Category Archives: Miscellaneous Products

Shih Tzu Day 16: Shih Tzu’d, Sidestepping and Dental Care

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Who Shih Tzu’d the Blue Dog Bed?

I don’t know who shih tzud the blue dog bed, but someone did. I decided this morning that I wanted to move the indoor play yard across the room. It’s very hard for me to see the shih tzus during the normal course of the day, since one end of their pen is blocked off by the couch. Also, if a picture-worthy moment is in action, I am usually not in the position to capture it. My thought was to move them directly across from me, sitting their pen next to the stairway.

I succeeded in moving the play yard over, but when I looked at its former location, the girls were gathered together on one small doggie bed. They didn’t look too comfortable, physically or mentally. It wasn’t until a little later that I smelled evidence of poo coming from that area, but I couldn’t find it anywhere. However, when Dottie ran across the floor, she was tracking something brown behind her.

I traced the smell to the blue striped doggie bed they were sharing. They must had been really afraid when they saw me moving their home. The bed had tell-tale brown spots, and a dog bone looked like it had been dipped in chocolate. Ugh. I  tried to corral all of the shih tzus to wipe their feet, but Dottie and Candy were the only ones to submit to the baby wipes. The bed went directly into the washing machine. Boy, with the blankets, doggie beds and towels I wash for or because of these little darlings, that machine gets a lot of use these days.

After all of that, I decided it might not be the right time to move the pen, so I moved it back before John left for work. They recuperated relatively quickly from the moved pen ordeal. Before I left for the store to get the girls some more things I thought they needed, Candy had wandered up on their couch and begun frantically digging in the blanket that protects it. One day, I’d like to find out what causes dogs to do that.

Dottie Side Steps the Step Stools,

Since Dottie has attempted to get up on my couch a few times over the last few days, with, at the least, embarrassing results, I came back from my shopping trip with what I hoped was a solution. One was a small, pink child’s step stool from Target. The second was a foldable black and white step stool from Bed, Bath and Beyond.

When Dottie came up to the couch this time, I pointed her to the first experiment, the pink stool. She gave it a quick look and scurried away. I tried the other stool the next time, but she wouldn’t take the bait. I guess I’ll return them and try the real dog steps.

A Substitute for Brushing

Since we aren’t at the point in our relationship where I can attempt to brush their teeth (I never did succeed with our Yorkie), I scoured the shelves for the perfect dental treat. I brought home Dentist’s Best Chewy Treats, described as tasty and fully digestible.

The girls didn’t know what to think about these white and blue specked treats shaped like chicken bones. At first, Dottie and Candy smelled them, looking disinterested. Flower moved hers to a safe place and then went and grabbed Candy’s and trotted off with it. Later, they were all chomping away, leaving white flecks on the red blanket on their couch and the brown one on ours.

Shih Tzu Day 13: The Magic Mesh Commercial

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The Magic Mesh curtain commercial really get these shih tzus  going. They leap up and rush in unison out of their pen, expectantly looking around, whenever they hear the dog barking on there. I think they think their doggy friends have come to visit. My guess is they are thinking about Barbara’s dogs, including Zack, the Rottweiler, and the foster Pekingese Peek-a-boo.

Candy and flower on couchCandy decided to join Flower on her couch today.

Candy decided to climb up on Flower’s couch with her today. They looked so cute. I couldn’t get them to look up at the same time for a good picture. I have to figure out how to work my dog whistle so I can get their attention for photo moments. You wouldn’t think it would be so hard, but the directions say I have to fine tune it to their ears while they sleep. I haven’t experimented yet to see if they are on the same “frequency.”

Someone used the training pad I put under the table. Good! I also went in search of a steam vacuum. We never had one while we had Joey, but we needed one. Of course, it was a chore to figure out which I wanted. I started out on the way to Wal-Mart to see if they had a Hoover Steamvac Clean Surge or Silver, but I ended up getting a Bissell Proheat 2X from Costco, because it said it also did hard wood floors. Reviews looked good on both of them.

Flower with her newspaperFlower was interested in the newspaper I bought her just long enough to help me remove the tag.

I went to TJ Maxx while I was out and bought the girls a play newspaper. Flower played with it for a few minutes. I can’t wait until I find the perfect toy that they will like. Joey never played with toys, so I hope they do. Basically, what they like playing with most is just each other or my hand!

Shih Tzu Day 10: The Lawn Mower Monster

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John and I didn’t go to bed until after midnight. Since the shih tzus have been leaving “gifts” on the carpet for John to find, we formed the Superyard into a closed pen, instead of leaving it open. However, I didn’t go to the trouble of securing it shut.

