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Di Freeze is a writer and editor.

Shih Tzu Special Day: Dottie’s 7th Birthday

Dottie Shih Tzu’s 7th birthday

I am happy to say that Dottie celebrated her second birthday party at her forever home today! She is now 7 years old. We did things a little differently than we did last year.

Remembering last year’s Shih Tzu birthday party

Dottie Shih Tzu with crown and treatsFor Dottie’s first birthday with us, two and a half months after she and her half sisters came to live with us, I dressed Dottie, Candy, and Flower up (Nigel hadn’t come to live with us yet). I was trying to get Dottie used to riding in the car, so I took her with me down the street to get a cheeseburger and fries for the shih tzus to shake. She shook the entire time. 

How things have changed in Shih Tzu Land

Candy Shih Tzu with Treat and CrownLooking back, I am happy to say that things are quite a bit different! Yes, Dottie sometimes still does shake in the car, but all of the dogs are used to going on car rides, because of our frequent trips to the park. Also, they are now all used to walking on a leash!

Majestic View Park

Flower Shih Tzu with treat and crownI don’t like to take all four shih tzus for walks without John, because they are a handful, but since it was Dottie’s birthday, I attempted it. I also wanted to make it more special than behind Wal-Mart, where we normally walk on weekdays, so I decided to take them for a walk at Majestic View Park, our normal Sunday morning routine.

First off, I got down their leash and harness box and Dottie, Nigel, and Flower got excited, as usual — but there harnesses weren’t in it! I searched all over the house, and finally found them in the spare bedroom. I must have gone up there to get something with the harnesses in my hand and absentmindedly set them down on the bed. Once I got the harnesses on them, I fixed the flex leashes for Nigel, Flower, and Candy so that they wouldn’t extend all the way, which, hopefully, would help me control them. 

Flower, Nigel, and Dottie all followed me out to the car in the garage, but Candy hesitated in the hall, as usual. I picked them all up and put them in the back of the Focus, and then came back in for Candy. I put the birthday girl in the place of honor in the front seat, on a new furry blanket I got her.

Nige Shih Tzu in birthday crown.When we got to the park, I put Nigel’s leash on him and let him out my door, although I try to normally let them out the hatch. Then, I carefully let Flower down (the last time we went to the park she jumped out before we could get the leash on her!), put Candy’s leash on her and let her down, and then picked Dottie up and set her on the ground.

I know that the sign in the park says that all dogs need to be on leashes, and technically, Dottie is always on a leash. It’s just not always in my hand! She is so good that when no one is close, I let her walk herself, next to me. I also let Candy walk herself usually, because she is very good and stays close to me. 

We did okay for the first few minutes, but once I let out their flex leashes, Flower and Nigel started weaving back and forth, and I spent more time untangling them and me than walking. We stopped at a bench and I got out the treats I made for Dottie: chicken and sweet potato, chicken and apple, and chicken and banana (I still haven’t perfected the banana treats). Nigel stole the first treat I put down for Dottie and one I put down for Candy, so he got scolded. I brought along the three birthday tiaras I had from the last birthday, and the shih tzus took turns wearing them.

A few people we saw commented that I was brave to walk four dogs, and I agreed! I told them I normally wouldn’t attempt it but it was a special day. 

Mother-daughter birthday date

Dottie Shih Tzu in her new birthday dress.When we  came home, I settled the other shih tzus in, and then took Dottie back out to the car with me for our “mother-daughter” date. She sat in the front seat with me for about three-quarters of the way, not shaking at all, and then climbed into the back.
Our destination was Muttz, a pet store where I bought the shih tzus Big Bark “steer sticks” (pizzles — translate “penises”) several months back. I called before we left to make sure they had some in stock. The woman told me they were having difficulty getting in the large bag I bought before but that they had a one-pound bag of steer stick pieces, which sounded better for the shih tzus than the larger ones anyway.  

Dottie obediently followed me into the store and stood next to me while I looked at jerky and other treats. When the clerk came to say hello, however, Dottie started shaking. I explained that she came from a puppy mill and still wasn’t very good with people. 

