Kiss him to your heart's content. He is being taught to watch you, to focus, to listen. Forget Pavlov's dog. You are not looking for a rote response. You want a thinking dog, a dog capable of reasoning.
Thoughtful training encourages cognitive thinking.
A Shih Tzu, like his owner, learns from his mistakes. Such mistakes are good, to be encouraged. It shows that your dog is thinking, making choices, learning by trial and error. And because he is not afraid to be wrong and to try again, he quickly learns to make the correct choice. The thinking Shih Tzu performs his work with assurance, consistency, and joie de vivre.