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- Did you know that if you spay or neuter your puppy before 6 months
of age and before a heat cycle in females that it improved your dogs chances
of NOT having breast cancer by 200%.
- Puppies should be kept in a confined area until they are completely
house broken. Be sure to house break them first to a regular door and
once that has been accomplished you can have them go out the dog door.
- Most breeders will recommend male dogs if you want a real affectionate
dog. They seem to love you no matter what.
- When you are looking for a puppy, be sure to ask the breeder about
heredity diseases. They should be giving you a list. The first one
is Kidney disease. Make sure they know what they are talking about and
not just tell you I have never had it in my line. That statement may not
be true.
- If you are meeting someone at a location to pick up your puppy and not at
their home so you can see the parents, this is a red flag. Look
someplace else for your dog.
- Remember just because you are reading someone's web page, it does not mean
they are truthful, honest or nice people. References can be made up.
- You should not be bringing your puppy home if it is younger than 10 weeks.
The American Shih Tzu Club recommends 12 weeks. But I feel at 10 weeks
they house break a little easier. If they are younger than 10 weeks they
are not ready to go. These dogs mature slowly and you need those added
weeks to see if there are any health problems.
- Noses: Puppies will have a hard time breathing until their permanent
teeth come in. That is until they are about 10 mos. old, expect them to have
pinched nostrils off and on until then. Do not let a vet do surgery on them
until the dog is over a year old and after you bring him to me to check. 99.9%
of all Shih Tzu will grow out of this condition. If he is having a real
problem you can ask your vet for Gentocin eye drops, have them add one
cc of DMSO, one cc of Gentocin 50 mg/cc injectable and one cc of 2 mg/cc
Dexamethazone. This works great for noses and lets them breath easy,
but under no circumstances do you put it in their eyes. Mark the bottle
for nose only.
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