Tag Archives: puppy mill

Shih Tzu Vet Update: Four Star Visit

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I wanted to talk about flowers today, but Mom said I should talk about our annual vet exam we had yesterday at Clear Creek Animal Hospital. First, Mom tricked us. She knows that whenever we get in the car we think we’re going to the nice park for a walk, but we were wrong. It was too late to escape once we saw where she was really taking us.

She was happy I didn’t get frightened and pee on the floor like I used to. However, Nigel “marked” his visit and they had to rush to get a paper towel to clean it up. That’s probably why he got to be examined first. Before Dr. Lindsey did that, though, we all got weighed. Candy weighs the least, at 13.40 pounds. When we came to live at the Freeze Hacienda after living at the puppy mill, she weighed 11 pounds. The doctor says she is a nice weight. Dottie is a little more “plump.” She weighs 18.40 pounds! The doctor wasn’t that concerned, though, since her weight has hardly changed over the last few years. Mom says she is a “big girl.” When Nigel came to live with us he had been very sick, and he only weighed 10.80 pounds. Now, however, he weighs 14.40 pounds. Well, now I have to say what I weigh. I weighed 13.60 pounds in 2011. Now I weigh, gulp, 16.60 pounds. The assistant put me back on the scale because she didn’t think that was right, but it was. The vet says I should lose at least a pound so Mom says I am going to get less treats. Bummer!

We all got a Leptospirosis vaccination — whatever that is. Mom and the vet talked about Nigel’s eye scare earlier this year. He had a corneal perforation. We aren’t sure how well he sees out of it. I guess Mom needs to take him in for a checkup at the specialist for that. Beyond that, she thought Nigel was pretty healthy.

Candy might have a food allergy and Dottie might too, because of some problems with their ears. Candy’s ears are a little “thick” and Dottie has a lot of wax in hers. The vet asked if they itch them a lot. Mom said they used to but that she was cleaning them (with Vet’s Best Ear Relief) and Candy and Dottie didn’t seem to be having a problem lately. Dr. Lindsey said that if it gets worse, Mom might have to do some food tests to see what food might be causing the problem. Dottie is 8 years old and her vision might not be as well as mine, but otherwise, the vet said she was in good health. I don’t know why she didn’t say she needed to lose weight!

Besides the vet saying I need to lose a pound, she also said I have to go in to get my teeth cleaned. Ugh. I guess I have too much tartar on my teeth. Mom was disappointed since the vet always told her how good our teeth looked. Mom thought our teeth were good because of the chew sticks she gives us, but they must not be helping my teeth. I hope that doesn’t hurt!

The good news was that the vet told Mom if she had gold stars, she would give them to us! So I guess we did pretty good!

 

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!

Happy Birthday to Flower (Day 289) April 13

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Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday, Dear Flower! Happy Birthday to You!
Flower is now 3 years old! This is Flower’s first birthday at her forever home. She spent her first birthday at a puppy mill and her second at a foster home.
So glad that Flower, Candy and I have a Forever Home together! Nigel too, although he didn’t come with us from the puppy mill!

Mom says she will have pictures later of our birthday party, including the homemade chicken jerky!!

Shih tzu Day Day 178: Christmas Eve

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preparing the shih tzus’ Christmas stockings

a female <strong srcset=shih tzu chewing on a steer stick. ” width=”300″ height=”225″ />Flower or Candy woke us up at 3 a.m. barking. John went down twice, but couldn’t tell what was going on. Candy was roaming around and scurried away. It might have been that she saw a mouse, a cat outside or was just barking at the falling snow. I finally gave up and got up at 4, fed them, and went back to sleep until 7, when Dottie started whining.

I came downstairs, fed the shih tzus and wrapped a few presents. The female shih tzus sat at shih tzu Central and just watched me, wondering what I was doing and why I wasn’t sitting on the couch. I also put the dogs’ names on their Christmas stockings with glitter. I had no idea how long it took the glitter to dry. The back of the package said 30 minutes, but it took a lot longer than that. I probably put it on too thick. 

a <u srcset=shih tzu on a red and white dog bed.” width=”300″ height=”199″ />I couldn’t figure out what to do with their collars and tags, but John figured out to put them around the middle of the stocking instead of the top. I bought the shih tzus stuffed animals from the Dollar Tree. I don’t like to spend too much money on their stuffed animals, because I rarely see the shih tzus playing with them. I know they do play with them at times, because I will find them on the porch or on the couch. I also bought them some treats from the Dollar Tree and some from Petco. I bought a variety of Christmas shaped rawhide treats from the rawhide treat bar. I also got them some bones from King Soopers’ meat department.

a female <strong srcset=shih tzu chewing on a steer stick. ” width=”300″ height=”225″ />John, my mom and I normally spend Christmas eve with my niece and her family, but since they moved to North Dakota this year, we celebrated Christmas with my mother this afternoon at a Mexican restaurant near her house. When I started looking for Monster High dolls for the grandchildren, I started picking extras up and selling them on eBay and Craigslist, so I delivered some of those before we came home.

a female <u srcset=shih tzu holding a steer stick. ” width=”300″ height=”225″ />We spent a few hours with the shih tzus and then went out again. We did some last minute shopping, drove through some of the areas that are the most decorated for Christmas and stopped for a hamburger before going home and spending the rest of the evening with the shih tzus. I gave the shih tzus some steer sticks to keep them happy and busy while we watched TV.

