Caribou is an incredibly cute Shih Tzu puppy, mixed shade of brown, with white markings. Born on February 9th of this year, Caribou is just a baby, and is currently only about 3 pounds in weight, mostly fur! He is very engaged and alert, and he seems to be a very clever dog. He is modelling his behaviour on that of our resident dogs and has therefore pretty much mastered doing business outside, sitting for treats, etc. Of course being very young, Caribou will certainly have the occasional accident in the house, but with warm weather on the way, it will be much more pleasant
to spend time outdoors to continue the housebreaking.

Given Caribou’s tiny size, he has trouble going down stairs, so currently I am carrying him down from the deck to the yard, although he is able to come up on his own. He sleeps in a crate at night
and I usually take him out for a potty break after 5-6 hours. During the day he gets outside much more frequently, just to minimize accident risks and startgood habits.

Caribou’s long hair means he will require grooming. Things seem to stick to his fur, leaves, seeds and especially mud, so if pristine floors are important in your home, this is not the dog for you.

Caribou likes to play with toys, and like all puppies, he chews on things, so although he isn’t especially destructive, he may needs watching to ensure he is chewing on a toy or a stick and not a
charging cable or a shoe, because all are of equal interest to him.

Caribou loves to play with our small dog and they spend hours a day playing together, running after each other, outside chewing sticks and, once exhausted, curled up asleep together. I think Caribou
would love to have a small dog companion in his new home. Caribou is a pretty hungry dog who wolfs down his food, then goes looking to see if he can find leftovers in any of the other dog’s bowls. Being food motivated should be of benefit when training, but if you have a dog that isinclined to resource guarding you will have to be dwatchful during the settling in phase.   

Caribou is a ton of fun to have around and seems pretty low maintenance, easy to correct when necessary and affectionate, snuggly and fun. He is a real day brightener and would be a wonderful addition to your family life.