For the home Shih Tzu kennel owner a scoop designed for the purpose of scooping dog waste and a garbage can double-lined with heavy-duty trash sacks is all that is needed. If you wish to go to the expense of installing a septic system, concrete-surfaced runs emptying into a sloped trough perpendicular to and beyond the runs length is common. The costs can be considerable. You might try surrounding the run pad with a bed of gravel several inches deep into which urine and cleaning solutions can be hosed and drained away.

You will need to provide adequate security for your Shih Tzu against escape or intrusion. A secure fence around the kennel area provides security.

The most common forms of canine housing are a doghouse or attaching the run to a house or a heated garage and installing an access door.

If you place the doghouse in the run itself you offer more security as the Shih Tzu is always behind a gate that can be locked. If you use doghouses avoid those made of metal.

If you build your own, consider having the door face away from prevailing winds. A windbreak made of plywood should extend from floor to ceiling and reach slightly more than halfway across the houses depth. The purpose of a windbreak is to create a secure, dry, wind-free area for your pet. Chewing can be discouraged by attaching heavy metal sheathing to the windbreaks exposed edge and the exposed edges of the doorway. A light to provide heat of minimal but adequate wattage should be installed near the ceiling. All wiring should be covered with metal conduit. A vent can be installed near the ceiling to repel moisture and promote drying.

The entire structure, walls, ceiling and floor, should be insulated and should be raised slightly above the ground to promote drying and avoid floor rotting. The overall size of your doghouses should allow for only slightly more space than the dog is large. Shih Tzu like small, tight, secure nests.

The roof of your Shih Tzu dog houses should be sloped to promote water runoff. Make the angle slight if the Shih Tzu dog house is inside the run or behind a secure fence. The Shih Tzu can then climb on top and sun himself.

For your Shih Tzus comfort you may want to cover the floor by installing a wall-to-wall section of indoor-outdoor carpeting. Surround the carpeting with quarter-section wood molding to discourage your Shih Tzu from chewing on an edge.

Oryou can be like me and build your Shih Tzu a 12 X 20 building equipped with air conditioning, heat, hot and cold running water and separate quarters for male Shih Tzu and female Shih Tzu.

I am thinking of adding some of these doghouses in various places where my own Shih Tzu roam and romp and play for times they do not want to use their cottage. Shih Tzu likes cozy places, but more than anything they prefer to dwell just as close to humans as they most possibly can. However, this is not always feasible in a Shih Tzu kennel. There are times when Shih Tzu and their human caretakers just have to go their separate ways. In those times, you will need adequate housing and shelter for your Shih Tzu.