P3tcapades

• When the lights are out, the sounds come out
  
  I was typing on my computer when I heard a familiar sound vibrate through my ears. I checked the air-conditioner to see if something got trapped inside ( a bee or mosquito maybe) but there was none. Then I thought it can’t be the neighbors (what a loud snore that would be) or maybe just my ears drumming on my brain. So i went back to what I was doing, typing. Then i heard it again. This time it was louder and clearer. I looked around me inside the room and realized that my dogs were actually in there with me (guess I was too busy to notice them). I have two dogs, a male shipo and a gal shih tzu. The shipo whose name is Chaunce was lying freely on his back near the closet, with his legs spread apart and his tongue hanging out (it makes my day just looking at him sleep like that), while the shih tzu named Mookah was on her belly, legs spread wide behind her. I guess you are familiar with how a shih tzu sleeps. With their long hair they could easily be stepped on, mistaken as a rug if you don’t care enough to turn on the lights. Anyway, I stared at both dogs and noticed to my amazement that Mookah was actually snoring. I’d thought it would be Chaunce, judging from his sleeping position. But Mookah was competing with the vibrating sound coming from the air conditioner. I got nearer to get a better hearing and there it was, a long and steady rhythm. It sounded like buzzing only it came out like a whisper. I had never thought that dogs actually snore, only humans. So there and then I searched for any reality to this question in the net, and found out that they indeed do snore. There are several reasons why they snore:
  
  1) They are overweight. If a dog is overweight the fatty tissues can closed the upper airways. My shih tzu is not even close to overweight. She still has her figure (if you know what I mean, minus the bulging tummy that you can hardly see their waistline). Plus she is only 5 months old, a critical age to be obese or overweight for dogs since they could die early.
  
  2) Nasal Congestion: Colds, nasal allergies, these have to be checked as well. Mucus can clog up the airways and cause snoring. Fleas, Check. Worms, Check. Clean ears, check. Clean nose, check. No mucus there. Hmm..now I have almost given up finding any other reasons why dogs snore.
  
• 3) Having a flat face: Small dogs with small faces such as the pug, pekingese and Boston terriers are prone to nasal infections and easier blocked airways. They almost always snore. Mookah has a cute, bear-like snout. I know this is hard to believe since she is a shih tzu after all. But that’s how unique she is. Her face contains no resemblance to being flat.
  
• 4) Alcoholic beverages: Alcoholic drinks have been known to somehow relax the muscles, making you lose control over your movements and speech, to the point that it can somehow block the airways. Now it hit me. My boyfriend’s brothers were here hours back, lazing around and exchanging stories. Of course a better companion to these usual manly talks would be any alcoholic drink. They had some light beer and gin on the rocks. At one point I was curious why they were laughing out loud suddenly so i checked. I was shocked to see Mookah slurping beer from her water bowl and she seems to be enjoying the taste. Now this explains the snoring. Question answered. To date she doesn’t snore anymore. It was just once on that unfortunate day.

Poor Chaunce. Something must have bit his balls to make it turn all red and swollen to the point that the two dangles turned to one dangle. Slowly and painfully the skin around it started to peel off, until all was left was an introduction to the anatomy of his flesh covered balls. You know how it is when someting really big is against you and you can't seem to move around much. Take for instance, you are seating on a bench alone, then here comes two burly man who sits on both sides of you and leaves you no room to even flick an arm. You are "literally" stuck in between. That's how it was like for him. When he sits he appears to be leaning against some invisible wall with his other leg halfway up, just enough for it not to touch his balls. He constantly whimpers in pain and walks around with a limp. Dogs have their own way of healing any wounds and that's by licking the wound. I guess he must have thought it would help since he endlessly licks his balls. I googled any remedy, a cure or advice on how to lessen the pain or cure it. Common advice was to take the dog to the vet, or get the dog a neck support that would stop his constant licking and aggravate the wound even more. I did neither of the two. Instead I showered his balls with talcum powder, and my beau sprayed them with ethyl alcohol. You can just imagine the pain! Anyhow,  I guess the latter works as long as you don't let the dog lick the alcohol afterwards. Alcohol has been known to dry the skin thus nowadays they are made with a few percentage of moisturizers. Now, Chaunce is back to his frisky self. :-)

Who said giving hugs are only done between people? Mookah Cream Pie (the shitzhu in white and brown color) and Chaunce (the shipoo) thinks otherwise.

A cuddle between two cuddlies