Today's Evil Beet Gossip

The Littlest Beet

charlie.jpg

Everyone, meet Charlie.

Charlie, meet everyone.

Charlie is my new baby Shih-Tzu!!! He’s 8 weeks old and I just adopted him today, which is why I was a little late picking up on the Brangie wedding news. Some things are even more important than a Brangelina marriage. Hard to believe, but true. :)

He’s the absolute sweetest, cutest puppy on the planet!!! He’s smaller than all my cats and he likes playing with all their toys more than they do. Now I just have to train him to use their litter box and all will be well. My cats just kind of stare at him like, “What is that thing?” My boy cat is probably five times larger than Charlie (my boy cat is very fat) but he’s scared to death of him. I’m going to buy an obnoxious, huge Louis Vuitton dog carrier and take him everywhere with me. Yay!

Charlie just found a pair of my pink underwear on the floor and has been rubbing his face in them for the better part of five minutes, so he’s pretty much no different from any of the other men I’ve had in my life. I think I can handle this.

I’ve had cats all my life, but this is my first puppy, so I’m open to advice!!!

34 CommentsLeave a comment

  • Good luck Charlie
    Good luck cats
    Good luck Beet
    Animals are so cute in other people’s houses,
    they really look adorable to me

  • Please, Please, Please dont’t become like the Perez Hilton Whore pimping our dog at everychance yoou get. Youhave too much class for that.

  • i’m a vet tech and would be happy to answer any questions you have.

    he’s probably already had his first distemper but will need two more, all should be 2-4 weeks apart.

    he will be old enough for a bordetella vaccine (up the nose) in another two weeks and then ever six months.

    rabies at 14-16 weeks, then in one year, i don’t know if your state is then every three years or once a year.

    he should be started on heartworm preventative and at six months (because of it’s life cycle) he should be heartworm tested before continuing year round prevention. test yearly, it also tests for two other diseases.

    he should be dewormed a couple times three weeks apart and then every six months. you don’t need to do this if you put him on heartgard or another heartworm preventative with dewormers in them.

    he should be on year round flea and tick control. advantix is great because it is the only one that repels fleas, ticks, mosquitoes, and biting flies.

    i would wait until he’s up to date on his distemper to take him anywhere else where other dogs are (unless you carry him and be cautious of who touches him) because the risk of parvo is extremely high and it’s fatality in puppies is astounding (7/10 won’t make it!)

    make sure to get him used to a crate, even if you don’t use it because it will make him more comfortable if he’s ever boarded, at the groomers, and at the vet’s office.

    make sure you get him neutered around six months of age. This will give him a little time to grow but will prevent most behavioral changes associated with hormones…it will also decrease his risk of prostate cancer significantly.

    he’s adorable, good luck with him.

  • Text God is right. Vet Tech is good and make sure to Train Beet. PetSmart offers low cost classes in basic commands with experienced dog trainers (and helps you acclimate your new friend to other puppies). Training him will enable you and young Beet to be much happier with each other.

  • When we first got our beagle, a video came with him. It said that if you catch the puppy urinating on the carpet, you should say “NO!” loudly and firmly to startle the puppy into stopping urination. Don’t do that; it just scares them and they pee harder. Also, if they have a way to get behind your furniture, they will pee back there. And when he got his first bordatella nose-snort, he immediately sneezed it right back on the vet. Don’t take him to Banfield; it’s more expensive and it sux. If our beagle didn’t weigh forty pounds, I would TOTALLY dress him up and carry him around in a bag. There are really cute pet carriers at Target, too – don’t forget cheap and fashionable! It was years before we could stop putting his heartworm pill in cream cheese. E-mail me if you have any specific questions – I can’t really think of much advice right now.

  • SO CUTE! He looks like my Simba! Puppies need a lot of attention, exercise and a play puppy friend! It’s important to socialize your puppy with other puppies so he can play with his own species! Potty training takes consistency and lots of patience. Don’t forget about shots! Puppies need vaccinations every 3 – 6 months until they are 1 years old. Make sure you find a good vet! Look into insurance for puppies and see if it is worth getting. Neuter your puppy when he is young, it’s easier for him and less painful. Puppies are so much fun and they grow quick so take lots of pictures! =)

  • I am proud aunt to a Shih-Tzu and they are one of the sweetest dogs ever! You should know though that you are most likely going to have monthly grooming appointments as they tend to have long hair and it can sometimes lead to grooming problems around the eyes. I think they look adorable with a short cut as opposed to growing it long. Speaking of the eyes, they can also sometimes have eye issues, so just be aware. My sister’s dog is very high-maintenance, but the love and happiness she provides it worth it. Good luck with your sweet baby.

  • Hey Charlie, will ya go to candy mountain with me. Um, I’ve never had a puppy, so, I want one now.

  • Ohhhhhhh I love shihtzu puppies! I second the request for more pics. I’ve always had small dogs (toy poodle, 3.5 lbs was the smallest). Let us know how it goes!

