Featured Links

Other Topics
Sponsored Links





Quote of the Day

"These flowers, which were splendid and sprightly, waking in the dawn of the morning, in the evening will be a pitiful frivolity, sleeping in the cold night's arms."

Pedro Calderon de la Barca








 




 
Featured Animals Articles

Dog training basics - preventing unwanted urination
Problems with inappropriate urination are some of the most commonly encountered by dog owners. As a matter of fact, inappropriate urination and defecation is the most frequently cited reason that owners surrender their animals to shelters. Before you can ...

Where do you start when building a snake cage?
When I was making my first cage my wife Cheryl came out into the shed and asked me what I was doing. I mumbled something about "building snake cage" whilst ernestly trying to figure out some small detail or putting in an annoying screw (I'm not sure ...

Who's Pulling The Leash, You Or Your Dog?
Hopefully no one is pulling the leash.The ideal situation is that you and yourdog are equally enjoying the walk andneither is pulling and tugging the otherin any certain direction.If your dog tends to be pulling you offinto its own direction a large ...




Shih Tzu Grooming Tips - Coat Handling Basics/The Little Guys
 
Use gentle action. When bathing, thoroughly wet the coat with warm water, apply shampoo and gently squeeze the suds through the coat to cleanse rather than scrubbing the hair back and forth. Use a gentle, all natural shampoo such as HealthyPetNet Herbal Blend shampoo, which is a unique blend of herbs and other ingredients to soothe dry, itchy and irritated skin as well as to condition dull, brittle or normal coats. It gently cleans away dirt without drying and leaves the skin and coat fresh, clean and healthy. The shampoo has a fresh, peppermint smell. Always follow a shampoo with a creme rinse.
In your daily brushing if you run into static electricity in the coat try using a mixture of two tablespoons or less of creme rinse mixed with two cups of water in a spritzer bottle. Lightly spray on the hair before brushing each layer. After thoroughly brushing, run a wide tooth comb through the coat to double-check for any areas you may have missed and to restraighten the hair.
The Little Guys:
The Shih Tzu history is full of legends and mysteries. From the very first moment I laid eyes upon a shih tzu I was captivated by these adorable shaggy mop- heads and began reading about their past. I had found my "niche."
I started reading about The Empress Dowager. She must have been quite a character in her day and time. One of the things I found amusing about her was how she made it common practice to have the eunuchs hold animals up for her inspection. If its eyes


were dirty, or its hind legs not of the right length or its body too long they were taken into the city and sold, receiving good prices because they were from the imperial kennels. She was extremely picky about her Imperial Shih Tzu and favored/cherished "The Little Guys." A favorite color of the palace was the "Golden Color."
As a result of these practices of The Empress Dowager, it is easy to see how several different types of Shih Tzu developed in the Chinese capital by the time the breed became known to the outside world. Hidden in the palace and beloved at court were the exquisitely dainty and well- proportioned little jewels, bred with the strickest selectivity to the imperial idea. And then there was the other specimens, treasured still yet by some who long ago learned to be satisfied with something less than the best. And in the opinion of the Empress Dowager during these early days of the development of the shih tzu - The Imperial Shih Tzu (shorter on leg, short, cobby bodies and 8 lbs. or less was considered the superior quality.
Today, we have learned to call these little guys Imperials and Teacups. As I grow and continue on in my breeding program, I also cherish "The Little Guys." I still have the bigger sizes, but I hope to eventually only have the "The Little Guys.

About the Author
Connie Limon, Breeder of the Shih Tzu Austin, Indiana Stain Glass Shih Tzu http://www.stainglassshihtzus.com




Animals News

Think pink: Galapagos' rosy lizard is new species - Associated Press
QUITO, Ecuador (AP) -- Hard to believe a giant, pink lizard could be overlooked for almost two centuries. Charles Darwin missed it during his 1835 study of the Galapagos Islands that led to his theory of evolution. Park rangers ignored the pink and ...

Farm animals' drugs showing up in food crops - Seattle Post Intelligencer Blogs
You've no doubt heard about the flap over using antibiotics in livestock. But a new story out in Environmental Health News shows that these drugs, apparently via manure, are finding their way into food crops that we eat. The story by EHN's Matthew ...

Only lost, never found - Mid Day.com
That is the case with most stolen pedigreed pets in the city. Rita Ghose finds out why getting them back is next to impossible Goregaon resident Parag Patel is doing everything possible to get his kidnapped pug back (see box), but the dognapping on ...

Lunar new year stamp marks Asian Year of the Ox - Charleston Daily Mail
WASHINGTON -- The lunar new year stamp marking the Year of the Ox goes on sale Thursday, perhaps a special event for President-elect Barack Obama. Asian folklore lists 12 animals as representing years and attributes the characteristics of those ...

New Details Emerge in Animal Cruelty Investigation - WNCT
Dismembered animals, bowls of blood and pet parts in a freezer…just some of the horrifying details found at a home in the East. The case has a lot of people outraged and tonight we share some additional details are emerging on this story we first ...