Category Archives: Health & Grooming

Shih Tzu Day 58: What’s “Fetch”

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that bright light!

a shih tzu with a toy Dottie, Candy and I ran upstairs to get Mom and that Man out of bed, because they’re being lazy again. Mom was holding that little box again, which kept shining a bright light at us and making clicking noises. That was weird because she usually does that downstairs. She must have carried it upstairs with her last night.

She wouldn’t get up, and we got tired of waiting, so we all tinkled on the carpet. Of course, we each picked a good spot. One of us did number two, too, but Mom didn’t know who did it. We’ll never tell. We all looked at each other when we heard her say, “Great. They think our bedroom is a potty box.”

fetch?

That Man gives us good treats, but I am still suspicious. We finally got to go outside and eat! That is always so exciting. Mom brought this round thing outside afterwards and threw it, asking us to “fetch,” whatever that means. Dottie and I weren’t interested, but Candy chased it, grabbed it, carried it a little way and then dropped it. I wonder if that is fetching?

Dottie looks funny wet! the table where bad things happen    

Things were going great, but when we came inside, Mom picked me up and sat me on that table where bad things happen!! However, she didn’t pick up that thing that makes a lot of noise and cuts off my fur. Instead, she gave me a treat and petted me, then she put me down. That wasn’t bad.

Candy looks even funnier!Later, Mom gave us this flat, white thing that was fun to chew on. She said it was something called a Flip. It didn’t have much taste, but it was fun.

scary man

We were all cozy in our area, and then that Man started talking to us and then came over to our private area, uninvited! We know Men want to hurt us, so we ran like crazy. He tried to pretend he was nice, by giving us hot dog pieces, but we know he has something very sinister in mind. I jumped on the couch so Mom would protect me. I couldn’t help it, though; when he held out more hot dog pieces, I took them.

Candy is a baby! She's afraid of that grey thing that makes noise.Still, I don’t trust him! Or any man! In fact, I don’t trust anyone, except I trust Mom just a little. While I was running away from that Man, I couldn’t help it. I did number two on the floor. Well, it’s his fault. I heard Mom say that I need a counselor. Is that true?

Shih Tzu Day 57: John’s Grooming Class

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grooming class for John

I'm running out of firemen! I need more toys!We arrived at the Gentle Groomer at 4:30 for John’s short grooming class. Lia had told us he could practice dog grooming on her Springer Spaniel. She talked to him a while first about questions he had from the dog grooming class video. She clarified some things we should be doing, such as the body areas people most often cut when grooming — including the Achilles tendon — and how to position the clippers for the pads of the feet.

Once his personal dog grooming class started, Lia said John was a natural. I knew he would be. I’m glad, because after his dog grooming class, I am hoping I will be relegated as his helper when it comes to the shih tzus’ grooming.

While we were at dog grooming class, we had a lot of dog talk with Lia. We were discussing different breeds and Lia mentioned that shih tzus were bred to be companions, as well as “alert dogs.” She said that it is common for shih tzus to alert larger dogs of potential danger. She also asked if any of the dogs want to be by my side all the time, because of the companion part. I told her that Dottie was the only one in that role at the moment.

We told Lia about our problems with the grooming table. She said to pick up Flower, or one of the other shih tzus. Then, put her on it at least once during the day, but at first, to merely give her a treat, show her love, and then put her back down, to get her used to the fact that if she gets up on the table, she will get a treat and love. Later, she said, do some type of grooming for just a minute or so, give her a treat, and put her down, until she gets more comfortable. We’ll try that.

Before we left, Lia pulled out a flat rawhide treat called Flips to give to their five dogs. I was fascinated by the excitement from the dogs. I have heard mixed things about rawhide, but I guess I’ll give them a try. It has to be better than plastic firemen.

back it up

All of the girls were excited when we got home. They ran to meet me, but backed up quickly to the safe zone when they saw that John was with me.

We don't trust that Man, but he has been giving us tasty treats!He is the new treat person, to get them to like him, so we ushered them outside and he handed out the new treat I got from Costco, Kingdom Pets sweet potato and chicken treats. I personally think they don’t smell nearly as good as other sweet potato and chicken treats I’ve bought, but the shih tzus love them. Flower ran up to him readily, and the other two followed her lead. He gave them extra treats; I think he feels bad because of their reluctance to trust him.

