Monthly Archives: July 2011

Shih Tzu Day 25: Unsociable Shih Tzus

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harmonious shih tzus

All the shih tzus came up to get me this morning. Waldo (one of my nicknames for Shiloh) stood by while they danced, until we went into the kitchen, and then he participated in a mild fashion. I think he’s getting tired of me telling him not to scratch my legs.

John didn’t come down with me, since we had stayed up late last night with our visitors, Nikki and Clarke, watching music videos. After the shih tzus and I came in from their outdoor breakfast, they acted like they wanted to play again, instead of going right back to their corner, like they usually do.

But, company and a houseful of dogs have been slowing me down, and I needed to do a little work. I settled on the couch with my laptop, letting Dottie up when she put her paws up on the couch for assistance. Flower lay down on the floor by my feet. I thought Candy was back in their safe zone, but then I realized she was sitting in front of my feet, chewing on a Pork Chomp, but the laptop was blocking me from seeing her. Whenever I’d look at Flower, her tail would wag. The harmony and contentment made me happy. As for Shiloh, it made him bored and he bounded back upstairs.

Dottie Takes Her Second Car Ride in the Jeep

We again put Shiloh in the kennel before we went to pick up mom for breakfast in Boulder. We had to come back home and get Nikki and Clarke so I decided to take Dottie with us for the fifteen-minute car ride. She shook in the Jeep at first, but otherwise did good.Dottie on her second car ride

Our breakfast took more time than we thought it would, so we instructed my stepdaughter Leticia to have the children change into their swimsuits and swim for a while before we got there. Gabe drove up with Crystal and her daughter, Avi, when we were leaving to go to the store for lunch fixings, so we told him to go on in.

When we got back, the shih tzus were all huddled in their corner. I moved everyone to the garage, where we were going to eat, so they could have a little peace. Nikki and Clarke decided they were going to get on the road before lunch, so they said their goodbyes to us and Shiloh, leaving the shih tzus with two less people to watch warily.

I thought the shih tzus might be a little more comfortable with people, so I told Evita to come and say hi. However, Dottie growled at her, so I warned them that they should say their hellos from a distance.

Shiloh Takes a Walk — or Twenty

After we ate, we brought Shiloh out on his leash, and I brought Dottie outside to sit with me for awhile while people took turns playing ping ping and riding our bikes. Rema, Oriana, Evita, Dulcea and Avi took turns taking Shiloh for walks. Shiloh loved the attention and the walks.

Our granddaughter, Dulcea, walks ShilohThings didn’t go perfectly with Shiloh, however. He did growl at a couple of the kids, so we kept an eye on him. He also growled and barked at the neighbor’s dog when it walked by. Shiloh growled at the neighbor’s big dog, hair standing up. He is a great dog, but I think he definitely needs a watchful eye on him.

They’re Gone!

Once everyone left, the ewoks emerged from their corner. True, we lured them out with treats, which John fed them. The shih tzus will probably be very happy to know that they will be visitor free at least until next weekend, when the kids and grandchildren descend on the house again.

Shih Tzu Day 24: Mama’s Little Angel Devils

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Shih Tzu Confusion

John spent quite a bit of time in the garage, trying to figure out why the garage door would go down most of the way, and then go back up. Each time it went down and then back up, three little shih tzus would run out of their corner, dash halfway across the living room and halt, realizing that I was sitting on the couch. They associate the sound of the garage door opening and closing with me coming home, so the noise really played with their furry little heads.

When we left to go to the zoo with Nikki and Clarke, we put Shiloh in the kennel, to be on the safe side. After we got back, they left for date night downtown. I picked Candy up and set her down on the couch between John and me. She sat there patiently for a few minutes, before sauntering off the couch and going back to their corner. Then, for some reason, Dottie and Flower trotted out and greeted me, wagging their tails. They must have thought there was a treat waiting for them somewhere. It looks like we are getting beyond the stage of them staying as far away from John as possible. They might not greet him with dancing, like they do me, but they tolerate his presence better.

Shiloh, the TV Dog

Shiloh growls at the TVShiloh provided us with a little entertainment tonight. We had decided to watch “Bloodworth.” In the first few minutes, a dog begins barking at a mailman. Shiloh ran up, put his paws on the TV, growled and barked. When I rewound it to see what we had missed, he did the same thing.

The Shih Tzus Run to Mama for Protection

All three shih tzus on the couch at the same time for first timeWhen Nikki and Clarke got back from their date night, Shiloh mainly sat on the couch with them, enjoying his new friends. However, he was sitting on the floor with John for a while. Suddenly, we heard growling, like Shiloh had done earlier to Nikki and Clarke and to John.The growling turned to a strange howling when John swiftly turned the dog over on its back and held him down. He held up his hand and  showed us where Shiloh had bit him. Nikki and Clarke were shocked, so John explained that Shiloh was increasingly showing more signs of aggression and that putting him on his back showed Shiloh that he wasn’t the one dominating the situation.

When Shiloh began shrieking, three scared little shih tzus ran up to the couch and jumped for it, landing by Dottie and me. It was the first time all three of the girls had ever been on the couch with me. In fact, Candy has never jumped on the couch when I was on it. Flower does on rare occasions, although Dottie usually comes up to the couch several times in the day wanting me to pick her up. They sat there for probably ten minutes before Flower and Candy got back down.

In the meantime, John took Shiloh for a walk. When they came back, John sat down on the couch besides me and Shiloh jumped up and sat beside him. He was docile when he went upstairs with us to bed.

Shih Tzu Day 24: Shih Tzu Sidestep and Sadie Shih Tzu

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I Can Do The Shih Tzu Sidestep!

