Category Archives: Training

Shih Tzu Day 43: Dog Grooming Class Finale

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final day of dog grooming class

Dottie sat on my lap when I went to pick up Rema and Oriana for tonight’s dog grooming class. She didn’t seem very nervous. Candy probably wondered why I didn’t load Flower up in the back with her. I guess Flower did get her way, after all, since she didn’t have to go to dog grooming class with me.

The girls were enthralled with Lia’s Gentle Groomer shop, especially the fact that she had an indoor bird and chickens out back, including show chickens.

I'm not Flower, but she is my sister, and I can act like her!Lia started out the night’s dog grooming class session by clipping Dottie further, then using scissors for her face, pads of feet, paws and all over her body. I had a more difficult time with Candy, of course. I wasn’t firm enough, so Lia ended up doing a lot for me during dog grooming class. Whenever Candy would act up, she would address her firmly, and Candy would be submissive for a while. I actually think she liked Lia’s grooming techniques. First, she got some discipline, but Lia also played with her, showing me how to rub her face affectionately and how to praise her for being good. I did end up trimming her paws, her back and her ears.

Let's see. I think Flower flipped off the table over here...Rema was my dog grooming school videographer for a while, while Oriana talked to Lia’s husband about books and interests. Oriana took over later. When we finished the dog grooming course, I felt confident in many ways. One thing I am still uneasy about is getting the hair out between the pads of their feet. I am also not yet comfortable with clipping between their eyes, but I’ll work on it. John and I need to look at the videos a few times, and hopefully, we’ll do a good job working on them together.

I asked Rema to carry Dottie out to the car for me after the grooming class, so I wouldn’t have to come back and get Candy. She was reluctant, since DottAre we about done?ie has growled at her before. Lia showed her how Are we done with grooming for a while?to carry her, and Dottie refrained from growling. This time, I let Rema hold her on her lap. I took Rema and Ori to Dairy Queen for helping me. I put Dottie in the kennel with Candy while they ate their ice cream.

When we got home, Candy surprised me by being more sociable than usual. John was already home. He informed me that Flower had pooped on the stairs when he came in. I’m sure she was afraid because I wasn’t there. That’s probably the first time she was in the house with John without me there.

Shih Tzu Day 42: Kicked Out Of Dog Grooming School

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dog grooming school practice

Dottie went yesterday. Who's going today?I might have a hard time composing myself to write this, because I had a very hard day! It’s all the fault of Mom and that lady named Lia at Gentle Groomers. And maybe it’s even Candy and Dottie’s fault! I know it’s not mine. I didn’t decide to go to stupid dog grooming school!

The day didn’t start out all that bad. We had our yummy food outside, and then Dottie and I went inside. Candy likes to be by herself, so she went and sat under what the man calls a trailer.

You come near me with that water, and you will live to regret it!Later, the man went and brought her inside. Mom said since she couldn’t figure out how to watch the videos from dog grooming school, she’d have to do her homework by memory, with his help. She got that obnoxiously loud thing and cut fur off of Candy. The lady named Lia at the dog grooming school said she had to cut fur off of her paws and her “woo-hoo.” Giggle. Her woo-hoo! I guess that’s where we have to wee-wee. Anyway, I’m glad it wasn’t my woo-hoo they were trimming for dog grooming school. I like my woo-hoo as it is.

Didn't I warn you!!We decided we weren’t going to spend much time with Mom today, because of this dog grooming school thing. Plus, I don’t like the fact that Mom makes me drag this leash around behind me. I don’t know what she thinks she’s going to accomplish that way. Someone told her that if she did that, we’d learn how to walk with her on a leash. No way!

dog grooming school dropout

I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice chianti! Silence of the Shih TzusMom made us get in the car again and took us to that strange place again. Having to take the car ride was bad enough. Then, this time, instead of getting Dottie out of the kennel, they got me out. It wasn’t funny! Mom let that lady set me up on that table. She put that thing on my neck that she told Mom would keep me from jumping down. She told Mom that she would do “half” of me and Mom would groom the other half. I sat there patiently for a while as she clipped me, but I didn’t like it. Then, she did something that didn’t feel good, and I decided that I’d had enough. I started fighting them, until Lia put a “seat belt” around me, to make me stay on the table. I really don’t like this woman!

I pretended like I was getting calm to make them take the seat belt off me. After they did, I got even. I waited for my chance, and then I jumped up, pulling my neck out of that noose, and jumped backwards off the table. You should have seen their faces!

Thanks, Flower! I bet they would have left me alone if it hadn't been for you!Mom and Lia tried to catch me, but they couldn’t. I was angry, but I was a little afraid, too, and, well, you know what I do when I’m afraid. I can’t help it. I heard Mom say she’d get a paper towel and pick up the poop off the floor. Lia told her I needed a bath, because she couldn’t finish grooming me. Good! I didn’t want to be groomed anyway.

