Christmas is behind us, but I am going back in time to try to fill in some blanks and add some pictures. I convinced Flower and Dottie to eat some apple pieces by putting peanut butter on them. Flower is looking very fluffy after her bath. The excitement for the day included a squirrel siting and romps between Candy and Nigel, Nigel and Flower, and all three of them.
I’m a little concerned. I found throw up on the floor downstairs for the second day in a row, and I found some upstairs. I thought it was Flower, because of her breath, but John said he was petting Candy and she threw up. I don’t think it was a reaction to him, so I have to think it is something else! Candy does not act like she feels well. She bit my toes and fingers yesterday in our morning ritual, but she came to greet me today and didn’t do that.
The shih tzus eat a lot of rawhide bones, so is it that? I also gave them pieces of chicken last night. I had breaded it for a meal, but I tried to remove it all before I gave it to the shih tzu clan. Also, I gave them Alpo today, because I hadn’t made up any food. Candy acted like she wasn’t going to eat it at first, but I think that was because she is just finicky. All the shih tzus did end up eating it.
Flower was sitting with me this morning, but she jumped down from the couch. Pretty soon, I looked down and two cute little shih tzus, Candy and Flower, nudging my feet. Good! Candy must feel better. Nigel was next to me, so I sent Mr. Male Shih Tzu down to play, to see if Candy was up for it. I couldn’t decide if she came to visit me or him. She just stood there while he tried to play, but then started biting his face. My ailing shih tzu must have revived.
When Nigel tired of getting his face bitten, the rambunctious shih tzu wandered over to me and took my socks off, and then started biting my toes. Flower followed his cue and came up and started biting my fingers. What a bunch of little vampires!
OK, this has nothing to do with shih tzus, but John called me today and told me he had been listening to Dennis Miller on the radio and he was talking about a super cute YouTube video about “Marcel the shell with shoes on.” He said there would soon be a book on Marcel. John knows I want to write a book about my experience with our former puppy mill shih tzus, so he wanted to tell me about it. Marcel is almost as cute as my shih tzus, but not quite, so check it out!
The shih tzus tracked mud all over the floor today. Then, Nigel decided to get on the couch, so guess where the mud went. Groan. You’ll have that with a house full of shih tzus!
Part of the reason that the shih tzus kept going in and out was that Candy kept sniffing out a squirrel. Squirrel patrol requires a lot of in and out activity. Out to check the whereabouts, and in — at least partially in the back door — to get shih tzu backup.
shih tzu turnabout is fair play
Flower spends so much time on the couch now that when Dottie asks to be let up sometimes, Flower growls at her. Meanwhile, in the kitchen, I wish I could teach Candy to scratch to come in like Nigel does. I get concerned about the amount of time our outward bound shih tzu spends outside. I get up many times to check. She might be on the porch, but when I reach to open the door, she sprints out into the yard. Today, however, she was sitting right by the door, and when I opened it, she came right in.
loud, quiet breathing!
There is something very cute about the way Candy and Nigel tussle. I will be working, and all of a sudden, I will hear breathing. It’s actually a kind of “quiet breathing.” But it is a hectic breathing. That heavy breathing will go on for many minutes, as the shih tzu puppies play near the dining room table. It is always a little frustrating, because when I reach for my camera, they go on alert and the little buggers move on, so I have no proof of how incredibly cute they are.
Flower Kardashian
Nigel is a very busy boy. Lately, he goes back and forth between both shih tzu “girlfriends.” Or are they sisters? I don’t know. But I wish I could get into the minds of these dogs. One of his girl friends looked particularly adorable today. I found the cutest little Christmas dress at Ross Dress For Less. It’s red, fur-trimmed, and has candy canes and ornaments all over it. I tried it on Flower, although it is a little too early for Christmas doggy clothes. I was taking pictures, and noticed that her dress was up, but I knew they would stop playing if I butted in and fixed it, so I just let it go. I was taking pictures of her on the couch, and she was facing towards Shih Tzu Central. She had a very cute butt beneath the cute dress and I thought of the Kardashians. Yes, she is my adorable little Flower Kardashian.
I am almost a month behind on my blog. I hate to admit that, but we just celebrated Thanksgiving and I haven’t even covered Halloween! Please bear with us as we try to catch up! To set the stage, it is October 30, Sunday morning, and this is our four-month anniversary with the shih tzu sisters. I don’t think Dottie came upstairs until 7:15, which is a wonderful change from the 4:00 wakeup call I got from her when she first came to live with us.
I ran out of food for the shih tzus, so I gave them leftover chicken, rice and cream of mushroom soup for breakfast. As my friend Deb would say, it was like “doggy crack.” Flower finished hers quickly and rushed over to eat Candy’s, grabbing up a big blob before I hollered and got her to drop the stolen goods. Inside, Nigel ate his with one or two bites.
