Monthly Archives: November 2011

Shih Tzu Day 137: Nov. 13 (Catch Up)

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Last night while John and I were watching TV, I kept smelling the distinct scent of dog urine. I finally realized it was coming from the cushion I was sitting on. There wasn’t a wet spot, so Flower must have relieved herself on it earlier and I didn’t catch it. I soaked it with cleaner this morning, and with the no-mark spray I have been using.

That left me with no where to sit, since I wasn’t thinking and soaked the other couch cushions for good measure. I moved my laptop to the kitchen table, but Dottie looked so confused.She is so used to sitting by me. She kept wandering around, glancing at me from time to time. I finally grabbed a throw and sat it in front of the couch. I used Nigel’s stairs for a laptop stand. I thought Dottie would come sit by me, but she went to lay in Shih Tzu Central. Nigel came and plopped down by me, though, with his bully stick in his mouth

Dottie eventually came up to see what we were doing, spotted my unattended coffee cup and snuck in a few sips before I caught her. After that, she cuddled up next to my side, which is unusual, with her head on my leg. I thought she was being affectionate, but then I realized that she was trying to get to the coffee cup I had sat between my legs.

Flower was sitting on the floor near us, but when the Man came down, she ran back to Central. Dottie got affectionate again after I grabbed a bagel and cream cheese. In fact, she was growling at me, showing her displeasure in my non-sharing mood.

The girls and Nigel had bully stick wars this afternoon. Nigel still believes that if I pass out four treats, they are all his. Flower can usually jump up on the couch to get away from him with her treat. However, Nigel somehow managed to jump up on it today, causing Flower to flee, bully stick clenched between her teeth.

Shih Tzu Day 136: Nov. 12 (Catch Up)

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I tried something different today and cooked up some ground turkey to mix with vegetables for them, instead of ground chicken or hamburger. They all liked it.

Dottie is getting more comfortable with John. When he was giving out snacks in the kitchen, she came up to him without hesitating. She wouldn’t do that a month ago.

Candy has been amusing me with her cuteness again. She was doing her pony act, bucking all over the place, spurring on Flower and Nigel. She did it right in front of John, which is another first. I have been turning over food and treat duties to him as much as possible, so they will bond with him. It looks like it is starting to work.

Shih Tzu Day 135 (Nov. 11): Shih Tzu Shopping

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in search of the perfect shih tzu treat

two shih tzus scuffling. People don’t seem to agree on rawhide and dogs. Petsmart has a whole aisle devoted to rawhide, but I know a lot of people don’t think rawhide is good for dogs. I don’t know enough about it, but I am trying new things to avoid giving them rawhide all the time. Today I bought a product called DreamBones made with dried chicken breasts and a bunch of other ingredients that might or might not be bad for them. I bought them once before, but I didn’t remember if the shih tzus liked them. Dottie and Flower liked them. I think Nigel took Candy’s.

a <em/><em>shih tzu</em> at a door.I have also been on a search for the best bully stick brand. The female shih tzus didn’t like the Cadet bully sticks I got from Costco, although I think Nigel will eat anything. They were too big anyway. They were meant for larger dogs, so John had to saw them into three pieces. I got a small package from Walmart to try again, because the girls liked them the last time I bought them. I have a feeling that in a taste test the Walmart one would win, which is too bad, since the big bag at Costco is more economical.

the shih tzu couch defiler

While I was out, Flower peed on the couch. At least I assume it was Flower. It was John’s side of the couch this time. I pulled the cushion off and soaked the spot with cleaner and the marking spray. While it was on the ground, Nigel decided it was his new dog bed and climbed up on it to chew on a bully stick.

Nigel does need a better dog bed. I guess the one from Ross doesn’t have enough stuffing. Maybe that is why he drags it around. He might be just driving to rearrange its innards. I did buy him another one from Ross to try.

shih tzu holiday clothes

two shih tzus sitting together. I also bought Nigel a grinch outfit, a red dog jacket and a red and white sweater. I bought the girls a black and pink checked dress with velcro on the neck and tummy from TJ Maxx. I wanted to dress Dottie, Candy and Flower up at triples some time during the holiday, and I found these adorable little red and green dog dresses with candy canes and other Christmas decorations and fur at the bottom at Ross. I found the same print at Target, but with extra fur, so I bought it for one of them. The red and green dress was eight dollars at Walmart but five dollars at Ross, so that extra fur really adds to the price!