Lia put me in this tub and put something around my neck so I wouldn’t try to jump out, but I was sick of her touching me! I jumped and fought and scratched and kicked — except I guess I wDo you think you could blow that another way? Like towards Flower?as fighting with myself. Lia and Mom just stood there watching me. Mom got concerned because Lia told her I bit my tongue. I did, and it hurt! It also hurt when I hit my head on the tub, several times. I thought if I kept banging it against the tub, Mom would come to my rescue. What’s a dog supposed to do when they don’t want to be groomed or take a bath?? I wish I could talk to someone about animal abuse, but Lia said I was doing all the damage. Well, I guess I was, but it really was their fault.

My shenanigans, as Mom calls them, worked. Lia said I didn’t have to get groomed after all. In fact, she recommended Mom take me to obedience class and gave her some names. That will be the day!

Shih Tzu Day 38: Another Saturday with the Shih Tzus

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A Shih Tzu Saturday Morning

No sleeping in anymore, even on Saturday morning! I think I got to stay in bed until 5:30. Got up and started doing laundry, helping the shih tzus with their Twitter account, deleting old email. Flower barked when John came downstairs. I think she thinks he needs her permission to move around the house. I finally stopped her. She barked while she was outside waiting for food, but stopped as soon as I brought it out.

I sure wish I could get control of the peeing and pooping in the house situation. Someone, probably Flower, thinks she should pee when she comes upstairs to greet me in the morning, too. Always in the same spot.

I watched Dottie use the training pad the other day,so I know she knows its purpose. However, she only managed to get half on the pad, and the other half on the freshly steam vacuumed carpet.

I also watched Flower squat right next to it, like I saw Candy do the other day. I stopped Candy in time, but not Flower.

The Horrible Harness

I succeeded in almost putting the Comfy Control Harness on Flower. I didn’t get it on quite right, and when I tried to fix it, she tried very hard to bite me. It’s hard to take her serious, with her eyes so big and her head bobbing from side to side. She looks more like she is trying to catch flies than bite me.

Dottie is the calmest of the bunch, so I slipped the harness on her, attached the leash and had her walk around wearing it, the leash dragging on the ground. I took her outside and she took a few steps, not really knowing what I was trying to accomplish.

When John got up and came outside, I decided that he could try to get her to walk on the leash while I tried to get the experiment on video. Dottie suddenly wasn’t calm anymore. She bucked like a Bronco, twisting and turning, then stumbling over something on the ground. John decided it might be better if I held the leash next time. I went and picked her up, but she wouldn’t look at me. I’m sure she felt I betrayed her by taking her out of her comfort zone.

A Playground for the Dogs

John and I spent the afternoon expanding the dogs’ playground. We gave them the entire backyard, except for a very small area we fenced off at the far back, where the landscaped area slopes up to the neighbor’s fence. It would be possible for a determined dog to get up there and get through the fence into the neighbor’s yard. I doubt if the shih tzus would venture up there, but Shiloh already has climbed to the top.

When we brought the dogs out for treats, they forgot all about eating. We had thought they might slowly venture away from the area they had used before, but that wasn’t the case. Flower started sniffing around outside the old perimeter, going further and further, followed by Candy and finally Dottie. They all explored quite a bit.

After getting treats, Flower and Dottie went in, but Candy the Inquisitor was content to roam the yard for another 30 minutes.

The Dog Whisperer Barker

Shiloh had a little extra fun in the afternoon. He got to sit on the riding lawn mower with John.

Later, however, he got into trouble. He just can’t stand it when dogs bark on the “Dog Whisperer,” and I refuse to not watch it because of him. We have three shih tzus to train, and we need all the help we can get! This time when he ran to the TV, tried to leap into it and began barking, we pulled him back and put him on a leash. He still rushed the TV, barking, a few times, before he got tired and settled down. My fear is that the shih tzu princesses will follow his lead.

Shih Tzu Day 37: Candy The Lap Dog – Kind Of

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Candy, the sort of lap dog

I have been wondering how the shih tzus would handle their next round of company: my mother, her niece, Becky, visiting from Midland, Texas; her daughter, Teresa; Teresa’s 16-year-old daughter, Heather, and her 19-year-old son, Alex.

When the visitors first arrived, the shih tzus exhibited their normal unsocial behavior. Candy fled to her corner in the dining room, beyond the table and chairs. Flower ran from Shih Tzu Central, jumped up onto my couch, jumped back down and ran to hide behind the dining table. And, yes, she did leave a trail of poop behind her, particularly on the couch where I had been planning on having my guests sit. I explained her problem and went around the living room and dining room, picking up poop.

Dottie stayed at Shih Tzu Central, growling her disapproval. It always surprises me when she growls, since she is so passive. Shiloh, of course, wandered around visiting everyone personally.