Later, I had to rush outside and get Nigel, because he wanted to play with the girls and they didn’t, so they were yipping. I know that neighbors don’t like yipping dogs, and I live in fear of an ominous letter stating that the shih tzus are waking people up. I was barefoot, the grass was wet, and who knew where the smelly, brown land mines had been planted this morning, but I hurried out before throwing on shoes. I am still trying to teach him that when a lady says no, it’s not maybe, but NO.
While John made pancakes later, Dottie rested beside me. Flower slept in a dog bed and Candy and Nigel continued to play outside. When all the dogs were back inside, I gave them all a red and white rawhide treat. Pretty soon, I realized that Nigel had rounded them all up and stowed them away in his dog bed. I redistributed them.
After that, he snuggled up next to me and stayed there while I watched the “Right Stuff” as homework for a writing project I am working on regarding General Chuck Yeager, “sound barrier breaker.”
I don’t know what happened, but while we sat there, Flower jumped up on the couch like vampires were chasing her, her eyes huge. Later, I heard Flower yipping at Shih Tzu Central. Nigel was no longer at my side, and I immediately said, “Nigel!” When I looked down, however, only Flower and Dottie were in sight. I saw a red and white mini rawhide treat between them and thought that might have been the cause of contention. It’s highly likely that Dottie wasn’t able to keep hers earlier, since both Nigel and Flower are such thieves. But poor Nigel, since he is the shih tzu who usually gets the blame for any ruckus.
I visited my doctor this week for my annual physical. As usual, we talked about any changes in health, etc. I brought up the subject of exercise. My doctor is a bicyclist, and last year I shared my newfound interest in that sport with him. I had told him that John and I had bought “beach cruiser” bikes and that I was riding almost everyday, with John and I riding the bike paths on the weekends. I proudly proclaimed that between May and November, I put more than a thousand miles on my bike.
However, I also told him that we had adopted a trio of shih tzus and that it had changed our schedule, and as a result, John and I weren’t getting that much exercise because we were riding our bikes a lot less. I told him that, in fact, we had only managed a handful of bicycle outings this summer. I don’t think I took my bike out alone more than twice. I had gotten in the habit of hopping on my bike when John left for work, but now I get up and spend time with the shih tzus before I start working.
My doctor also has dogs, and he asked if we took ours for walks. He was surprised when I said we did no dog walking because the shih tzus did not like walks. I said we had to leash train the shih tzus against their will. I doubt that anyone had dog walking duty at the puppy mill where the shih tzus came from, although they possibly exercised in a dog run.
I realized that I am so used to our shih tzus’ issues that I sometimes forget they aren’t “normal” dogs. If their fear or dislike of a leash — and maybe the unknown world — was the only issue, we might be further along with our dog walking. However, there are the grooming issues and the housebreaking issues.
Looking back over the last four months, the shih tzus are so much better now with me in many ways, but they do still fight me when I try to get them walking on a leash. John is a lot sterner, and when he has the time, he gets some results. I definitely need the shih tzus to be more comfortable with both of us, since to walk four dogs, I need a dog walking companion! My conversation with my doctor made me determined to try harder, and that included a Saturday dog walk.
We took Dottie and Nigel for a walk this afternoon. Dottie was shaking when we stopped to talk to some cul de sac neighbors. As I stood there, Dottie started walking, just to get away! That was a small victory, since she was walking on a leash. We headed towards Wal-Mart, a block away. We climbed a small grass-covered hill and once we started walking on even ground, she trotted along. I was surprised at how well she did. She got a gold star in leash walking!
I have determined that Dottie is our “trembler,” at least at times, and Candy is our “loner.” Flower is our little “bed wetter” — or at least she would be, if she got up on the bed. She definitely is our “couch wetter.” I gave her back her couch privileges, but she is losing them again! She peed on the red blanket when we were gone on our walk.
I just don’t understand what causes that. I have to congratulate her for some improvement though. While we were outside later, we could hear the children next door playing loudly. Flower’s eyes got big. She would normally scamper for the door, but she turned and looked at me instead. I told her it was OK, and she stayed where she was.
When I went back inside, I left the door open, since Nigel and Candy were still playing. After a little while, Nigel scampered in like a rabbit being chased. When I looked at him, he had a red and white rawhide treat in his mouth. I think he stole it from Candy and thought she was in hot pursuit, but she wasn’t.
My couch was soon occupied by Nigel, Flower and Dottie. Candy acted like she wanted to come up too. She wandered up and down on the floor, in front of the couch, looking up from time to time. Finally, when she got close enough, I picked her up and sat her near me.
I heard Dottie’s moan at a little after 6, but beyond that, there was very little sound until 7. Yes! I might slowly be training my furry alarm clocks to let me sleep a little later than the shih tzu sisters want me to.
Candy and Nigel stayed outside to tussle after breakfast. I am still getting used to Candy having a playmate, since she used to seem like such a loner, sitting outside on the porch or in front of the shed all alone. Maybe she didn’t really want all that alone time after all, but just wanted a little male shih tzu companionship.
