Shizzie News
May 2008
© Chris Jones
Hi Shih Tzu lovers, fanciers and friends,
It’s almost summer and hot enough to be in summer already some places. This newsletter will
be about some summer and hot weather issues that might be relevant to you and/or your Shih
Tzu friends. I want to tell you about some new products and share some tips and items of
interest with you.
Here are a couple of good ideas from Mary Lou: get some baby wipes and keep them handy for
the fuzzsters when they come in from outside with a little debris clinging on their skirts or rear
end. Who hasn’t been there? This could save an all over bath and keep the fuzzies sweeter
smelling and more presentable. The all natural ones might be handy on faces after a messy
meal or treat, too.
Mary Lou uses vinegar to kill ants in the yard. I’m going to try that. BJ said she had staining
with the vinegar. She suggests trying cornmeal. I tried it once but it didn’t work on my ants.
I’m told a stronger vinegar is made for killing weeds. I haven’t found it yet so if you do please
share where to find it. Basha’s has had cleaning vinegar there in the past in the detergent aisle.
It’s good for safely cleaning floors around pets. Also good for washing combs and brushes.
Ants in the yard? Then try a mix of equal parts of these 3 ingredients: bakers’ yeast (from
Costco is cheapest and it’s in a big bag) table or powdered sugar and 20 Mule Team Borax.
Mix in a large container and sprinkle around all mounds. Repeat if it rains in your area. The
dogs don’t seem to bother with it. The ants eat it, dry out and die. The survivors move their
mounds. It doesn’t work over night but it’s a good safe, non-toxic way to go. Use common
sense and watch your pets in case they are different from those we have observed. You can
always restrict your pets or use an inverted bucket over the mound or doggie fence to keep
them away until the products do their work.
The ant bait AMDRO is poison and so is Advance. These products can kill your pets. Several
yard fertilizers and lawn chemicals are known to cause lymphomas (cancer of the lymphatic
system) in dogs. These are generally swift and fatal with very poor prognosis. Please restrict
your pets or use with extreme care if you feel absolutely have to use chemicals. It’s always
better for you, family, your pets and for the environment if you go natural. Check out
www.jerrybaker.com (master gardener) for more good solutions to most of your gardening/
yard questions.
Heloise says to use baking soda and water and soak hairbrushes to clean them. She says to
leave them soak for 30 minutes to an hour. I think that might be good way to clean them.
A cap of bleach in a pint of warm water will also do the job. I just leave them for 10 minutes
and rinse and dry. Another thing I personally use is a “barbicide” to sterilize all my
implements. This will work for combs, ear pluckers, brushes, etc. It does not rust or corrode
your stainless steel implements. Any of these can go into the dispense bottle or sink with the
solution.(Find barbicides at Sally’s Beauty Supply stores.) BJ suggests using half and half
water and peroxide and soaking your combs and brushes in that for a five minutes then drying.
Hot weather is a big threat to our brachycephalic* friends.
That means hot weather can cause heat stroke, serious injuries and even death.
I hope you don’t think I’m exaggerating. It happens every year. In hot weather it’s not at all
uncommon for dogs left in cars or taken for walks in the heat to die, have heat stroke and heart
attacks and burned foot pads. Please use common sense! The best idea in hot weather is leave
your pets in a cool safe place – probably at home on the tile or a cool a pad.
For inexpensive cool pads go most any auto department or shop and get a synthetic chamois
and wet it, wring slightly and then snap it out. Fold it and put on a bed or crate or in the car for
your pet’s comfort. These are now running about $10. You can also make a cool pad from
those tiny Styrofoam pellets and cloth if you sew. (I have a pattern some place if anyone is
interested in this type of cool pad.) These are heavy when wet though. Both types should be
allowed to air dry completely from time to time and sanitized with a vinegar rinse. Chillow –
cool pillow -makers have a pet cool pad for hot months. I have one but my dogs hardly ever
use it so I hate to recommend it. It costs about $40. If your dogs would use it – it’s almost like a
thin water bed mattress for them. Good for older pets. See www.chillow.com/ to check this out.
