PETIGREE MAGAZINE Issue 3 | Page 14

CELEBRITY
How old is Gooshi and has he had any health issues since you have had him ? Well , no one knows how old he is . We took him to the vet when we got him first and asked them about his age . They said he looked quite young , since he had really white teeth . Luckily he has not had any health issues since we have had him . He just visits the vet for his routine vaccinations and that ’ s about it .
Is he troublesome when he goes for his regular grooming or has he gotten used to the groomers ? He has gotten used to them actually . They are familiar with his character now and know how to handle him . He does give them trouble sometimes and needs to be sedated to be groomed , but he has gotten a lot better now . We do bathe him at home too . That gets difficult sometimes though . We need to pick him up to bathe him and he does not allow anyone to pick him up . He has to voluntarily jump onto you . So if he ever does that , we just quickly put him in the bath .
How is Gooshi around Nalaya and other kids ? He is great around Nalaya . We had him all through Natalie ’ s pregnancy . So when we brought Nalaya home , Gooshi just knew that she was family . He is possessive about her . If there are men around or someone is trying to play with Nalaya , he gets defensive and starts barking a lot . We just have to tell him that it is okay and he needs to calm down . He is not very comfortable around other kids though . He just goes and hides in a corner and would rather not be around them . Does he interact well with other pets ? He takes his time to get used to them . There was a time when we were looking after the dogs of two of our friends who were traveling . We have four other dogs that we have shipped to our home in France now . One of them , who is also a Terrier , was here with Gooshi for some time . He did get a little cranky around them , because he is an old dog and likes to set his own ways , but he got used to it after a while .
There is a myth that Tibetan Terriers are considered a ‘ lucky charm ’ for their owners . How true has that been for you ? Really ? That is a very interesting fact ! Well , in that case , yes it has been true to quite an extent . We had Nalaya while we had Gooshi . That would be the luckiest thing that has happened with him around . So yes , I think it has been true .
How do you discipline Gooshi if his behaviour gets unpleasant ? When that time comes , he knows somehow . When he barks a lot or does something to upset us , he just knows . Maybe it is my tone that changes and he notices that . I usually just ask him to go to the bathroom . He does complain when he is asked to do that . He will moan and get grumpy [ laughs ], but he listens at the end . I think he kind of enjoys his time in the bathroom , quite honestly . He gets some time alone and feels comfortable that no one is watching him constantly .
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