  • Cesar Milan!!!! Watch the Dog Whisperer!! He is so fantastic and I’ve learned SO much from him and his show. Be the pack leader and everyone will be happy! Also…. stay away from Greenies. They are dog treats that are green and are suppossed to be healthy for their teeth. They’ve killed many dogs before.
    Good tip for when you leave him alone for the first time…. prepare ahead of time by wearing a t-shirt (that you don’t mind getting crap on… litterally) to bed for like a week straight so it gets nice and rank with your smell. then when you leave, leave it with him in the crate or wherever. He will still be upset but it will soothe him a little bit… having your scent so strong and so near. I tell parents to do that when they leave their infants at day care the first time.
    Also I have a boy pug and we potty trained him to a litter box right off the bat (b/c we had an apartment). We give him a treat every time he goes in, even now when he’s 5. They make special litter boxes for small dogs at PetCo and everyhwere else. Not all dogs will go with this but if they do, it’s a God send. Once he got older he hardly uses it anymore except when it’s raining or he’s lazy.

  • Another good tip… b/c of the type of dog you have…. everyone uses cheerios as a good treat that you can give them a million and they are low calorie and cheap. My pug always had a problem b/c of his squished face… he doens’t have the long snout that most dogs have. So he would get part of the cheerio stuck in the side of his mouth and he would do that weird air-biting trying to get it out. Then we noticed that Kix have [practically the same nutritional value (low sugar). We use Kix now and Yoda loves them. They are just a ball so they crunch well and don’t get stuck in his teeth. We have a little tupperware of Kix out ready to give him one at anytime. Plus we take it and rattle it and he comes running b/c he knows it’s the bowl of Kix.

  • what a cute pup! i used to be a dogwalker and saw lots of dogs on a daily basis and i have 3 dogs of my own. my advice: crate train him right away! it will help housetrain him, and make it much easier to take him to the vet. put a water bowl, a soft pad and some toys in there with him. when you’re home keep the door open all the time, lure him in with treats and every time he goes in praise him. if trained early most dogs love their crates as it is a “safe” area for them. also, i recommend puppy training classes – just be sure they do postitive reinforcement training. a dog that does not sit or stay or come when told to do so is in danger of running into traffic, getting hurt at the dogpark, etc. my most difficult dog “clients” were the ones that had never been trained, and more than one of them slipped their collars and took off into the street.
    personally i am not a ceaser milan fan – he seems to train by intimidation (and pretending to be an “alpha dog”, which just seems bizarre). you should not train your dog to fear you, because eventually they will stop listening. dogs yearn to please us and if trained with love and patience your new dog will become a great friend. congratulations!

  • omg–I LOVE Charlie!! What a cutie! Enjoy him Evil Beet Queen–we want you to continue to be happy so you keep providing us with all of this wonderfully evil gossip!!

  • Oh. My. Freakin. God.

    Give him to me now!!! :) Soooo happy for you & Charlie-it’s a match made in heaven!!! ;)

  • I used to be a cat person until I got a Bichon Frise 12 years ago! WARNING: cute little fluffy dogs eat cat poop, just like big dorky dogs do. It’s foul and disgusting and morally incomprehensible. If you introduce him to the Litter Box, he is just going to consider it his own personal buffet.

    Cheers,

    Fartface McMuffin

  • Yeah, we used to put beagle in the bathroom while we were gone, so we tried the puppy pads. He chewed them up. We got a litter box and some sWheat Scoop, which he ate. Also, he loves Greenies but always throws them up, and seems to be really sensitive to people-food too. Sour cream and peanut butter make him have seizures, so we don’t give him any people food ever now. Soooooo sad that makes me! Also, we got pet insurance AFTER we had to take him to the doggie emergency room three times, and they wouldn’t cover any “gastroenteritis” which means that any time after that that he pooped blood for no discernible reason was on us. But don’t be scared! Just know that if you’re going to get pet insurance, do it BEFORE he gets sick. Duh, Jen!!

  • That’s funny b/c if you actually watch Cesar Milan you will notice he’s not intimidating the dog he is being the pack leader. You are supposed to be calm assertive and teach your dog to be calm submissive. Everything is always calm and there is no agression only assertion. Your dog is actually happy when you are the dominant one b/c that’s how their natural packs work. If your dog thinks it’s dominant over you, then it’s not going to listen to you. Cesar does not treat dogs like humans… he treats dogs like dogs. Some people have a problem with that b/c they see their dog as a human friend. But just by admitting the fact they are dogs and not human is not a bad thing.

  • Evil Beet! I resent that you say he treated your panties the same way all the men in your life did!!

    I didnt even know you OWNED panties!!!

    hope ur doing well ;)

  • i don’t mean to start something about cesar milan, but i feel i must respond: he has just as many critics as supporters. also, i have watched his show, and i have seen him “discipline” dogs by throwing them down, snapping their leashes, screaming in their faces, etc. i have seen him try to “cure” a fearful dog by overwhelming him with the very stimulus that scared the dog. those tactics make great tv but may not work in the long run because they will only make your dog fear you. as far as the alpha dog theory, it is simply untrue. according to the world’s leading wolf experts, wolves in a pack consist of a breeding pair and their pups. in other words, alpha dog does not mean dominating, it simply means parenting with firm but gentle correction. and no, i don’t advocate treating your dog like a human, but i also don’t think its a good idea for humans to act like dogs. if ms. beet is interested she may want to check out an animal trainer called ian dunbar – his theories are radically different from the dog whisperer -nothing personal, just another point of view.