I completely understand your desire for a dog, and this is a nice opportunity to get the dog you want. Your comment about cats was funny. They are cats. Yes.

Have you considered the fact that the dog could terrorize your cats?

Also since you are working, I wonder how the dog will do in the house for an entire workday. Would you have someone come and walk him and play with him? This can get expensive, also doggy daycare can add up too.

This is just my opinion, But I don't think it would be fair to send the pup off to training after only being with you three weeks. It's just too much.

Others can share their knowledge of house training, sometimes involves pee pads and crating.

Thank you for your opinion - I welcome them all. Do you think it will be too much because he's being re-homed and will be too traumatic for him? It would make sense since the trainer recommended at least three weeks at my house before any formal training takes place.

It's my understanding the dog currently lives with a cat and neither are overly interested in each other. My acquaintance says he occasionally wants to play with the cat but when said cat makes it known she has no interest in playing, he'll back off. My female cat will have no patience for him but as long as he doesn't terrorize her she'll be fine. My male cat was rescued with dogs and he's very dog like himself (growls when the doorbell rings, fetches, and every visitor experiences his rolls and tumbles over their feet) so he'll be fine. Ultimately, I know that I won't know until I bring him home. I've been hesitant to meet him until I have a plan in place because I know once I meet him I'll fall in love with the little guy.

The owners of the dog both work relatively long hours and I think that's why he's been relegated to their garage. He is used to being home for long hours. I am lucky that I have a friend who is a professional pet sitter and I know she can stop by in the first few weeks to take him out and give him some belly rubs. Doggy daycare isn't an option since I have to be at work 30 minutes prior to any of them opening but you're right, all of that adds up. My husband will be on vacation for the month of October and that will help some but obviously not a permanent solution.

I've never owned a Shih Tzu but I've known those there were delightful pets and those that barked constantly and refused to be house trained.

Personally, I wouldn't use the residence & board program since I question any training group that requires the dog be boarded with them. I believe owners should be involved in the training of their dog and the training should occur in the home they'll be living in, otherwise there will be no bonding between you and the dog as you go thru the process. Plus, one never knows how their dog is being treated at a facility. There are cases where I'd agree a dog should go to a training facility but they're usually situations that involve aggressive, dangerous dogs.

Unfortunately, it will be a gamble on whether the dog will eventually fit within your household. You would need to start off with having him neutered and then seriously crate train him. The crate training will not only help in his bathroom training but will also be an aid in obedience training. It will also give your cats time to get used to him. One never knows how a resident pet will react to a newcomer so I suggest never leaving the cats & dog unattended in the household until you're sure it's safe for your cats. Since the owner has already stated that he's stubborn, I feel you may have more than house training to deal with.

If you're willing to put in the time, effort and save some $$ I would suggest you & the dog enroll in an obedience class with a good trainer (not the pet store obedience classes) and even hire a dog behaviorist/trainer to come to your home. If you've never owned a dog before you will need as much training as the dog. : )

It's easy to cuddle and spoil these little guys since they're so cute......but if you don't take the leadership role they will rule your household!

Check out this link for info on the breed and their temperament.

If you decide not to take on the challenge, then help your friend get the dog neutered and into a Shih Tzu Rescue group. If you do take on the challenge, contact the group anyway and ask for all the advice they can give you in training, trainers, crate training, etc.

Another BIG vote for crating him! Get him a nice size crate and make it a happy place, special toys and treats he only gets in the crate.

I'm not big on those trainers who keep the dog away from you for weeks either. You have no idea how they are training your dog to be submissive. I've heard some not good stories. Of course I don't know about the place you're looking into but I also believe the owners need to be a huge part of the training.

If you can have your dog walker/sitter friend over several times a day to let him out and play with him, I think that would be well worth the money.

Good luck with your decision!

Thanks for the tips Annztoo and Share_oh. I completely agree that I need lots of training too! If I move forward, I want to get this right. I've been around lots of small dogs who have been holy terrors. If they had been large dogs they would have easily been deemed aggressive.

I didn't really think of the method of in residence training and the loss of bonding opportunities at my house. It makes sense to keep him at home and involve myself in his training. I was thinking in terms of preventing bad habits from even forming at my house. In all fairness, when I spoke to the trainer he was reasonably confident that private sessions might be enough. They'll do an evaluation and make training recommendations after. Again, my concern was no one would be home for a significant amount of time during the day to reinforce training with him. Stupid question, but is dedicated training for a couple of hours in the evenings enough? I have plenty of time on the weekends to work with him but will it be enough?

I do already have a large crate. One of my cats had to recover from a surgery while crated so I know it will fit a litter box, a small bed, and food. There will be plenty of room in there for him, a bed, and some goodies.

I'm scheduled to meet him this weekend and I've asked a friend of mine to go with me. She has loads of experience with dogs and I trust that she can give me some good advice. If all goes well at the meet and greet then I plan on taking him for a trial run the following weekend. During that time, he'll be vetted and evaluated by a reputable trainer and my cats.

Any other suggestions you have, I'm all ears!

I'll heartily second Ann's suggestion to attend training with the dog. See if you can find a class that fits with your work schedule. It's a powerful way to bond with the dog especially if you work each day not just in the class. That would be well worth doing, a good investment.

I like the way you are going about this.

