Tag Archives: bath

Shih Tzu Day 209: Old Shih Tzu Habits

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Old shih tzu habits die hard

Candy started barking at 4. John turned the flashlight on and pointed it down the stairs to get her to stop. She started again about 5. I ignored it and stayed in bed until 6, when Dottie started whining.

I am learning that just because the shih tzus are getting better, it doesn’t mean that old habits won’t resurface. Flower, Dottie and Nigel often go into the spare room with me when I have to use my backup PC. They wander around, try to find things to chew on, or just sit there and wait for me. No one had been pooping or peeing on the carpet, so I stopped barricading the door during other times of the day. But this morning when I glanced in the room, I saw that someone had done number one and number two. The barricade has gone up again.

When I went downstairs to get laundry, I heard Flower coming down the stairs. I walked out of the laundry room and started to cheerily say, “Hello, Flower!” but then saw her squatting on the floor. She was mid-stream when I hollered her name! Sigh.

shih tzus in need of grooming

I hate to admit it, but the dogs haven’t been groomed since the end of December. We have to catch up, so we decided to bathe one dog and do some grooming on as many as we could. John groomed Nigel’s face and trimmed up his paws and cut his toe nails. He did the same with Dottie and Flower. He was having trouble with the clippers, and I think that’s why he cut one of Flower’s toe nails too short. She was being very good, but that frightened her. Still, she was so much better than the days when she would poop on the table whenever we sat her on it. She just pulled her paw away, but then let us do the grooming on her face.

Dottie wasn’t quite as good, but, again, not nearly as bad as she used to be. I noticed this morning that she appears to have dog dandruff, so we decided she would be the one to get bathed. I have to keep an eye on that and figure out if something is causing it, besides the fact that she hadn’t had a bath for a few weeks.

Shih Tzu Day 90: Kitty Invades Shih Tzu Central

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Muddy Buddies

shih tzu with muddy feetshih tzu with towel on her headWe woke up this morning to the sound of Spot Collins meowing in the bathroom. Shortly after that, the dogs started barking. I headed out the bedroom door to greet the dogs, and John picked up Spot Collins to take him downstairs.

shih tzu with towel on her head

When the girls came back from romping in the grass after breakfast, I realized it was bath time for the dogs. Grass and mud covered all of their paws.

Dottie and Candy are better at baths than they are with blow dryers or clippers. They both shook, but we bathed them without them getting too traumatized. Flower was very good.

I took the dogs upstairs separately, beween baths, to blow dry them. As unexpected, they all tried to run, but they couldn’t go far, since the doors were shut.

Wherever they went they were close enough where I could point the blow dryers at their bodies at least. I left their faces alone.

Spot Collins Visits Shih Tzu Central

shih tzu with towel on headWhen all of the dogs were finishing drying at Shih Tzu Central, Spot Collins wandered over, drank a little of their water and then jumped onto the dog bed occupied by Dottie and Flower. Dottie stared at him a few minutes and then decided to get in another dog bed. Flower just kept staring at him like he was from another planet.

two shih tzus and a kittenSpot Collins is better. He drank lots of water and ate his kibble. When John took a shower, he set SC’s carrier nearby, so he could get his prescribed sauna. He is still sneezing quite a bit.

shih tzu with kittenWhen John left, SC kept crawling up on my lap. I let him stay there for a while. Flower stayed away from the couch. Dottie wanted up, but instead of sitting on the couch, as usual, she sat up on the arm.

shih tzu and kittenFlower started getting more aggressive towards Spot Collins after John left. She was growling at her, so I ended up putting the kitten back in her carrier for awhile. When I let him back out, Flower was too busy chewing on her bully stick to notice.

Flower jumped up on the couch for her massage-scratch-petting session. As soon as I started petting her, Dottie showed interest, too. Their fur was so soft after their bath this morning. Flower just sat next to me, so I could scratch her chest and haunches. Dottie, however, rolled over on her back for a tummy rub.

Candy never comes up for petting action. However, when we were watching Dancing With The Stars, I sat her between John and me. She actually relaxed and lay down, one paw on my leg, and stayed there for probably twenty minutes while John petted her.

Google Alert

I have Google Alerts set up on words involving my work, as well as words that will pull up articles to tweet about, such as puppy mills and shih tzus. I also have an alert for the Denver Dumb Friends League, because I like to tweet info about animal shelters and rescues. Today, my Google Alert gave me three articles on the Dumb Friends League; one was my post on Day 77, telling about Mom’s adoption of Panda and Spot Collins. It was a pleasant surprise, because I never expected to get an alert on my own articles.

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 34: Flower Makes a Record Jump

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Flower Gets Jumpy

Dottie and Flower came “Sesame Streeting” up to the bed at 6 this morning. They came and left several times, with Shiloh jumping up and down off the bed constantly. I finally told John this morning that when he gets up in the early morning hours to take Shiloh out, I’d like him to put him in his kennel until after the morning greetings with the girls are over.

This morning, however, since that hadn’t started yet, when I felt paws land on the bed, I thought it was Shiloh jumping up from the floor. When I opened my eyes, both Shiloh and Flower were sitting on the bed.I couldn’t believe Flower had made that jump, with those legs. Down, I’d believe, but not up. She must have just done it to prove she could, because she only sat there for a few minutes before jumping back down.

Of course, none of it was on video, since none of the shih tzus appear to want to be on camera.

Dottie kept pawing at the bed, but when I tried to pick her up, she wouldn’t let me. She finally did, and she stayed on the bed with us for several minutes.