I bought the steer stick pieces and a piece of duck jerky for Dottie, and when we were leaving, I spotted a blue flowered dress that was half off. I hadn’t been going to dress Dottie or the others up this year, because I know I like it more than they do, but it was so cute that I had to try it on Dottie. I ended up buying it. The clerk asked if it was Dottie’s first time in the store, and I said yes. She said she could get a free toy, and I told her that was great since it was Dottie’s birthday. I picked out a stuffed star to go with the yellow flowers in Dottie’s dress.

On the way home, I decided to buy a cheeseburger and small fries for the shih tzus (and me) to share. I took them all out on the porch and put a small piece of hamburger and fries in each of their food bowls. 

 

 

 

 

Shih Tzu Sunday Walk at Majestic Park

Fun at Majestic Park

Mom says she will try to post videos so we have something to show people until she catches up on the blog. This is all of us at Majestic Park this morning. Candy goes with us on Sunday. The Man had to groom her paws first. She doesn’t like that. She tries to bite. Notice Dottie walking behind Mom! No one is holding her leash! The Humans trust her, but not the rest of us! Mom grabs her leash when we see other humans or animals, though.

Shih Tzu Day 392 (July 25): Nutro Small Breed Taste-Testing Party!

Nutro taste-testing party preparation

table with Nutro crunchy treats.

Well, it finally happened—our Nutro small breed taste-testing party! The day began with washing dog blankets and beds, and then, I managed to get all four shih tzus bathed. John couldn’t help before leaving for work, so I did it myself, as quickly as possible. I towel dried them but then let them air dry.

Our first dog guests, Rosey and Mimi, arrive.

 

I wanted to make a fresh batch of doggy hors d’oeuvres, even though the dogs would be sampling Nutro biscuits and treats. I made a quick trip to the store for apples and sweet potatoes and made all three of our shih tzus’ regular treats: apple and chicken, sweet potato and chicken, and chicken jerky.

Leticia came over at 2 o’clock, with Oriana, Rema, Junior, Evita, and Cea, my party committee. Their job was to set up the taste-testing table in the backyard, putting out the pomegranate, banana, peanut butter, and apple treats, as well as the reading material supplied by Nutro. They also had the responsibility of filling the goody bags. Nutro sent 10 gift bags, dog bowls, collars, packages of wet food, and 4 lb. bags of Nutro Natural Small Breed kibble. They also sent picture frames, decorations, and glue.

Flower was beautiful but aloof.While the children took care of their tasks, Leticia and I did the shopping. Nutro had graciously given us a Visa card for people food, so we bought lots of fruit for a big fruit bowl (which she decorated with the top of the pineapple), veggies, pickles, olives, a variety of rolls, meats, cheeses, flavored mustards, sweet potato tortilla chips, and Pringles.

Chelsea Girl wasn't sure what she thought of all the dogs.

 

I also picked up Apothic white and Apothic red wine as well as a bottle of Chateau Ste. Michelle Riesling, and Crystal Light appletini and lemonade for the children. When we got back, Leticia was on food detail, with Junior helping, while I checked on the taste-testing table, which looked great.

Guests begin to arrive

Our first guest, John’s sister Lynda, arrived at 6 o’clock. Shortly after that, our neighbor Jan arrived with her cockatoo Chelsea Girl.

Owner, 2 shih tzus and malteseOur first dog guests arrived a little later. Many of our readers know how we came to have our shih tzus, but I will relate the story briefly, since it has to do with these guests. John had been particularly close to our Yorkie Joey, and when she died, he wasn’t sure if he wanted another dog. I always told him, though, that I didn’t want another one—I wanted several, and I wanted a variety, like Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne’s clan.

Shaymus and BeBe arrive at the party.In early 2011, I met a sweet foster dog at PetSmart named Bella. I found out she was a shih tzu. A little later, my niece Heather had a party and I befriended a shih tzu there. After those two encounters, I was sure I wanted a shih tzu. John and I were taking a bike ride one Saturday morning that June when he pointed out a dog running on the bike path. It looked like a shih tzu—a very scared shih tzu running for its life.