When John got up this morning, at about 6, at least one of the shih tzus was running around out of the pen, thankfully, without leaving any reminders. If we really don’t want them to get out of the pen, we will have to try harder.

I knew I should go downstairs, but I slept for about thirty more minutes. When I came downstairs, the dancing began again, even though John was sitting nearby on the couch. They must be getting a little more comfortable.

I didn’t see any evidence that they had done number one or two, so we herded them outside. The exercise pen was still muddy, so we used the safety gate from Barbara’s to make a smaller pen on the porch. However, again, we didn’t secure the end, so Dottie went around it and down in the mud. The other two stayed on the porch.

I fed them their breakfast outside. After that, they stayed quietly in their pen for awhile. When John was upstairs, Dottie decided to wander around. We went to lunch and to get the girls some more cottage cheese. I couldn’t find any Pork Chomps, so I got them some treats that looked like chicken wings. I gave them  each one when we got back. Dottie didn’t eat hers, probably because of her missing front teeth, but Candy and Flower did.

Later, we took the girls outside again, although they never seem to do what we want them to do out there. John gets them outside quickly, as long as I block off their “tunnel” once they get through it, since Flower always wants to turn back. Once outside, they were okay until they heard John start up the riding lawn mower in the shed. They scattered and then all of them came back to sit by me. They let me pet them while they watched John intently, and Flower let me hold her for awhile without fidgeting.

Candy didn’t seem scared, but just inquisitive. Flower seemed nervous and Dottie shook like a leaf. I put Dottie on my lap for awhile. They stayed on the porch with me for about ten minutes.

Shih Tzu Day 8: A Lot of Shihtz in the House

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I don't mind sitting with you, but I'll stay a safe distance.I stayed home with the girls all day. Dottie, Flower and Candy played together a lot. They come up to the couch often to see what I am doing. Sometimes they come to the front of the couch, but sometimes they stay in their Superyard, and peek up over the end of the couch. When Dottie did it, I pulled her over and sat her beside me. She sat  on the arm long enough for me to take a few pictures before jumping off.

I am going to take Deb’s advice and buy a dog whistle to see if I can get better pictures. Also, I tried to set my camera with her directions to take pictures of the dogs when they are romping wildly. However, I still need a lot of practice.

 

Flower has a bit of a jealous streak. Whenever I pet Dottie, she usually tries to get me to pet her instead. Look, Ma! I have on Candy's body!Then, sometimes, they end up wiggling around, jumping up and down excitedly, wagging their tails. Sometimes, Candy comes up and starts jumping on both of them.

I admit that I am probably creating monsters out of these shih tzus. I lured Flower up on the couch to get Milo’s chicken jerky. She jumped up three times, grabbed her jerky, ate it, and then jumped down. When I went to the kitchen to get me an apple, she jumped up again and walked up and down. So did Candy.

If you give me more jerky, I'll sit on the couch with you a little longer.I got their food ready while John was on his way home. It was bad timing. They had just come up to their bowls eagerly when he came in the door, and they went back to their communal doggy bed. They all just stared at him, but at least there were few growls or barks. I brought their food bowls over to them and they continued their dinner.

Later, after I had gone upstairs, John stepped in poop on the carpet. At least they are using the training pad to urinate. But, like my friend John Little said in a comment on one of my Facebook pictures of them, “That’s a lot of shitz in the house!”

Shih Tzu Day 7: One Week Anniversary

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There is just something exciting about the morning!

The shih tzu sisters woke us up at about 6 this morning.  We could hear them romping around, and one of them, probably Flower, was barking.

I forced myself to get up at 6:30 and go downstairs. All of them started dancing around. When I went into the kitchen to start getting their food together, they all followed me. Once again, however, when John came downstairs, they got back in their pen and sat there quietly. At least there was no growling.

Dottie and Flower still won’t go outside when I tell them to. As soon as John steps inside the play yard, however, they fly out. We have it set up so they walk out of the pen and behind the couch to the kitchen. From there, they just need to turn left and go out the backdoor. However, instead of doing that, they turn right and scatter into the dining room.

I now put a small safety gate up so they have to turn left. It worked, so it only took a few minutes to get them outside this morning. I was proud of Flower for following Candy’s example and pooping outside instead of on the carpet. Someone finally figured out how to use the training pad, too! Also, although they were tamer when John came outside and sat next to me, they still came up to me to be petted.