Q: Shih Tzu may be small dogs, but they still need a place to stretch their legs and play. This breed loves to play, so buy (or make) some toys, and make sure to go to the dog park as often as you can. Despite their sometimes delicate appearance, Shih Tzus are sturdy dogs and they don't mind getting a little dirty every now and then. Remember that dogs who nip and go crazy inside the house may need more exercising outside! Exercise not only helps a dog's body but it can also help their mind. Keep in mind that some Shih Tzu have allergies or stomach sensitivities. If you try a brand of dog food that doesn't seem to agree with your dog, try changing it. If you continue having problems, check with your vet for a recommendation of a good 'breed specific' brand of food. As with any pet, your goal should be for your Shih Tzu to be happy and healthy and your veterinarian is the best person to help you achieve that goal. You need to make sure that your dog's health care needs are taken care of on a regular basis. Important veterinary procedures include, but are not limited to, vaccination, control of internal and external parasites, neutering, and microchipping. With this breed, frequent vet visits are even more important because they are prove to a variety of unique health issues. This includes hip dysplasia, Von Willebrand disease, and Autoimmune Haemolytic Anaemia. Shih Tzu are prone to eye problems like Progressive Retinal Atrophy (PRA), a group of diseases that attack certain breeds of dogs. It is characterized by the bilateral degeneration of the retina, basically progressive vision loss culminating in blindness. Be alert for the dog bumping into things, not spotting where a toy is, or sudden loss of confidence in novel situations. Shih Tzu are also prone to disc problems and back pain. While back problems are genetic in these dogs, as so they can't always be avoided, you should do a few things to limits the possibility of injury. First and foremost, minimize the risk of a slipped disc by not allowing your dog to jump from heights and keep them slim. Also, if your dog seems to be in pain take them to the vet. A veterinarian can assess the health of your dog and manage their pain at the very least. Shih Tzu can have issues with their teeth, including missing or misaligned teeth from birth. Brushing their teeth when you brush yours is a good idea. Just like humans, they can get gingivitis and plaque build up, leading to infections or tooth loss. In the worst cases, they can lose the ability to eat due to mouth infections. Make sure that there is water out for your pup to drink whenever they get thirsty. Take your dog to the bathroom. Like us, dogs need to go to the bathroom to stay healthy. You should also trim your pup's nails every week or two. Every dog needs love. Pet them and praise them on a regular basis. Even if you just let them sit in your lap while you read or watch TV, it shows them that you care.
A: Exercise your dog as much as possible. Give your Shih Tzu healthy dog food. Take the Shih Tzu to the vet once a year for basic health care. Look for breed specific health problems. Try to brush your dog's teeth. Remember to take care of your dog's other daily needs. Give your Shih Tzu lots of love!

Q: Customers like shopping and being recognized or remembered for what they like. Even if another place has a better product, some customers are willing to shop at places they're treated better. Learn your customers names and greet them. Customers like to feel like they are important and something as simple as knowing their name or what specific product they like can make all the difference in how often they choose to return to your business. There are no "small" customers. Treat everyone who walks in the store as if they're about to drop a thousand bucks on your top shelf goods, then turn around and do it again. Then work on making that true. to repeat customers in order to make them feel like they are a value to your business. A rewards program or discount for regular customers can be an excellent way to retain customers. When customers come into your store, find some way to get them to sign up for a mailing list, to keep them aware of special sales, deals, and promotions, on a semi-regular basis. Customers are more likely to return if you give them a specific reason to come back. It's also good to advertise your social networking pages, asking customers to "like" or "friend" your page. This can be a great way of keeping in touch. One of the worst mistakes that a business can make is doing the opposite, and you can do a lot by striving to exceed people's expectations of what's to come. Don't make your product sound like something your customer can't do without if you know it's cheap and unreliable. You'll never retain a customer that way, even if you're friendly and your store is clean. If you know your tamales are better than any tamales in town, you don't have to say "Best tamales in town." Let them speak for themselves. Price them at a reasonable profit margin and sell them regularly for a discount to get the word out. If people know they can get a good deal and good quality, you'll be in business. It's increasingly common for employees to be at one or the other end of an extreme. In some stores, employees are all aloof, ignoring the customers completely and texting or talking among themselves. In other stores, employees leech onto the customers and refuse to leave them alone. Customers dislike both. Train your employees to be "on" at all times, but also with the ability to be genuine and learn to back off. Employees also need to be well groomed and present themselves in a clean, attractive way while they're at work. Maintain a dress code of some kind at your place of business, appropriate to your product or service. Abercrombie & Fitch recently came under fire for giving preference to thin, white employees. If you want to keep your customers coming back, represent all types of people in your workforce. One excellent and underutilized way to retain customers and attract new customers is to hook up with complementary business, or nearby business who offer a different service to a similar customer base, and cross promote. Put up flyers or ads for a vintage clothes store in your laundromat, or sell a local bakery's goods in your coffee shop, in exchange for them selling your coffee at theirs. While a crowd of people plugged into laptops may not seem like the most attractive customer base, an increase in online freelance work, especially in larger cities, means that a huge segment of the workforce is looking for a place to sit and use Wi-Fi. If you run a restaurant or other place where customers congregate, establishing a policy for Wi-Fi is a great way to bring customers back. One of the problems with Wi-Fi is that sometimes customers will buy one cheap thing and sit there for six hours, taking up a space that you could turn over to new customers. Come up with a timed policy about the Wi-Fi to make it work of you.
A:
Form real relationships with your customers. Offer a special financial incentive for repeat business. Keep an email or SMS list. Under promise and over-deliver. Make sure your employees present themselves professionally. Cross-promote your business with complementary businesses. Provide free Wi-Fi.