Bath Time Again

The girls weren’t happy to find out that it was bath day. I had been threatening to bathe them again, and told John this morning that since we were up a little early, I thought it was a good day.

It’s the first time John and I washed all three of them together. We had it all done by 8. The bathing went pretty smoothly, except Flower bolted when John first started helping, then she calmed down.

We did Flower first, since she is the pack leader, then Candy, since Dottie does better.
I should have taken time in between to try to comb them a little while they were on my lap. Flower might have done okay. Dottie sat on my lap patiently and let me comb her. I love how soft they feel when they’ve had a bath. When I tried to approach Flower again, she ran like crazy. Candy let me pick her up but fought when I tried to comb her. I gave up on that idea. I also didn’t try the blow dryer. I’ll see what Lia teaches me about that.

Dottie and Flower liked the Cesar Softies filet mignon treats I gave them afterwards. Candy tried a few, but spit it out each time. Shiloh didn’t get a bath, but he got the treats anyway.

Shiloh Makes a Friend

It was cool in the evening, so I took Shiloh to Bed, Bath and Beyond and left him in the car for about five minutes while I went inside. When I came out, a guy who had pulled up next to me was saying hello to Shiloh, who was standing up in the passenger seat, looking out the window. The guy said he was very sweet. I should have said, “And he’s looking for a home.”I think I should ask Delores for one of those “Adopt Me” harnesses, to call attention to him.

I gave the dogs each a couple pieces of Pup Corn after I got back from the store. To continue trying to get them used to John, he gave them small pieces of Milo’s Kitchen beef jerky outside. We were pleased that Flower didn’t bark, so they were all more relaxed. Also, Flower came up to him more easily for her treat than usual.

Shih Tzu Day 21: Bath and Vet Time

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Dottie gets a bath

I made the momentous decision this morning to give Dottie a bath. Don’t ask me why I waited this long.

Dottie wet after bath

shih tzu after a bath

The eldest shih tzu did okay with a little grooming when Barbara, her former foster mother, was here, but I was still concerned that she would be afraid of a bath.

I was going to bathe her in the bathtub, but John thought the sink might work better.

 

She did better than I thought she would, although the blow dryer scared her. She kept gasping for breath and blowing bubbles out of her nose, which she does when she is afraid, so I finally decided to let her air dry.

Flower & Candy Visit the Vet

Delores from BFF Rescue emailed me today that she would pick up me, Flower and Dottie at one o’clock to go to the vet. Oops. I had my days off. I thought vet day was tomorrow.

We talked last week about concerns I had regarding Flower and Candy that I wanted to discuss with the vet. Candy never seems to have the energy her sisters have, plus she seems to tire easily. When her sisters come inside, she likes to stay outside and lie on the paving stones or in the dirt in the garden. I’m always afraid she’ll get too much heat. When I see her, looking so quiet and a little frail, I think of the youngest sister on Little Women who became sick and died. I can’t help it!

In the morning, although she often runs up the stairs with Dottie and Flower now, and although she romps playfully with them, biting at my hand, she backs away before the other two and goes back to her safe area. Delores said that when she was rescued from the puppy mill, the veterinary clinic in Kansas noted that she had an umbilical hernia. I was afraid it was something that was bothering her. We have been seriously talking about the pet adoption process, so Delores wanted the vet to check the shih tzus while they were still foster dogs, so that Best Friends Forever Rescue would take care of any vet charges.

Another thing I wanted to ask the vet about was Flower’s left eye. It seems a little bigger and darker to me than her right eye, and sometimes when I look at her, it has a “glass eye” look. It’s fine if it’s cosmetic — she is such a cutie, with those Maybelline lashes — but I want to ask the vet if it is anything serious.

shih tzu waiting for adoption

Delores brought the shih tzus some canine visitors: Peekaboo, the Pekingese I had met at Barbara’s while visiting the girls, and a poodle named Miss Muffet, who was going to get a chip implanted by the vet. They were wearing very cute “Adopt Me” harnesses for their vet visit. They wandered in and made themselves at home instantly. Peekaboo quickly figured out how to get up on the dining room table, climbing onto a chair that was pushed out and then jumping onto the table, where she promptly lay down. Miss Muffet started to follow her lead, but I was afraid our little ewoks would get an idea, so I got them down and pushed in the chair.

Peekaboo, a Pekingese, wearing her adopt me harness

Flower and Candy rode in a kennel on the way to the vet, Clear Creek Animal Hospital. Flower got so frightened on the way to the clinic that she pooped in the kennel. Once we got to the vet, I talked to the shih tzus in their kennel in the lobby to try to soothe them. When we went into the assigned room, Miss Muffet and Peekaboo wandered around, examining everything, while my little shih tzu princesses huddled, frightened, in their kennel.

Candy was the first one out of the kennel when we opened the door, so Dr. Lindsey examined her first. Although Candy was frightened, she let the vet weigh her (11.5 pounds) and then examine her. The vet said that the hernia had healed over (I can’t remember the medical term!). She didn’t find anything else wrong with her, so her temperament must just be different than the other two shih tzus.

Flower did okay at first. She sat in the scale (13.5 pounds) and let Dr. Anna look at her eyes. The vet assured us that she didn’t see anything wrong, but that it was good to watch their eyes. However, when the vet touched Flower with the stethoscope, the shih tzu freaked out and tried to jump off the table. I caught her — barely. That was the end of Flower’s vet examination.