Category Archives: Dog Food & Treats

Shih Tzu Day 3: The Candy Show

Posted on by
Reply

The Candy Show

I guess I missed the show with Candy this morning. John got up again at 4 a.m. and took her outside. He said she looked like a dancing pony, clawing the dirt. I guess I need to get up earlier to see this little shih tzu at her most charming!

Candy is still the only one of the shih tzu sisters who will go outside willingly. But then, she is the only one who gets out of her pen to roam around at all. And she is the one who wants to eat everyone’s food and the only one I ever see going to the water bowl. When I realized that, I moved a water bowl into their pen, and they all began to drink it.

Dottie didn’t put up a fight when I picked her up to take her outside. Flower evaded me a little bit, but not as much as yesterday.

All three of the dogs ate some food after I got up. They liked the Natural Balance and small bit of hamburger I added, and Dottie and Candy ate the dry food, but Flower didn’t eat that part.

I picked up Dottie after feeding them and sat her on the couch with me. She didn’t seem to mind too much, although I will be happy when she ventures out of her pen on her own and makes a choice to come sit on the couch. As soon as I stopped petting her, she calmly jumped down and got back into her pen.

I also sat Candy on the couch with me. She was fine when I gave her a small piece of chicken jerky, but jumped back down as soon as she ate it. She gets out of the pen regularly now.

Flower is moving around her pen a little. I can’t wait until she follows Candy out into the living room. That will feel like a big achievement.

Shih Tzu Day 2: Milo’s Kitchen Gets Dottie to Eat

Posted on by
Reply

I was trying to resist eating, but she brought out the chicken jerky!I went back to the store since the shih tzus wouldn’t eat the chicken jerky from Costco. I figured they were probably not eating the dog treat because they were still stressed, but I thought I might try another brand. I was going to get them the Waggin’ Train brand, but then I read on a savings blog that there was a Milo’s Kitchen coupon in Sunday’s paper and that Target had it on sale. I figured I might as well try it. I’m very glad I did.

Flower was the first sister to take the chicken jerky. She ate some and then began chewing on her red and white Pork Chomps that Delores brought with their things. She also followed Candy out to the end of the couch and peeked out, before running back to the pen.

Candy continues to surprise me. She came up twice and slightly licked my toes. I thought that she wanted the chicken jerky I had, but I wanted her to get on the couch to get it. Maybe she needs doggy stairs, like we had for Joey, because she didn’t attempt it, but instead, went back into her pen.

I got Flower and Candy to go outside. Candy did her business, but I think she was more interested in finding a way to escape. We are going to have to keep an eye on them when they are outside.

Each of them let me pet their ears later, which was a small victory. While I was upstairs taking a bath, I heard the jingling of a dog tag. It’s possible one of them was exploring.

Dottie doesn’t seem as nervous as she was yesterday. In fact, I was relieved that I got her to eat. Milo’s Kitchen came to the rescue. When I finally got her to try it, the way she went after it reminded me of my good friend Deb calling the pita bread and hummus (yum!) at Yia Yia’s “crack.” That chicken jersey must have hit the spot in the same way. Dottie took it and gobbled it right down. So did Candy.

Dottie also ventured away from her corner looking for more. I guess Flower is angry at me for making her go outside this morning. She isn’t eating. But we are taking baby steps. Or, as Tom Conti (one of my favorite actors) said in “The Gospel According to Vic,” “Inch by inch. Inch by inch.”

Even though Dottie has eaten and timidly stepped outside of her pen, I am still the most concerned about her. I know Barbara thought she would acclimate sooner, but since she bonded the most to Barbara, she might actually have the hardest time.

Although they aren’t too excited about their new life, I can’t wait to get up and see them in the morning. I hope that each day gets better, and that they will soon feel like part of the family.

Shih Tzu Day 2: Candy, the Early Riser

Posted on by
Reply

Where can I hide?Dottie, Candy and Flower made it through their first day here as foster dogs. It probably has been how Delores first expected. The shih tzus have been tentative since Delores and Barbara left.

John got up at 4 a.m. this morning, because he kept hearing someone’s dog tag tinkling. Barbara told me that her husband usually got up about that time and took them outside before he went to work. I hope they will adapt their schedule to us, instead of the other way around.

When he came downstairs, Candy scurried back into the Superyard. She hesitantly came back out, and then she went outside and did her business. John said she growled and barked at him. She has never growled at me, so men must frighten her.

I came down about 7 a.m. and got Candy to go outside. I also picked up Dottie and took her outside. I couldn’t get Flower to budge. I should have left her, but I went in her play yard to try to get her to go outside. She went, but she wasn’t happy.

