brothers_in_fluff

Right from the off we were told our 9 wk old pups could have chicken wings, which they get practically every day (I cut the wings into 3 pieces so they're only get a third each time)... they absolutely love them, for the next 30 mins all you can hear are two sets of jaws going chew-chew-chew. Given wings only cost $3 a kilo at our local butcher there's no excuse not too. The other type of bone we were recommended were cooked Lamb Shank bones... obviously being smoother and so hard no set of Maltese Shih-Tzu jaws could chew right through them, hence they'd be safe. Unfortunately my partner hates lamb so I don't reckon the boys will be getting any soon :-(

I'm trying to get our Maltese Shih-Tzu pups used to brushing as soon as possible so life's easier down the track; my partner's parents' 3yo Maltese Shih-Tzu hasn't been never really been brushed regularly (he does usually get clipped short often though) so the moment there's matting or buzzies to get out he can become quite a handful. At the moment they don't mind a soft nylon bristled brush, but the slicker brush gets them wriggling around and trying to eat it almost instantly, regardless of how tired or calm they are. Are slicker brushes a bit too intense for pups? The first time I saw one I actually thought they were rather sharp and painful but the guy we got our pups from showed me how he brushed their 2yo Maltese Shih Tzu (Rocky) which basically involved Rocky on his back, sprawled over the guy's knees while he went to town with the brush... Rocky was lapping up every minute of it!

We're doing much the same with our baby boys... a few 'scruff'n'growls' over the first week has drastically reduced the how often they try to chew on fingers, etc. and how hard they bite too. When they're in this sort of mood though I always try to put a toy in their mouths and have a tug of war or something like that.