Shih Tzu Day 44: The Rest After Grooming School

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grooming school is over

So, maybe I can see a little better without hair in my eyes.And I think my paws feel better too!It feels nice to have the grooming school over. Granted, John and I still have to go through the grooming school videos, and Flower still needs a lot of grooming, but it’s still a relief, and I feel like I’ve accomplished something. My plan is to work on Flower little by little. During grooming school, Lia at the Gentle Groomer advised that I groom Candy and Dottie once every two weeks or so, to get them used to it, but that I groom Flower more often than that. I have to figure out what to do about a grooming table. Amazon and PetEdge sell several types, including some small ones that rotate. However, they look a little too small for the shih tzus. We’ll have to give that a little more thought. I also have to figure out if I want to keep the refurbished clippers I bought for the grooming school, or if I want to try to buy some that have a good case and are a little quieter. I know it will save money in the long run, but getting all the equipment definitely is an investment.

As soon as that is under my belt, I have to figure out how to get the girls, especially Flower, some training and some “people skills.” I enjoy our little shih tzus, but it would definitely be nice if others could see why I love them so much.

pumpkin for breakfast

I need to get as far away from that pumpkin as possible. Ick. Maybe the grooming school tired out the shih tzu sisters, because they didn’t come upstairs until John got up at 5:30 to use the bathroom. I played with them a little from the bed and they left, but then came back. I think I got up about 6:30.

Can you hear me now?

 

I am trying something new with the dogs’ breakfast today. I haven’t bought any more Natural Balance or cottage cheese, so I have been supplementing their dry food with yogurt. When Lia was discussing expressing dog glands during grooming school, she also said we needed to give Dottie pumpkin for her leaky anal glands, so I bought some at the store. My thought was that the dogs would like its taste and the fact that it was colorful. Hmmm. I added a heaping tablespoon into their dry food and mixed it up a little. The shih tzus sniffed it disdainfully, took a few bites and backed away from their plates. Shiloh went ahead and ate his, but he didn’t steal it from the girls’ bowls, like he normally would. I ended up throwing it out and giving them their yogurt and dry food mixture.

the scary vacuum cleaner

Candy continues to be more sociable. She came up to me on the porch to be petted. However, she flew up the stairs quickly when John got the Bissell Proheat vacuum cleaner out to box up (we opted for the Hoover SteamVac instead). It doesn’t even need to be on to scare her.

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 43: Practice for Final Dog Grooming Class

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dog grooming class: bathing is for the birds

two female shih tzus in a dog bedMy homework for the Gentle Groomer dog grooming class last night was to bathe Candy before grooming class today, and do a little tidying up before the finishing touches. I watched the video with John (after figuring out how to use Mac’s Preview), and we began by putting cotton balls in her ears to prevent water getting in them, and in ours, as a reminder to take it out of her ears later, as I learned in dog grooming class. We didn’t have our dog shampoo yet, so, per Lia’s instructions, we diluted no tears baby shampoo with three parts water in a large squeeze bottle.

Shouldn't I get more food, since Flower has been bad?We washed the dirtiest parts first, which happened to be the feet and legs. We carefully cleaned between her toes and scrubbed her legs, leaving the shampoo on while we finished up with her back and face, being careful not to get water in her nose.

I know that she hates the blow dryer, but I didn’t want to leave her wet, so I held her firmly and got her at least partially dry. We had to do a little clipper trimming later, and she fought us, but eventually calmed down enough to allow us to get quite a bit done. I also have to get dog toe nail clippers, so that will have to wait.

Flower shows her trust in mommy

I'm trying to trust you, Mom. Flower surprised me and John by letting me get near her with the trimmer. Although she was dismissed from dog grooming school today, I was determined to get further with grooming her, since Lia had left half for me to do. I brought the leash to Shih Tzu Central, and Flower halfheartedly attempted to escape, but then let me put it on her.

She tried to run when I gently pulled her towards me, but quickly stopped fighting. She stayed still while I ran the clipper down her back and trimmed her ears. She put her head down on my knee, and although I knew I wasn’t supposed to let her, I left it there and took the opportunity to pull a little hair out of her ears. I was going to try to trim the pads of her feet, but I couldn’t remember how to swap out the blades, so I decided to leave that for another day.

Lia had told me that the final dog grooming class would be a good opportunity to have someone come and videotape it, since we would both be working on dogs. Rema and Oriana thought it sounded like fun, so I told them Leticia I would pick them up a little before 5 o’clock for the final dog grooming class adventure.