Tag Archives: dog

Shih Tzu Week 122: The Dog Who Says Meow

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Oct. 24 – Oct. 30

Thursday, Oct. 24

The incredible disappearing Spot Collins.

The incredible disappearing Spot Collins.

Spot Collins continues trying to get out to see the big world. This morning, when John went to go get the mail, Spot waited patiently by the door. John blocked him from going out, but then he figured out he could just push the screen door and it would open (the latch doesn’t work on it). Luckily, I saw him in stealth mode and warned John, so he quickly pulled him back and closed it. We also ended up taking the doggy door out because of Spot. Yesterday he tried to saunter out when the shih tzus went out, thinking he could blend in. My nickname for him is “the dog who says meow.”

My nickname for Panda is “Panda-monium.” That’s because he makes Flower crazy by just being here, so she likes to chase him in around and corner him.

Saturday, Oct. 26

Heather, Herman, and Jordan came over for dinner. They brought chicken for chicken and guacamole burritos. I made the guacamole. They really liked Panda and Spot Collins. Somebody got out a laser light and started shining it on things. Buddy and Spot thought that was a lot of fun. Candy warmed up to Heather and let her hold her for a while.

 Monday, Oct. 28

Mom hasn’t yet been able to get used to her new surroundings. She continues to want to go downstairs to bed. She also can’t remember if the cats are allowed to go downstairs, when that is where their litter boxes are. I hope it’s easier for her when she gets to Florida.

Tuesday, Oct. 29 

I had a basket set up in Mom’s room that I though Panda or Spot Collins might want to sleep in. However, they didn’t seem interested, so I put it up on top of a very tall desk hutch. When I went in the room this morning, Panda was sitting in the basket, with probably an inch between him and the roof.

Shih Tzu Review Board: True Chews Dog Jerky

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Shih Tzu Review Board

We have recently made a decision that we want to be famous dog food/treat reviewers, and we are going to call ourselves the Shih Tzu Review Board (unless we think of something more clever)! We want to do that because we think we know a lot about dog food/treats! Also, we like to get packages in the mail with our names on them. What are we reviewing today?

True Chews Premium Jerky Cuts

We have a very good friend at Chewy.com. He writes us whenever he needs expert reviewers to honestly judge dog food and treats that Chewy carries. I have to admit, though, that our Human doesn’t let us review just any food. First off, she says we can only review dog food and treats that say Made in U.S.A. or Made in America on the package. As for us shih tzus, we really, really like to try different types of jerky the most. Our Human says as long as we don’t find some we like as well as her homemade dog jerky she’ll let us keep testing others!

We got a package in the mail the other day that contained a bag of True Chews Premium Jerky Cuts. They are made with real chicken, and, of course, made in the U.S.A. We were really anxious to try them, but our Human thought she would be clever. She put the bag up in the Baby Russian Sage Garden and sat us up there one at a time. Each time one of us got up there, she pulled a piece of jerky halfway out of the bag to see what we would do. Well, I can tell you that not one of us walked away from that bag! We all loved True Chews chicken jerky! Our Humans say that these pictures should prove it!

A shih tzu taking dog jerky from a True Chews bag.

“I wonder if I could take the whole bag of chicken jerky and run!

Flower shih tzu with a True Chews dog jerky bag

“Hey, Dottie, Nigel, Candy! This chicken jerky is really great!

Dottie shih tzu eating chicken jerky from True Chews bag.

“I am so glad that Nigel and Flower left me some chicken jerky!”

 

a shih tzu taking dog jerky from a True Chews bag.

Finally my turn!

 

 

 

Nigel Shih Tzu’s Review on Orijen Freeze Dried Lamb Treats

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Nigel Shih Tzu and Orijen dog treat bag

Nigel gets ready to review Orijen freeze dried lamb dog treats

Every once in a while, Chewy.com asks me if Dottie, Flower, Candy and Nigel would like to review any products. This time, our choices included some grain free dog biscuits and Orijen freeze dried dog treats. Nigel is the only one who will eat dog biscuits so I decided we would try the freeze dried dog treats.
 