Jaschu, the crate should be sized to fit him, just enough room to move around without too much space. Here's a link that may be helpful.

https://www.labradortraininghq.com/labrador-training/what-size-dog-crate-and-which-type/

I agree that training offers a unique opportunity to bond with your new dog. The goal is to get the dog to want to please YOU, not some far-away trainer. A good trainer will also show you correct methods and ensure that you are following directions. I hired a private trainer because the group class did not devote enough individual attention and the other dogs were distracting to mine. The trainer said it would take about six sessions for basic training and it ended up taking almost triple as Kirby was unusually stubborn (the worst case ever, according to the trainer!). But it was a great investment that eventually reaped benefits.

Best wishes!

There is a small dog rescue that regularly pulls Shih Tzu's from our local shelter so I'll contact them but the closest breed specific rescue is a few hours away from me. A lot of my local rescues will not take a dog from a private owner because they don't receive funding from it. Many times they will advise them to owner surrender at Animal Care Services so they can pull the dog. When they pull from ACS they receive $. It isn't a lot but a rescue needs every penny they can get. My local ACS euthanizes and that's not a risk I'm willing to take.

Yes, the potty area will be grass. Luckily, I live in an area that gets no snow and very little rain so grass will always be available to him when we're home. Getting him crate trained as soon as possible seems to be the general consensus thus far. Are there any thoughts on doggie diapers while I'm away from the house? Much like the pee pads, I've heard good and bad things from them. Up until now I've really never realized how easy litter boxes are. :-)

I'll be away from the house around 10 hours a day and this includes my commute to and from work. I have a three day weekend every other week. My husband is taking the entire month of October off of work and will be home to reinforce training. My plan is to have my pet sitter stop by and take him out daily until October but I have no plan in place beginning in November.
I really appreciate all of the advice. It's helping me look at the situation from all angles which I was failing to do.

Oh gosh, a dog can't be left in a crate for 10 hours. That's not possible or fair or even humane..... your heart is in the right place though, I can tell. We waited to get dogs until I had a job whereby dogs would be home alone for no more than 4 hours. Others will have more opinions, but you need to work on the time span to reduce it by about half. You'll get there!

Do not crate for that long.

I was just thinking the owners might be over-exaggerating that he's stubborn, not housebroken, etc. as ways to justify getting rid of him and keeping him in the garage. With some proper training, which sounds like you are all for doing, he could turn out to be just fine and not even need the crate for long.

If you have the dog walker stopping by to let him out, he should be fine. Is your husband also gone for 10 hours a day?

Share_oh, I'm having similar thoughts as you. I also think she's justifying her reason for getting rid of him. My gut is telling me he isn't as bad as she's making him out to be. I think she just doesn't have time for him and every little thing he does is an annoyance to her.

When my husband starts his new job in November, he'll be gone about the same amount of time. However, I can shift my schedule to where the dog may only be home alone 8 or 9 hours a day. I know that this will depend on my training and dedication but, I am very hopeful that by November he can be trusted to be with the cats unsupervised and allowed to roam freely in the house when I'm away.

Jaschu, we had weekly sessions with "homework"-I would send him videos so he could provide feedback. It should be done daily and for brief periods of time (a few hours in the evening is overkill and ineffective). The most important thing is to get your dog to earn everything-"sit" for a meal, walk, affection. I opted for "treatless" training since I didn't want to have to carry food with me constantly. My dog is extremely food motivated so it took a bit longer.

I am admittedly not very experienced with small dogs, but letting a small dog (or many dogs) roam the house for 8 or 9 hours with no accidents, is probably....not going to work at all. For extended hours and a dog that is potty trained (of course, this is individual for each dog), it might be wise to think of a smaller area for the dog.... in our house, the kitchen, which is tiled, with a dog bed might work. Or the laundry room/hallway/bathroom, which is tiled.

This is just my experience, and we have had many, many dogs who live indoors. "Training" per se for going outside to do their business may or may not be effective in the way you think it will be. Many dogs learn to signal their owners when they need to go, either by scratching at the door, barking at the door, or ringing bells on the doorknob. But if the owner isn't home to let them out, then the dog has to hold it--which is another skill altogether. Do you see those 2 things are different?

Our dogs are *almost* totally reliable, but it's more a matter of sticking to the routine of getting them outside early and often, than it is their ability and mindset to hold it for long hours. How we train them is basically whenever they go potty outside, we make a big happy fuss over them, and then usher them into the house--so they connect going potty outdoors, with immediate happy return to the indoors.

Something else to keep in mind: where we live, a small dog like that could NEVER be in the backyard unaccompanied, due to coyotes....and birds of prey... Where we live, coyotes routinely and regularly clear 6' and bigger fences/walls, grab small dogs and cats, and jump back over. Coyotes live in residential neighborhoods, too. Also, an owl grabbed my friend's Yorkie and dropped him from a great height, which the dog somehow survived, but was injured and temporarily paralyzed. So, depending on your area and the predators, be prepared to spend a significant amount of time outside with your small dog.

Was he purchased from a pet shop or Breeder ? The Lhasa Apso looks just like a large Shih Tzu but has very different temperament. Many puppy mill shih tzu are Lhasa, papers mean nothing. MY vet told me he could not tell the breeds apart. If a sweet dog he put down Shih, if dog bites Lhasa.