Category Archives: Behavior & Emotions

Shih Tzu Day 220: Getting Out in the Snow

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A shih tzu peeking over several inches of snow. We didn’t got to bed until midnight, and I was hoping the shih tzus would forget to wake us up, but they were right on time at 6:30.

Nigel had an abundance of energy this morning. He kept tearing across the floor then turning around and racing back in the opposite direction. I was so involved in watching him that I didn’t realize that Flower had moved over and was sitting right next to me, with her head resting on the laptop stand. Then, she moved it to rest on my arm. Later, she was using Dottie’s side as a pillow, and looking backwards at me. I thought it was so sweet. Moments like that, I think of when we brought Flower, Candy, and Dottie home, and how Flower flattened herself against the wall and snapped her teeth when I tried to approach her.

Later, Flower and Candy were roaming around, and Dottie was in her preferred position on the couch. Flower and Candy came up and put their paws on the couch, and Dottie snarled at them and growled. I corrected her and moved her over next to me. Flower was courageous and leaped up onto the couch.

John was going out to brave shoveling snow, after our biggest snow of the season. We decided to take the dogs outside. The snow is so high that it made a barrier to the street, so we knew they couldn’t get away. We put their leashes on their collars and I took them into the garage one by one, except Nigel, who dashed out the door after Dad as soon as I attached his leash.

The main reason I put their leashes on them is so they could get used to trailing them behind them, since it has been a while since we put leashes on them. Flower was the only one that really acted frightened.

Flower and Dottie wouldn’t leave my side at first, but once the sidewalk was shoveled, Candy walked up and down it, and then Flower and Dottie went to check it out.

What I wasn’t think about was the noise from the neighbor’s snow blower. As soon as it started up, they all ran back into the garage, except Nigel. Candy wandered back out and decided to explore under John’s truck. A little while later, I saw her trying to hop through the snow, which was at least as tall as she is. She made a couple of attempts and then went back under the snow.

A shih tzu near a snowblower.Once John and the neighbors had cleared enough snow away, Nigel wandered off to examine the neighbor’s garage and then trotted down the sidewalk, before we noticed. John went and got him and we kept a better eye on him after that.

Flower follow me wherever I went, until I decided they’d had enough adventure and put them back inside. Dottie mainly stayed in the garage at first, but then came over to me and stayed by my side.

Shih Tzu Day 219: Snow Day

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We woke up this morning to lots of snow. There was a little area on the porch relatively snow free, so I still fed the female shih tzus outside and Nigel in the kitchen. The snow reminded me of the first snow day we had with the shih tzus, when I put them in their sweaters and sent them out to explore. They are used to snow now, so they ate and came right back in.

Con-Way called John at about 7 and told him that he had the day off. Even if they could get the trucks out to make deliveries, a lot of businesses would be closed. John was very happy. So was Nigel. He got to sit on John’s lap off and on throughout the day.

Since it was a snow day for John, and there was too much snow to tempt us from going anywhere, we watched movies off and on. I did some work that didn’t require a lot of concentration.

Nigel and Candy, the most energized of the four shih tzus, provided some entertainment with their play fighting. At 2:50 p.m., Candy decided it was food time and started prancing around and barking. Then, Nigel ran up to John’s knee, put his paws on it, and growled his protest of their starvation. Dottie and Flower looked a little curious, but didn’t join in. I made them wait, because we were having an early steak dinner. They got a few small bites.

Shih Tzu Day 216: Poop Patrol

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double feeding

John got up with a headache at 6, and since he was going downstairs, I asked him to feed the dogs. I didn’t think I went to sleep. I heard scratching at the door, and opened it to see Nigel, Flower, and Dottie sitting there, waiting for me to get up. John was indisposed, but I assumed he hadn’t been able to get them to go downstairs and outside, so I went to the kitchen and got their food bowls together, threw away the soiled training pad, and went to fill their bowls with water. One still had quite a bit in it, so I filled the other one.