I know they won’t be excited about their Christmas stockings, but I am. I love the fact that these four little shih tzus are part of our life and that we are spending our first Christmas with them. I know that the girls probably don’t have any memory of their life at the puppy mill, or Nigel of his before he turned up at an animal shelter, but I am glad we have been able to give them all a new life.

Shih Tzu Day 128: Flower Kardashian

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a shih tzu in a Christmas dress striking a sexy pose

shih tzu malady

I’m a little concerned. I found throw up on the floor downstairs for the second day in a row, and I found some upstairs. I thought it was Flower, because of her breath, but John said he was petting Candy and she threw up. I don’t think it was a reaction to him, so I have to think it is something else! Candy does not act like she feels well. She bit my toes and fingers yesterday in our morning ritual, but she came to greet me today and didn’t do that.

The shih tzus eat a lot of rawhide bones, so is it that? I also gave them pieces of chicken last night. I had breaded it for a meal, but I tried to remove it all before I gave it to the shih tzu clan. Also, I gave them Alpo today, because I hadn’t made up any food. Candy acted like she wasn’t going to eat it at first, but I think that was because she is just finicky. All the shih tzus did end up eating it.

nudge, nudge

Flower was sitting with me this morning, but she jumped down from the couch. Pretty soon, I looked down and two cute little shih tzus, Candy and Flower, nudging my feet. Good! Candy must feel better. Nigel was next to me, so I sent Mr. Male Shih Tzu down to play, to see if Candy was up for it. I couldn’t decide if she came to visit me or him. She just stood there while he tried to play, but then started biting his face. My ailing shih tzu must have revived.

When Nigel tired of getting his face bitten, the rambunctious shih tzu wandered over to me and took my socks off, and then started biting my toes. Flower followed his cue and came up and started biting my fingers. What a bunch of little vampires!

Marcel, the shell, with shoes on

OK, this has nothing to do with shih tzus, but John called me today and told me he had been listening to Dennis Miller on the radio and he was talking about a super cute YouTube video about “Marcel the shell with shoes on.” He said there would soon be a book on Marcel. John knows I want to write a book about my experience with our former puppy mill shih tzus, so he wanted to tell me about it. Marcel is almost as cute as my shih tzus, but not quite, so check it out!

shih tzus tracking mud and shih tzus tracking squirrels

The shih tzus tracked mud all over the floor today. Then, Nigel decided to get on the couch, so guess where the mud went. Groan. You’ll have that with a house full of shih tzus!

Part of the reason that the shih tzus kept going in and out was that Candy kept sniffing out a squirrel. Squirrel patrol requires a lot of in and out activity. Out to check the whereabouts, and in — at least partially in the back door — to get shih tzu backup.

shih tzu turnabout is fair play

Flower spends so much time on the couch now that when Dottie asks to be let up sometimes, Flower growls at her. Meanwhile, in the kitchen, I wish I could teach Candy to scratch to come in like Nigel does. I get concerned about the amount of time our outward bound shih tzu spends outside. I get up many times to check. She might be on the porch, but when I reach to open the door, she sprints out into the yard. Today, however, she was sitting right by the door, and when I opened it, she came right in.

loud, quiet breathing!

There is something very cute about the way Candy and Nigel tussle. I will be working, and all of a sudden, I will hear breathing. It’s actually a kind of “quiet breathing.” But it is a hectic breathing. That heavy breathing will go on for many minutes, as the shih tzu puppies play near the dining room table. It is always a little frustrating, because when I reach for my camera, they go on alert and the little buggers move on, so I have no proof of how incredibly cute they are.

Flower Kardashian

Nigel is a very busy boy. Lately, he goes back and forth between both shih tzu “girlfriends.” Or are they sisters? I don’t know. But I wish I could get into the minds of these dogs. One of his girl friends looked particularly adorable today. I found the cutest little Christmas dress at Ross Dress For Less. It’s red, fur-trimmed, and has candy canes and ornaments all over it. I tried it on Flower, although it is a little too early for Christmas doggy clothes. I was taking pictures, and noticed that her dress was up, but I knew they would stop playing if I butted in and fixed it, so I just let it go. I was taking pictures of her on the couch, and she was facing towards Shih Tzu Central. She had a very cute butt beneath the cute dress and I thought of the Kardashians. Yes, she is my adorable little Flower Kardashian.