Tag Archives: grooming class

Shih Tzu Day 356: Vet & Escape

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June 19, 2012

Vet Visit 

Flower and Nigel on the way to the vet.

Flower and Nigel on the way to the vet.

Nigel hasn’t been feeling good, so I decided to make a vet appointment for him and take Flower in for her annual checkup at Clear Creek Animal Hospital. I put her and Nigel on a couple, and she did well in the car on the way to the appointment. She also did well in the lobby and in the exam room, although she did pee on the floor. I was very proud that she let Dr. Lindsey examine her. It was quite different than her exam last year!

Flower with Dr. Lindsey.

Flower’s checkup with Dr. Lindsey.

 

 

I shared with Dr. Lindsey how she had been kicked out of grooming class but how she has improved so much since then. She was also good with the other dogs in the lobby on our way out. I stopped at McDonald’s for a Coke and then decided to take her and Nigel into Petco to try on harnesses. And there the perfect morning ended!

The Great Shih Tzu Escape

As we were coming up to the door to enter Petco, it opened and the noise scared her. She bolted, pulled out of the harness she was wearing, and ran out into the parking lot. I was frantically trying to figure out how I was going to hold Nigel and chase her when a woman near the door asked if I wanted her to hold Nigel’s leash. I quickly handed it to her and took off running after Flower.

Flower's new harness, which hopefully is escape-proof.

My hope is that Flower won’t be able to pull out of her new harness and escape!

I chased Flower for five minutes, calling her name, trying to keep my voice calm. She was getting dangerously close to the road, and I was panicking, thinking, “All that hard work and she gets hit by a car!” She finally slowed down and stopped on a grass area near feet from the road. I sat down, opened my purse and pulled out the heartworm treat from the vet, and then coaxed her to me. When she came close enough, I grabbed her. When I finally got back to the door, I thanked the woman profusely for watching Nigel and took them both inside. I found someone to help me fit Flower for a harness that I hope will be escape free!

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 27: In Need of a Dog Groomer

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Flirting with Shiloh tired me out.

Dog Groomer Needed!

After Flower finished her wild romping with Candy and Shiloh, she paid me a visit on the couch. While she sat with me, I called Clear Creek Animal Hospital, to find out how much it would cost to take these little shih tzus in for grooming, even though I don’t want to do anything until the are comfortable in the car. I assume it will be roughly what we used to pay for Joey, times three. Gulp.

The hospital’s dog groomer has been on leave, so they referred me to Lia at the Gentle Groomer in Arvada. I called and had an interesting conversation with her. I asked her if she thought it would be possible for me to stay with the shih tzus if I brought them in, since they were fearful dogs. I know; I sounded like an overprotective mother.

Lia told me that she had been dealing with fearful dogs for years, since many animal rescues refer people who need a dog groomer to her, and that from her experience, it was best to act like there was no problem, and the dogs would follow the lead.

I don't suppose you want to give me another treat?Getting to a dog groomer

I told her that their fear included car rides, so I thought it would be hard to get them to a dog groomer. She said that what works for many people is loading the dog up and taking it to McDonald’s, buying something on the menu and sitting there with the fearful dog, giving it some of the hamburger or fries, whatever catches their attention. She said to do that three days in a row, and the dog will associate the car with the pleasant experience and not be afraid anymore. She also suggested taking a bag of hot dog pieces with you to the vet or dog groomer and having the person feed them to the dog to get rid of that fear.

Lia didn’t have any immediate openings, but she said if I came by, she would talk to me for a few minutes about small ways I could groom the girls in the meantime. I decided I was going to take Dottie to the dog groomer with me, and afterwards, we’d stop at McDonald’s. I’ not sure how good the idea is, since many people would probably say I shouldn’t give them junk food, but I might as well give it a shot.

I was having a great day until you made me wear this harness.Lia and I talked about the idea of me taking a grooming class from her, versus paying a dog groomer the cash (approximately $40 a piece) needed to groom three dogs every six to eight weeks. I am deciding if I want to do that in August. It would be $100 for the dog groomer class, but then I would need to buy the grooming tools. I am also going to contact a mobile dog groomer I heard about. Delores at BFF Rescue had thought that would be a good solution, but if I can get the girls used to the car, I probably won’t have to do that.