Shih tzu training · Houston
Shih tzu training in Houston: house training and the lap-dog door problem
Shih tzus are the small dogs Houston families most often describe as impossible to house train, and they are not. They are dogs nobody has held to a schedule, because they are small enough to clean up after. This page covers the breed honestly, the door problem, and what the fix costs.
Last reviewed September 29, 2026 · by the Best Dog University Team
The breed
What a shih tzu is like to train: charming, stubborn and rewarded for the wrong things.
The shih tzu is a toy companion breed with a long double coat, a short muzzle and a personality the AKC describes as affectionate, playful and outgoing. It was never asked to hunt, herd or guard. Its job was to be charming, and it is very good at it. That charm is why house training goes wrong: a shih tzu that pees on the rug gets picked up and cuddled, and a shih tzu that barks at the door gets picked up and cuddled, and both lessons stick.
Between eight and eighteen months the puppy behaviors become habits. Accidents move from the puppy pad to the corner behind the couch. The door becomes an event: barking at the knock, spinning at the handle, bolting through the gap and then refusing to come back in. Some shih tzus add a growl when a child reaches for them on a lap, which is the same problem in a different room.
- A palace companion with no working job and a lot of charm
- House training fails because accidents are easy to clean up
- The front door becomes barking, spinning and bolting
- Lap guarding shows up in the same households
Lessons and the stay
How we fix a shih tzu's two problems: the potty schedule at your house, the door at ours.
House training is a schedule problem, so we often fix it at your house rather than ours. An in-home lesson maps your shih tzu's day: where the crate is, when meals happen, and which door leads to which patch of grass. Our trainer sets the routine with you, shows you how to read the dog's signals and takes the puppy pads out of the picture if they are still there.
The door problem is a board and train problem, because it needs repetitions your household cannot supply. In our Cypress home the shih tzu learns place and a release word first, then the door: a knock, a sit on the bed, a person walks in, the dog holds. We run it dozens of times a day with different people. The stay also builds loose leash walking on Cypress sidewalks and a lift cue, and it ends with a go-home session where you run the door yourself.
Crate sized for sleeping only, meals at fixed times, water picked up two hours before bed.
Out to the same patch of grass after sleep, meals and play, with a reward the second the dog finishes.
Puppy pads removed; indoor accidents interrupted quietly and taken outside without drama.
Place with a release word, taught with food and held through a knock at the door.
The full door routine with strangers, deliveries and family, repeated until the dog stays on the bed.
Go-home session: you run the door and the potty schedule while our trainer watches.
Houston
Houston specifics for a shih tzu: a flat face in the heat, elevators, and storm-season accidents.
A shih tzu's short muzzle and heavy coat make Houston summers a real limit. From May through September we walk the breed at dawn and after sunset, keep the coat in a short cut and stop the moment breathing gets loud. The AVMA is direct about flat-faced dogs and heat, and we follow it. Midday sessions happen in the air conditioning of the stores along 290 and Fry Road.
Housing is usually an apartment, a townhome or a suburban house with a busy front door. A shih tzu in a Galleria high-rise needs an elevator routine and a potty plan that survives a long ride down; a shih tzu in Fairfield or Towne Lake needs the door and the yard. Storm season, June 1 to November 30, and July 4 fireworks push a lot of shih tzus to have indoor accidents, so the crate is built as a calm place first. Fire ants near the potty spot are checked before every yard session.
- Short muzzle and heavy coat: dawn and dusk from May through September
- Elevator potty plans for high-rise dogs
- Storm season and fireworks cause indoor regressions
- Fire ant mounds checked near the potty spot
Program and price
A $220 in-home lesson for the potty, Gold at $2,500 for the door, the bundle for a puppy.
For house training alone, book an in-home private lesson at $220; a lesson at our Cypress facility is $160 but house training is better fixed where the rug is. For the door, the leash and the lap growl, the two-week Gold Board & Train is $2,500 and includes place/stay, door boundaries, loose leash walking, impulse control, a go-home session, one more lesson and lifelong support. A shih tzu that has bitten needs the three-week Platinum at $3,750 for the behavior modification.
A shih tzu puppy under four months is the ideal Puppy Development Bundle case: four private sessions for $550 in Cypress or $750 in your home covering crate, potty, place and the door before any of it becomes a habit. Transport is $250 door to door and the first lesson at your house is part of it.
The programs
The programs a shih tzu goes home from.
A lesson at your house for the potty schedule, a Cypress stay for the door, and a bundle for the puppy.
Asked and answered
Questions people ask about this.
How much does shih tzu training cost in Houston?
A shih tzu's house training is usually one or two in-home lessons at $220 each with Best Dog University. The two-week Gold Board & Train for the door and the leash is $2,500, the three-week Platinum for a shih tzu that has bitten is $3,750, and the Puppy Development Bundle for a puppy under four months is $550 in Cypress or $750 in-home.
Can an adult shih tzu still be house trained?
Yes, at any age, provided the schedule is held by everyone in the house. Adult shih tzus have a longer habit to undo, so the crate, the fixed meal times and the same patch of grass matter more, not less. Most families see a clean week within a few weeks of the in-home lesson if nobody skips the routine.
Why does my shih tzu bark and spin at the front door?
Because the door has always produced excitement and nobody has taught the dog what to do instead. Barking at the knock made the person appear, spinning made people laugh, and bolting made everyone chase. The stay replaces all of that with a place bed and a release word, practiced with real visitors until the dog holds the bed through the doorbell.
Does a shih tzu need a board and train at all?
Not always. If the only issue is potty accidents, in-home lessons are the honest recommendation and cost less. If the door, the leash and a growl on the lap are part of it, the two-week Gold stay gives the dog repetitions with strangers that a household cannot provide. Our team tells you which one on the free call.
Is the Houston heat dangerous for a shih tzu in training?
It can be, so we treat it seriously. Outdoor sessions run early and late from May through September, the coat is kept short, walks are brief and we stop at the first sign of noisy breathing. Most summer work for a shih tzu happens indoors, in stores and at the training home, which suits the breed's problems anyway.
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Tell our team about your shih tzu.
The free consultation is a short call with our trainers about the accidents, the door or the lap. You get a straight answer on lessons or a stay, and a $250 reservation deposit books the date.