Take Your Dog to Work Day, Friday, June 22

Posted on June 18, 2012 by Flower

It’s been a while since we’ve posted! We’ve been very busy and Mom hasn’t been much help with our Twitter account and is behind talking about our lives at the Freeze home. She promises to catch up soon, because A LOT has been happening here!

In the meantime, we ran across this information on the 14th annual Pet Sitters International “Take Your Dog to Work Day,” which is Friday, June 22.

We’re lucky. Mom has an office at home, so, technically, we go with her to work everyday. Nigel and Dottie sit on the couch with her most of the time. I jump up to see what’s going on now and then. Since all dogs aren’t that lucky, we want all the Humans out there planning to take dogs like us to work to be prepared. Follow these helpful tips by celebrity dog trainer, animal behaviorist and radio host Harrison Forbes.

Practice Makes Perfect: Before to bringing your dog into the office, practice polite behavior by taking them out to public places. Letting Fido tag along on your next trip to the park, pet store or café patio will help them become more acclimated to new people, places and animals. This will help them learn proper behavior when greeting people and help them relax in new settings.

Plan, Prepare and Protect: Plan ahead and check with your co-workers to make sure everyone is allergy-free and comfortable with dogs. Also, prepare your work space by hiding electrical cords, and setting out a dog bed and water bowl. Most importantly, make sure your pet is up-to-date on vaccines and protected from fleas and ticks that can be passed from other four-legged office mates. Use a monthly topical treatment like PetArmor®, which is the fipronil-based preventative that offers the same protection as Frontline® at about half the cost.

Walk This Way: Learn leash manners before stepping foot into the building. A trick to combat leash pulling is to stop walking or stop and walk in the opposite direction. When the dog stops and the leash becomes loose, start walking again. Repeat this exercise until your dog learns to walk with you instead of pulling ahead. This can be a long and frustrating process, but it will be effective in the long-term.

Sit and Stay: Condition your dog to sit and stay on command. This is the proper way to greet co-workers, and will help ensure your work day is productive. Teach “sit” and “down” by practicing ahead of time out in public, and offering a small treat for every successful command. Keep training sessions short and gradually build up to an hour. Once at work, encourage your dog to sit or lie down in its bed while in you’re working in your office.

Getting to Know You: Avoid office disputes by asking permission before you allow your dog to greet another dog, and don’t force your dog to become ‘friends’ with another dog; let them meet in their own time. Try to keep a loose leash when introducing your dog to another. Pulling tightly on the leash may cause your dog to become nervous and to growl or snap.

Shih Tzu Week 48: May 24 (Day 330) – 30 (Day 336), 2012

Posted on May 31, 2012 by Di Freeze

Day 330: May 24

Thursday

The dogs all took a vote. I don’t think they like the training pad holder. I put a training pad on the spot where someone always pees before we get up. This morning, there were two wet spots and a mound of brown stuff there. The training pad in the holder was clean, however.

I was brave and took the three little ones for walks. I am not sure how that is supposed to be done. They kept moving from one side to another, tangling me up, until I final cut it short. If I go to a dog obedience class, will I learn how to walk three shih tzus at a time?

It seems like I spend a lot of time these days making dog treats. Today, it was a new batch of chicken and apple and chicken and sweet potato treats.

It seems like the shih tzus spend a lot of time sleeping these days: Dottie because she is older, Nigel because he is younger, and Flower and Candy because they don’t know what else to do. Flower always looks so bored. Can suggest what to do to prevent shih tzus from being bored?

Day 331: May 25

Friday

Dottie followed Nigel in through the Magic Mesh screen door this morning. It doesn’t seem to work like the commercial says, because their weight won’t push it, but at least he knows to push and then duck under it.

I have been working in the spare bedroom, so Nigel, Flower and Dottie come to join me. Flower has learned she can jump on the bed, so she lies on it and watches me.

Day 332: May 26

Saturday

Flower hasn’t been barking at John very often. Today, she went to his side of the bed without barking and let him pet her.

Day 333: May 27

Sunday

Today was a red-letter days. Leticia and her kids and Chris and her son came over at 12:30 for a barbecue. Candy fled outside. The other two female shih tzus went to the dining room corner, as close as they could be to me, since I was in the kitchen. When we ate, Dottie positioned herself by my feet.

Later, all the dogs tried to escape the noise inside by going outside. I sat down on the porch and Rema walked out into the yard a ways and held out a treat. Flower was hesitant, but she finally came and took one. She also took one from Chris’ little boy, who ate more treats than he passed out. Luckily, since I make them, I know what’s in them, and they are good enough to be people food!

Candy either stayed in the shed John kept open for her as a giant doghouse, or near it. She let Rema pet her but wouldn’t take a treat. She did eat what Rema put on the ground after she left though.

Flower and Dottie came in on their own, and I brought Candy in. Later, when people were still there, I noticed that instead of being huddled together in the large doggie bed, like they did before when they were scared, they were each lying in their own beds, so they are getting better.

After they left, Candy and Dottie were sitting next to me and Nigel next to John. I sat Flower on my lap, and her butt eventually migrated next to Nigel’s. John started petted her. She stayed there half on my lap, half between us for probably 20 minutes while he petted her, and she would look back at him when he stopped. That was a first. We truly have come a long way in 11 months. The funny thing is that Flower has progressed the most, but I still assume it’s her peeing in front of the TV.

Day 334: May 28

Monday

It is very amusing to watch the shih tzus in action sometimes. This morning, Nigel was perched on the couch with his chicken-covered rawhide stick. Candy barked from outside and he jumped down to find out why, leaving his stick on the edge for a brief second—just long enough for Flower to snatch it and run to Central. You would have almost thought they had tag teamed him. Later, however, I noticed Candy was minus a stick and Nigel had one, so I think he retaliated and took hers.

