Shih Tzu board and train in Gloucester, MA

Bred as companions in the Chinese imperial palace, the Shih Tzu is, by the AKC's description, playful, affectionate and outgoing, weighing 9 to 16 pounds. It scores 4 out of 5 for trainability, 3 for energy and 3 for openness to strangers. The AKC's training advice is specific: praise and rewards work best, harsh corrections should not be used, new behaviors are introduced a bit at a time, and a dog that nips or jumps up is ignored until it settles, then praised.

The coat turns handling into a daily event. The AKC says a long-coated Shih Tzu needs brushing every day, a bath about every three or four weeks, the mustache and topknot combed daily and the corners of the eyes cleaned with a damp cloth, and that trimming nails and cleaning ears belong in the routine. Even in a short puppy trim, a Shih Tzu is touched on the face, feet and rear far more than most dogs. A dog that accepts that calmly has an easier life, and so does its groomer.

Heat sets one limit. The AKC notes that, with heavy coats and short faces, Shih Tzu do not tolerate heat well and are not good swimmers, so summer training happens in cool hours and short blocks. On Cape Ann that means most outdoor practice before mid-morning from late June to early September, with a cool floor indoors for the rest of the day. It also means water play is never the reward for this breed.

Cooperative care means teaching a dog to take part in its own grooming. The AKC's guide to cooperative grooming suggests starting with gentle touch where the dog is comfortable, rewarding calm behavior, keeping sessions short and covering one or two body areas at a time. It also recommends letting the dog opt in and out: if it walks away, the session ends and the treat goes with it, and you never chase the dog. A dog that knows it can leave usually stays longer.

For a Shih Tzu, the table below maps that approach onto the breed's real grooming jobs. Dogtown Grooming is on site, so a bath can be booked before pick-up, $55 for a dog up to 25 pounds, with a $10 face trim to clear the hair from the eyes. Our groomers charge a $20 behavior or handling surcharge when a dog needs extra time and hands, and steady cooperative-care practice is the best way to make that line disappear from the bill.

The go-home lesson, or the two coaching lessons after Advanced, walks you through the bathroom schedule, the cues and the handling routine your Shih Tzu practiced. The handling routine is the part owners tend to drop first, because by then the dog seems fine with everything. Keep it, in tiny daily doses, and grooming visits stay calm instead of drifting back toward a struggle.

In July and August, do outdoor practice in the cool of the morning, and in winter wipe road salt from the feet and belly as part of the same routine. Dogtown Academy adds a trainer session to any day at $89 full or $69 half, private sessions start from $94, and our board and train page sets out both stays. If you live in Rockport, Gloucester, Essex or Manchester-by-the-Sea, a Pup Van ride is $10 each way.