Here’s another use for vinegar; cleaning and deodorizing smelly ears. Smelly greasy ears are
often a sign of a yeast infection. Vinegar will help with the problem. Put a few drops of vinegar
on a cotton swab and gently swab the ears once or twice a day until the problem abates. If left
unchecked and doggie scratches, or licks their feet, the yeast can migrate over and into the
dog’s body. This can cause a systemic yeast infection.
Here’s what nutritionist Linda Arndt says about yeast: Yeast problems can be caused by different
yeast organisms. One is Malassezia pachydermatitis, which is a common yeast organism found on normal
and abnormal canine skin and ears. Other yeast problems involve Candida albicans, which can be systemic
and the root cause of the problem. Yeast found in the body changes to its fungal form and starts to
overgrow in the gut, causing toxins to leak into the body and causing a breakdown in the body's defenses
(immune system). The result is that we start to see a reaction (such as a skin, coat, ear or bladder infection)
and the reaction is in the whole body's system (systemic). If you understand that the skin is the biggest filter
organ in the body, you can understand that this is where the junk and toxins in the body end up, causing the
issues you see in your pet. See more at: www.greatdanelady.com/articles/systemic_yeast_mini_course.htm
Yeast is also called Malassezia. (See www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malassezia ) It has a
distinctive smell. I had a dog with a mild case I didn’t have a clue. The vets apparently didn’t
either as I spent over $1000 with several vets. They said allergies – did some expensive tests.
Put her on an expensive diet for a year – only to get bladder stones on that. (VERY expensive)
Finally my horse vet friend looked at the allergy tests and showed them to me. The results
indicated either no reactions or they were so weak she virtually had no allergies at all! I had
questioned why this “allergy” problem would “suddenly” occur in an eight year old dog. When
it all started she had recently been spayed and had her teeth cleaned at the same time. I now
think this may cause their immune system to respond poorly. I think their resistance is down
and during this low immune period the good bacteria in their system are over come by yeast or
other opportunistic bacteria. If you ever have a dog diagnosed with yeast, you will then
recognize the smell once you know it. Otherwise you will think it is a doggy odor or oily coat. I
did at least back then. I also noticed some dogs who cuddle together can “give” it to each other
so important to get on it once you think it could be a yeast problem. Skin scrapings aren’t a
good diagnostic tool either, apparently, as I requested several to be done on my girl and it was
not recognized until an older vet recognized it. He told me about the odor and ears. To be fair I
found very little if any information about yeast in any vet texts – there’s much more on the net.
In people avoiding sugars are said to be an important dietary aspect. Many people, women in
particular have had yeast problems as a result of anti-biotic treatments or using the pill.
Tanabid is one product many have reported using successfully. Peggy says use a low dose
initially and then use it slowly as yeast must die off slowly to be a real success. Too much too
soon and you have other symptoms that can be distressing.
* Brachycephalic* short faced – short muzzle.
For doggies with yeasty skin try these shampoos and products; Ketoseb Shampoo
available from www.revivalanimal.com Nizoral shampoo – Wal-Mart or other
pharmacy. For good information on food and natural treatment options see
www.nzymes.com I have used their products and recommend them. The Oxy E is good
for an external spray for skin and even safe to use as an eye wash. The Tincture of
Black leaf is a good internal anti-fungal and anti-bacterial agent. A couple of drops a
day are all you will need to add to your pets treat or food. Many testimonials and
instructions can be seen on their pages and with the products. Made for humans too so
see the pet section. The vet may put your pet on a drug used for valley fever as yeast is
also in the fungal family as is valley fever. The drug of choice is Fluconozole.
