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Nigel Shih Tzu’s Review on Orijen Freeze Dried Lamb Treats

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Nigel Shih Tzu and Orijen dog treat bag

Nigel gets ready to review Orijen freeze dried lamb dog treats

Every once in a while, Chewy.com asks me if Dottie, Flower, Candy and Nigel would like to review any products. This time, our choices included some grain free dog biscuits and Orijen freeze dried dog treats. Nigel is the only one who will eat dog biscuits so I decided we would try the freeze dried dog treats.
 
First, let me say that I tend not to give the shih tzus treats made in China, so I was happy to see that Orijen’s ranch raised lamb freeze dried dog treats were made in Canada, the home of our dear friend Sadie Shih Tzu. Second, I don’t like long lists of ingredients, and the ingredients on this package include only boneless lamb, lamb liver and lamb tripe.
 
As for the review, I brought the opened bag over to the computer to get the information off of it. As usual, Nigel was sitting beside me on the couch. While I was typing, I realized that Nigel was intently sniffing at something. When I looked over, he was getting closer and closer to the bag. I thought his actions spoke for themselves, so here is Nigel’s review:

Shih Tzu Day 103: The Shihtzuation with Nigel

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crazy little thing called Nigel

A shih tzu howlinga shih tzu in his dog bed.Our household is getting used to Nigel. John has been his biggest fan since day one. I think he’s adorable, but Nigel can be a handful. This morning he crawled into my lap and stayed there for awhile. Every now and then he would look up at me with a very sweet expression. I jokingly told John that when/if he leaves, we will retire his little black skull sweater, like when sports figures’ numbers are retired. John suggested we could frame it and hang it on the wall.

shih tzu with a Milo's Kitchen bag.shih tzu with tongue out of mouth.Flower and Candy are getting used to him too. At first, it seemed like they weren’t quite sure if he was replacing them. No, I don’t know how dogs think, but they did seem to retreat a little. I just kept giving them lots of love and telling them that this was their home and they were staying. I think Dottie accepts him, but she just tolerates him, kind of like when she tolerates when Flower wants to enter “her” space on the couch.

waggle, waggle

two shih tzus a shih tzu and a childEvery once in a while, Candy and Flower will suddenly leave Shih Tzu Central to saunter in front of the couch, going who knows where. Usually, they head for their home under the dining room table, like it was one of those makeshift forts kids make, thinking that once there, no one else will see them.

shih tzu begging for pizza.Sometimes, they turn right around and saunter back. It is really cute when they stop in front of my computer stand, where I can’t see them, and nuzzle or slightly lick my toes. Then, when I look down, Flower will do her little head waggle and Candy her butt waggle.

I always tell them to come up and see me, but usually, Candy walks on by. Flower often comes closer, puts her paws on the top edge of the couch, stretches and then slides clear down to the floor until she is flat. It is so cute, but I don’t know why she does it. It would be interesting to see what she would do if Dottie wasn’t queen of her end of the couch and Nigel didn’t reign over the John end. Usually when they start getting restless, I herd them outside, give them a Milo’s Kitchen dog treat or something else, and then try to get them to play in the yard.

I love you this big

Nigel with dog treat in mouthMy shih tzu trio couldn’t be more “my girls” than if I had birthed them. As Scottie McCreery, the reigning American Idol would say, I love them “this big.” I acknowledge their dysfunctions and fears. I have more patience with their idiosyncrasies than I ever thought I would have with a canine companion. Still, I have to admit that it is refreshing having a puppy in the house that loves people easily and hasn’t learned fear.

two shih tzus on a couchI know that Nigel’s life was different. I wish I knew what it was. John doesn’t understand how anyone could turn Nigel over to an animal shelter. Looking at him and seeing how he loves people, I assume he had a loving home. Maybe his family just couldn’t afford taking care of him when he had pneumonia. Maybe he was sick before that. We will never know, but it’s easy to wonder about his life before.

All we know is that the last couple months of his life were tough, but he seems very well adjusted. It was heartwarming watching the way that he completely trusted Leticia and Candace’s children, climbing into every lap that was available.

We also thought it was so cute the way that John’s sister Lynda and her husband Jeff embraced him, even though Jeff joked about him sneezing all over him. I imagine that is aftereffects of the pneumonia. He does sneeze a lot, and his big eyes always water. Despite that, he is so cute.

I thought he seemed a little down this afternoon. He was very excited when I got home though. I’m not sure what happened. Earlier he was resting by Dottie, with his head on her side. Since they are the two couch dogs, that’s par for the course. Maybe she gave him one of her ferocious growls, telling him he was intruding on her space. I try to stop that when I am there, but I can’t always be there.

in the ring

Candy and Flower picked a play fight with each other this afternoon. They were fighting in their make-believe ring for quite a while, their paws up. Well, they look more like dancing ponies than wrestlers. I saw Nigel watching them, and thought he probably wanted to play, but they haven’t yet accepted him, either in the morning when they get up or later in the day, in their “reindeer games.” My hope is that they will accept him soon. After all, they sure know what it’s like to be a dog down on their luck!

Shih Tzu Day 46: Short People on the Loose!

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a long, quiet day

I have to hide! But where?Flower, Dottie and I had a very long, lazy day. Mom and Father left the house pretty early. They said they were going to the mountains, whatever that means. I can’t tell time, but Dottie said she thought they left at 10:30. Before they left, we heard a lot of talking and laughing coming from outside.

