I don't own a Shih Tzu but I found the forum below with a quick search. It appears to be very active.

At 6 months of age, I feel getting up 3 times during the night is too much. He should be sleeping thru the night with no problems. Are you going to bed at 8pm also or is the dog being put to bed? I ask because activity around him after he's been crated for the night (if he's crated) would cause him to continue to eat and drink (if he has access to food/water). I would suggest you not feed him after 7pm and then he should be taken outside right before bedtime. I assume the frequent potty breaks are for peeing? If so, you may want to first have a vet confirm there are no urinary problems before trying to get him to sleep thru the night.

People who own the breed may be of more help when it comes to feeding but I see nothing wrong with 3 times a day if you're controlling the amount he eats and his weight is normal for his age. Most people feed twice a day because they're not home to feed around lunch time.

Here is a link that might be useful: forum

I have two shih tzus, arent they a great little breed? At 6 months my pup was sleeping right through the night but she went to bed the same time as us and got up when we did, she held it fine but always went for toilet breaks during the evening and last thing before bed, mine have never been crated and sleep in the bedroom.

I kept feeding mine 3 times a day up until she was about 10 months because she was still growing a lot but if yours starts to gain weight then you can just cut back the portion size. They are very active dogs so I don't think it's a bad thing to keep feeding 3 times a day until she stops growing and gets a bit older.

I don't visit any Shih Tzu forums, but I have owned only Shih Tzus most of my life. They are very smart dogs. Ironically, we don't see much written about how intelligent they are.

Taking my most recent Shih Tzus behaviors into account, I can tell you that the peeing 3 times during the night is not the way to go. However, females, esp the tiny ones do need to go out more often as their bladders are tiny. The males usually hold their pee longer. Shih Tzus should hold their pee overnight at 6 months of age, or you should try to train her bladder to hold it by placing her in a crate.

My Shih Tzus held it through the night fairly early, like at 3 months old, as soon as they were potty trained ;)
Potty training was quick-1-2 weeks after bringing them home. They were in a crate overnight for the first month, so that helped. Your dog should be able to hold it for at least 6 hours overnight.

I can tell you that my tiny female (tiny bladder) used to go EVERY hour to pee during the day up until she was 1 year old. that was normal for her. Once she got older, the peeing became regular. She held it through the night quickly, and at 4-5 months she joined us sleeping in OUR bed, without any accidents.

At 10 months to 1 year, you can remove the 3rd meal. Usually, they give it up themselves. Mine gave up the third meal themselves. She, being tiny, may require the 3 meals longer.

For quicker overnight holding pee results you may want to feed her last meal a few hours before bedtime, this way she can go out a couple of times and be empty overnight, and no food in the belly to make her pee.

I recommend to put out the food and then remove the bowl once she is finished. Do it 3x daily for now....You may find that soon she will not want one of the three meals. Some people leave the bowls all day long and their dogs nibble. I don't recommend that because if the dog gets sick, or loses appetite, it becomes difficult to judge their behavior.

I have had ShihTzu's for almost 4 years. I have never had to take my babies out during the night. I have read they can hold it 10-12 hours, and I've been lucky. I take them out every 2-3 hours, and after a while, you learn their poop schedule. Two meals should be enough, but don't let her eat or drink late. She does need water between meals, though. Good luck with you baby. ShihTzus are a wonderful and lovable dog. If you plan on babies, DON"T let her get pregnant in her first heat. One of mine got caught at 8 mths. She had 6, and 2 were born dead, and 1 died at 3 days old. The other 3 took all the nourishment, and it really took alot out of my girl. Thank God, she's back to her old self.

Thanks for all the replies and I have bookmarked that site, thanks so much.

As far as her having babies goes - no way. I would dearly love to get into that business because I think it would be so much fun, I would love the entire process.... but I also know that when the time came to actually sell the puppies, nobody in this world would be good enough/responsible enough/friendly enough/ attentive enough/loving enough for me to actually let go of any of them.

Two dogs in this house is enough, if I ever breeded, I'd keep every one of them when all was said. Two dogs is enough.

We spay every dog we have ever as soon as the vet says they are old enough.