As I have mentioned to several people I have had very bad luck in many cases having
spay or neuters done and teeth cleanings at the same time. Even though many vets do
recommend teeth cleaning when the pet is already under anesthesia, I don’t think I will
do it that way any more. This is my personal opinion. I never had these things happen
in past years and can’t help feel there is some reason for it. One vet tech friend said the
dogs are being left under anesthesia for too long. One vet I asked about this recently
said the problem was that I should have insisted on some antibiotics afterwards. (I had
asked but these vets declined.) Another common thread here is the age of the pets and
over vaccination. I think subjecting older dogs to all the stress of surgery, dentistry,
unnecessary vaccinations and anesthesia in the same day is just entirely too much for
their small bodies to endure. My previous vets did not insist on these extra booster
vaccines and they personally performed the procedures immediately and themselves.
Some of these other clinics allowed technicians to do the dentistry and some may have
allowed the dogs to be under sedation much too long. Sometimes stress is also
compounded by having an older dog go hungry all day and exposed to stress in the
clinic so they are hypoglycemic and stressed when their anesthesia, procedure or
surgery finally begins. REALLY know your vet and how and who does the procedures.
Because of such post surgical problems, other breeders even in larger breeds are now
re-thinking the decision to spay/ neuter and vaccination of pets. (Especially older ones)
Of course clean teeth are very important but I think home management by regular
cleaning, feeding of fresh and good quality food, having teeth hand scaled or using
products to prevent plaque are better alternatives than anesthesia and using electronic
devices. Proden’s Plaque Off is one product I use and recommend. You can get it
on line from www.onlynaturalpet.com . (See more about this supplier later in this
issue.) This is a kelp product and when used daily for 6 weeks, you will see a difference
in your pet’s teeth. Another type of product is Oxyfresh Pet Gel. This product can be
rubbed with a gauze pad onto the teeth and if you do this regularly for a few weeks you
will notice the plaque build up loosening up so it can be gently removed with additional
usage or some slight abrasion with fresh gauze or a baby toothbrush. A vet once
recommended another product to me for cleaning teeth that’s quite good. It’s called
Glyoxide. Use in the same manner as the Oxyfresh product. You can find this one at a
drug store. You can use it on yourself, too. It cost about $10. Find Oxyfresh pet
products at www.oxyfresh.com
Mother Natures answer to clean teeth is fresh raw bones. In nature the wild life does
not have hormones or anti-biotics added to their feed. So if you go the raw fresh route
try to go organic. Be sure to clean the fat and knuckles off first. Give the bones the day
before the doggie’s bath!! (This is not for show dogs or those with long face hair of
course.) There are several good books and sources on natural feeding. If you wish to
investigate this further you might check out Dr. Pitcairn’s book or Lisa Newman’s
book on the subject of healthy pets, recipes and feeding ideas.
In nature dogs don’t eat dog biscuits or treats. Most of these products are commercially
marketed to you. They are not healthy for your dog. In the wild a dog eats a lot of fresh
raw foods. An organic carrot would be a far better treat than a milk bone any day. My
dogs love little tomatoes, baked potato, baked sweet potato and spaghetti squash for
example. For a special treat: a pound of ground round made into meat balls by mixing
and rolling by hand with a whole box of ground up shredded wheat. You can also use
some bulk wheat germ from the health food store. I use my food processor to grind the
shredded wheat and I use unsweetened shredded wheat of course. Feed once a day or
twice a day when you dogs will eat that way – (in hot weather they often only eat one
meal) don’t over feed and try to feed healthy treats. Remember your dog needs love but
you can kill him with kindness.