Max surveys the partiers. We ended up finally catching the dog, after chasing her for two miles, and bringing her home with us. Over the next 48 hours or so, I came to really like Rosey. That Monday, though, I made a trip to PetSmart’s clinic; they checked her for a chip, found one, and tracked down the shih tzu’s owner, Jane. As it turned out, Rosey lived with another shih tzu (Tuffy) and a maltese (Mimi). They were very happy to get her back.

Rosey investigates the toy box.

I knew I was going to miss Rosey. That incident led to me looking online for a shih tzu to adopt, and eventually, to us taking in Flower, Dottie, Candy, and last but not least, Nigel. Last week, when I was making out my invitation list for the party, I thought about Jane, Rosey, Tuffy, and Mimi. I didn’t have Jane’s number, but I knew where they lived, so I stopped by and extended an invitation. I wasn’t sure if they would show up, so I was very happy to see them at the door, with Jane’s sister Kathy, and her schnauzer-Chinese crested, Beau.

Chloe arrived ready to taste Nutro treats and make friends.The next guests to arrive were our neighbors, Todd and Kelsey Silvernail, with their new boxer puppy Dexter, their friend Chad, his dog BeBe, and Shaymus, a friend’s Boston terrier that we had met previously. Although this was a small breed taste-testing party, we didn’t discriminate against bigger dogs like BeBe!

When another neighbor, Dorothy, showed up with her dog Chloe and Max, her daughter’s Yorkie, I was surprised to find out that she knew Jane. Their sons had been in band together years ago, and it had been a while since they’d seen each other.

Beau made a new people friend (Chad).With their arrival, we had nine doggy guests! Other people guests to join the festivities included my friend Karleen and her daughter Cassidy, as well as another friend, Susan, and her daughter Allison.

Party poopers

I would love to be able to say that Flower, Candy, and Dottie enjoyed the festivities, but, sadly, they did not. When I take them walking (a recent big victory!), Flower tries to run up and investigate any dog. You would think she would be more comfortable in her own home, but her and Dottie withdrew to Shih Tzu Central as soon as people and dogs started showing up, and Candy retreated to her corner outside. Nigel, of course, greeted each person and dog.

Dottie and Cea at Nutro taste-testing table.After the party had been going for sometime, I carried Candy over to Cassidy, to get a picture of them near the taste-testing table. Candy might not have enjoyed it, but she stayed still, and Dottie allowed Cea to hold her a while. I was encouraged and carried Flower over to Lynda. Flower did what she used to do when she was afraid—pooped on Lynda’s foot, and then jumped out of her arms and ran for the backdoor. I brought her back out later, and as long as I held her she was okay, but she had no interest in joining any of the dog activities.

Taste-testing

Evita with Tuffy shih tzu at Nutro taste-testing table.Since it was a taste-testing party, we had good intentions of seeing which dogs liked which Nutro treats best. I didn’t taste any, but as far as scent, the pomegranate was my favorite. Beau and Nigel seemed to like all of the flavors.

Shaymus seemed fondest of the peanut butter treats and the banana ones. We had written down more results on the banners by the treats, but the wind picked up and blew them around the yard, so we couldn’t tell which results went with which treats.

Cassidy and Candy at the Nutro taste-testing table.

(After the party, I tried the taste test again with our female shih tzus, since they wouldn’t try anything with guests around. I have never been able to get them to eat crunchy treats, but Flower tried all of the flavors, and ate all of them but the banana, which she spit out. Dottie and Candy sniffed, and then politely turned their finicky noses away.)

Sendoff

Boston terrier and shih tzu with Nutro goody bag.Jane and Kathy had planned on only staying a few minutes, and although they were the first to leave, they were there for much longer. Kathy said we had given Beau the best night of his life! I think we said goodbye to our last guests around 9 o’clock.

