grooming problems et.al.

[greentea]

hi there!

I know you are all expert in raising tzus. I have an 8-month old female shih tzu. Coat is thick naman pero at 8 months old, nde pa rin down to the floor ung coat nia medyo matagal pa. It's more cottony than silky. Here are my concerns:

1) BIGOTE: Medyo madumi palagi ung bigote nia especially after eating. Even when I try to wipe it with a wet towel after, nag-sstain tlaga ung part na un kasama ung sa jaw part. Any products to help remove the stain? Effective ba talaga ung mag stain remover for dogs?

2) I cannot grow ung hair dun sa may nose bridge and near the eyes cos palaging tumutusok sa eyes so what I do I cut the hair sa part na un. Mukhang neat nga pero I think she'll look better pag mahaba un and nasasama sa pagtali. Do you have any suggestions on how I could grow this part without having to hurt her eyes?

3) I notice the eyes parang laging nagluluha. The vet said wala naman infection. Advice lang nia is to clean the eyes (as in eyeballs) every morning with wet cotton (fast sweep lang). Kaya lang natatakot ako galawin ung mata nia kse baka masakit sa tzu or baka mairritate.

4) This is not grooming related: I feed my tzu eukanuba mixed with one or two tablespoon dog food kse ayaw na nia kainin ung eukanuba without halo. Is this okay? I mean, nde ba maaffect ung health nung tzu? Any adverse effects on their coat, health, growth?

5) Toilet training: At 8 months old, nde pa rin potty train ang tzu ko. There is this certain spot in the house na palagi shang nag pupupu. Pero the wiwi, kahit saan lang. This is frustrating already pero we're still trying our best. Nde kse nagwowork ung dadalhin sa labas every morning.... or cguro nde pa nagwowork. Any suggestions on this?

I know this will take a lot of anyone's time, but just the same I would like to thank the moderator of this forum and to all those who will take time to read and reply to my queries. Gusto ko lang tlaga the best ung care na mabibigay ko sa tzu ko.

Thank you so much.

[honeybabe]

hello... i'll try as much as possible to answer your questions the best i can. i am sure that the others can provide you with better or more specific answers.

FACE FALLS / BIGOTE - aside from washing daily, blow dry it. keeping it damp will only promote staining. so far, none of the many stain removing products i have tried are effective, aside from some specific whitening shampoos. i have realized that in order to keep the face clean, you will need to be very religious in cleaning, drying and banding daily. it is also IMPORTANT to use water bottle. if you use a water dish, parati na lang wet ang face... so ganun din, stain din ang kalalabasan.

HAIR ON THE NOSE : if you keep cutting this, you will never be able to grow it out. with puppies kasi we let them grow out na lang instead of cutting them. if you are concerned about the hair injuring the eye, perhaps you can use vaseline to weigh down the hair... para hindi sya sticking out to poke the eyes. it is a FACT that you will need to go thru a very weird stage when growing the hair on the nose bridge, it's just a matter of dealing with it rather than trimming and trimming and trimming... you won't grow any hair ifyou keep trimming.

TEARY EYES : although it can be quite common for shih tzu to have teary eyes, excessive tearing may be because of stress or infection. as for your vet's suggestion of wiping the eye ball.. ERRRR.. i've never heard of a vet suggesting this. but that's just me, i don't know about the other people on the list. when cleaing the eyes i used opticlear and i dry the face afterwards.

[dharie]

as for housebreaking, "potty walks", unfortunately, didnt work for my dog so i had her crate-trained nlng.. cguro 1 or 2 weeks din bago nya nakuha.. what i did was to put her in the crate, leave her alone for a while then let her out after she's done pottying.. ok nman.. nka2tuwa nga eh, kze never n syang nagwee2 and poo2 ulit sa labas.. you may want to get a small amount of her poop though, then put it under the crate so she'll know n dun sya dapat.. kze dogs can trace the smell of the spot they last pottied..

[RainWater]

1. After damping the face fall, you must blowdry the face. After that, powder it with cornstarch. Stain remover products work. I like #1 All Systems professional

2. If you want to grow that part of the body, don't cut. Just let it grow. You may weigh it down by conditioning on a regular basis. Make sure to brush the area daily para ma distribute yung natural oils at para bumigat na rin. Also, ma stimulate ang glands, thus, bibilis ang tubo ng coat sa area na yon.

