Common Problems

The largest Shih Tzu health study: teeth, anal glands and ears lead, eyes are the weak spot, and the median lifespan is 12.7 years.

What to do in the first hour and the first day, cremation or burial, keepsakes from a long coat, a grieving second dog, and where to find support.

Fine at home, impossible in town. Why dogs bark and lunge at people and other dogs, the order that fixes it, and the common advice that makes it worse.

The brown streak under the eyes is a symptom, not dirt. What causes it on flat-faced dogs, the once-a-day wipe Bell gets, what to skip, and when it is a vet visit.

Mats start in the same few places, and each one has its own cause. The comb test that finds them, why a bath makes them worse, and when a short clip is the kind answer.

Bad breath is gum disease, not a hygiene problem. Brushing is the only thing that reliably works, how to teach it in a fortnight, and why a breath spray is worse than doing nothing.

Two different problems with different fixes. How to tell sickness from fear, the step-by-step that rebuilds a frightened dog, and why a seatbelt tether is not crash protection.

A driver on dipped headlights cannot stop within the distance they can see. The visibility distances that decide what to buy, why hi-vis is a daytime material, and the winter hazards that matter.

Two separate problems get muddled: getting a dog to come back, and finding one that has already gone. Why recall fails, and why a Bluetooth tag is useless in woodland.

Six different barks with six different fixes. Why anti-bark devices disappoint, the free change that ends most window barking, and the one type where a deterrent does real harm.