If I sit really still, they won't see me.We roamed around seeing if we could find any treats Mom forgot to put away, but we couldn’t find any. I wrestled with Flower for a little bit, but then I went in my corner for a while and just thought about things. It looks like the little black and while male dog is gone. I wonder if he found a forever home? Mom said we did. It’s nice having a forever home. We don’t have to move again. Although Mom does make us do things we don’t like sometimes, like take baths and get fur cuts. Oh, and sometimes she tries to find us icky food.

I'd bite your fingers off, but I'm too scared.We kept thinking Mom and Father would come home, but it kept getting later and later. Dottie said they were gone for more than eight hours, and that is a long time if you’re a dog waiting for food and to go outside to potty.

We were so excited when we finally heard the garage door open and close. We wagged our tails and ran to the door, and there was Mom. She told us all hi, grabbed a dog treat bag and opened the back door. We all ran out, happy as can be. We were just getting ready to get our chicken jerky, and then some of those short people rushed out the door!

I did not "let" you pet me! I ran to the back of the yard. Flower ran back and forth, not knowing what to do. Dottie hid under the trailer. I was right in front of some vines and I had an idea. If I got really close to them, the short people wouldn’t see me. I know — like camouflage. I heard about that on TV.

I stayed really still, and I thought it was working, but then Mom went inside for a minute, and the short people all ran towards me, calling my name. I flattened myself against the vines, and they all started petting me, saying, “Hi Candy. Hi Candy.” I couldn’t breathe! I was so scared.

I was relieved when I saw Mom walking towards me, but then I saw she had her camera. One of the short people was shouting, “Look Grandma! She’s letting her pet us!” Letting them! Are you kidding me?

Mom couldn’t resist taking some pictures before she told the short people to get away from me. I’ll get even with her for that!

Thank you, no. Please go away. I wasn’t happy, but I felt really sorry for Flower when some male short people came out and started trying to catch her, waving around a toy gun, which was making way too much noise! She went flying off the porch, but not before she left them something to step in. Sure enough, one of them did. Good going, Flower!

Mom thinks we should be nice to the short people, and she gave them jerky to feed us, but none of us would take it. Some big people came out and started talking to Mom. Eventually, the short people left with them.

Mom let us stay outside while she told all the people goodbye. When she came back to get us, I wouldn’t look at her. Either would Flower. Dottie went up and got a treat from her, but it just wasn’t worth it. We went and hid under the table, in case the short people came back.

Shih Tzu Day 31: One-Month Anniversary With the Shih Tzu Sisters

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Look Mom! Don't we look like a two-headed shih tzu?

one month with the shih tzu sisters

It is the one-month anniversary of when the shih tzu sisters came to live with us as our foster dogs. John and I went out to a diner for breakfast and then went to Best Buy, in search of a small camera that will take videos. I want to capture the dancing shih tzu sisters and their feisty behavior with Shiloh, plus I don’t want to do any further training with any of them without documenting it. We can also start taking videos of the children and grandchildren when they visit.

Some days it is so boring here!I intended to get a Nikon, but chose a Canon instead, knowing I have two weeks to decide if I want to keep it. We also went to Wal-Mart to buy some different Milo’s Kitchen treats. PetSmart has been running a special that if you buy three bags of a certain size of Milo’s Kitchen, Pup-Peroni or Milk Bone products you get a bag free. I figured out that would be approximately $60 for four of the size bags I buy; at Wal-Mart’s prices, if I buy four of the 18 to 20 oz. bags, at regular price, it’s less than $50. I bought the chicken jerky, which is a staple in our house, as well as chicken meatballs and beef jerky pieces.

We gave the girls a sampling of the two new treats and, of course, they loved them. John commented that it smelled good enough for us to eat. I agree that Milo’s has some good-smelling dog treats.

Chinese Food for the Chinese Dogs

John and I had Chinese food and wine. He joked that since they were Chinese dogs, they’d probably like the food. Although the Mongolian beef would have been too spicy, they probably would have loved the sweet and sour chicken, but I didn’t give them any. I did give them a couple of noodles from the combination lo mein, which they loved.

How Far We’ve Come

When we first brought the girls home, they spent a lot of time huddled together in their pen. We will never know why they were so afraid, but I know that is common in puppy mill dogs. They still huddle together in the corner, but not as often and usually not out of fear. I think it’s comforting, and they like each other.

Maybe I'll be more comfortable in this position.

Now, however, they basically just have a divider, behind which they can feel secure, when they need to, but they can exit it quickly as well. This afternoon is a good example of how far we’ve come. At one point, Flower was on her couch, Candy was on her chair and Dottie was next to me. Dottie seemed content and sleepy. Candy and Flower looked bored.

Dottie sat beside me for quite a while. Flower spent a little time flirting with Shiloh. While I was writing that in my dog journal, she ran up and jumped up on the couch, as if she knew I was writing about her.

Flower sat with me and Dottie on the couch for a while. They were sitting one on either side, until Flower jumped over by Dottie.

Later, Flower was lying on her couch. She made me laugh because she had her chin on the front edge of it, and her face was so scrunched up. Then I looked at Candy on the chair, and she looked the same way. Flower got so bored with life that she ignored the fact that John was on the couch next to me and came up and rubbed against my feet, and then put her paws up on the couch, before lying down at the edge of the carpet.

Shiloh, aka Rover, lounged in his kennel for a while. I’m not sure what was going on over there, maybe a fly invading his space (he hates flies!), but he growled and scared the bajeebers out of Flower, causing her to jump down from her perch on the couch.