FAQ

Make sure that you contact us before making a deposit. We take PayPal, cash, and personal checks for deposits. Deposits are $300.

Our puppies are usually ready to leave between 9 and 10 weeks of age.

We don't ship, but we will accompany your puppy on the airline of your choice for the cost of the flight.

The crate should not be a place of punishment, but a sanctuary where your dog can retreat to rest and be secure. Provide toys and treats to make the crate a pleasant place. It helps to put the crate where people are during the day, or in the bedroom at night. This way the dog will be safe but not lonely. A radio or television can help to keep the dog quiet when you are out. Play with your puppy and take him out to eliminate before you confine him to his crate, and do not leave him there for such a long time that he has no choice but to eliminate in the crate. If you will be out for extended periods, you may want to puppy-proof a small room or use an exercise pen to reinforce your dog’s natural desire to keep his bed clean. Crate training is also useful when you need to board your dog or keep it safe while traveling.

Shih Tzu are often considered difficult to housebreak. The most critical thing is to avoid giving your puppy opportunities to have accidents inside, and to praise him profusely whenever he eliminates where you want him to, be it on newspaper or “piddle pads” in his puppy-proofed area or outside. This means that your puppy should be constantly supervised inside the house until he has not eliminated indoors for at least four to eight weeks. You must also go outside with him, so that you can praise him when he eliminates outdoors. Watch for signals, such as sniffing and circling, and be sure to take him out every few hours, especially when he first wakes up, immediately after eating and before and after playtime. Suddenly, the light will dawn! A puppy has a very short attention span, so punishing him after the fact is useless and may instead teach your dog not to eliminate in your presence. You can gradually extend the time between outings as the puppy has greater control over his bladder. Some Shih Tzu owners teach their dogs to eliminate on paper indoors as well as outside all their lives, so they don’t need to walk them in bad weather or rush home to take them out. You may want to associate a command such as “hurry up” or “go potty” with the act of elimination; this is useful later when you want the puppy to eliminate quickly in an unfamiliar place. If you are housebreaking an older dog, you may want to use piddle pants or (for males) a belly band with a sanitary napkin inside when the dog is inside, being sure to remove it and take the dog outside on a regular basis. After a few accidents, the dog will decide to go outside rather than be wet and uncomfortable