Problems With My Shih-tzu

[Set In Stone]

Another dog that has its owners trained extremely well.

Get rid of all the crap and stop offering her leftovers. No wonder she is itching like crazy. Dogs were not designed to eat humans leftovers tho they certainly enjoy them.

If you must give her left over roast cut it up into small peices and use it instead of dog chocs and smackos.

Put her food down for 10 - 15 minutes and if she doesnt eat it pick it up and put it away and offer it to her for her next meal. No dog will ever starve themselves.

She is waiting for you to offer what she considers a higher food value.

I have papillons and a friend had my oldest girl for a few months. She was bashing her chicken necks and cutting them up into tiny peices to get her to eat. She came home on the weekend and was promptly placed back on eat it whole or dont eat it. She ate it without an issue.

If you want a pretty princess who has issues go for it but if you want a princess with manners stop playing to her demands.

I would also suggest you add some fish oil to her diet, salmon capsules are the best i think and available from the supermarket or health store as she is not getting enough oil in her current diet.

i think you are being Rude, i was after some Advise not to be attacked, i wanted advise you could have been nice about the whole thing etc i understand i am not perfect.. that's why i am asking for help from Professional Dog Owners/breeders etc

And by the way she does not have 'issues' she is completely happy and loyal might have a problems with food etc but rather she is very well behaved of such and very happy and well behaved i have no other concerns with her so that is a total insult to her you know But as Many have Given me advise and i have taken such advise on Board and intend to follow their advise about the treats and dog food etc and behavior etc as you will see in my other posts but you come in full Guns Blazing but thanks for the Post very Well Thought out.

Will Look in to the Fish Oil for her

[Her Majesty Dogmad]

The one answer that I'm waiting for but haven't found on skimming through the posts that have provided some excellent advice is:

For what reason haven't you desexed your dog?

I've had over 50 foster dogs, many have come to me in very poor condition. What flea treatment are you using?

I'm happy to provide some advice but wonder about the desexing issue.

[Set In Stone]

The one answer that I'm waiting for but haven't found on skimming through the posts that have provided some excellent advice is:

For what reason haven't you desexed your dog?

I've had over 50 foster dogs, many have come to me in very poor condition. What flea treatment are you using?

I'm happy to provide some advice but wonder about the desexing issue.

Well for starters she is on Front Line For Flea Treatment (and this works for me as she has no fleas)

And this is her First Season and i don't plan on De sexing her just yet as our Dog is De sexed and we have a fully enclosed Yard so there is no Problems for me. But why is it a issue for you if i De sex Her or Not? she is My Dog and i will De sex her When i am ready etc and i said Not Yet i will when she gets older And when i am ready for that.

There is no Problems for me or anyone else ATM why she is not de sexed so no need for any of that

Hope this helps

[huski]

OK Thanks for all the Advise, i if stop feeding her this food all she will have to eat is the Mince Food and My Dog and that doesn't seem enough for her to eat as she does like to eat on and off all day.and she likes to have left over veggies and roast meat and bones from us .

Just be sure you are not ever feeding her cooked bones, as cooking them makes them soft and they can splinter etc. It's dangerous to feed dogs cooked bones, a big no no If you want to feed bones make sure they are only ever fed raw.

As others have said, I would cut out the treats like schmakos, people food and tinned food. I would stick to a good quality dried food and some raw meaty bones like chicken necks only and see if that makes a difference to her skin problems.

ETA: You could incorporate things like natural yoghurt, tinned sardines/mackeral, raw egg into her diet and put some in her dried food

Edited June 5, 2009 by huski

[Set In Stone]

OK Thanks for all the Advise, i if stop feeding her this food all she will have to eat is the Mince Food and My Dog and that doesn't seem enough for her to eat as she does like to eat on and off all day.and she likes to have left over veggies and roast meat and bones from us .

Just be sure you are not ever feeding her cooked bones, as cooking them makes them soft and they can splinter etc. It's dangerous to feed dogs cooked bones, a big no no If you want to feed bones make sure they are only ever fed raw.

As others have said, I would cut out the treats like schmakos, people food and tinned food. I would stick to a good quality dried food and some raw meaty bones like chicken necks only and see if that makes a difference to her skin problems.

