Shihtzu Lover here!

sujay wrote:So you have discovered another of the shih tzu features then, selective deafness!
They are very capable of this, especially if you are in a hurry and they think you are not giving them enough playtime!

Yes and Mali is a classic example of that Sue. Since having hotspots, when ever she has a little scratch (thankfully seldom now) she will continue scratching until we get close enough to her that I can move her paw away from the itchy area. And she will also move out of sight or if the conservatory is open she sneaks outside to have a scratch. They have been down to Cenarth Falls this morning for a walk along the river.It was beautiful. I will start another post as Tasha was a right icle monkey.

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lilly bell wrote:Contessa when she is in the garden and I call her in gives me the ARE YOU SPEAKING TO ME. ( LOOK) But as soon as I say CHEESE in she comes, as she loves cheese.
She looks sooo prim and proper, But boy can she move. I have just got home from a week in the lake District with my family. My granddaughter can run fast, and Contessa is right on her heals. When she runs she reminds me of a rabbit, as her back legs spring back and you see her feet.
The lodge where we stayed had speed bumps to slow down the cars, and while Contessa was running with my Granddaughter, When she came up to the speed bumps would jump a few feet up in the air and cleared them. 
We have a cat called Cinda. Contessa chases her out of the house, and when Contessa gets to the back door, she will jump a few feet up in the air to clear the step. 
They are soo funny.Maxine.


Yes maxine they can jump high. We have quite a few steps leading up to our drive and garage, when I open the gate  at the top of the steps and say to Mali 'come on' she dashes up the steps and as the last few steps are steeper she literally leaps in the air to come through the gate it's amazing to watch her. I keep saying I will take a video of her doing it one day. Hope you had a nice time in the Lake District, I expect you had some nice weather there  for a change. We like it up there too. 

lilly bell wrote:Hi Tracy Di,
Sounds like you are having lots of fun with Tucker.You must be busy now with all your 3 furbabies.
I too have Fibromyalgia and Spondylitis of the spine.The cold weather can bring on the pain. So try to keep yourself warm.Maxine x

sands-62 wrote:Tucker looks a delightful little boy.I am sure he appreciates his new forever home and probably feels he has his feet firmly under the table with you as he looks and sounds totally chilled.To get Tucker's fur into a topknot this soon since you have had him is very quick. I am sure he will be in full coat before you know it.  Believe it or not it has taken Mali about 7 years to get her coat the length it is now, since we had her at 8 weeks.It just never seemed to grow until this year and I suspect it was probably down to being Spayed in January and maybe the raw food they have now. I do hope you feel better soon. I know from my friends experience of Arthritis of the spine it is very uncomfortable.

lilly bell wrote:

lilly bell wrote:Hi Tracy Di,
Sounds like you are having lots of fun with Tucker.You must be busy now with all your 3 furbabies.
I too have Fibromyalgia and Spondylitis of the spine.The cold weather can bring on the pain. So try to keep yourself warm.Maxine x

I meant to say I have Spondylosis Not Spondylitis.

simbalove wrote:It won't be long before Tucker has a proper topknot you are well on the way. Molly looked llike that a few months ago and now her topknot falls beautifully. I can sympathise having arthritis in my spine too. As for leaving him it should get easier for him as he gets to trust you will always return xxx

TracyDi wrote:Thank you for your messages.
It is good to know I am not the only one suffering pain, sometimes absolutely unbearable.
Tucker is doing well, I am suprised how well hes settled in since being here and yes his hair seems to being growing all the time. The annoying thing is his little feet are getting a bit stained, when he goes out into the garden during this wet weather we are having here, I suppose its going to happen. I do dry them off with a towel when he comes in but the staining just doesnt look very nice on what are supposed to be nice white feet. I have now changed his feeding routine slightly as he was starting to be sick in the mornings before I got up. He was having his main meal at breakfast time and a few biscuits at tea time, but I wondered if the few biscuits were not keeping him going until morning so I have now split his meal into two and the sickness has stopped altogether.
I was previously given some metacam to my older basset girl who was having some stiffness in her back legs. Someone kindly mentioned to me on the forum the dangers of metacam and suggested a natural herbal pain relieving medication suitable for dogs. I am now wondering what that was as my older basset has got considerably worse, she is sittting and scooting along as she cannot get up from a sitting or laying postiton. I understand this is arthritis in the hips and her spine and although she does not look or seem as if shes in pain, I know all too well what the pain can feel like and wouldnt wish it on her or anyone else. I am also thinking I do not really want to keep giving her these conventional drugs that could do more harm than good in the long run as she elderly, and now feel I should try someting else with less possible side effects. My vet has suggested she have glucosomine tabets and is going to call me back with the dose she should take, They have kindly told me I can give her the human tablets but they want to just calculate the dose right so she is not overdosed or underdosed. I am going to try to flick through the forum and see if i can find the name of the herbal pain killer for dogs. Got to be worth a try just in case she is being good at hiding her pain.

sands-62 wrote:

TracyDi wrote:Thank you for your messages.
It is good to know I am not the only one suffering pain, sometimes absolutely unbearable.
Tucker is doing well, I am suprised how well hes settled in since being here and yes his hair seems to being growing all the time. The annoying thing is his little feet are getting a bit stained, when he goes out into the garden during this wet weather we are having here, I suppose its going to happen. I do dry them off with a towel when he comes in but the staining just doesnt look very nice on what are supposed to be nice white feet. I have now changed his feeding routine slightly as he was starting to be sick in the mornings before I got up. He was having his main meal at breakfast time and a few biscuits at tea time, but I wondered if the few biscuits were not keeping him going until morning so I have now split his meal into two and the sickness has stopped altogether.
I was previously given some metacam to my older basset girl who was having some stiffness in her back legs. Someone kindly mentioned to me on the forum the dangers of metacam and suggested a natural herbal pain relieving medication suitable for dogs. I am now wondering what that was as my older basset has got considerably worse, she is sittting and scooting along as she cannot get up from a sitting or laying postiton. I understand this is arthritis in the hips and her spine and although she does not look or seem as if shes in pain, I know all too well what the pain can feel like and wouldnt wish it on her or anyone else. I am also thinking I do not really want to keep giving her these conventional drugs that could do more harm than good in the long run as she elderly, and now feel I should try someting else with less possible side effects. My vet has suggested she have glucosomine tabets and is going to call me back with the dose she should take, They have kindly told me I can give her the human tablets but they want to just calculate the dose right so she is not overdosed or underdosed. I am going to try to flick through the forum and see if i can find the name of the herbal pain killer for dogs. Got to be worth a try just in case she is being good at hiding her pain.

Hello Traci the product I have bought for Tasha is Jointaid. It comes highly recommended so fingers crossed. I will answer your posts in more depth tomorrow.  I have been out all day so I will be better able to look at all the goings on with Tucker.

simbalove wrote:THE HERBAL REMEDY FOR ARTHRITIS THAT I RECOMMEND (HAVING LOST A DOG TO METACAM) IS MOBILEAZE it is a herbal anti-inflammatory painkilling liquid, can be used with dogs on other medication too and doesn't have the serious dangers of metacam/rimadyl etc

It can be purchased from www.aviform.com -I have used this and recommended it for years and it works wonders