I admit that my shih tzus are what people would call “beggars.” We feed them people food that we think is good for them or at least don’t think is bad for dogs. When we don’t feed them, the shih tzus sit and watch us eat. I admit that I eat in the kitchen sometimes to avoid those four sets of shih tzu eyes. Today, I had cinnamon toast in the kitchen. When I came and sat down, Dottie came very close and sniffed my breath, verifying that I was holding out on them. I made it up to the shih tzus later by giving them a small piece of bologna at lunch and giving Nigel some of my apple. I gave the shih tzu sisters one of their apple and chicken dog treats. Flower was happy with me, because she jumped up to see me afterwards.
Flower and Candy came and sat in front of my computer before John left. He decided to attempt to pet Flower and she didn’t run! Our progress is inch by inch, but it is progress.
Since Flower and John had a bonding moment, I decided to give her the remaining supermarket bone. They come five in a pack, at five dollars each, and I only ever buy one pack at a time, so there is always one bone left over. Flower was on her couch, so I smuggled it to her. I knew Nigel couldn’t get it from there, since at least so far, he can’t jump up on the couch.
I was looking at Flower on the red blanket on her couch and a new nickname came to mind: Flowerlicious. I don’t know why that popped into my mind. Maybe I read something about Fergie “Fergalicious” recently.
Flowerlicious has been a sassy shih tzu today. She gave Dottie some of her own medicine. She growled at her when she came up to the couch wanting me to help her up. Later, she sauntered over to Nigel’s bed, examined his loot and stole a retriever roll, although she had her own on her couch. Her stash on her throne prompted all the shih tzus to come see what she might be hiding.
Flower was sniffing around the dining room table this afternoon, standing up on her back legs and trying to access what was on top. I realized I had a treat bag there, so I moved it, even though I didn’t think there was a way to reach it. Actually, she could reach it, but I believe only if I left a chair out, because I’ve seen that happen when some foster doggies visited the house.
Flower took a jousting turn with Candy’s boy toy this afternoon. I looked down and saw her slide across the hardwood floor, at Nigel’s prompting. Candy wandered over to the couch while Nigel and Flower were playing, and I reached down to pet her. While I was doing that, Nigel and Flower play fought their way over to where we were. Flower left Nigel alone for a second to bite my hand, and Nigel promptly started biting Candy’s tail. Pretty soon, they were biting each other’s faces. Ouch. That always looks like it hurts. Fun at the Shih Tzu Madhouse!
We have been working on our Same Shih Tzu Different Day FLICKR photostream. Please visit us for additional Shih Tzu Romp pictures and others!
A blooming Flower
I get a kick out of Flower. Today, she walked up to the couch, licked my feet and then walked by. That’s the most licking I get from these shih tzus. What I do get, though, is some good entertainment. Like when Flower comes up, puts her paws up on the edge of the couch, stares into my eyes with her big eyes and then slides down. She did that routine twice today.
Later, Flower didn’t hesitate to go up to John for dog treats. John has taken the dogs out for their treats the last two evenings. They follow him quickly, which is great to see. In fact, Flower was following right at his feet like he was the Pied Piper. And Flower has been jumping up on the couch often. Beyond that, miracle of miracles, she let John pet her today.
Even Dottie jumped off the couch and followed the Pied Piper. Then, this afternoon, we took Nigel and Dottie for a walk. Actually, I couldn’t call it leash training. John walked Nigel on the leash. I carried Dottie to the green area behind the Wal-Mart a block away, so she could “watch” John and Nigel, and hopefully get a hint that walking can be fun. However, when we were at a point where I didn’t think she would run off, I set Dottie down.
At first, she walked a few steps and then stopped. However, when we got to a place that was more like a path, she walked behind and beside me for probably a minute until she heard a voice from a nearby apartment. I let her stop a while and then picked her up again. We walked a ways and then I put her down again. She walked again until she heard another voice. That time, she started shaking. I picked her up and carried her back to the house, praised her and gave her a treat. She was so cute walking by me, but, sorry to say, I didn’t have my camera with me.
Nigel is a real apple lover, unlike our female shih tzus. He also loves playing with Candy outside and inside. This afternoon John was holding Nigel and I couldn’t resist putting Candy on his lap too. They were so cute sitting there. It looked like they were on a date.
We now have several couch dogs. Today, Nigel was sitting between us, Dottie was next to me and Flower next to her, and eventually, Candy moved over near her shih tzu sisters. I was very excited when we bought our couch from American Furniture Warehouse last year, but it actually is a pain in the butt. It’s a sofa sleeper, and it is not very good quality, as far as we are concerned. Because of having John and Nigel on one side and Dottie and sometimes Flower on the other, I have to sit right in the middle, half of me on one cushion and half on the other. And, the cushions sink in the middle. It is a bummer to have to think about the As Seen On TV product, Furniture Fix, when we just bought our sofa six months ago. Instead of buying that product, we put a board under the cushions. It seems to be working right now.