ETA: You could incorporate things like natural yoghurt, tinned sardines/mackeral, raw egg into her diet and put some in her dried food

Hi thanks for your message.

She actually likes to eat Yogurt so that is a good thing i guess! i will cease using the Chocolate treats and Schmackos from now on as they are not good for her.

I Have bought some cheese for her and chicken so i plan on Chopping them up and using them as treats as they are better for her as i know now! so she will be pleased as its better than choc and Schamakos anyway

Yeah i don't cook the Bones much usually dry bones apart from when we cook the Roast and its a big bone so didn't think it was a problem so i gave it to her but i won't anymore so thanks for letting me know

I have also got Chicken necks for her today and she had one already and loved it so that is good

So thanks for all the lovely Advise

[Loving my Oldies]

Hopefully the itchies will clear up very quickly. Please keep us up to date.

Best of luck with it all.

[gareth]

But why is it a issue for you if i De sex Her or Not? she is My Dog and i will De sex her When i am ready etc and i said Not Yet i will when she gets older And when i am ready for that.

Good on you No reason why responsible owners cannot manage entire pets.

[Set In Stone]

Hopefully the itchies will clear up very quickly. Please keep us up to date.

Best of luck with it all.

Thank you for your comments .. will keep every one up 2 date! I'd like to thank every body who helped us

[Set In Stone]

But why is it a issue for you if i De sex Her or Not? she is My Dog and i will De sex her When i am ready etc and i said Not Yet i will when she gets older And when i am ready for that.

Good on you No reason why responsible owners cannot manage entire pets.

Thanks for the Comments .. it just gets 2 me that the first Question every one asks is she de sexed? Like i am irresponsible etc i do not plan on letting anything happen 2 her, after all she is my baby but i don't want 2 de sex her just yet and i will in the future when we are both ready.. so thanks again for your post

[weiz4eva]

as a dog groomer and dog breeder i agree bathing offen isnt great at all.

what i can suggest is Advance or Pro Plan sensitive skin dry food.

also when u do wash her i would use Groomers Evening Primrose Oil Shampoo its great for Sensitive skin and also they have a Groomers Evening Primrose Oil Supplement.

as for desexing ect as long as u know the health risk for keeping a entire female like Pyometra (see link)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyometra

With the grooming side of things as long as she is Combed at least every second day, keeping her long shouldnt be a problem. make sure she is 100% dry after she gets wet/bath. and Brush Before & after each bath.

i see to many Shih Tzu'z come to work and owner say they groom every day, but a comb will will show u where the knots are where some other brushes just go over the top of them.

keeping her Clipped will help air out any itchy areas and shorter so it will be easier to apply cream if needed.

hope some of this info has helped

Claire

[yellowgirl]

Good luck . Keep up the chicken necks, that way she's getting some raw meat and also calcium from the bone. Personally, I wouldn't stress too much about making sure she has all raw food... if she likes it cooked, and you're okay with cooking for her, then there's no harm in feeding her what she likes ... better than hand feeding her or forcing her to eat stuff she doesn't like. (that just my own opinion of course ). Just be sure to remove the products that were previously mentioned as they are the most likely contributors to her itchy skin... and no good for her health either . You could also try giving her some good sized raw meaty bones to chomp on. My mini poodle didn't like raw meals, but would happily chomp on a bone

Can you let us know how she goes?

[luvsdogs]

I'm glad to hear you're taking on board the suggestions made to you. Little dogs have a way of making their owners pander to their wishes, so you're not alone. As said it's best to put the food down & take it up after about 15 mins & feed again the next meal. She'll eventually eat when she realises you're not going to fall for her cute feed me face. And eating raw meaty bones is a big plus in keeping her teeth nice & clean, as little dogs are prone to bad teeth. Here's a link to a raw feeding site & there are many others. On this one you can watch videos of Dr Lonsdale on various TV programs in the media archive pages.

http://www.rawmeatybones.com/

Although I know that feeding a raw diet is the best you can do for your dog, I feed my dog Advance. My son's dog was brought up on Purina One & as well as the Advance still gets PO on occasion. I also add yoghurt, sardines, cottage cheese, raw egg to her diet as advised to me by her breeder. Plus she get rmb twice a week. I have also been told that adding apple cider vinegar to their diet does wonders to them.

