Shih Tzu Day 154: Dumbo Lion

a shih tzu with a treat. Nigel!

I was surprised this morning to look over and see Flower sitting on the Nigel/John side of the couch, behind Nigel. I thought it was so cute, but then he turned around and tried to bite her head off. I had one of my freak out moments and yelled, “Nigel!” I started Flower, and between me and Nigel, she jumped off the couch.

Nigel and Flower have very possessive attitudes lately, and it is frustrating. In fact, Candy is the only one that doesn’t act possessive over anything or anyone. She is definitely not the pack leader.

Dumbo Lion

John has started calling Flower “Dumbo Lion,” because of the way she moves her head and body from side to side when she walks sometimes. He was tickled when she came up a few feet from him this morning, sat down on the floor and watched him eat. I am happy that she is getting more and more comfortable with him.

On most days now, while I work, Nigel sits on one side of me and Dottie and Flower on the other. Candy loves Nigel’s dog bed. For some reason, he doesn’t seem to mind sharing his bed, although he minds sharing his treats and bones.

Shih Tzu Day 153: Energetic Shih Tzus

shih tzus in waiting

Dottie started moaning early today. I couldn’t see the alarm clock, so I didn’t know it was 5:30 until I got out of bed. After the shih tzus had breakfast, Flower sat in the kitchen with me while I cleaned up a little. When I moved into the dining room, she followed me and sat by the table near me. Dottie walked back and forth until I finally sat down. Then, they both took their places beside me on the couch. They definitely don’t like it when their routine is interrupted.

playtime

two <u srcset=shih tzus sitting together on porch. ” width=”300″ height=”225″ />My shih tzus are mixing things up a little. This afternoon, Flower came up to the couch with a bone in her mouth, like Nigel does. Nigel was in hot pursuit, so I imagine she stole it from him. I reached down to try to help her up, like I do Nigel, but she ran away. I don’t know why she will never let me help her up. Nigel usually makes me help him up, even if the stairs are right beside him. Since that’s the case, I put the dog stairs on the Dottie/Flower side today, to see if either of them would use them. Flower did use them hesitantly a couple of times.

Although Candy and Nigel palled around outside, she also played outside by herself a lot today. I looked outside once and she was jumping up and down and around, throwing a toy up into the air and looking like she was chasing her tail. After she came in, she wandered around for a while and then came up to the couch, something she rarely does.  Maybe she was just curious to see what Dottie and Flower were chewing, since they were making a lot of noise.

Candy and Flower came up to Nigel’s side of the couch later and put their paws up together, wiggling their heads around. A short while after they walked away, Nigel jumped down and ran over to his dog bed, to make sure they hadn’t stolen anything.

When he came back up to the couch, he attempted to use the stairs I had moved, but Dottie glared at him from the couch. He must have been afraid of what the elder shih tzu would do, because he backed back down and came over to have me let him up.

a shih tzu with paws on a couch.The three youngest shih tzus had a lot of energy this afternoon. I heard loud breathing and scuffling often while I was working. Candy and Flower took turns doing their rodeo act, with each one trying to ride the other. As usual, Dottie was content to lay on the couch beside me.

Candy approaches

Candy came up to the couch and put her paws up on it several times. I thought she might want to come up, and I picked her up and sat her near me. She only stayed a few minutes before she jumped back down.

Shih Tzu Day 152: No More Company! Yeah!

happy shih tzus: we have our house back!

We don’t know what’s going on, but Mom and the Treat Man spent the night on the couch (I guess they call it a sofa sleeper) again last night. Us shih tzus were wondering if they are going to sleep there all the time?

a <u/>shih tzu's eye at a kneeWe waited until 5:30 and then went to Mom’s side of the sofa and scratched to wake her up. She got up and fed us. She asked us shih tzus to come in right after we ate and did “our business.” We didn’t know why, but it was because she wanted to go back to sleep! We didn’t let her though. Nigel kept scratching at the door, and she kept getting back up to let me, Nigel and Dottie go in and out. It was fun!

a <strong/><strong>shih tzu</strong> in a dog bedAll four of us shih tzus are really happy that there is no more company! Let’s see. What else. We were restless today, but didn’t know what we wanted to do. We kept going up to Mom’s feet to get her attention. I scratched her ankle, because she wasn’t paying attention. Oops. I guess I scratched it harder than I thought, because she said, “Ow!”

She finally got up and gave us some string cheese. Yum! Shih tzus — at least us shih tzus — love string cheese.

We were playing a lot and Mom said we were being “rambunctious.” Even Dottie played with me and Nigel for a while. Candy didn’t feel like playing, I guess. She was just roaming around. Oh, and when Nigel was busy, she went and lay in his bed. She really likes it. He doesn’t seem to mind that she lays in it sometimes. I’m not sure why she likes it so much though. It doesn’t seem that special to me.

Shih Tzu Day 151: Shih Tzus Lacking in Socialization Skills

possessive shih tzus

a shih tzuDottie is either very possessive of me or of her position on the couch. This morning, she was sitting by me and Nigel and Flower came up to the couch. I reached my hand out to pet Flower at the exact time she went to snap at her, and she accidentally bit me. It was a surprise more than anything. Her bite didn’t break the skin, but I could see little tooth marks. I think it surprised her too.

shih tzu alert

John and I left the shih tzus home alone this morning. We had a nice breakfast and then went and picked out a beautiful, rustic comforter for our bed. After that, I went grocery shopping and left John home alone with the shih tzus. We weren’t sure how that was going to work out. He mainly stayed in the garage. While he was out there he heard the shih tzus barking, more so than normal, and went in to see if there was a problem. Nothing seemed wrong, except he had left the TV on and there wasn’t a picture. He discovered that the bulb had exploded, so that must have been why the dogs were barking. The TV was a hand-me-down and we’ve already replaced the bulb once in the last six months, so it was time to go to Best Buy and upgrade! Very thankful for their no interest payment plan!

unsociable shih tzus

A shih tzu between two dog beds. Heather, Herman and the boys came back at 7. Candy stayed outside and Flower didn’t move from Shih Tzu Central. Dottie was brave and sat by me for a while. However, when Heather sat on her side of the couch to watch TV, she had to decide if she wanted to sit between me and John or between me and Heather. I put her between me and John, but she only stayed a few minutes before jumping off and joining Flower at Central.

Jordan kept trying to befriend Flower, but she growled at him every time he looked at her. The shih tzus obviously still need socialization training!

Shih Tzu Day 150: Nov. 26

I was so tired last night that I went to bed at 8. I still could not force myself to get up very early. I got out of bed a little after 6:30 and fed the shih tzus. Flower didn’t finish the food right away, because she kept running to the end of the back yard to bark at either the neighbor’s dog, a cat or a squirrel. She was also barking at the shed, so maybe there was a snake under it.

Later, Flower jumped up by Dottie and me and sat with us for a while. She had been spending more time than usual at shih tzu Central, but I think she is less stressed now. Candy kept dive bombing John’s legs today and rubbing against them. I am really glad that she is taking to him.