As each person got ready to leave, Rema handed out a bag of goodies for each dog. We were given a coupon book that we could give to one lucky winner, bearing 12 $35 coupons for a free 15 lb. bag of Nutro Natural Choice dog food.

Todd, Kelsey, Dexter, Chad, Shaymus and BeBe prepare to leave.I was so happy with the turnout, though, that I passed the coupons out to all the guests instead. Thanks Nutro, for giving us this opportunity to bring together dogs, family, friends, and neighbors, for a great time! The only thing that would have made the party more complete is if our dog blog friends from around the world would have been able to join us! Please visit our Facebook page for more pictures!

Cassidy and Allison visit Dottie, Candy, and Dottie at Shih Tzu Central.

Rema loads the Nutro goody bags into Jane's car.

Shih Tzu Day 367: One Year Anniversary at Forever Home!

Dottie, Candy and Flower head off to Unleashed by Petco.This is Shih Tzu Day 367, the one-year anniversary of when Dottie, Candy, and Flower came to live with us (this year happened to have 29 days in February), on June 30, 2011.

Candy gets fitted with a harness at Unleashed by Petco.

I know I have to catch up on the last month, but I don’t want to miss the opportunity to write about today. Since we have gotten all of the dogs at least semi used to walking on a leash, I decided it would be fun to take them out in public, particularly since there was an event that sounded fun.

I accidentally ran across an Unleashed by Petco a few weeks ago. If you don’t know what that is, it’s a “mini” Petco. I was further surprised to find out that one had opened up just a couple of miles from our home. As it turned out, it was having a grand opening this weekend.

Dottie enjoys a celebration treat.Candy waits her turn as Flower licks ice cream off John's hand.Why I thought it would be fun to take the shih tzus to it was because I got an email (because I have a PALS card) talking about the giveaways and discounts for the weekend, as well as an ice cream social, from 11 to 3 today. I had been trying to decide what to do for our anniversary, and I thought that sounded very celebratory. I didn’t know if they would be too nervous to eat ice cream there, but it sounded worth trying. Also, I like the harness I had fitted for Flower at Petco last week, so I wanted to get one for her shih tzu sisters.

It wasn’t too difficult to get them all in the back seat of the car, especially since we went through the same drill earlier in the week to take Flower, Candy and Dottie in for shots, with Nigel tagging along. Dottie was shaking, but the other shih tzus were pretty calm.

Candy and an anniversary treat.We got to Unleashed at 1, and I immediately asked someone if they could help us fit Dottie and Candy with harnesses. The woman I asked sent Patrice over to help us, and I told her that Flower had a medium, but she was a couple pounds smaller and might need a small. Patrice was going to try both sizes on Candy, but she was puzzled at how to get it on her. I have to admit that it took me a

Nigel investigates the doggy ice cream.

while to figure it out too, and I had been putting one on Flower for days. I was holding onto Flower and Nigel, so I couldn’t show her. With John’s help, we eventually decided she needed a medium too, and, even though Dottie is five pounds heavier, she took the same size.

That process was a little hectic. Dottie sat by Patrice throughout the fittings, but there were lots of people and dogs there, and Nigel kept trying to go make friends with other dogs. I had to keep pulling him back, until Ted, another Petco associate, came up and played with him.

I had intended on taking pictures, but my plan went awry. I didn’t know my battery was nearly dead on my Nikon and my iPhone battery was nearly dead from listening to Pandora on a bike ride earlier with John. I still managed to get several pictures taken before the batteries died.

Once we had accomplished the harness fitting, I asked where the ice cream was. It was disappointing to learn that although we had arrived at 1, they had already run out of ice cream. My mind was set on it, so I ended up buying some (SweetSpots peanut butter and honey) to take home.

I also talked to a Natural Balance representative about trying yet another kibble type, since the shih tzus don’t seem too jazzed about any of the kinds I’ve been given them. I ended up buying Alpha Dog, with lamb, chicken meal and rabbit. They also gave me some other samples to try.