Recently I completed a pet homeopathy course and the vet who wrote the text said he
strongly opposed many vaccinations and especially over vaccination of pets. He said in
the beginning of his practice he was often told by clients that various health problems
occurred after routine vaccination. At first he was highly skeptical. Later he came to
observe this himself. He had to admit this indeed was a regular phenomenon. He has
since rethought his recommendations and practice in regard to vaccinations. These are
Dr. Hamilton’s thoughts on vaccines. He says after the first year, booster vaccines are
not necessary, as the pet should now have lifelong immunity. Dr Hamilton now
recommends for a vaccine to be given that these criterions should be met. 1. Vaccine
must be safe 2. the vaccine must be effective 3. There must be risk of exposure. 4. The
disease must be life threatening. Lastly, as in rabies only - it is legally required. It
might interest you to know that the American Shih Tzu Club and several other dog
clubs are working with hematologist, Jean Dodds, to limit the number of rabies
boosters given based on data that proves lifetime immunity is provided after the first
booster is given. This is not the first vaccine – the next one– or booster shot. Dr
Hamilton also recommend that we do not use polyvalent (combo) vaccines as animals
are not subjected to all these diseases at once in the natural scheme of things. The skin,
nasal tract or mouth is exposed first and then our immune systems are alerted. By
vaccination – the antigens are injected directly into the pet’s body all at once and the
first line of dense is completely sidestepped. The use of nosodes (homeopathic remedies
made from the by products of disease) and exposure itself, may prove wiser in many
scenarios. Dr. Hamilton makes a case that we have traded acute illness for chronic
disease by the implementation of the current mode of vaccination. Many vet schools
have now come out with a revised vaccination protocol. Unfortunately many
veterinarians are either unaware or stubbornly refusing to follow it.
Once again I have to mention Valley fever. But I think it’s a lot bigger problem than
we all realize. For one thing the symptoms are varied and change in many cases. The
other really big problem is veterinarians trained outside the areas where this fungal
disease is endemic don’t even know of its existence. This can cause a fatality due to
missed diagnosis. A couple of friends and I have discussed this and we believe we know
of cases where this has happened. 3 are Shih Tzu. One was a young champion of mine.
One was show dog flown in from Canada to a handler in Phoenix and one an older
doggie who had several vague symptoms the vet treated. He knew of it but didn’t
suspect or test for it Valley Fever until it was too late. Here’s the story. Valley fever or
coccidioidomycois is in the soil. With all the wind blowing around the dry loosened
soils from construction, farming, dogs digging, etc., the risk of breathing in the spores
is very high in endemic areas. The disease was called Sam Jacquin Valley Fever at first
because that was where it was first discovered. It is now known to occur in many high
desert regions. These are some very popular areas for new construction now as well.
The other really big issue is this. We have no vet school in Arizona. In New Mexico all
there is a large animal school. Not many vets in Colorado know about Valley fever –
those on the east coast don’t have a clue. I think you get my drift here. YOU have to
know and suspect and watch for symptoms. You have to be your dog’s advocate. Don’t
feel a false sense of security because your Shih Tzu is a housedog. The air carries the
spores and we all have to breathe. Shoes can track it in too or it may be in the soil of
your own lovely landscaped yard. Again I wish I knew all I know now way back when.
The other reason Valley fever is so dangerous to pets – and we are talking horses, cows
or anything that breathes here folks, Valley fever can migrate in a dog’s body. In
people the disease is usually (not always) limited to the lungs. In dogs it may start with
a cough (as Emmy’s did and she was diagnosed with a heart murmur – only later to
have her eye start bulging and filling with blood –when the valley fever migrated.) a
limp may go unnoticed or attributed to age. One vet told me her own pet min pin
started having seizures. She treated those for a while only later o find she had valley
fever. I don’t know if she caught it in time. In Emmy’s case, we asked the new vet if he
knew about Valley fever and he told us we were lucky he did as he was taught by a
fellow from Arizona. Only it turned out he didn’t give us a strong enough dose or even
a refill of the medication and the Valley Fever returned. Finally we did find someone
who recognized the problem right away (wrong dose and no more medication to fight
off the valley fever) I had almost gone ahead and done it myself as I could see the
symptoms returning over time. Anyway, I hope you have better resources than we do
here in rural Arizona. Still it behooves you and your little trusting loving canine
companion to know these things just in case. There are many good resources on line.