I was just getting used to my last foster mom!

When we came back inside, I put Dottie on the couch next to me. She was still shaking a little, but she did allow me and John to pet her, and every once in awhile, she’d look up at me. That was at least better than yesterday, since she wouldn’t make eye contact with me at all then.

Nothing smells familiar!

After John got up from the couch to get ready for work, she jumped down off the couch and went back in the pen with her sisters.

Candy surprises me. She came out of the pen a couple of times when I was talking to Mom on the phone. She was the last one I expected to venture out on her own.

Shih Tzu Day 1: A New Foster Home

Posted on by
Reply

We aren't moving out of this corner!Delores stopped by this morning to make sure the improvements were made in the backyard to keep the shih tzus safe. We passed our BFF Rescue inspection. She came back about an hour and a half later, with Barbara and the shih tzus. We were all pleasantly surprised that Flower surveyed her new Superyard without appearing frightened. Instead, she danced around, tail wagging, jumping over Candy, who was the quietest one. Delores tried grooming her face yesterday, so she might not be that happy. Dottie roamed around the house a little. When we opened the door to go outside, they all followed us, and circled their outdoor exercise pen several times.

If she tries to talk to us, pretend you can't hear her.

It reminded me of scenes from Toy Story when Barbara and Delores left about 45 minutes later. Dottie, Candy and Flower all went back to the far end of their pen and huddled together, as if they had never come alive.

I went to the store this afternoon to get them some chicken jerky and a water bowl. Barbara gave them Waggin’ Train they bought in large bags at Sam’s Club, but they didn’t have it at Costco, so I bought what they had. I also got a  very cute ceramic bowl from the Dollar Tree that said “Lap Dogs” and “Feed Me” and pictured traditional lap dogs. Although shih tzus top the list of popular lap dogs, I have no idea if these little furry fellows will ever sit on our laps.

When I got back from shopping, I opened the back door and Dottie and Candy went outside, but Flower wouldn’t move. I tried to give them some jerky, but none of them would take it from me. I put a few pieces on the ground, though, and someone ate one of them. After that, Flower left the pen, strayed a few feet and then came back. Maybe she was just looking for a way to escape, or maybe she was looking for Barbara. I tried to utter the magic words, “Silly girls,” which Delores says makes them dance. It didn’t work.

I hoped to have better luck getting the girls to eat at dinnertime. I had recently read that most dogs like hamburger, mashed potatoes and green beans (Joey did, but she liked most food!), so I planned to treat them with a good, home-cooked meal after John got home.

The furry critters didn’t seem too frightened when he walked in the door. When John started cooking, I hoped the delicious smells would lure them out of their pen, but it didn’t happen. Instead, I fixed them petite plates and served it to them in their play yard. Flower was the first one to eat the hamburger, followed by Candy. However, they left the potatoes and green beans mostly untouched. Dottie wasn’t eating at all, so I took her out of the pen, hoping she might eat in a different location. It didn’t work.

Their stress doesn’t prevent them from sleeping, however.  They appear to be sound asleep right now.

Shih Tzu Prelude: Flower’s Carefree Side

Posted on by
Reply

Visitation Continues

I went to see my potential foster daughters this morning. I am not getting far with Flower. That little shih tzu began growling instantly. Dottie seemed a little friendlier. She did let me hold her, but she won’t make eye contact. When I tried to sit in their pen, Flower began barking and immediately rushed to sit in front of Candy. I think that Candy would probably adjust more quickly if Flower wasn’t trying to protect her.

I startled the dogs by rattling one of the bags of dog treats, and Dottie jumped off my lap and ran to huddle with the others. I finally convinced her and then Flower to take some chicken jerky. Candy had to venture out a little to get some from my hand, and I picked her up. I could tell she didn’t like it, because she leaned away from me, but she did let me scratch her ears and pet her for a while.

Once they went outside, Dottie and Candy ran up to me repeatedly for a treat. Flower finally came over. The most hope came from the fact that Flower jumped up and down excitedly near Barbara when she came outside. I take that to mean that one day she might be excited and happy around us, instead of growling and barking and scared.

Barbara said that they were gone quite a bit over the weekend, so the dogs weren’t that happy with them.

I am hoping to take the dogs home by July 4, so we need to hurry up and get the needed work done. We have to provide them a dog run or exercise pen and make sure they can’t get under the porch. We also have to put up something over the bottom of the fence, such as chicken wire, so they can’t get out. Then, if we put the exercise pen in the living room, we need to figure out how to herd them from the pen and out the back door. I think we can pull the couch out and make a walkway so that they walk behind the couch into the kitchen to go outside.