3. No need for that. Just use CARDINAL Eye Cleaners daily after brushing. Meron nito sa Dog City.

4. Eukanuba is fine. Ano ang hinahalo mo na ibang dog food? Is it the wet kind? Human food? Ok lang naman to feed other food. No bad effects.

5. Kaya don siya sa spot na yon lagi nag poop is because nasanay na siya don. Kung mag poop siya, dont clean it in front of her kase she thinks na nakakuha siya ng attention. Put her in another room. Always yan ha. YOu may want to change her feeding sched para naman mag jive sa plan mo. ANo time siya nag poop at ano time siya kain? Then we'll work from there.

[dharie]

lastly, try cleaning the "spot/s" with a water-vinegar solution, it'll neutralize the smell para di n nya matrace.. then floor cleaner nlng para hindi mangamoy.. share ko lng: my dog's really funny, after she's done sa pgpoo2 magba2rk n sya to let us know.. kze she cant lie down, nandi2ri sa poo2 nya.. tpos clean n ung crate nya, then kapag aalis kmi, we'll put her in n2man.. pagbalik nmin, nagpoo2 n2man sya, kze gusto n nyang lumabas!

[fantasia]

dharie21 said:

as for housebreaking, "potty walks", unfortunately, didnt work for my dog so i had her crate-trained nlng.. cguro 1 or 2 weeks din bago nya nakuha.. what i did was to put her in the crate, leave her alone for a while then let her out after she's done pottying.. ok nman.. nka2tuwa nga eh, kze never n syang nagwee2 and poo2 ulit sa labas.. you may want to get a small amount of her poop though, then put it under the crate so she'll know n dun sya dapat.. kze dogs can trace the smell of the spot they last pottied..

Dharie - YOU DO NOT UNDERSTAND what Crate Training is IF NATUTUWA ka that your dog poo's in the crate! PROUD KA PA and you call that Crate training? HALOS MAHIMATAY AKO SA TAWA!!!!
Below is an article on crate training. mag basa ka muna bago ka mag advise nang mali mali!

Crate Training Your Dog or Puppy

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Crate training is one of the most efficient and effective ways to train a dog. The single most important aspect of dog and puppy training is that you reward and praise your dog or puppy each and every time she does the right thing. For example: praise her when she chews her own toys instead of the couch or eliminates outside instead of in the house. The more time you spend with your puppy or dog, the quicker and easier it will be to train her.
The key to house training is to establish a routine that increases the chances that your dog will eliminate in the right place in your presence, so that she can be praised and rewarded; and decreases the chances that your dog will eliminate in the wrong place so that she will not develop bad habits.

It is important that you make provisions for your dog when you are not home. Until your dog is housetrained, she should not be allowed free run of your house. Otherwise, she will develop a habit of leaving piles and puddles anywhere and everywhere. Confine her to a small area such as a kitchen, bathroom or utility room that has water/stain resistant floors. Confinement is NOT crate training.

What is Crate Training?
Crate training can be an efficient and effective way to house train a dog. Dogs do not like to soil their resting/sleeping quarters if given adequate opportunity to eliminate elsewhere. Temporarily confining your dog to a small area strongly inhibits the tendency to urinate and defecate. However, there is still a far more important aspect of crate training.
If your dog does not eliminate while she is confined, then she will need to eliminate when she is released, i.e., she eliminates when you are present to reward and praise her.

Be sure to understand the difference between temporarily confining your dog to a crate and long term confinement when you are not home. The major purpose of confinement when your are not home is to restrict mistakes to a small protected area. The purpose of crate training is quite the opposite. Short term confinement to a crate is intended to inhibit your dog from eliminating when confined, so that she will want to eliminate when released from confinement and taken to an appropriate area. Crate training also helps teach your dog to have bladder and bowel control. Instead of going whenever she feels like it, she learns to hold it and go at convenient scheduled times.

Crate training should not be abused, otherwise the problem will get drastically worse. The crate is not intended as a place to lock up the dog and forget her for extended periods of time. If your dog soils her crate because you left her there too long, the house training process will be set back several weeks, if not months.