When John emerged from the bathroom, he asked if the dogs had gone outside “again.” I said that they had gone outside, because I had just fed them. He looked surprised, and told me he’d already done that. Oops. Of course, they didn’t tell me they had full bellies. I guess they had eaten and immediately ran up the stairs to wait for me. I must have dozed off for a few minutes, so just assumed they had been waiting for me the entire time and that they hadn’t eaten. They were probably thrilled to get one over on me.

poop patrol

When it’s warm enough, I leave the door open, hoping to tempt the dogs to go play. Candy and Nigel will do that sometimes, which is why they weigh less than Dottie and Flower. I know they need a good exercise program, translate, lots of walks. I am waiting for the weather to be warm enough when John is home so we  can get on the ball again.

I was on poop patrol today, and I am embarrassed to say it had been a while, and we have a pretty big backyard, so I got my exercise. Flower and Dottie trailed behind me, and I’m sure they were wondering why I had a baggie on my hand and was picking up those small, brown blobs and throwing them in a plastic bag. Too bad they can’t help. Another item on my to do list is to figure out how to get them to go in one small area. The good news is that they do go outside, and not inside.

That reminds me how good Flower has been lately. I did find some brown blobs downstairs, and that was either Flower or Nigel, but it seems like an isolated incident. Flower also seems to have gotten over having to poop when she is frightened. John was working in the area today and came home for lunch. She was sitting on the couch and he was petting her. I told him she likes butt rubs, but when he moved his hand away from her face, she bolted, jumping over Dottie to sit by my side. At least that’s all she did. Oh. Her eyelashes have grown so long, and she looks so adorable.

green dog

I just heard a noise and saw Candy jumping away from something on the floor. My first thought was a mouse, but it was actually just Green Dog. She grabbed him in her mouth and trotted out the door. At least she is getting exercise, while Flower and Nigel are curled up on the couch. I also just realized that Dottie is just standing near my feet, waiting for her elevator lift up to the couch.

Shih Tzu Day 210

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I brought Candy up to sleep with us last night. She curled up on the bed and didn’t peep all through the night. However, at 6 o’clock, we heard her retching. She vomited bile on the bed and on the floor. I haven’t noticed the dogs doing that lately, since I read they sometimes do that if they go to bed on an empty stomach and have been trying to give them a little food before bedtime. She seemed okay throughout the day, though.

Flower follows me down to the basement whenever I go to put anything in the wash. She sniffs around the exercise room and the spare room. I haven’t caught her peeing on the carpet again, but I do try to keep an eye on her when she wanders into a different room. I am glad that she is becoming more comfortable with the different areas of the house and doesn’t seem as fearful as she did a few months ago.

Crazy shih tzus

The dogs have seemed a little lackluster lately, but today, all four of them were jumping each other. Flower was being a little too aggressive with Candy. She acted like she was mad at her. Candy was standing up to her, but I finally said Flower’s name firmly and when she looked up, told her “No!” She came up to me shaking her head from side to side, and I shook my finger at her. She came up further and put it in her mouth, backed away and then came back and put her mouth on my finger again. It was more like gumming than biting. They are way too cute.

Nigel decided it was her turn to be picked on, and tore after her, so she went running. They are getting a little crazy these days. They ran too close to the TV tray stand holding my water and knocked the water on the floor. Thankfully, it was a plastic Starbucks glass with a tight lid.

Later, Flower jumped up on the couch, pawed at me, and then cocked her head back towards the dining room, as if to say, “This way. We need a treat!”

I got my laptop back after being without it for three weeks! Now that I won’t be using a loaner laptop, I need to transfer pictures to it and start putting them up with my posts again. I know they have been very bare without any.

Shih Tzu Day 208: The Shih Tzu Bone Thief is Back

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Things never seem status quo when you have four shih tzus running around. I have been saying how Nigel has been so good lately, and today I keep getting frustrated. I bought them real bones from the local grocery store, and when I passed them around, he tried to round them all up for him. This afternoon, he keeps going over to Shih Tzu Central, for what I am not sure. Now he looks like he is trying to corral Flower back to her corner, but she escaped and jumped up on the couch, breathing heavily.

I think that the winter is making them bored. I leave the door open whenever I can, in hopes that they will go outside and play, but they rarely do, even though it hasn’t been very cold. They mainly seem to wait around to see when the next treat will be delivered.

Nigel was licking his paw earlier, and I noticed it was bleeding. John was having trouble with the nail clippers, so I might have to invest in a new pair. I’m glad Lea at Gentle Grooming had put styptic powder on the “must have” list for grooming.