I'm glad you're not going to bathe your little dog so much as it dries out the natural oils that are needed for a healthy, shiney coat. I have actually found with my dogs, that when you bath them often they get that doggy odour quicker than if you let them go for a month or more. In the winter I only bath my dog if I'm taking her to a special event or outing.

As to the desexing, I decided to let my dog have one heat b4 getting her desexed. Lucky for me she was 10 mths when she had her season & was spayed at 14 mths. The reason I did this was because of this link.

http://www.caninesports.com/SpayNeuter.html

I asled the vet about it & she agreed with me, but advised not to let her have a 2nd heat as the odds go up greatly for mammary cancer, its something like 8% after 1 heat & 26% after 2 heats & the odds increase more quickly the more they have.

Edited June 6, 2009 by luvsdogs

[Set In Stone]

Hey thank you all very much for your Advise , She has Enjoyed her Chicken necks now and loves them

i have cut out all the Schmackos and Good o"S she is doing much better now itching as much but still is from time to time

I Haven't bathed her again Yet so her skin has its Natural oils in her skin etc but have wiped her off with a wipe

Now she is in about Day 5 for her season is it normal she started to bleed a little heavier? she is not real heavy to worry about etc just bit more than when she started?

Also i have started Slowly introducing some Raw Meat to her and she has ate little bits so that is good but tonight she Ate Chicken and Bickies but refused to eat it on her own unless Prompted by me and i had to hand feed her a few bits before she would eat it as she smelled it and turned her nose up at it to start with and i had to prompt her to eat it but once i did she ate it? do you know why this could be this has only been in the last week she has got real Picky with some of her Favorite foods etc

But she did have a fair bit of good raw meat last night and she loved it so thanks for the advise of offering her that!

Thanks for all the Information on the De Sexing etc that is some very interesting/concerning facts.

Will Read it up Properly later But i will be de sexing her later on when she is older ATM she is fine but i plan on doing it for her when she gets older

[Kirty]

It is your dog, but just so you know, younger animals recover much more quickly from desexing than older animals.

[luvsdogs]

When Tilba had her heat she didn't bleed much at all. Not as much as I expected. It was only drops here & there a couple of times a day & not every day. The last spots were about the end of the 2nd week. Keep in mind that every dog is different & if she had had a 2nd heat it could have been heavier. I waited 4 weeks b4 taking her outside for walks.

If it were me I wouldn't let her have a 2nd heat & get her desexed in 2-3 mths time when everything has settled down inside her.

[gareth]

It is your dog, but just so you know, younger animals recover much more quickly from desexing than older animals.

Why do people keep harping on the desexing? I would suggest a bitch with skin/coat issues should keep her ovaries.

Edited June 7, 2009 by gareth

[Set In Stone]

I understand Every 1's Concerns with the De Sexing Issue But i have read all the Conerns/ risks pertaining with not De Sexing her etc But my Decision is still the same i will De Sex her When she Gets older

I care Very Much about my Dog but i will de sex her when she gets older and i have also talked with the Vet and they have told me what to do etc so all is good

[persephone]

Good work so far Thanks for the update .

[Nekhbet]

i said Not Yet i will when she gets older And when i am ready for that.

well you better keep her in a better confined area. Unless your backyard is a fully enclosed chain mesh run, the more seasons she has and trotters that lovely bitch in heat smell all over your front yard is a calling card for roaming entire dogs.

Unless your bitch in heat is in a crate in the house or attached to you on a leash she is not 'safe'. If you're not going to breed you should be desexing instead of driving your male crazy every 6 months as well - interesting how you didnt have an issue desexing the male.

The dog has skin and coat issues from the diet, thats blatantly obvious and again the vets didnt even look at diet as being the cause. Desexing wont really make that much of a difference to the diet but keep your girl safe from pregnancy or attracting random entire males to your property. Just hope a rather large breed male doesnt get into your yard.

[becks]

remember to keep her confined until her vulva has returned to normal size, the end of bleeding is NOT the end of the season, but her fertile time and when she will be most interesting to males.

How old are you planning to let her get before desexing? As was mentioned earlier, each season increases the risk of mamary cancers, pyometra.