All of our guests are dog people. Heather and Alec attempted to get to know all of the shih tzus. Dottie eventually took treats from them, but the other two kept their distance.

I did something I hadn’t ever attempted to do. I went and got Candy, picked her up and held her on my lap, even though, like her sisters, she is not a lap dog. She stayed there, calmly, for at least thirty minutes, before letting me know she was tired of company. When I let her down, she wandered back to the corner in the dining room, where she could watch at a comfortable distance. I explained to our company that, regrettably, none of the girls were lap dogs.

who stole the Milo’s Kitchen chicken jerky?

While our visitors were here, we watched YouTube dog videos they told us about. One particularly funny one was about a guy trying to find out which of two dogs had stolen the cat’s treats. The video was even more appropriate after I returned from a late lunch.

When I walked in the living room, I spotted a torn and empty Milo’s Kitchen chicken jerky bag on the floor. I realized that after letting Alec and Heather try to bribe the dogs, I hadn’t put away the treats. I don’t know where they had put them, but someone had found them. I thought that the 18 oz. bag had been at least half full.

I assume that the shih tzu sisters shared the bag, while poor Shiloh, in his kennel, had to watch them have all the fun without him. What surprised me was that none of them exhibited signs of an upset stomach. Of course, no one confessed to the crime.

Shih tzu poopy

While I was cleaning up poop earlier, my mother commented that she never expected to see me cleaning up after animals. I agree. This is all new to me. John was the one who mostly cared for Joey, a genuine lap dog.

I definitely am getting a lot of experience in the clean up area now. After company left, I had to give Flower’s back half a bath. After using plenty of shampoo and water and using the scissors to cut out some particularly problem areas, Flower was back to normal. I only hope I can keep her that way for a while.

I also made a discovery today. I know that at least one shih tzu uses the training pad regularly. I know Dottie does, although she gets as much on the carpet as the pad. This evening, I watched Flower squat down right next to the pad. I ordered her to stop, but before I got there, she had done her business.

We still have plenty of work ahead of us, including housebreaking and creating a genuine lap dog or two!

Shih Tzu Day 36: Dog Clothes Dress Up Day

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What are you looking at?

shih tzu dog clothes

Come quick, Mom! I think I found an error on your blog!I can’t help it. I saw Boo, the Facebook “public figure” with 1.5 million fans, and I really wanted to dress up Dottie, Candy and Flower. Granted, I knew they wouldn’t look like that adorable Pomeranian; after all, they still won’t let me get that close with scissors or clippers (I’m hoping that changes after our grooming class next week!), and it is very apparent from their scruffy, little faces.I think I forgot to water my flowers yesterday.

I had seen cheap dog clothes at Ross Dress For Less when I was looking for dog bowls, so I decided to look there first. Not only are they cheap, but they have very cute dog clothes. I bought a green dog dress and an orange one there. I also found a dog tutu decorated with skulls for Flower and designer dog clothes at PetSmart. I got Dottie a Martha Stewart dog dress.I'm glad I got to wear the Martha Stewart dress, and not the tutu!

I waited until a little before John got home from work to try to get the dog clothes on the shih tzus, since I didn’t intend for them to wear them very long. Dottie sat there passively and let me put her dog dress on her. Candy didn’t run when I approached her, and dressing her was effortless as well. Flower attempted halfheartedly to escape me, but even she submitted pretty easily to letting me put the dog clothes on her.

How come I'm in a tutu with skulls on it and Dottie is in a pretty pink dress?After they were in their dog clothes, I took them outside and gave them their apple and chicken treats. Surprisingly, the shih tzus didn’t seem to care that they were wearing dog clothes. The change might have even improved Flower’s temperament. She seemed much more mellow when John got home from work.

Oh well. At least I got a treat!Yes, we know we're not supposed to get our clothes dirty. We'll just sit here.John got a big kick out of seeing them in their dog clothes. He thought Dottie looked the cutest, in her old-fashioned pink dress. He decided that Flower really did look good in black, although she wasn’t rocking the frilly part of the tutu. I wasn’t either, but I loved the black cotton part with the tiny skulls. Candy looked very sweet.

When we went outside for their evening treat, they wandered around the porch and garden, oblivious to the fact that they were wearing dog dresses.

Getting them out of their clothes, again, surprisingly, was easy, once I chased Wild Flower and Candy down. I’m not used to it, and I did have to be extra careful trying to get dog clothing off of legs and paws and over their heads. In all, it was much easier than I expected. I’m sure they didn’t consider it a fantastic time, but they didn’t seem to mind it either, and I sure enjoyed it! After cleaning up urine-stained carpets, seeing my little girls in their dog dresses was a pleasant way to end the day. I can’t wait to see how different they look next week after I learn how to properly groom them!