Monthly Archives: December 2011

Shih Tzu Day 179: First Christmas with the Shih Tzus

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Christmas morning grooming for the shih tzus

I got up at about 6 a.m. and finished wrapping presents. I got the stockings together for Dottie, Flower, Candy and Nigel. I put a stuffed animal and a lot of treats into each one. I added a light-up ball to Candy’s stocking. I don’t know which shih tzus might play with it, but I thought it was cute.

three <u/><u>shih tzus</u> with Christmas stockings.We had quiche and mimosas for our Christmas breakfast when John got up. Then, we got prepared to groom the shih tzus. We decided that Candy and Nigel didn’t need trimming, but we gave them baths. Candy was very still and we bathed her quickly, but Nigel squirmed constantly, so he took longer. He was a little better with the blow dryer. Flower and Dottie were very good, both during the grooming, their baths and drying.

After they were dry, we put Nigel in his Grinch outfit and the female shih tzus in their dog dresses. I swapped the red and white dresses Flower and Dottie wore when Deb took their pictures, but left Candy in the one with candy canes and ornaments. I thought we had a couple of hours to take some pictures with their new collars and dog tags and stockings, and to just spend some time with the shih tzus, but my stepdaughter called to say they wanted to come over early. We ended up hurrying to get pictures done and the living room cleaned up. We did get some cute pictures of the dogs with their Christmas stockings.

To add to the chaos, Flower must have been nervous because at some point, she relieved herself on the couch. She did it on a very furry throw, and it puddled on it. I was surprised but happy that it hadn’t reached the couch, but it did when I tried to move it. I threw the throw and the cushion cover in the laundry, so when company started arriving, I had to grab a different throw and cover the foam cushion.

Christmas guests

a shih tzu and a rawhide candy cane. Candy always seems the most nervous around guests, so I took her upstairs and sat her near our closet before anyone arrived. When Candace and her family arrived, the other two female shih tzus ran to Shih Tzu Central. While we waited for the other family members to show up, we sat around the dining room table talking. Dottie and Flower eventually made their way across the room to the dining room corner where Candy’s dog bed is. They didn’t socialize with the guests, but I think they wanted to be near me. They stayed there the whole time we sat there talking.

I brought Candy back downstairs later and sat her in Shih Tzu Central. I am trying to get the shih tzus all used to people, so I picked up Flower, Candy and Dottie at different times and held them for a while as I talked to different people. Nigel is usually Mr. Sociable Shih Tzu, but he wasn’t as people friendly as normal. It could be that he is not feeling well. He was panting on the bed last night. He could have just been hot.

The female shih tzus got back to normal quickly after everyone left. I took some of the rawhide treats out of their stockings, like the lollipops and gingerbread men, and spread them around. They were all chewing on them and on the rawhide candy canes, so I guess they liked them.

 

 

Shih tzu Day Day 178: Christmas Eve

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preparing the shih tzus’ Christmas stockings

a female <strong srcset=shih tzu chewing on a steer stick. ” width=”300″ height=”225″ />Flower or Candy woke us up at 3 a.m. barking. John went down twice, but couldn’t tell what was going on. Candy was roaming around and scurried away. It might have been that she saw a mouse, a cat outside or was just barking at the falling snow. I finally gave up and got up at 4, fed them, and went back to sleep until 7, when Dottie started whining.

I came downstairs, fed the shih tzus and wrapped a few presents. The female shih tzus sat at shih tzu Central and just watched me, wondering what I was doing and why I wasn’t sitting on the couch. I also put the dogs’ names on their Christmas stockings with glitter. I had no idea how long it took the glitter to dry. The back of the package said 30 minutes, but it took a lot longer than that. I probably put it on too thick. 

a <u srcset=shih tzu on a red and white dog bed.” width=”300″ height=”199″ />I couldn’t figure out what to do with their collars and tags, but John figured out to put them around the middle of the stocking instead of the top. I bought the shih tzus stuffed animals from the Dollar Tree. I don’t like to spend too much money on their stuffed animals, because I rarely see the shih tzus playing with them. I know they do play with them at times, because I will find them on the porch or on the couch. I also bought them some treats from the Dollar Tree and some from Petco. I bought a variety of Christmas shaped rawhide treats from the rawhide treat bar. I also got them some bones from King Soopers’ meat department.