Shih Tzu Day 134 (Nov. 10, 2011): More Bone Wars

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Nigel, the shih tzu bone king

a shih tzu chewing a bone on the "pee" carpet after moving the training pads.Candy and Nigel had a long romp session outside this morning. After they came back in, they were squabbling so loudly over a rawhide chew flip that it frightened me. I thought for sure they were killing each other. I yelled (bad habit!), grabbed Nigel by the scruff of his neck and pointed him towards his dog bed. The demon shih tzu worked very hard to terrorize the female shih tzus today. He finally tired himself out and crawled back up onto the couch and snuggled up next to me to get some rest, while Flower and Dottie rested on the other side and Candy wandered around. If we had a slightly bigger couch, would all four shih tzus sit up here more often? I’m not sure.

two shih tzus squabbling.After all the shih tzus had rested, Nigel was back on the prowl, growling at Flower like a ferocious  animal. I think that was over a red and white mini rawhide treat. He is under the impression that anything on the floor belongs to him, even if he has to take it out of another shih tzu’s mouth and put it on the floor. He was fixated on Flower and wouldn’t look at me when I scolded him. Either he is slightly deaf or has selective hearing. Not ever having more than one dog before, I have no idea if it’s normal for dogs to growl so often at each other over bones and couch positions. ?

a shih tzu with half of a bone.I decided to move all the treat-type bones to shih tzu Central since Nigel is being so possessive. He definitely didn’t like it. He flew outside when I opened the door, and then he flew back inside, then back out and back in again, before finally jumping up on the couch and settling down. A little later, the three youngest shih tzus roamed around the living room, glancing my way every now and then, probably wondering if I was going to break out any more treats. After a while, Flower and Candy trotted by side by side, back to Shih Tzu Central.

Candy, Flower and Nigel were very excited, as usual, when John got home. They all started running around, but again, as usual, Flower hung back while Candy and Nigel ran to the door. Nigel did it with a rawhide treat in his mouth.

Shih Tzu Day 133 (Nov. 9): Flower’s Gold Star Visit to the Vet

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shih tzu vet visit

a shih tzu with tear stains.Flower had a vet appointment today with Clear Creek Animal Hospital. I wanted to talk to Dr. Lindsey about her blinking and watery eyes, to make sure she doesn’t have an infection particularly. I brought Nigel with me, to show Flower that vet visits don’t have to be terrifying.

Flower shook on the way to the vet, but was so much better than last time. She did poop when we got to the vet door, and only got a little on my pants. Her shih tzu companion  ran into the clinic and then ran around visiting everyone. Nigel had been there before for his sterilization and hernia surgery, so they all remembered him.

Flower was also much better in Dr. Lindsey’s office. She didn’t poop on the floor like last time and didn’t fight at all throughout her examination or try to jump off the table. The vet said that Flower didn’t have hairs growing in her eyes, a common reason for shih tzus to blink and have watery eyes. She also checked for blocked tear ducts by putting some dye in Flower’s eyes. She told me that if it didn’t go out her nose, it was a good sign that her tear ducts were blocked. None came out. She said the best thing to do would be to have her eyes flushed when she is under for a dental exam or for some other vet procedure.

I asked the vet about the tear stains caused by her watery eyes. I had already read that the reddish-brown tear stains (epiphora) are actually caused by bacteria and yeast growing on the wet skin caused by excessive tearing. We talked about what causes the excessive tearing. The vet confirmed that the causes include allergies (corn, wheat, soy, artificial food colorings, additives, preservatives), water minerals and genetics.

Dr. Lindsey mentioned Angels’ Eyes. I had already researched Angels’ Eyes, which is a beef liver powder mixed with a small amount of tylosin (tartrate), an antibiotic used in vet medicine. I hesitated getting it, because I wasn’t sure about giving her or the other shih tzus antibiotics. The vet said she didn’t know if it was good to take antibiotics forever, but that she hadn’t heard of any real drawbacks to Angels’ Eyes, which the dog must take daily. Ironically, I have an eye problem that requires I take a light antibiotic indefinitely, so I think it will be safe to give some to Flower as an experiment. I just need to find out who sells it.

The vet also mentioned someone telling her that they had tried corn starch on the stains. I have already tried that, but I should research more exactly how people use it. I didn’t try it for very long.

The vet also looked at Nigel’s eyes and confirmed that they were overflowing. While we talked about dog food, Flower lay down on the table next to Nigel. I knew I should have brought my camera!

post-vet treat

I stopped at McDonald’s after the vet visit, but Flower was too nervous at first to eat her share of the hamburger I got; I did get her to eat a couple of small pieces. Since she did so good at the vet, I also thought I would take her into a local pet store, Paws ‘n’ Play, with me. She was very good. I even walked walked her a little bit before I realized that she doesn’t walk on a leash! Once I realized that, I coaxed her to go a few more feet.

It was tough with both of the shih tzus, since I am not used to walking with two dogs. I kept getting tangled in the leashes. I also dropped Nigel’s while I was talking to a customer about sheba inas, allowing him to aggressively run after a big dog. I caught him before he could do any damage.

I bought Taste of the Wild bison and venison kibble for the girls to try, since it is grain free. Flower was very relaxed on the way back. After leaving Paws ‘n’ Play, she even lay down in the front seat with Nigel instead of sitting up.