Your dog should only be confined to a crate when you are at home. Except at night, give your dog an opportunity to relieve herself every hour. Each time you let her out, put her on leash and immediately take her outside. Once outside, give her about three to five minutes to produce. If she does not eliminate within the allotted time period, simply return her to her crate. If she does perform, then immediately reward her with praise, food treats, affection, play, an extended walk and permission to run around and play in your house for a couple of hours. For young pups, after 45 minutes to an hour, take her to her toilet area again. Never give your dog free run of your home unless you know without a doubt that her bowels and bladder are empty.

During this crate training procedure, keep a diary of when your dog eliminates. If you have her on a regular feeding schedule, she should soon adopt a corresponding elimination schedule. Once you know what time of day she usually needs to eliminate, you can begin taking her out only at those times instead of every hour. After she has eliminated, she can have free, but supervised, run of your house. About one hour before she needs to eliminate (as calculated by your diary) put her in her crate. This will prevent her from going earlier than you had planned. With your consistency and abundance of rewards and praise for eliminating outside, she will become more reliable about holding it until you take her out. Then the amount of time you confine her before her scheduled outing can be reduced, then eliminated.

Mistakes and Accidents During Training
If you ever find an accident in the house, just clean it up. Do not punish your dog. All this means is that you have given her unsupervised access to your house too soon. Until she can be trusted, don't give her unsupervised free run of your house. If mistakes and accidents occur, it is best to go back to the crate training. You need to more accurately predict when your dog needs to eliminate and she needs more time to develop bladder and bowel control.

[fantasia]

Talk about the blind leading the blind, LOL LOL!
To help on the crate training here is
Another Article on Crate Training..

Crate Training Your Dog
Copyright 2000. Dumb Friends League. All rights reserved.
Crate training your dog may take some time and effort, but can be useful in a variety of situations. If you have a new dog or puppy, you can use the crate to limit his access to the house until he learns all the house rules – like what he can and can’t chew on and where he can and can’t eliminate. A crate is also a safe way of transporting your dog in the car, as well as a way of taking him places where he may not be welcome to run freely. If you properly train your dog to use the crate, he’ll think of it as his safe place and will be happy to spend time there when needed.



Selecting A Crate
Crates may be plastic (often called "flight kennels") or collapsible, metal pens. They come in different sizes and can be purchased at most pet supply stores. Your dog’s crate should be just large enough for him to stand up and turn around in.

The Crate Training Process
Crate training can take days or weeks, depending on your dog’s age, temperament and past experiences. It’s important to keep two things in mind while crate training. The crate should always be associated with something pleasant, and training should take place in a series of small steps - don’t go too fast.

Step 1: Introducing Your Dog To The Crate
Put the crate in an area of your house where the family spends a lot of time, such as the family room. Put a soft blanket or towel in the crate. Bring your dog over to the crate and talk to him in a happy tone of voice. Make sure the crate door is securely fastened opened so it won’t hit your dog and frighten him.
To encourage your dog to enter the crate, drop some small food treats near it, then just inside the door, and finally, all the way inside the crate. If he refuses to go all the way in at first, that’s okay – don’t force him to enter. Continue tossing treats into the crate until your dog will walk calmly all the way into the crate to get the food. If he isn’t interested in treats, try tossing a favorite toy in the crate. This step may take a few minutes or as long as several days.
Step 2: Feeding Your Dog His Meals In The Crate
After introducing your dog to the crate, begin feeding him his regular meals near the crate. This will create a pleasant association with the crate. If your dog is readily entering the crate when you begin Step 2, put the food dish all the way at the back of the crate. If your dog is still reluctant to enter the crate, put the dish only as far inside as he will readily go without becoming fearful or anxious. Each time you feed him, place the dish a little further back in the crate.
Once your dog is standing comfortably in the crate to eat his meal, you can close the door while he’s eating. At first, open the door as soon as he finishes his meal. With each successive feeding, leave the door closed a few minutes longer, until he’s staying in the crate for ten minutes or so after eating. If he begins to whine to be let out, you may have increased the length of time too quickly. Next time, try leaving him in the crate for a shorter time period. If he does whine or cry in the crate, it’s imperative that you not let him out until he stops. Otherwise, he’ll learn that the way to get out of the crate is to whine, so he’ll keep doing it.
Step 3: Conditioning Your Dog To The Crate For Longer Time Periods
After your dog is eating his regular meals in the crate with no sign of fear or anxiety, you can confine him there for short time periods while you’re home. Call him over to the crate and give him a treat. Give him a command to enter such as, "kennel up." Encourage him by pointing to the inside of the crate with a treat in your hand. After your dog enters the crate, praise him, give him the treat and close the door. Sit quietly near the crate for five to ten minutes and then go into another room for a few minutes. Return, sit quietly again for a short time, then let him out of the crate. Repeat this process several times a day. With each repetition, gradually increase the length of time you leave him in the crate and the length of time you’re out of his sight. Once your dog will stay quietly in the crate for about 30 minutes with you out of sight the majority of the time, you can begin leaving him crated when you’re gone for short time periods and/or letting him sleep there at night. This may take several days or several weeks.
Step 4:
Part A/Crating Your Dog When Left Alone
After your dog is spending about 30 minutes in the crate without becoming anxious or afraid, you can begin leaving him crated for short periods when you leave the house. Put him in the crate using your regular command and a treat. You might also want to leave him with a few safe toys in the crate (see our handout: "Dog Toys and How to Use Them"). You’ll want to vary at what point in your "getting ready to leave" routine you put your dog in the crate. Although he shouldn’t be crated for a long time before you leave, you can crate him anywhere from five to 20 minutes prior to leaving. Don’t make your departures emotional and prolonged, but matter-of-fact. Praise your dog briefly, give him a treat for entering the crate and then leave quietly. When you return home, don’t reward your dog for excited behavior by responding to him in an excited, enthusiastic way. Keep arrivals low key. Continue to crate your dog for short periods from time to time when you’re home so he doesn’t associate crating with being left alone.

