Shih Tzu Happens

  Resting my chin in my bed Being a dog of a certain class and status, I need my luxuries. When it is time for a nap or afternoon siesta, I like to make myself really comfortable. One of the most relaxing things for me to do is find a spot to rest my chin on.  After a long play with my best toy, Long Dog, there is nothing better than to find a cosy spot on the carpet and rest my chin on the softest part of Long Dog itself and then take a quick nap to recharge my batteries. Me and Long Dog! Mum and Dad bought me a nice soft bed to sleep in (as if they think I am not going to make my way onto their bed!), but this did provide a really comfortable chin rest for the odd siesta and a great hiding place for biscuits and other contraband – a story for another day!  I loved going for walks with my family, the seaside was a particular favourite. However, all that fresh salty sea air made me very tired and invariably on the return journey I always snuggled into Mum and used her a...

  Something's Up? Being a female girl dog, every 6 months or so I enter a phase known as “On Heat” which is where I become even more appealing than normal to male dogs. Usually I have a fairly easy time of this and am not very off-colour during throughout. One such occasion I was bleeding quite a lot and after the time should have come to an end, I still kept bleeding. Mum and Dad were a little concerned but kept an eye on me just in case this would sort itself out. I did not feel poorly and was my usual bouncy self. We took a trip to Grans for tea as normal and during this time, I started to bleed more heavily, and this was changing to be very dark in colour. Dad was getting worried and took me home. Mum called the vet and as this was getting late it was just an out of hours number. They called this for me and there is a pet hospital about a 20-minute drive from our house. This was the out of hours location they reached on the call. The vet they spoke to explained from the sym...

  Snow Time! Living in the North of England, wintertime can be cold and wet for months! However, every so often, the rain changes to snow. Where I live this can be quite severe. Mum and Dad hate the snow as they have to manage to get to work and to get out from our house there is a small hill but just large enough for cars to get stuck in the snow halfway up. Dad grumbles as he has to dig the street out and clear the snow followed by spreading salt and grit over the road just to make the hill passable. He has seen other neighbours sit and watch him do all this work without helping and then drive out after he had finished. This annoyed him and he said that there should be more community spirit. Mum just calls him grumpy!   Mum and Dad may hate the snow but for me this is completely different. I remember the first time I saw snow, the house door was opened and all I could see was a blanket of thick white stuff. What is this I thought, let me explore! I immediately jumped into ...

Time for a Haircut! My fur is a mix of white and sandy brown. I don’t malt like some other dogs but have fur more like human hair. The only thing is that it grows and grows and grows. When it gets too long it starts to mat together and get all messed up. I also get really hot and start walking around with my tongue constantly out flapping in the breeze to keep cool. It is at this time that Mum decides to take me to the hairdressers. There is a farmhouse not far from our house that I’m taken to where I get my hair cut. I don’t like this much but afterwards I go from Dougal from the Magic Roundabout to Kojak (nice 1970’s references for you there! Google them and you’ll know what I’m talking about.) Sporting my newly cut hairstyle! I am dropped off at the hairdressers and then picked up after I’m done. It was always a nice feeling to be back with my family. Over the following days I really felt the cold. It felt like running about in just a T-shirt in the wintertime after wearing the thic...