Flower was the biggest problem child. She was pretty good when we were working on the harnesses, but later, when I went by the front door, she tried to exit. She didn’t care if it was with or without me. I think she’s going into her rebellious shih tzu teen years!

Although there was no free ice cream, we did get two pounds of free dog treats from the treat bar on the way out (Nigel is our only shih tzu that really likes biscuit-type dog treats). We also got two $5 coupons to spend when we came in, and there were two more in the bags we got. I’ll use one to get Nigel a harness later.

Our outing was a little nerve-wracking, but we got through it. When we got home, I had John slice up some chicken for me so I could make them chicken and apple and chicken and sweet potato treats. Once I had everything in the dehydrator, we put a variety of treats on a tray, including the doggie ice cream, and took them outside for their own exclusive ice cream social. Flower and Nigel loved the ice cream, although Dottie didn’t seem to care for it, and Candy would only eat it if I put it on my finger and had her lick it off. Candy preferred the chicken jerky I put out and Dottie the rawhide that I wrap fresh chicken around and dehydrate. It wasn’t the party I planned, but I don’t think they have any complaints.

I know Flower, Candy, and Dottie don’t understand what this anniversary means, but it has been a time for us to look back and reflect. We had some main goals this past year, including getting them used to me, getting them used to John, getting them used to guests, getting them to ride in a car without fear, getting them to walk on a leash, getting them to like going for walks, and getting them house trained.

We aren’t completely there, but I think we have made leaps and bounds. Flower can’t wait to go on walks. Candy and Dottie will go, but they don’t love it yet. Dottie still shakes in the car, but Flower and Candy don’t. Flower, in fact, jumped in the front to ride with me the last two times she went for a car ride. She also got through a vet visit without pooping on me or the vet. They all wag their tails when I or John comes home, and they will take treats from guests, although visitors aren’t their favorite pastime.

Yes, we are very happy with the progress we’ve made, and we can’t wait to see what progress we make in the coming year. Happy anniversary, Dottie, Candy, and Flower! We love you!

Oh, and we want to thank everyone who is cheering us on and sharing the journey with us!

 

 

 

 

Shih Tzu Day 356: Vet & Escape

June 19, 2012

Vet Visit 

Flower and Nigel on the way to the vet.

Flower and Nigel on the way to the vet.

Nigel hasn’t been feeling good, so I decided to make a vet appointment for him and take Flower in for her annual checkup at Clear Creek Animal Hospital. I put her and Nigel on a couple, and she did well in the car on the way to the appointment. She also did well in the lobby and in the exam room, although she did pee on the floor. I was very proud that she let Dr. Lindsey examine her. It was quite different than her exam last year!

Flower with Dr. Lindsey.

Flower’s checkup with Dr. Lindsey.

 

 

I shared with Dr. Lindsey how she had been kicked out of grooming class but how she has improved so much since then. She was also good with the other dogs in the lobby on our way out. I stopped at McDonald’s for a Coke and then decided to take her and Nigel into Petco to try on harnesses. And there the perfect morning ended!

The Great Shih Tzu Escape

As we were coming up to the door to enter Petco, it opened and the noise scared her. She bolted, pulled out of the harness she was wearing, and ran out into the parking lot. I was frantically trying to figure out how I was going to hold Nigel and chase her when a woman near the door asked if I wanted her to hold Nigel’s leash. I quickly handed it to her and took off running after Flower.

Flower's new harness, which hopefully is escape-proof.

My hope is that Flower won’t be able to pull out of her new harness and escape!

I chased Flower for five minutes, calling her name, trying to keep my voice calm. She was getting dangerously close to the road, and I was panicking, thinking, “All that hard work and she gets hit by a car!” She finally slowed down and stopped on a grass area near feet from the road. I sat down, opened my purse and pulled out the heartworm treat from the vet, and then coaxed her to me. When she came close enough, I grabbed her. When I finally got back to the door, I thanked the woman profusely for watching Nigel and took them both inside. I found someone to help me fit Flower for a harness that I hope will be escape free!