No, I will not shake my tail feathers for you again because you didn't have your camera the first time!This is Candy writing, not Mom! I don’t know what happened to me last night! I didn’t really like meeting all those people, so I don’t think that’s why I’m so excited this morning. Maybe it’s because I got to stay up until after 2! I always want to dance in the morning, but this morning I wanted to try something new!

We ran up and down the stairs a couple of times, but Mom didn’t get up. She finally came down about 5:30. I wanted to surprise her, so instead of dancing towards her, I danced across the floor sideways, then sideways the other direction, and then back again! Mom laughed very hard. She said, “You are a funny little shih tzu. What do you call that? The Candy dance?” That Man was coming down the stairs behind her, but I was having so much fun, I just kept dancing!

Dottie and Flower don’t know how to dance sideways, but they started dancing with me, too. I must have got them excited, because they danced with me all across the floor. Then, when Mom opened the door for us to go outside, we danced right out the door! I love to dance!!

That other dog, the foster dog named Shiloh, tried to dance with us. He wasn’t as crazy as we were. Mommy told him before not to scratch her legs, so he is trying not to be bad. We never scratch her legs. We just dance! And dance!

Mom seemed to take a really long time to give us our food today. I just wandered around, waiting, but Flower started barking. She doesn’t like to wait for her food. She had to stop barking when Mom came out and told her to be quiet, though.

Pretty soon, that man came out with our dishes. He left Shiloh’s food inside, because when Shiloh is outside, he tries to eat ours as well. We were really hungry. As soon as the bowls hit the floor, we rushed towards them. Mom said we were pigs; we gobbled it down quickly!

Mommy asked the Man if Flower had growled at all. Come to think of it, I don’t think she did, and Flower loves to growl, especially at the Man.

Sadie Shih Tzu (aka Sadie Boo??)

We're hoping for a play date with Sadie Boo!We are very excited about a new friend. Her name is Sadie Shih Tzu, but we think she is also Sadie Boo. We like Boo. We think we would all like to be named Boo: Dottie Boo, Candy Boo and Flower Boo! Giggle. We’d be great Halloween dogs!

Anyway, we follow each other on Twitter. She has a really cool website: SadieShihTzu.com. She named our website the website of the week. Wasn’t that nice of her! I wish we could have a play date!

Shih Tzu Day 23: The ComfyControl Harness

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Who Do I Have to Wear This?

Hi, everyone. This is Dottie! That little dog that is visiting us is making trouble for us! He’s been prancing around, wagging his tail and eagerly greeting people. Now, because of him, Mom thinks we should be sociable! I sure don’t like this!

Mom picked me up and said, “Good girl, Dottie. You’ll be my little guinea dog, won’t you?” First off, I don’t know what a guinea dog is, but it doesn’t sound like something I want to be. Then, she picked up this thing (I think that color is RED, but I’m not sure), and she made me put my feet in it. After that, she did something behind me, so I couldn’t get it off.(I heard her tell someone it was an As Seen on TV ComfyControl Harness; I didn’t think it was comfy! I don’t like anything on me!)

The worst part was that she put another long, skinny thing on it, and when she sat me down on the floor, she pulled on it and tried to get me to walk, but I wouldn’t do it! I stood right there. She walked away, leaving me in the middle of the floor. I decided it was my chance to escape, and I wandered back to our corner.

When she turned around, she said, “Oh there you are.” Then, she took that dreadful thing off me. I thought I could just lay back down, but she picked me up and said, “Okay, then, I’ll just carry you.”

And Why Do I Have to Meet These People?

What happened next was mean. Mom carried me through that door she always leaves through and comes back through. There were lots of people in there, and they were laughing. That dog Mom calls Shiloh was there, and so was another little dog, even smaller than us.

Mom sat down and held me on my lap. People kept coming up, and some of them wanted to pet me. I let them, but I didn’t want to. I guess Mom felt me shaking, because she kept petting me (sometimes I kind of like it when she does it!) and telling me everything was okay. Finally, she told me to tell everyone goodbye and we went back inside.

I thought it was great when she picked up Candy and carried her towards the door! If I have to be sociable, she should have to be sociable too! I only wish she would have made Flower go. She petted her and said, “I won’t make you go, Flower, because I know you, and you’ll poop!” Sometimes I wish I pooped whenever someone picked me up!

It was kind of fun staying up past 2, though! We never stay up that late.

Shih Tzu Day 23: Shiloh Leads the Way

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Shiloh Leads the Way

Since Nikki and Clarke were visiting, we set up the ping pong table in the garage and fixed pomegranate margaritas. Shiloh went in the garage with John and our guests, while I stayed inside briefly.

Our neighbor, Kelsey, came by to meet the shih tzu sisters. At least Dottie and Candy let her pet them, although I don’t think Flower did. When her husband, Todd, came in, Dottie took Flower’s cue, growling with her.

Kelsey and Todd brought some friends over later. One of them, Jason, brought his 10-pound Boston terrier, Shaymus, with him. He shared with me that Shaymus had also been a rescue dog, and that he had come from the National Mill Dog Rescue in Colorado Springs. We took one look at Shaymus and decided that if Shiloh was a Boston terrier, he definitely wasn’t completely; guesses included chihuahua or pug. I wish I would have taken a picture, since I have been trying to document all the pets and people who visit and the reaction of the shih tzus and Shiloh.

Everyone commented on what a good dog Shiloh was. He and Shaymus did have some tense moments, however. They circled each other and one of them growled. It didn’t look friendly to me, so I moved Shiloh away.

Jason told me about a pet food that he feeds Shaymus called Taste of the Wild. He gives it to him because it’s high in protein. He gets it from a pet supply place that sounded interested. It’s called Mouthfuls, and it’s near one of the Sunflower Markets I go to, so I’ll visit it next time I go there.