This is a question from a reader of my site:
Question: I have a female Shih Tzu/Pug mix. She barks so much. Whenever someone comes in she doesn’t stop barking until they leave. Every time she hears any kind of noise in our apartment building she barks and may keep on barking up to 20 minutes. I also have four cats. She chases them and bites at them almost non stop. She grabs them by the neck and shakes them. I don’t know what to do to stop her acting like this. She will be one in June. We got her as a seven week old pup. We already had the cats. Can you help me please?
Answer: Your dog needs some good obedience training. Here are some tips:
1- Keep your dog on a leash for a while. She has lots of freedom and behaves inappropriately with that freedom. Keeping her on a leash will allow you to address her misbehaviors when she does them instead of simply trying to chase her around shouting at her.
2- When she tries to go after the cats give her a leash correction as you tell her ‘no’. Make sure you consistently show her that chasing the cats is wrong.
3- When she barks excessively replace that behavior with a good one. Try teaching her the ‘place’ command. When someone comes in have her go in her place. When she hears a noise have her go in her place. If she decides she doesn’t want to use the leash to oblige her to go to the bed.
Be firm but fair. Be consistent and you will be able to change her behavior.
