Tag Archives: grooming

Shih Tzu Day 114: Housebreaking Setback

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back to housebreaking 101

A shih tzu protests being accused of not being housebroken (subject: housebreaking)I said yesterday that we had accomplished a housebreaking goal by moving the training pads by the back door. The pads went back into the dining room this morning because two incidences demonstrated a housebreaking setback.

First, thinking that housebreaking was at a different level, we let Dottie and Flower come in the bedroom, and someone took the opportunity to pee on the carpet. Also, when I went downstairs, I saw that Flower had peed on the red blanket on her couch. They are again barred from coming in the bedroom, and Flower got couch privileges taken away. So we are not as far along in our housebreaking as we thought. I should have appreciated our accomplishments in housebreaking Joey. There is a big difference in housebreaking a Yorkie puppy and puppy mill dogs.

a shih tzu between two couch cushions.Housebreaking isn’t the only difference between Joey and the shih tzus: licking is another. She used to lick faces, arms, hands. Not the shih tzus, though, but the surprise me at times. Flower came up once today and licked my feet, then quickly walked away. No idea if that was affection or what. Maybe she was apologizing for the housebreaking problems.

The morning frolic

a shih tzu chewing on a yellow bear.I try to keep the shih tzus outside as long as possible, as part of the housebreaking plan. I think Candy wanted to play after breakfast, but Nigel ran in with the other girls. I opened the door later and she started to come in. Nigel started to go out the door, paused and then turned around and got behind her. I guess he was going to push her in if she changed her mind.

a shih tzu in someone's arms.Then the morning frolic started near the dining room table. When I started to clean off the table, Nigel wandered over to his dog bed and started loudly chewing on a bone. Flower rivaled the noise playing with Yellow Bear. Actually, she wasn’t playing with it. Yellow Bear has a round plastic thing attached to him, and Flower likes chewing on plastic, so that’s what was causing the noise.

While they chewed, Candy sat under a dining room chair making peculiar noises. There didn’t seem to be anything wrong. I got the impression she might have been trying to get Nigel’s attention, but I doubt if he could hear her over his loud chewing.

grooming goes better than housebreaking

shih tzu with ears up like a rabbit.At least we seem to be doing a little better with grooming than with housebreaking. We got the kids’ faces and paws trimmed today. We are growing out their hair a little, so we didn’t get out the clippers. They were much easier to manage because of that. We also cleaned all of their eyes.

shih tzu getting eye cleaned with warm water on a cotton ball.Candy ran to hide under the trailer after we were done, Dottie acted as if it was business as usual and Flower ran back to Shih Tzu Central. Flower used to get so stressed out after getting on the grooming table, but that must not have been the case, because she immediately started chewing on something.

Nigel discovers the basement

two shih tzus playing.

I had to make a trip to the basement after my discovery that Flower needs a lot more housebreaking work. My washer and dryer get quite the workout these days. Nigel never used to know where I went when I went to do laundry, and he used to scamper upstairs to look for me, not understanding that the basement stairs and other stairs are in opposite directions. However, he finally followed me far enough to see where I was going. He ran downstairs when I went down and wandered around until it was time for us to go back up.

Shih Tzu Day 108: Dog Bath For Four

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Dog bath time for the girls and Nigel

shih tzu on a grooming table.I decided this morning that it was dog bath time again. This time, though, we had to bathe four dogs instead of three.

After Nigel first got here, we put him up on our grooming table and trimmed his fur slightly.

shih tzu in sink.He had just gotten stitches, so we couldn’t do too much. He was no trouble at all, so we figured his dog bath would be a piece of cake. We were wrong, though. His good grooming behavior must have been because he wasn’t feeling good.

shih tzu in a towelWe got out the Tropiclean puppy shampoo, sat him in the sink and started our process. He fought us every inch of the way, splashing water on us and trying to get out of the sink. Although they have been a trial at bath time in the past, Dottie, Candy and Flower all seemed easy after dealing with him.

We are growing their hair longer, and I imagine there will be more tangles, so I plan to pick up the Tropiclean tangle remover I saw at Petco. However, for now, the next step was blow drying. In the past, I tried to do it in the bathroom, by myself, and whoever I was trying to dry kept getting away and running around in circles, trying to escape, while I pointed the blow dryer at them. This time, we used the blow dryer on all of them on the kitchen counter. I held on to each one while John dried them, and that worked better.

Home alone

shih tzu with a chicken and apple treat.We had to leave at 10:45 for Gabe’s baby shower, so Dottie didn’t get to sit with mom at all this morning. We were at the shower for several hours and then decided we would go see our grandson Keith’s football game. We didn’t end up getting home until after 5 o’clock. All the shih tzus were very excited to see us when we finally got home.

