Category Archives: Barking Barking Barking

Shih Tzu Day 68: Furry Alarm Clocks

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furry shih tzu alarm clock switch

Although I felt sorry for our little shih tzu princesses, we did something last night to try to keep the furry alarm clocks from waking us up at 4:00 a.m. We shut our bedroom door and the bathroom door, so they couldn’t come up to the bed.

That isn’t as easy as it sounds. I personally love the jingling sound of their dog tags as they fly up the stairs, and the scratching of little paws on the bed. However, I would love to sleep in for once. I guess many people would say you sacrifice that right when you get pets. I just want to know if all dogs get up as early as our shih tzus.

<u srcset=shih tzu face off” width=”300″ height=”225″ />I heard the frantic barking at 4:00 a.m., and was tempted to get up. How can I train them to not wake us up so early, though, if I do that? Intermittently, I heard barking and whining, until I got up at about 6:30. I think that Dottie and Flower were outside our bedroom door, while Candy barked from downstairs, asking her sister shih tzus what was taking them so long to get us up. Flower and Dottie flung themselves at me excitedly when I finally opened the door, and Candy joined the celebration once we came downstairs. That’s good, since I thought the shih tzus would all be mad at me.

I can’t say that we caused this whacky schedule. At the foster home where the shih tzus lived before coming here, the man went to work at 4:00, so I imagine they got used to that schedule. I would just like to know how to get the shih tzus un-used to it and on our clock.

shih tzu sistersIt also doesn’t help that they get a treat almost every time that they go out, which makes them feel cheated when they don’t. That means that when I try to get them to go out merely to do their business, I’m not successful. I need to quickly learn some training habits before they get any older and more set in their ways!

time out

Last summer, I rode my bike nearly every day, and John and I made long bike trips on the weekend. However, this summer has been devoted to our adopted dogs. This morning, however, we made a three-hour, 30-mile journey. We came home tired, knees aching, and all we wanted to do was sit on the couch.

The shih tzus didn’t mind the lazy afternoon, once they got their sweet potato and chicken treats. Flower and Candy mainly lounged in their dog beds, while Dottie rested beside her mom.

Shih Tzu Day 32: The Shih Tzu Sisters Scatter

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John causes the shih tzu sisters to scatter

I decided to bring Dottie upstairs with us, away from her shih tzu sisters, for a few minutes at bedtime last night. I closed the doors so she couldn’t run out, and I just talked to her. John said, “Do you think she’s going to answer?” because I talk to them constantly.

Life looks much better without a quesy tummy.When I got into bed, I put Dottie between us. She stayed on the people bed for about twenty minutes before she finally lay down. I could tell that her head was still up though, so she wasn’t completely relaxed. I turned over and set her on the other side for a few more minutes, and then I put her down on the floor and opened the door. She ran into the hall, but then she just sat there wagging her tail. I’m not sure if she went downstairs or not after I went back to sleep. I’m thinking about getting a dog bed to put upstairs and see if any of the shih tzu sisters give it a try.

The furry alarm clocks went off at 5:30, which was way too early, since we stayed up late. John was researching tools on his iPad, and I was working with pictures and updating my blog.

Who says puppy mill moms can't become fluffy puppies? Again, I tried to ignore the shih tzu sisters, but they kept coming back until I dragged myself out of bed at 6. John was reading the instructions for the camera we just bought, so he couldn’t help me get the bowls together, as he sometimes does. It took longer than usual, especially since Flower kept barking while I was trying to get everything together, so I kept stopping to go to the door and tell her to be quiet. I know she needs some discipline. We’re getting to that point. Inch by inch.

Our experiment with Dottie yesterday resulted in the shih tzus still acting afraid of John this morning. I think Dottie and Candy would have forgotten it, and maybe even has, but Flower has gone back to barking constantly at him. The result is that they all scatter whenever he gets near them in any way.

John and I went out for pizza after church, so we were gone for a few hours. When we got home, to try to get the shih tzus a little more comfortable with John again, he passed out the treats. It seemed to help.

they’re alive

It has been very hot, and the swamp cooler doesn’t seem to be doing its job. That might be why the girls have been on their beds in their corner so much this afternoon. However, at one point, all the animals came alive. I don’t know who hit the switch. Shiloh jumped up on our couch, and Flower jumped up on her couch, bringing one of the Angry Bird toys with her. Dottie had been next to me, but she jumped down on the floor. Candy stayed behind at Shih tzu Central.

twilight

John took a bike ride, with Shiloh on a leash. Shiloh did very well. When they came back, we sat outside in the twilight. Flower barked a little, but not much. They all wandered around the garden or sat on the porch. They all came in but Candy, so John went and picked her up. He held her and stroked her for a few minutes. She didn’t seem to mind.

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 15: Morning Salutation

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Morning Salutation of the Shih Tzus

The shih tzus sure like those midnight hours. Candy and maybe someone else began barking at about 3:30. The barking stopped for about 20 minutes and then began again. I decided it was time to start turning the TV off at night, no matter how long it takes to warm up in the morning. John went down and turned it off. I don’t know if the shih tzus stopping barking because he came down and told them to or because the TV distraction was gone, but they did let me sleep for a couple of hours before starting up again.

I got them all to go outside this morning, but then Flower came back in and I couldn’t convince her to go out again, so I fed her inside.

The Waiting Game

Dottie followed me upstairs most of the times I had to go up them today. Once she was there, she just sat in the hall and waited for me, then followed me down again.

Candy was on the couch when I came back from Walmart. She jumped off, but instead of running to the pen, as usual, she ran to meet me. So did Dottie. Flower hung behind in the pen. I think she waits to see if that Man is with me.

Canyon Creek and Kong

Candy and the Kong teddy bearCandy keeps a watchful paw on the Kong teddy bear.

I gave the dogs a new treat: Canyon Creek Ranch Big Blast duck wrapped pork skin with liver centers. Whew. That’s a lot to say. They loved unraveling it. I also bought them a little Kong teddy bear. Candy carried it up on the couch with her.

Flower and Candy also love to bring their treats up on their couch with them. At one point, I looked up from the computer and saw Flower contentedly gnawing away at her treat on her couch. Candy was at the other end of the living room, sitting on the carpet doing the same thing. Dottie had wandered over to my couch and was burrowing between the throw and the couch, wrapping it award her. I thought of the importance of the fact that they were that comfortable, instead of huddling together in their pen, with Dottie shaking, Flower growling, and Candy looking frightened.

Dottie has begun coming up to me on the couch and wanting up. She can’t seem to jump that high successfully, so I pick her up and she lies next to me while I work.