Tag Archives: PetSmart

Shih Tzu Day 125: Another Rowdy Shih Tzu Day

Posted on by
Reply

energetic shih tzus

a <strong srcset=shih tzu on her back on animal print blanket” width=”200″ height=”150″ />The shih tzus had a lot of energy today. Nigel was being a little too rowdy with the girls earlier. He kept going to Shih Tzu Central and picking fights with the shih tzu sisters. I couldn’t tell if they were OK with it or not. However, someone started yipping so I stepped in. I am still not quite sure what to do to get him to stop, so I follow Cesar’s advice of giving him a “bite” with my hand on his side and telling him sternly to stop. Sorry to say, he doesn’t seem to listen very well no matter what I do, so I will have to find a better way to get him to obey me.

three shih tzus playing

 

 

 

 

I walked Nigel out of shih tzu Central, like a teacher walking a bad student to the principal’s office. However, he went right back in after I sat down, and started picking on Flower. I picked him up and him in his dog bed. He stayed there for a while.

two shih tzus playingtwo shih tzus playing

 

 

 

 

I opened the door later, to see if anyone wanted to go out and play, and Nigel and Candy flew out. When andy had played enough, she came in and retired to Shih Tzu Central to get her beauty rest, but Nigel wouldn’t leave her alone. I ended up using his couch steps as a barrier to keep him out of Shih Tzu Central. I turned them around, with the back of the steps facing the living room.

two shih tzus tongue to tongue. shih tzus playing

 

 

 

 

I did let him wrestle with the girls this afternoon, since they seemed to want to play. At one point, Wild Flower left the wrestling tournament to bite my toe, and then went back into the ring. Candy and Flower bounced up to the couch later, and Nigel followed them, deciding he would bite my toes too.

Nigel hasn’t been lying in his dog bed much over the last couple of days. I don’t think it looks as comfortable as the girls’ beds, because it doesn’t have as much filling. Today, I had the red blanket on me, and it was covering my feet. He decided to lay down on the blanket next to my feet.

learning about shih tzu relaxation

I used to say that Flower couldn’t relax on the couch. I just realized how much that has changed. Dottie was stubbornly guarding “her” corner of the couch earlier today, as usual. I looked up at one point, though, and realized that Dottie was right beside me, chewing on a pressed bone. Flower was lying at the end of the couch, and I thought she looked quite relaxed.

dress your doggy for less

a shih tzu in a leopard print dress with hood. a shih tzu in a leopard print dress on a blanket.

 

 

 

 

I took my mom shopping with me recently, and after we finished at PetSmart, she waited in the car while I made an exchange at Ross Dress For Less. I showed her the pink and brown animal print dog dress I came out with and she started laughing. She looked at the store name and said, “It should be ‘Dress Your Doggie For Less’.” I thought that was clever of her. She laughed because she wouldn’t think about putting clothes on her dogs, which have including retrievers, chows and mid-size terriers. She’s way too practical for that.

Shih Tzu Day 124: Halloween for the Shih Tzus

Posted on by
2

bad start for Halloween

a shih tzu keeping an eye on a squirrel.a squirrel running along a fence.

 

 

 

 

Halloween for the shih tzus began with one of them throwing up yellow bile. It was one of the female shih tzus, because I found it when we came downstairs. I smelled all of their breath to see which shih tzu it was, and Flower had the bad breath. John said that didn’t necessarily mean that she threw up, since she could have eaten someone else’s. Gross, but I know it could happen. I don’t think that is the case, though, or else two shih tzus would have bad breath. None of the dogs acted sick, so I don’t know what caused the problem.

morning shih tzu squirrel notification

two shih tzus in black and white clothes. a shih tzu at the door wearing skull sweater

 

 

 

 

a shih tzu in polka dots and one in skull sweater. a shih tzu wearing a black and white polka dot dress with hood.

 

 

 

 

two shih tzu sisters wearing black and white polka dot dresses.a shih tzu and a trick or treater.

 

 

 

 

Candy spent a lot of time outside this morning prowling the perimeter again, looking for squirrels. Every once in a while, she would bark and summon the troops outside. What’s funny is that the dogs can’t always see the squirrel very well, so he will be running one way and the shih tzus will be running the other in search of him. Nigel doesn’t always join in on the squirrel hunt. Sometimes he lets the girl shih tzus do the chasing and he lays in the grass chewing on a bone.

shih tzu door greeter 

I took Nigel to PetSmart and Petco. I dressed him in his black sweater with the skull on it for Halloween. He was very excited to get to go in the car. He did very well, until he saw a big dog in Petco and his dog aggression came out. He started barking, growling and straining at the leash, so I had to pick him up and carry him until the dog was in another part of the store.

two shih tzus that look like werewolves. three blurry shih tzus with weird eyes.

 

 

 

 

When I came home, I dressed up the girls. They didn’t have costumes, but I dressed them all in black and white. Dottie and Flower wore matching polka dot dresses. I had returned Candy’s black and white houndstooth dress that was too small, but I finally found a medium, so I dressed her up in that. I definitely spend too much time looking at dog clothes at Ross! It took me a while to catch Candy to put her dress on her, since she kept running under the dining room table.