I bought the sticks this time from Target. They are a lot cheaper than what I get from PetSmart, but they aren’t covered with as much chicken, so the shih tzus don’t seem to like them as much.

John helped me take all of the dogs for a Memorial Day walk. They looked like a Shih Tzu Merry Go Round or dog sled team. It was difficult to keep them all together, going the right way, but we did it.

Day 335: May 29

Tuesday

I brought Candy up to sleep with us last night. She woke me up at 6 o’clock, prancing around the bed. I don’t know if that was a wee-wee dance or I’m-glad-to-see-you dance.

I had to wash my couch cushion cover today because Flower peed on it. It’s possible that she did it because Candy wasn’t downstairs. I don’t think she likes when things are not normal.

Day 336: May 30

Wednesday

John was eating a piece of toast this morning and Flower came up and put her front paws on his leg. That is the first time she’s done that. The only time she ever touches him is when he is walking into the kitchen to get food and she hits the back of his legs with her front paws.

I took Mom shopping. After I dropped her off I went to Petco and bought some Espree bright white shampoo, to see if it will make Flower’s fur brighter. I think it could be really pretty, but it looks dingy near something that is truly white. I also bought a coupler to see about walking two of the dogs on it.

Shih Tzu Day 151: Shih Tzus Lacking in Socialization Skills

Posted on November 27, 2011 by Di Freeze

possessive shih tzus

Dottie 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

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 149: The Shih Tzus Get a Break from Company

Posted on November 25, 2011 by Di Freeze

they’re gone, at last!

Sleeping on my sofa sleeper for the first time was quite an experience. I didn’t think it was comfortable at all, although John said he didn’t mind it. Once company had all gone upstairs, the shih tzus came out of the “tent” I had made them to see why we were invading their living room.

Later, once they went back to Shih tzu Central, Flower kept making little barks. It took a while to get to sleep, but I finally did and slept fitfully until the shih tzus started stirring at 5:30. I jumped up to feed them, hoping they wouldn’t disturb John and that I could get a little more sleep after they settled back down. When I lay back down, all the shih tzus came up to visit my side of the sleeper.

I couldn’t get Dottie to come up, but Flower jumped up and lay beside me for a while. I finally fell back to sleep and didn’t get up until after 8:30. Flower was back on the floor when I got up. Candy kept going up to John for him to pet her.

The female shih tzus were back to their pre-company normalcy, until Heather came down the stairs and surprised them. Flower immediately started growling. Eventually, though, they just went back to huddling in their corner. I spent a little time with them while Heather went to pick up my mother and Herman and the boys went to see his family. Heather and Mom came back and got me and we went to lunch and to find Heather a coat. It wasn’t a typical Black Friday for me, because I didn’t spend a penny. Heather and her family left at 4 to go visit other relatives, so the dogs had the house to themselves again!

Candy has decided that she likes the faux leather dog bed I bought Nigel from TJ Maxx. While he was preoccupied, she went over and investigated, looked around to see if anyone was going to stop her, and then crawled in for an afternoon nap.

Shih Tzu Day 124: Halloween for the Shih Tzus

Posted on October 31, 2011 by Di Freeze

bad start for Halloween

Halloween for the shih tzus began with one of them throwing up yellow bile. It was one of the female shih tzus, because I found it when we came downstairs. I smelled all of their breath to see which shih tzu it was, and Flower had the bad breath. John said that didn’t necessarily mean that she threw up, since she could have eaten someone else’s. Gross, but I know it could happen. I don’t think that is the case, though, or else two shih tzus would have bad breath. None of the dogs acted sick, so I don’t know what caused the problem.

morning shih tzu squirrel notification

Candy spent a lot of time outside this morning prowling the perimeter again, looking for squirrels. Every once in a while, she would bark and summon the troops outside. What’s funny is that the dogs can’t always see the squirrel very well, so he will be running one way and the shih tzus will be running the other in search of him. Nigel doesn’t always join in on the squirrel hunt. Sometimes he lets the girl shih tzus do the chasing and he lays in the grass chewing on a bone.

shih tzu door greeter

I took Nigel to PetSmart and Petco. I dressed him in his black sweater with the skull on it for Halloween. He was very excited to get to go in the car. He did very well, until he saw a big dog in Petco and his dog aggression came out. He started barking, growling and straining at the leash, so I had to pick him up and carry him until the dog was in another part of the store.

When I came home, I dressed up the girls. They didn’t have costumes, but I dressed them all in black and white. Dottie and Flower wore matching polka dot dresses. I had returned Candy’s black and white houndstooth dress that was too small, but I finally found a medium, so I dressed her up in that. I definitely spend too much time looking at dog clothes at Ross! It took me a while to catch Candy to put her dress on her, since she kept running under the dining room table.

I knew that no one but John and me would see the girls, but I still thought it was fun. As I thought, Nigel was the door greeter, once the trick-or-treaters started arriving. He ran to the door every time the doorbell rang. When the doorbell wasn’t ringing, he ran to to the door anyway, waiting for the next group of children to come along. Again, the only problem we had was when a group came up that included a big dog, who waited in the driveway. Nigel showed his dog aggression again, so I’m sure the parents were glad to be off to the next house. Well, the good news is that Nigel is great with children and small dogs, so that is still better adjusted than Joey was and the shih tzu sisters are.

Same Shih Tzu, Different Day

Journal of Three Former Puppy Mill Mothers / Shih Tzu Sisters … and Nigel

Category Archives: Socialization & The Lack Thereof