Im making an appointment for this puppy to be spayed in two weeks - she is a few days away from seven months old and my vet told me that at seven months she could be spayed - so off she will go! :)

But I'll bet that newborn shih tzus are the sweetest things on earth, even cuter than labs.... and that is going some. ;)

i have a male shih tzu his name is tiger, my husband gave him to me on my birthday. i love him very, very much... i've never before have i had a dog, this is my first and i try to spoil him the best i can. the problem is that me and my husband work everyday, so we have to leave him home alone. before leaving we put him water and his food on the doggy bowls. a month ago he started acting up, chewing on my furniture, the walls are scratched enough you can see the cheerock haha. my husband tought that by hitting him would solve the problem--> NOOO it just made it worse. one day we got home and found poop in the bed, trust me he never did this before. anyways my husband said im not going to hit him anymore, but we have to figure out something we can do? i read this article on the internet that said that shih tzu puppies when they left home-alone for many hours they get separation anxiety stress. when puppies go thru that they start to get bored and start chewing and carving on walls thinking they can get out to go find you. also they start eating or playing with there own poop ( believe me, this is all for reals). i felt sad and worried thinking what should i do... i love my shih tzu but i don't like the idea of what he has been doing. so i did a research in remedies to calm and relax my dogs anxiety. it said i purchase a calming collar at a pets store, wal-mart, etc. or the calming anti-stress tablets. i took Tiger to PetSmart and bought him the Anti-Stress tablets, and guess what looking around i even found this amazing spray that helps dogs and puppies not to bite or scratch your walls, furniture, or etc. you spray it on the things he normally chews on. i thinks the smell that it has or the taste---> spOOks out puppies hA!!! Also at pets smart i got him one of those entertaining stuffed bones, that keeps puppies busy by trying to figure out a way to take out the gOOdness inside. we also got him a bunch of other things, and he seemed to be enjoying shOppiNg at petsmart and meeting other kind of dogs and animals. now before leaving to work we give him the anti- stress calming tablet, wich he loves because its fruit flavored, i spray the things i dont want him chewing. since then i've never had a problem- and he seems to be happier because every sunday we take him to the dog store, even if it's just to get him a new toy, a new reward, a busy bone, or a birthday present... we do that to remind him we love him, so he doesn't think we have forgot all about him and to remind him his part of me and my husband's life!!!
we l��ve you Tiger!!!!
P.s hOpe my reply helped sOmeOne.

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I have two shih tzus. The younger of the two is just a year and a rescue dog. My son gave her to me because he knows how much I love them. She is sooo loveable and cuddly. Her only issue is her eating. She never seems to get enough food. She can't wait to eat and would eat 24/7 if you let her. I have never seen a dog so obsessed with food. She doesn't even seem to chew her food and sniffs nothing before she eats it. She takes anything you give her and just eats it. Is there anyone who has had this experience with their dog? I really could use some input on this.

yep, I have two shih tzus and one has a very healthy attitude towards food. she eats her meals slowly and will take a tit bit of our food if she feels like it, but if she is tired, full or just not interested in what we are offering she won't take it. My other shih tzu is a total foodaholic. we got her at two years old and in the beginning she would eat her food, chase my other dog away from her dish and scoff that down and then throw up from eating too much. we could not even put a plate of food down and turn our back on her for 10 seconds or she would be up on a chair or table with her face in our food scoffing it down before you even knew what was happening.

we have had to train her not to do these things but if she was given the chance she would eat until it made her sick and would just keep eating more. I dont even think she tastes her food, it goes down so quick like it's the last food she will ever see, so we have to be careful with snacks and tidbits and are constantly trying to keep her weight down. she just loves food like nothing else, anytime, anywhere, any type, she will keep shoveling it down if we let her. she's like a labrador in a shih tzu body :)

I am a first time Shih Tzu owner and she is a great dog! when i got her i had a jack russell at my house already. they get along great. she has been crate trained and she only cried for the first 3 night of being in it. she is soon to be only a year old but is very well potty trained. although some of the research ive done says that they eat there own feces. she did that when she was little but has stopped now becaus eof the vitamins i give her. i have to say that with this breed they love going for walks. it also tires them out very quickly. and the only physical problem that i have had with her is ear mites and kennel cough. the ear mites are easy to get rid of. just bring him/her to your vet and they should put ear drops that kills them into your dogs ears. but other than those very small problems they are great compaions to kids and other animals.

I have 2 shih tzus they just turned one. and they still arnt potty trained my mom said they have to be potty trained or she is giving them away!!!!! any advice?

Hi, I have a shih tzu who is 12 months old but she constantly keeps waking in the night crying and I let her out to the toilet and then she thinks it is play time, any advice would be appreciated, thanks

Lyndsey, my shih tzu was the same as a pup. she would wake up during the night and start running around playing and wake us up so I would just tell her to go to bed and try to get her comfortable so she could fall back asleep. If you get up with your girl you are just rewarding the behaviour. Mine did outgrow it though, and at 12 months your girl should be able to make it through the night without a potty break so long as she went out before bedtime. Try sending her back to her bed and don't get up with her and she will learn that nighttime is not play time. Don't reward the behaviour and she will get better.

edited to clarify