Part B/Crating Your Dog At Night
Put your dog in the crate using your regular command and a treat. Initially, it may be a good idea to put the crate in your bedroom or nearby in a hallway, especially if you have a puppy. Puppies often need to go outside to eliminate during the night, and you’ll want to be able to hear your puppy when he whines to be let outside. Older dogs, too, should initially be kept nearby so that crating doesn’t become associated with social isolation. Once your dog is sleeping comfortably through the night with his crate near you, you can begin to gradually move it to the location you prefer.

Potential Problems
Too Much Time In The Crate
A crate isn’t a magical solution. If not used correctly, a dog can feel trapped and frustrated. For example, if your dog is crated all day while you’re at work and then crated again all night, he’s spending too much time in too small a space. Other arrangements should be made to accommodate his physical and emotional needs. Also remember that puppies under six months of age shouldn’t stay in a crate for more than three or four hours at a time. They can’t control their bladders and bowels for longer periods.

Whining
If your dog whines or cries while in the crate at night, it may be difficult to decide whether he’s whining to be let out of the crate, or whether he needs to be let outside to eliminate. If you followed the training procedures outlined above, your dog hasn’t been rewarded for whining in the past by being released from his crate. Try to ignore the whining. If your dog is just testing you, he’ll probably stop whining soon. Yelling at him or pounding on the crate will only make things worse. If the whining continues after you’ve ignored him for several minutes, use the phrase he associates with going outside to eliminate. If he responds and becomes excited, take him outside. This should be a trip with a purpose, not play time. If you’re convinced that your dog doesn’t need to eliminate, the best response is to ignore him until he stops whining. Don’t give in, otherwise you’ll teach your dog to whine loud and long to get what he wants. If you’ve progressed gradually through the training steps and haven’t done too much too fast, you’ll be less likely to encounter this problem. If the problem becomes unmanageable, you may need to start the crate training process over again.

Separation Anxiety
Attempting to use the crate as a remedy for separation anxiety won’t solve the problem. A crate may prevent your dog from being destructive, but he may injure himself in an attempt to escape from the crate. Separation anxiety problems can only be resolved with counter-conditioning and desensitization procedures. You may want to consult a professional animal behaviorist for help (see our handout: "Separation Anxiety").

[fantasia]

Honeybabe and Gerard answered your questions very well but I do have something to say, LOL!

First if your dog is a pet I would just advice cutting the facial hair, the water bottles especially the ones available locally (taiwan bottles) DOES NOT deliver enough water to the dog and sometimes the ball gets stuck di pa maka inom yung dog.

