still learning that also. If pup is also learning to be potty trained and the crate isn't an option due to loosing that natural desire to hold it, you can use an exercise pen with a disposable real grass pad when you can't supervise pup, like at night and when you leave, then use the Tethering method from the article I have linked below to potty train pup while you are home. Set up the exercise pen in an area where you can close off access to that part of the house later, once pup doesn't need the pen anymore, since pup will be learning to go potty in that area of the home while learning to hold it in the rest of your home. A bathroom, guest bathroom, very large ventilated closet, or office with doors are some examples. Grass pad brands: www.freshpatch.com www.doggielawn.com www.porchpotty.com Tethering method: https://wagwalking.com/training/train-a-german-shepherd-puppy-to-poop-outside If you have ruled out the above and the issue appears to be anxiety related, here is a Separation anxiety protocol, or I would pursue hiring a trainer in person. Check out the Surprise method from the article linked below and work on that method to get him used to you being out of the room while he is crated. https://wagwalking.com/training/like-a-crate He also needs to build his independence and his confidence by adding a lot of structure and predictability into his routine like mentioned above. Things such as making him work for rewards like meals, walks, and pets. Working on "Stay" and "Place," commands while you move away or leave the room, and teaching him to remain inside a crate when the door is open as well as closed. Give him something to do in the crate or on Place during the day while you are out of the room (such as a dog food stuffed Kong to chew on). Place: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omg5DVPWIWo Another protocol involves teaching the dog to cope with their own anxiety by making their current anxious go-to behaviors unpleasant, giving them an opportunity to stop those behaviors long enough to learn something new, then rewarding the correct, calmer behavior instead. This protocol can feel harsh because it involves careful correction, but it tends to work much quicker for many dogs. If you go this route, I suggest hiring a trainer who is very experienced using both positive reinforcement and fair corrections. Building his independence and structure in his life will still be an important part of this protocol too. First, check out this video from SolidK9Training on treating anxiety. It will give a brief over-view of treating separation anxiety more firmly. This trainer can be a bit abrupt with his teaching style with people but is very experienced working with highly aggressive, anxious, and reactive dogs. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5GqzeLzysk Second, purchase a Pet convincer. DO NOT use a citronella collar, buy the additional unscented air canister if the collar comes with the citronella and make sure that you use the unscented air. (Citronella collars are actually very harsh and the smell lingers a long time so the dog continues to be corrected even after they stop the behavior). This protocol can also be done with a low level remote training collar for dogs who do better without seeing you during the training, but for any training collar use I recommend working with a professional trainer proficient in their use for training. Next, set up a camera to spy on him. If you have two smart devices, like tablets or smartphones, you can Skype or Facetime them to one another with pup’s end on mute, so that you can see and hear him but he will not hear you. Video baby monitors, video security monitors with portable ways to view the video, GoPros with the phone Live App, or any other camera that will record and transmit the video to something portable that you can watch outside live will work. Set up your camera to spy on him while he is in the crate, and you leave. Spy on pup from outside or another room. Leave however you normally would. As soon as you hear pup crying or see him start to try to escape or destroy the crate from the camera, quietly return, spray a small puff of air from the pet convincer at his side through the crate wires, without opening the door, then leave again. Every time he barks or tries to get out of the crate, correct, then leave again. After five minutes to ten minutes of practice, as soon as your dog stays quiet and is not trying to escape for five seconds straight, go back into the room where he is and sprinkle several treats into the crate without saying anything, then leave again. Practice correcting when he barks or tries to escape, going back inside and sprinkling treats when he stays quiet, for up to 30 minutes a session at first. After 30 minutes -1 hour of practicing this, while he is quiet, go back into the room and sprinkle more treats. This time stay in the room. Do not speak to pup or pay attention to him for ten minutes while you walk around and get stuff done inside. When he is being calm, then you can let him out of the crate. When you let him out, require pup to come out calmly, opening and closing the door until your dog is not rushing out. You want him to be calm when he comes out of the crate and to stay calm when you get home. That is why you need to ignore him when you get home right away. Also, keep your good byes extremely boring and calm. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5GqzeLzysk Also, for longer alone times give him a food stuffed Kong into the crate/room with him. Once he is less anxious he will likely enjoy it even if he didn't pay any attention to it in the past, and that will help him to enjoy alone time more. First, he may need his anxious state of mind interrupted so that he is open to learning other ways to behave. Once it's interrupted, give him a food stuffed Kong in the crate for him to relieve his boredom instead of barking, since he will need something other than barking to do at that point. Regularly practice him staying on Place and in the open crate while you are home and leave the room as well. Finally, teach pup the Quiet command to make communication with him clearer. Quiet method: https://wagwalking.com/training/train-a-shih-tzu-puppy-to-not-bark Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

June 28, 2021