Just be assertive if you suspect valley fever and insist on a blood test. It is expensive but
worth the piece of mine in the long run. Feeding good food and good care and
supporting the dog’s immunity is important to overcoming the disease. There is no cure
only treatment. (CDC is working on this as there has been a 500% increase in our state
of AZ the last few years. –That’s in humans.)
As they say on the news every night on Fox 10 in Arizona
“WATCH YOUR KIDS AROUND WATER”.
It’s a very apt warning as almost every year we have a little Shizzie drown. The most
common reasons are no fence and/or a new pool cover. This is a heart wrenching
experience that no one wants to go through believe me. Please don’t be over confident
and think this can’t happen to you. Don’t believe all dogs can swim so they can all save
themselves. This is simply untrue. In other issues of the newsletter I have mentioned
why Shih Tzu drown. Most of all it’s due to their head shape, body weight proportions
and their extremely short nose. All I can say is to avoid a broken heart is:
“WATCH YOUR FUZZY KIDS AROUND WATER”.
Just some random doggie rules for a safe happy life:
If no one will be watching them, then restrict them.
Dogs don’t mind being confined.
They want to be where you are or in their dens.
OK sometimes they like to run or chase things. . . . . they are dogs after all . . . .
Dogs are like small children who never grown up.
Teaching your dog to “come” should be the first thing you do. This is one of the best
safety features and the best gift you can give him. Don’t think you can “trust” your
dog. Trust is not a concept that exists in canine psychology. Your canine
unconditionally loves you and follows you as the pack leader. He does not trust you- he
just does as his instinct prescribes. His instinct says the water looks nice or something
is floating there or he falls in inadvertently – this is not a trust issue. Trusting your dog
not to run out into the street is not either. That is human thinking not dog instinct. A
cat goes by – or another dog – good by dog – he’s gone. My dear Megabucks came to
the computer store with me quite a bit at one point. One day the front door was open
and the screen door wasn’t latched. A dog went by on the sidewalk – Bucks saw him
and headed out the door before I could say whoa. By the time I got outside he was
down the block and the other dog startled was running full out with Buck hot on his
heels. Patrick, my helper and I ran and caught up with Bucko. By that time he was two
blocks toward town. A terrible accident could have happened and I never took him to
work with me again after that! Yet his half brother, Beau, would never do such a thing.
He never took his eyes off of me. He didn’t care about anything but me. A female in
heat could be out on the porch and he wouldn’t care. Know your dog and expect them
to be canine but individual. Train them and restrict them for their own protection and
your peace of mind.
Old age lameness is a common problem. If your old Shizzie is having mobility problems
try some Arthramine. This is a natural supplement that works. Sea Jerky is another
one I’ve tried and works. www.kvpets.com has both of these. (By the way KVvet is now
KVpet) Sylvia from England told me a about something that worked great for her it’s
from www.fitnfertile.com called lifetime fitness. It’s a powder that smells like a vanilla
milk shake. Either sprinkle on the food or mix with water and give with an oral
syringe. It is pricey mind you but very effective. Recently I found another product in
the KV catalog called Duralactin that Jody is going to try and let us know how it
works. The ingredients look very similar to the fitness but this is a capsule and much
less expensive. If anyone is familiar with this product please let us know your results
with it. I’m thinking the main ingredient is colostrum which is what sustains life in a
baby calves. It’s full of essential nutrients, nature immune and growth factors.
Do you HATE clipping doggie nails? Does clipping your pet’s nails freak YOU out?
Well never fear. If you haven’t tried a mini Drimel tool yet, you may want to try that.
Instead of clipping you are filing. (Take extra care not to catch hair in the tip!) If
that’s not your cup of tea there’s now a tool that lets you know when it’s safe to clip.