 

Shih Tzu Day 96: Couch Potatoes

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Nice Morning

It has been so nice in the morning. The girls didn’t start barking until 6:30. When I went downstairs I left Nigel with John, to give Dottie, Candy and Flower a little time alone with me. After I fed the dogs, we put Flower up on the grooming table to work on her tear stains a little more. We trimmed some of the stained hair, especially close to her eyes.

Nigel and the Girls

black and white shih tzuNigel is a funny, little thing. Last night, he ran around the yard with Flower a few times. He was a lot slower, most likely because of his stitches. If he had gone faster, I would have had to try to slow him down.

Today, he came up to the couch several times and puts his paws on it, but then just stood there. His paws seem big for his little body. They are very cute. When I put my hand down to pet him, he bites it. Not hard bites — just small, play bites.

two shih tzusThis morning, he strolled over to Shih Tzu Central and inspected their large dog bed, but didn’t try to get on it. That’s good, because the girls probably aren’t ready to get that close to him yet. It reminded me that I need to get him his own bed. I did fold up some blankets for him to use for now.

two shih tzustwo shih tzusWhile he was laying on them, Flower approached him. I don’t think he knew what to do, so he got off and went to stand under my computer stand. I think Flower might want to play with him, but I am not sure she knows how. She is only used to her sisters.

two shih tzusI was a little concerned about Candy, because she seemed a little withdrawn when Nigel arrived. She was spending a lot of time in their corner. However, this morning she came out and started prowling around, watching Nigel and Flower as they gnawed on bones.

I am struggling to get the girls to want to play outside. Whenever I open the door, they run to it, but then look at me expectantly, hoping for food or a treat. I guess that’s my fault.

I went outside with them at 11:30. Walks are out of the question since we haven’t gotten very far with the leash, so I ran up and down the length of the yard. Flower ran behind me. Once in a while she would get distracted, but then she would come back and catch up.

While we were doing that, Nigel wandered over by the shed, away from the girls club. He chewed on one of the bones he has dragged outside. Candy and Dottie mainly sat in the dirt or on the porch.

Couch Potatoes

Nigel keeps coming up to the couch, so I decided to give him some type of step, since he can’t get up on his own. I found a cute box filled with games for the grandchildren and put it next to the couch, on the John side, not the Dottie side. He quickly learned its purpose.

He sat on that side for a while, and then walked across my lap to go lay next to Dottie. She doesn’t appear too thrilled to have another dog trying to enter her space. She moved up to the arm of the couch to keep a little distance.

Candy and Flower roamed around together later in the afternoon. Nigel was on the floor chewing on something. They came near him, but not too close. Nigel got up and went and nuzzled Flower’s face. She backed away quickly. I don’t think they are quite sure what to think of him.

Flower hasn’t come up on the couch all day. I know Dottie keeps her away sometimes, but I think the Nigel factor contributes to her distance now too. Candy did walk back and forth in front of the couch, though, looking a little interested. However, Dottie stared her down and then Flower pounced on her, breaking her concentration.

Nigel aka Elvis was making it hard for me to work for a while this afternoon. He crawled into my lap, which made it difficult for me to reach the laptop keyboard. I let him stay there for a while, then put him back down beside me. I guess I am lucky that the girls aren’t lap dogs. I would never get any work done, unless I abandoned my home office and got a real office job!

Shih Tzu Day 92: And Then There Was Nigel

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Spot Collins

a tabby next to a shih tzu on a dog bedThe girls still don’t quite know what to think of Spot Collins. He makes regular trips to Shih Tzu Central, to drink from the girls’ water bowl and to try out the dog beds. He seems to prefer lying next to Flower, although she doesn’t seem as happy with the arrangement.

grooming practice

a shih tzu sitting on her sisterDelores at BFF Rescue called me today and asked if I would have time to help her groom some new dogs she got in that will soon be going to foster homes. Barbara, her daughter-in-law, usually helps her, but she was out of town and I had told Delores about my grooming class. If John had been available, I would have asked him to come with me, since he does the most grooming, but he was working, so I agreed to help out.

maltese-poodle mix on couch

When I got there, Delores was conducting a necessary procedure: using flea and tick shampoo on one of the dogs that looked like he might have had a problem recently. My Yorkshire terrier never had that problem, so I wasn’t sure how to tell if it looked like fleas or ticks were present. Delores pointed out to me small dark spots on one of the dogs. She said if they weren’t moving, the problem had been fully taken care of by the treatment they received before she took them into her care. That seemed to be the case, but to be safe, I helped her wash another dog with the shampoo as well.