I knew that no one but John and me would see the girls, but I still thought it was fun. As I thought, Nigel was the door greeter, once the trick-or-treaters started arriving. He ran to the door every time the doorbell rang. When the doorbell wasn’t ringing, he ran to to the door anyway, waiting for the next group of children to come along. Again, the only problem we had was when a group came up that included a big dog, who waited in the driveway. Nigel showed his dog aggression again, so I’m sure the parents were glad to be off to the next house. Well, the good news is that Nigel is great with children and small dogs, so that is still better adjusted than Joey was and the shih tzu sisters are.

Shih Tzu Day 114: Favorite Dog Treats: Whole Lotta Chewin’ Going On

Posted on by
2

two very cute shih tzus on a couch waiting for dog treats.

dog treats – yum

four shih tzus waiting for dog treats. Today was one of those days that revolved around dog treats. In the morning, to keep the girls occupied, I gave out pig ears, one of the shih tzus’ favorite dog treats. In the early afternoon, they got a sweet potato and chicken treat and a small apple and chicken treat, other favorites. When John got home, they got a small piece of chicken jerky, probably at the top of dog treats.

shih tzu gnawing on an apple and chicken treat.Pig ears just seem to be pig ears, but I’ve experimented with different brands of sweet potato and chicken dog treats, apple and chicken treats and chicken jerky. I tried plain sweet potato treats, but they weren’t that popular. After that, I bought Canyon Creek Ranch Chicken Yam Good sweet potato treats, and the girls liked them. However, I discovered Costco carried Kingdom Pets sweet potato and chicken treats in a large value pack, so I have been buying them. I personally think Canyon Creek Ranch smells better, but the girls don’t seem to notice.

shih tzu chewing on a chicken and apple treat. As for chicken jerky, there are a lot of brands on the market. I tend to buy Milo’s Kitchen for a few reasons. First, I guess it’s relatively new, and I find a lot of dollar and two-dollar coupons for it. I also think Milo’s Kitchen dog treats smell really good. When I can find the value pack at Wal-mart, that’s what I buy. I will buy Waggin’ Train chicken jerky though. What I won’t buy is whatever chicken jerky Costco carries, although it comes in a value pack and is cheaper. The girls didn’t like it when I first bought it, and it looks dry to me.

a shih tzu with a sweet potato and chicken treat in his mouth.I buy Canyon Creek Ranch apple and chicken dog treats from PetSmart because although Wal-Mart is always cheaper on most dog treats, they don’t have a value pack. PetSmart’s value pack has been on sale for a while too. Having four dogs is like having four children: you have to find the bargains!

 

Shih Tzu Day 36: Dog Clothes Dress Up Day

Posted on by
5

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!

Shih Tzu Day 26: Shih Tzu Sisters Baby Steps

Posted on by
Reply

More Baby Steps for the shih tzu sisters

There's something soothing about this new toy.I don't know why Candy is sucking on her toy. Everyone knows you bite it!!I guess having guests all weekend tired me out. I couldn’t get up until 7. The shih tzu sisters came up to get me about 6, but I didn’t budge. They kept running up and down the stairs, then into the bedroom, playing with my hand whenever I dangled it down to them. (I had a warped thought as they gently bit at my hand. A famous aviatrix named Pancho Barnes had several dogs. When she died, the story goes, they began nibbling on her arm. I imagine she might have played the same game with her dogs before her demise! I said it was warped!)

No Barking Outside

Sorry to say, one of the shih tzu sisters has discovered that they like pooping in the spare bedroom. It might even be Shiloh. We really need What will you give me if I give you back your mail?a surveillance camera in every room so we can catch the culprits in action. And now for positive news:  John prepared the dog food bowls for me, so the dogs could learn to eat from him. They followed him outside, ate, and then went and played in the garden, without barking at all!

Flower Sits With Dottie and Me

Dottie spent a lot of time on the couch with me today. Flower has tThis floor feels cool on my tummy! I like it. aken to jumping up into the rocking chair that John used to sit in when he smoked his pipe. (It was actually a nice smell, but he has been tobacco-free for a year!) I hurried to get my camera (I need it near me at all times!), but she jumped down as soon as I moved. Surprisingly, instead of going back to the play area, she jumped up on the couch, to sit with Dottie and me.

Candy Warms Up to John

John is making great headway with Candy. While he prepared his lunch this morning, she wandered in, looking for food, I’m sure. He gave her a little cheese, which she fearlessly took from him. That brought Shiloh and the shih tzu sisters in to gather around him. Another victory!

Dottie Visits PetSmart

Do we really have to leave the house?I thought I would be daring and take Dottie to PetSmart with me. I considered the trip successful. I put her in the As Seen on TV ComfyControl Harness to get her used to it, although I didn’t plan to have her walk. She seemed a little nervous in the car, but she did well at PetSmart. I carried her around the store while we looked at Kongs. Mom says dogs are supposed to be crazy about them. I bought one for each of the dogs, although I didn’t know how I was going to get them to use their own and not steal everyone else’s.

In the car, I tried to give her a Waggin Train’ chicken and apple treat, but she wouldn’t take it. I think she was a little too nervous from the outing. She did eat two when we got home, though.

If I just stick my tongue in this hole a little bit farther...Of course, Flower was the shih tzu sister who figured out how to “use” the Kong. She took Shiloh’s too, and ran off with it. Candy and Dottie didn’t show much interest, or didn’t know how to get the peanut butter out. Instead, I put some peanut butter on Candy’s pacifier and she licked it off. I did try to feed the dogs carrots and apples again, but only Shiloh gobbled them down. He is at least proof that some dogs will eat raw fruits and veggies.