a female <strong srcset=shih tzu chewing on a steer stick. ” width=”300″ height=”225″ />John, my mom and I normally spend Christmas eve with my niece and her family, but since they moved to North Dakota this year, we celebrated Christmas with my mother this afternoon at a Mexican restaurant near her house. When I started looking for Monster High dolls for the grandchildren, I started picking extras up and selling them on eBay and Craigslist, so I delivered some of those before we came home.

a female <u srcset=shih tzu holding a steer stick. ” width=”300″ height=”225″ />We spent a few hours with the shih tzus and then went out again. We did some last minute shopping, drove through some of the areas that are the most decorated for Christmas and stopped for a hamburger before going home and spending the rest of the evening with the shih tzus. I gave the shih tzus some steer sticks to keep them happy and busy while we watched TV.

I know they won’t be excited about their Christmas stockings, but I am. I love the fact that these four little shih tzus are part of our life and that we are spending our first Christmas with them. I know that the girls probably don’t have any memory of their life at the puppy mill, or Nigel of his before he turned up at an animal shelter, but I am glad we have been able to give them all a new life.

Shih Tzu Day 176: The Snow and Flower “Shiver” Shih Tzu

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another shih tzu snow day

a shih tzu in a jacket in the snow.It snowed A LOT last night. We wanted to go outside, but Mom insisted we wear our jackets. We hate wearing them, but I didn’t get very much ice on my tummy this time, so that was good.

a female shih tzu in a jacket in the snow. Me, Candy and Dottie came back inside, but Nigel wanted to stay outside and explore. Us female shih tzus had been inside for a while when we heard him barking. The Treat Man went to see what was wrong. We didn’t think the snow was very high, and the man had made a path for us, but Nigel still couldn’t get back up the porch steps. He was sitting there with his paws up on the porch, whining. He had a lot of snow on him. The man helped him up; he said the snow must have weighed him down.

I don’t know if it was because of the snow, but Mom stayed home with us almost all day. We were happy, because she has been gone a lot lately. Mom and the Treat Man have mentioned something called Christmas several times. We don’t know what that is, but if it has anything to do with how often Mom is gone, I don’t think we like it.

Flower “Shiver” Shih Tzu

two female shih tzus in jackets in the snowMom leaves sometimes when the Treat Man does and doesn’t come home until hours later. Sometimes she brings home lots of bags. We saw some toys that look really strange. They look like something I would like to chew on, but I guess they aren’t for us. Mom keeps them on shelves where we can’t reach them. We think they are probably for those little kids that come over sometimes.

a shih tzu in a jacket in the snowEver since she started bringing those dolls home, she has been calling us her Monster High “dogs.” She said I am so fluffy lately that I look like Abbey Bominable’s pet wooly mammoth, “Shiver.” I have no idea what a monster is, who Abbey Bominable is or what a wooly mammoth is, but I saw him, and Shiver did kind of look like me!

Although those toys must not be ours, we know that Mom has been looking for something for us. We heard her tell the Treat Man that she was having a hard time finding us “stockings,” because some were too big and others were too small. We have no idea what stockings are. I hope it’s not something else she is going to make us wear!

Shih Tzu Day 172: Personalized Dog Tags for the Shih Tzus

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which dog tags for the shih tzus 

dog tags and collars for Christmas.I have been saying for months that I wanted to get the shih tzus personalized dog tags. When we adopted Candy, Flower and Dottie from BFF Rescue, they came with a generic red collar and tags saying BFF Rescue, with the animal rescue’s number. Nigel did too.

I didn’t think about it that often, but sometimes when I saw a tag in a picture, I would think that it looked like they were still rescue dogs, and not dogs that had found their forever home.

Buying tags — and collars to match — for four shih tzus is slightly more expensive than buying them for one dog, so I kept putting it off. Today was our wedding anniversary, and after we celebrated with a nice Italian lunch, we did some Christmas shopping for our furry children. John and I looked at PetSmart for tags, but I wasn’t that thrilled about any of them. We went into Petco and I liked their selection better. It took us a while to decide what we wanted, but I eventually got Flower a peace tag, Candy a princess tag, Dottie one with a crown and Nigel one that said “stud.” We picked out a purple collar decorated with flowers for Flower, a pink one with polka dots for Dottie, a black one with skulls for Nigel and a blue one with a pink, paisley design for Candy.

I know the dogs won’t understand the significance of personalized dog tags, but I am happy that we finally accomplished that task. Of course, I hope no one ever has to identify the shih tzus by their tags, but just in case.