This new gadget is called Quickfinder. It has a sensor to find the quick and turns
green when you can cut safely. Only about $23 at KVpet this could be the answer to
your worries. How can you tell if nails are too long? If you hear them click on the
floor it means they need to be shorter. The reason this is not good is because it can
cause pain, infection and may cause your pet to walk higher on their pasterns and not
their food pads. This can damage the joint and in a young growing animal can even
cause irreparable damage. Some dewclaws are also neglected and can ingrown into the
skin and become very painful or infected as well. Look higher on the dog’s leg like
where a thumb might be. Don’t start clipping without some Clotting product like Kwik
Stop or a styptic pencil in case you hit a quick – some bleed like crazy for a few
minutes. If you have nothing to stop the bleeding try some cayenne pepper it actually
works and if nothing at all- add pressure.
Other products of interest to you for your pet might be Happy Traveler or Home Alone
Relief, Content’em, K-9 Calm or a similar calming product for summer thunderstorms.
I found most of these at KV but check Care A Lot, Revival or a supplier closer to you to
save on shipping costs and time. Stress diarrhea from traveling or water/diet change?
My fave is FastTrac Gel works fast and easy to dispense. www.revivalanimal.com
(You must keep this product refrigerated.)Benebac‘s available there and works, too.
These are two of my treasures from the Shih Tzu national in Atlanta this spring. I’ll
attach some business cards or email addresses of possible interest in regard to these
items and more you might like as well. Next year it’s to be in OK City – want to go?
Handbags by Barbara Brem she does eBay as BESTINSHOW1 if you’d like to search
for her work there. I love my bag but don’t leave them in the AZ sun or even in your
car – too hot for the painted materials. You can see the little spot where my bag stuck to
my CD on my front seat. I have no problem fixing it but Barbara also repairs for free if
you rather send back to her. She has quite a selection of poses, styles and, colors of
purses and wallets.
This figurine is by Yvonne Badoni. If you ever saw my Beau you would be sure she
used him as the model for this wonderful piece. See more of this lovely lady’s work at
www.showdogart.com
Beautiful jewelry for the Shih Tzu fancier www.pamperedpawsjewelry.com
Please tell them we sent you! Enjoy all their delightful designs!!
Nifty water bottle dispensers can be found at www.paws-and-tails.com Vicki has lot of
terrific stuff!! See one of the many cute license plate below. There’s much more!!
If you love this design as much as I do - email the artist Phyllis at tzulady@aol.com
Go to www.tzulady.com/handpainted_.html for more designs and prices
(Please note the page is not “working” – just a reference)
Dinkie, Veneesia and Truffles
Want to maximize your Shizzie’s health and make him or her star??
Think you got the cutest Shih Tzu ever? Enter this photo contest!
To enter the contest, submit 1-2 photos in .jpg or .gif format up to 1
MB each to contest@onlynaturalpet.com by May 31, 2008. Be sure to
include your name, email and state, as well as your pet's name and
breed. No purchase necessary. Winner will be announced June 19th.
This contest is sponsored by www.onlynaturalpet.com
You will find all sorts of good for your pet products at this on line site. They even have
Merrick’s “Texas Toothpicks” a treat many dogs adore.
Want to try a new really fresh and delicious food to feed your favorite shih tzu? This is
especially good for picky eaters or debilitated dogs. Mine adore the nuggets. The roll is
a nice break from canned or cooked supplements. Remember Shih Tzu need more
moisture than they get from kibbled food and all dogs need enzymes and pro-biotics
they get from fresh foods as well. Go to www.freshpet.com to check out the new food.
Available in 22 locations in the Phoenix area at present, look in a refrigerated case in
front of the Petco stores and some Safeway’s also carry it. The site will direct you to a
convenient location if available in your area. Look for coupons on the case or on the
site. Watch your fingers – they do go for this stuff!! Delifresh and other Fresh pet
products see; www.freshpet.com/our-brands
Wishing you and your Shizzie a safe and healthy summer season!!
Luv n lix to all from the Dinx!
May 2008 © Chris Jones
chris@chinaishihtzu.com