Tag Archives: video

Shih Tzu Morning Walk

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Our Morning Walk

Mom took a video of us walking this morning. How silly! But she says she is so proud at how far we’ve come and she wants to show the world we actually do walk. She says that because when we had a party a week or so ago, we just stayed at Shih Tzu Central. We can’t help it! We’re still getting used to people!

Back to the walking part. Nigel always liked to walk. But me, Dottie, and Candy were afraid to go for walks. We were afraid of the harness and the leash and what might be outside our home!

Now, I love it! I love chasing birds, although I can never catch them, because that thing that ties me to mother won’t let me go that far! But it’s fun trying.

Mom lets Dottie wander around. She says that’s because Dottie won’t run off chasing birds and get hit by a car or something! But I wish I had that freedom! Still, it is the funnest part of my day! Did I say I like taking walks!

Oh, you probably wonder why Candy isn’t in the video. Candy runs outside and hides when it’s time for our walk. Mom says she is just learning how to walk three dogs, so that’s okay. On the weekend, when the Man goes with us, Candy has to come along!

Someday, though, Mom says she will start taking Candy every morning when we go. I can’t wait until tomorrow morning so I can go for another walk! Yippee!

 

Shih Tzu Day 43: Practice for Final Dog Grooming Class

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dog grooming class: bathing is for the birds

two female shih tzus in a dog bedMy homework for the Gentle Groomer dog grooming class last night was to bathe Candy before grooming class today, and do a little tidying up before the finishing touches. I watched the video with John (after figuring out how to use Mac’s Preview), and we began by putting cotton balls in her ears to prevent water getting in them, and in ours, as a reminder to take it out of her ears later, as I learned in dog grooming class. We didn’t have our dog shampoo yet, so, per Lia’s instructions, we diluted no tears baby shampoo with three parts water in a large squeeze bottle.

Shouldn't I get more food, since Flower has been bad?We washed the dirtiest parts first, which happened to be the feet and legs. We carefully cleaned between her toes and scrubbed her legs, leaving the shampoo on while we finished up with her back and face, being careful not to get water in her nose.

I know that she hates the blow dryer, but I didn’t want to leave her wet, so I held her firmly and got her at least partially dry. We had to do a little clipper trimming later, and she fought us, but eventually calmed down enough to allow us to get quite a bit done. I also have to get dog toe nail clippers, so that will have to wait.

Flower shows her trust in mommy

I'm trying to trust you, Mom. Flower surprised me and John by letting me get near her with the trimmer. Although she was dismissed from dog grooming school today, I was determined to get further with grooming her, since Lia had left half for me to do. I brought the leash to Shih Tzu Central, and Flower halfheartedly attempted to escape, but then let me put it on her.

She tried to run when I gently pulled her towards me, but quickly stopped fighting. She stayed still while I ran the clipper down her back and trimmed her ears. She put her head down on my knee, and although I knew I wasn’t supposed to let her, I left it there and took the opportunity to pull a little hair out of her ears. I was going to try to trim the pads of her feet, but I couldn’t remember how to swap out the blades, so I decided to leave that for another day.

Lia had told me that the final dog grooming class would be a good opportunity to have someone come and videotape it, since we would both be working on dogs. Rema and Oriana thought it sounded like fun, so I told them Leticia I would pick them up a little before 5 o’clock for the final dog grooming class adventure.

Shih Tzu Day 33: Video Shy Shih Tzus

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video shy shih tzus

I was very excited about getting up, my new camera beside me, and trying to catch the dancing shih tzus on video. That didn’t happen. Dottie and Flower came up to get me this morning, doing their Sesame Street wobble and bobble at my bedside, putting their paws up on the side, and jumping up and down.

However, it was too dark, so I asked John to turn on his lamp. Of course, as soon as he did, the shih tzus stopped their routine. I tried to get them to start up again, by pretending I had gone back to sleep, but they just wandered off.

Next, I decided I would see if the “Candy committee” was waiting at the bottom of the stairs to dance and prance for me. She started to, but immediately walked away when she saw the black object in my hand. They wouldn’t perform their lion dance either, although Flower and Dottie did a few lackluster moves. I ended up getting some video of them dancing a little outside, but mainly eating. I was in the picture, and this is all about the shih tzus, so, I will try again another day.

We are trying to figure out ways to get the shih tzus more comfortable with John. When we came inside after feeding the girls, John knelt by the couch and petted Dottie. She seemed completely comfortable with it.

I left the house for a few hours to take my mom shopping. When I came back, I tried to video the shih tzus again, but they still seemed to say, “This is only for you, Mom. This is our private life.”

cheap dog toys for our shih tzus

I brought the grandchildren and shih tzus back two bags of stuffed animals I bought at a thrift store for three dollars. There had to have been at least 30 animals in the bags, including a couple of Beanie Babies. While I was putting them in the washing machine, the shih tzus barked incessantly — well, at least Flower was barking, but it sounded like at least one other. I had been gone too long and they were demanding attention.

When I came back upstairs, I took the shih tzus outside to give them a treat. Once back inside, Dottie settled in beside me on the couch, while Candy chewed on a Pork Chomp on the carpet. Flower was lying on the carpet, but she went back to Shih Tzu Central. Actually, she didn’t retreat quite that far. She took possession of the dog bed between the couch and their safe zone, where Candy usually hangs out.

Flower on the people couch

I decided I would try to approach Flower to see if she’d let me hold her. My chances are usually 50-50. She bolted out of the dog bed, but instead of running any of the places I would expect, she jumped up on the people couch, which is what I wanted anyway. She jumped back down almost immediately, but then she stole the Pork Chomps treat Candy had been gnawing on, and jumped back up. She jumped up and down a few more times. Either she really wants to sit by me, or she wants to tell Dottie that she’s claiming the people couch.

I don’t think I should say she let me pet her. It’s more like she demanded it, because as soon as I would remove my hand, she would look at me like, “Put it back.” That got a little difficult, since I was trying to type on the computer. Also, if I petted Dottie, Flower would look at me, like, “Why are you doing that?”

I tried to move Princess Flower to the left side of me, so I could at least pet her with my left hand, but she didn’t want that. Instead, I typed as long as I could with just my left hand. I finally had to give up trying to please her, knowing she’d probably jump down. While this was going on, Shiloh decided to sit on the back of the other couch, looking bored or lonely; I’m not sure which.

analyzing Candy

I have been trying to analyze Candy. I am starting to think, or to get back to thinking, that she might hold back because Flower pushes her out of the way many times. I have definitely seen that happen. I will have to keep an eye on that.

I told John that Candy would have to be his project, since Flower was so jealous. After I learn about fearful dogs, I need to learn about jealous dogs! And I need to learn how to handle fearful/spoiled dogs that bark constantly.

Since Flower seems to try to block any overtures towards Candy, I stayed outside with her when the other dogs went in. I tried to pick her up, and she ran off a few feet, but then stopped so I could pick her up. I held her for a few minutes, showed her the rainbow that had appeared and talked to her.

When I passed out Pork Chomps Big Blast dog chews to the shih tzus, I was glad to see Dottie chewing on one. She doesn’t seem to like, or perhaps be capable of, chewing many of the treats. I never know if she’s just picky, or has problems eating them due to her teeth.