Once we dried them off, I went to work clipping a maltese-poodle mix and then a type of terrier. They both handled it better than our dogs. The poodle lay down on its side and went to sleep while I was clipping him. I plan on trying that on the girls, since I just read that was a good way to groom in some instances, since you need to teach fearful dogs how to be calm and relaxed on the grooming table.

introduction to Nigel

black and white shih tzu on couchWhile I was there, I met Nigel, the shih tzu Delores asked us to foster. He is about a year and a half and only 10 pounds, which is a pound and a half lighter than Candy. He seems smaller though. Nigel is what is referred to as an owner release. He was dropped off at a shelter in Kansas City, Missouri, where they discovered he had a serious cause of pneumonia. I imagine the family wasn’t able to afford the veterinary care he needed.

Shih tzu face offThat shelter treated him before sending him on to BFF Rescue. As is the usual case, BFF took him to Clear Creek Animal Hospital, where Doctor Lindsey examined him prior to his needed sterilization procedure. During the exam, she discovered that he had a large hernia that would need surgery as well. She performed both surgeries yesterday, and prescribed antibiotics and pain medicine for ten days. Delores and I had arranged that I would get him Friday, but since I was already there, I said I would just take him home with me.

I would describe Nigel as a scrawny little dog, probably because he has been sick for a while. His face is so black that it is hard to see his eyes. It wasn’t the color as much as the wildness of his fur around his face that made me think of James Brown. The white fur around his neck is quite a contrast to his black face. His paws look huge compared to his tiny legs.

 

tabby cat and shih tzu on couchI wasn’t sure what the girls would think about Nigel. When we walked in the door, they didn’t get excited, but they also didn’t seem disturbed by his presence. They just watched him. He toured the house, including Shih Tzu Central. A little later, he visited their corner again, this time to begin stealing bones and mainly unused toys from them. We will have to get him his own dog bones and toys, as well as a dog bed. He didn’t come with one, like Flower, Candy and Dottie did.

welcome committee

 

shih tzu waiting for treatNigel gravitated towards Spot Collins, maybe because they are the “outsiders.” When they heard John’s truck in the driveway, the girls started barking as usual. Candy ran to the door, wagging her butt. Spot Collins followed, with Nigel right behind him, wagging his tail.

John was happy about his welcome committee. He has been so patient with the girls, even though they still shy away from him — especially Flower and Dottie — three months after getting here. It was nice for a dog to instantly respond well to him, since he is such a dog person and so good to all animals.

When the dogs followed us outside for their nightly treat from the Treat Man, Nigel forgot his manners and maneuvered his way quickly to the beginning of the line for possibly his first taste of Milo’s Kitchen chicken jerky.

Shih Tzu Day 79: More Grooming for Dottie

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Grooming Dottie for Her Party

groomingGentle Groomer suggested. Dottie is getting two grooming turns this week, though, because tomorrow she turns 6, and we want her to look pretty for her “party.” John clipped her body and her toenails. Her grooming session went better today, since we weren’t touching her face.

Checking up on Spot Collins and Panda

shih tzu on makeshift grooming tableIt has been a very quiet day. Earlier, I thought maybe Flower didn’t feel good. She ran up the stairs to get me as usual, and did her usual dance when waiting in anticipation for her food. But later, after we came inside, she just lay in her dog bed looking listless. She seemed to be okay this afternoon, though.

I brought Candy up to sit with me on the couch while I talked to Mom on the phone (she jumped down as soon as she got a chance). Spot Collins, the 3-month old kitten we got her from the Denver Dumb Friends League, can’t come out of his kennel yet, because of the sutures from his neutering operation. Mom said that at 1:00 a.m., SC started screeching. When Mom and Buddy, her adopted dog, came to see what the problem was, the screeching stopped. Spot will only be quiet if Buddy sits by her kennel. I don’t know if that means that she likes Buddy or that she is afraid of him. As for Panda, the 8-month old cat Mom adopted, Mom has fallen in love with her. All Panda wants to do is sit on Mom’s lap. Maybe later, after the shih tzus have acclimated completely, we’ll think about adopting a cat.

A Dog Treat Taste Test Tie

shih tzu upside down in dog bedThe afternoon has been very quiet. Dottie lay down next to me while I worked on the computer most of the afternoon. Flower was a little antsy, coming to see me, then going to her couch, then going under the dining room table for awhile. Candy lay on the carpet at my feet for sometime, chewing on a treat and looking cute.

I have been experimenting with rawhide and non-rawhide treats. I did a taste test, throwing out an equal amount of both on the carpet and seeing who would go for what. Candy went for the Grreat Choice Flips, that are flat, white rawhide treats. Flower seized a small Pork Chomps Mini Knotz. Initially, Dottie just lay on the carpet watching them. When I looked again a little later, she was chewing on a Flip, so Candy must have given it up. There are always half-chewed treats lying on the floor, which they pick up randomly and chew on.