A bowl is your best bet, all my cut downs have a choice of water bottle or bowl. But the water bottles I use are the LIXIT ones which deliver large amounts of water.

I do not advice the use of stain removing products on a pet, usually they will sting the dog, unless you buy the non stinging one from cherrybrook, I am not sure if they still have it.

I guess your shih tzu is a pet kasi you always cut the face, it makes no difference if he face is white or dark on a pet, the most important thing is the shih tzu is loved.

Also a cut down usually does not stain...

Euka is fine, its good that you mix some wet food because dogs eat better that way.

[greentea]

To Rainwater, fantasia, honeybabe and dharie21: I am soooo grateful to you for replying to my queries. I appreciate all your advices. I know that this all came from experience. I am really learning a lot from this forum and I am sure that there are a lot of new pet owners learning from this too.

Thank you so much!!!!! It means a lot to me.

[dharie]

oops, sorry! wrong use of words! but still, it’s the most convenient technique (whatever it’s called) for me and my dog.. im already at ease knowing that she can do her thing whenever she wants to and i intend to keep it that way.. anyway, thanks for the article!

greentea, no prob!

[RainWater]

In fairness, i love shih tzu with stain.

Mas enjoy ako.

Well, for me, stain shows more than color to the coat. It shows a vast world that only the master and the dog knows. hehehe. ang drama ko no?! pero totoo yon.

Stain is the window to the shih tzu world.

Playtime

Feeding

Running all over the place

ETC ETC

Kaloka di ba?! Ganito lang talaga ako mag isip kase maganda ako LOL LOL LOL

Try it. Look closer to the stain and you'll see more than the discoloration on the coat. PROMISE

[nikka]

sige nga, i will look closer...

[RainWater]

BAKLANG NIKKA!!!!!!!

Na check mo na ba ang stain sa face ni dolce?

Ano did you see what i was talking about?

hehehe

did you hear the music? LOL LOL - Line of Dayanarra Torres from Basta't kasama kita

Lola ano na ang chika sa yo?
Miss you na

[nikka]

yes... so far wala pa akong narinig na music... hehehe!

me stain pa din siya ng konti... hay... hope mawala na stain... mas feel ko lang kasi pag white ang face niya hehehe! pero maski stained favorite ko pa din face fall niya! ;D ;D

[jacejace]

grabe stains din problem ko ... hirap talaga hehehe... but with ung advice na nakukuha ko hopefully nagimprove na rin kahit papano sa grooming talaga experience talaga yung katapat we're so fortunate na ppl like gerard, honeybabe, fantasia, nikka, mia, are all there to help us

Anyways sa grooming part wala akong masay haha I'm starting to learn pa lang rin myself. Umm sa toilet training na lang share ako konti. I read a lot of book about this and articles sa site ng internet and nagcompile ako ng mga advices ng people with pets pati na rin sa trainers hopefully Its safe to say na potty trained talaga puppy ko(except for eating the stool part YUCK!!)... Anyways my bf started with the newspaper training kasi its true daw that dogs associate the smell of something daw with their call of nature and newspaper is effective naman. But u hav to be consistent lalo na sa first few days para strong ung association nya with the newspaper.. when u notice na pag nagsniff around sya and nagcicircle na (signs that he need to do his thing place a newspaper near him and pag doon sya nag wee wee and poopoo praise him and yourself kasi that means na naassociate na nya ung paper with his thing kahit papano.. But don't be overjoyed muna coz di pa yan tapos hehe.. kailangan maging successful ka in using the newspaper to lure him to the specific potty spot u would want him to do his thing i.e. bathroom, backyard etc. in our case si chumchum he would go through the hassel of going downstairs tpos out of our frontdoor then doon sya mag wee wee and poopoo then babalik sya to claim his reward (treats and praise). But of course we leave a piddle pad in the room din just in case of emergencies. Routine ang crucial point with the whole excercise coz un lang talaga help syo to determine his habit thus becoming consistent in training him. Mahirap sa start but super rewarding in the end .. Hope this would help.

P.s. if newspaper didn't work use replacements try using weewee pads (u can get some sa bio -research) but if you can use find the multilayered piddle pads better coz it quickly absorbs the weewee preventing them to get wet may scent kasi sila that attracts a dog to do their thang on them