First, let me say that I tend not to give the shih tzus treats made in China, so I was happy to see that Orijen’s ranch raised lamb freeze dried dog treats were made in Canada, the home of our dear friend Sadie Shih Tzu. Second, I don’t like long lists of ingredients, and the ingredients on this package include only boneless lamb, lamb liver and lamb tripe.
 
As for the review, I brought the opened bag over to the computer to get the information off of it. As usual, Nigel was sitting beside me on the couch. While I was typing, I realized that Nigel was intently sniffing at something. When I looked over, he was getting closer and closer to the bag. I thought his actions spoke for themselves, so here is Nigel’s review:

Shih Tzu Nearly St. Patrick’s Day

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Again, nearly a month has gone by since we last posted! We posted right before Valentine’s Day and now it is nearly St. Patrick’s Day! We have had a house guest, my stepdaughter Candace, for nearly a month. At first, the shih tzus weren’t sure what to think and barked as if she were an intruder, every time she came through the door or down the stairs, much like they did with John when they got here. Now, however, they have three people that they trust. She is another dog walker and she provides them with food, so she must be okay. They will even allow her to pet them on occasion.

Flower in bathtubI decided to continue trying to bathe the shih tzus in the tub, particularly since Nigel gets so scared in the sink. I have only experimented on Flower lately, however. I was amazed at how calmly she sat there, for a good ten minutes, until she decided she’d had enough. It was a far cry from the day in grooming school where she looked possessed by a demon.

Red Excalibur DehydratorI broke down and finally bought an Excalibur dehydrator. Since I was splurging, I splurged more and bought a red one! I made the first treats in it yesterday. I decided to try chicken-wrapped apples because they always end up squishy in my last dehydrator  I was very happy with them! They looked store bought to me.

Thanksgiving #2 with the Shih Tzus (What a difference)

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When I started to put together my post about this Thanksgiving, I went back to see how our first Thanksgiving with Candy, Dottie, Flower and Nigel was. I was amazed. We have definitely seen a lot of progress with our puppy mill shih tzus, although Nigel was as friendly to everyone as usual.

Dottie Flower Nigel Shih Tzu Thanksgiving 2012

I had to leave to pick up Mom at about 9:45. Before I did, I put a green sweater on Nigel, a pink and white dress on Candy, an animal print sweater on Flower, and Dottie’s birthday dress on her. When I started getting my boots on, Flower, Dottie and Nigel thought we were going for a walk, so they rushed me. (That wouldn’t have happened last year, since I couldn’t get them to go on walks.) I didn’t put their harnesses on them. I just opened the door and they all scrambled out behind me. I’m sure they were a little disappointed to find out they were only picking up Grandma and coming right back.

Flower Shih Tzu eating Thanksgiving dinner.

Leticia and the kids arrived about 30 minutes later. The female shih tzus went to their corner. Once the dinner was ready, I fixed them plates of turkey, sweet potatoes and a little bit of mashed potatoes and cranberry sauce, and then I set all four bowls outside. None of them hesitated from rushing outside and digging in. The girls went back to their corner but then couldn’t resist the smells and one by one, wandered up to the table, looking for scraps.

When it was time to take Mom back home, I asked Cea and Evita if they wanted to come along for the ride. It didn’t prevent Nigel, Flower and Dottie from once again trotting out to the car and getting in. Nigel sat on my mom’s lap until we dropped her off. I put one of the seats down, so Cea and Evita sat together and Flower and Dottie went between the other seat and the back of the car. Once I dropped off Mom, the girls came up front and Nigel sat with them. Flower got comfortable enough to sit on the console, sometimes facing frontward, and sometimes turning around.

Dottie Shih Tzu eating Thanksgiving dinner.

They were a little put off when Gabe, Crystal, Avi and Samuel showed up. Samuel is nearly one year old, and he wanted to play in the dog area. They didn’t seem to mind it very much, and they eventually did come out and start wandering around.

Candy Shih Tzu Thanksgiving 2012

On Saturday night, Aunt Betty and a friend came over. The females once again retired to their corner, but about two hours later, they came out, with Candy even doing her “I want something but can’t tell you what” dance. John reached down to pick up Flower, and she let him! He held her on his lap at the table for about 15 minutes. They have come such a long way with him that I think he is now Dad and not the Man.

 

Be sure to check out last year’s Thanksgiving blog to see what a dramatic difference one year makes!