Category Archives: Treats & Bones

Shih Tzu Day 59: Running From Love

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Sleeping In Until 6

The shih tzus didn’t come up to get me until 6:00. At least it wasn’t 5:00, but for a Saturday, I would love to at least get to sleep until 7:00! I have to figure out a way to reprogram their inner clocks.

Since I didn’t want them to leave puddle on the carpet, I dragged myself out of bed. My idea was to have them go out and pee, but not feed them just yet. They danced around on the porch, thinking their meal was coming,  and then stood there staring at me for a while, before deciding that if I wasn’t going to feed them, they might as well run around the backyard for a while.

I brought them in, confused, and then went back upstairs. They weren’t about to let me alter their schedule, however, so they followed me up to make sure I wouldn’t forget them. I How can I be Mom's companion, if she keeps getting off the couch?gave up and went back down and fed them, giving John a few extra minutes to stay in bed.

We spent several hours setting up the connections to a castoff TV from John’s sister, Lynda. That meant that Dottie, Candy and Flower didn’t get much attention. When we were done, John took them outside and threw them some hot dog pieces. They enjoyed them much more than the rawhide treats I got them. If only hot dogs were good for them.

Candy Runs From Love

I'm still trying to figure out if I like this lap thing. Candy continues her tradition of staying upstairs in her room, since her spot in the dining room is no longer available to her.  Dottie spent as much time as she could on the couch with me, and Flower stayed in the Safe Zone, mainly on the hardwood floor, with her head on the blue dog bed. They are so much friendlier when John is at work. I sure wish they would act around John more like they act around me. Maybe one day.

At least they no longer have trouble taking treats from him. In fact, when John went outside with the sweet potato treats, Flower started to do her food dance, but stopped short. I think she forgot that she didn’t trust him and that it wasn’t me. Dottie and Flower came in when he did, but Candy stayed in the grass, sniffing around.

He ended up going out to get her. She ran around the yard, slowly, keeping out of his reach. Finally, however, she stopped a

nd crouched down, waiting for him to pick her up. He stayed outside with her for a while, sitting on the porch with her in his arms. He said she’s running from love, but I know we’ll catch her, sooner or later.

New Blog Header

I finally took a semi-decent picture of the girls sitting on their colorful blanket, so I have updated the blog header. Dottie gets my vote for most improved hair cut!

Original blog header

Shih Tzu Day 58: What’s “Fetch”

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that bright light!

a shih tzu with a toy Dottie, Candy and I ran upstairs to get Mom and that Man out of bed, because they’re being lazy again. Mom was holding that little box again, which kept shining a bright light at us and making clicking noises. That was weird because she usually does that downstairs. She must have carried it upstairs with her last night.

She wouldn’t get up, and we got tired of waiting, so we all tinkled on the carpet. Of course, we each picked a good spot. One of us did number two, too, but Mom didn’t know who did it. We’ll never tell. We all looked at each other when we heard her say, “Great. They think our bedroom is a potty box.”

fetch?

That Man gives us good treats, but I am still suspicious. We finally got to go outside and eat! That is always so exciting. Mom brought this round thing outside afterwards and threw it, asking us to “fetch,” whatever that means. Dottie and I weren’t interested, but Candy chased it, grabbed it, carried it a little way and then dropped it. I wonder if that is fetching?

Dottie looks funny wet! the table where bad things happen    

Things were going great, but when we came inside, Mom picked me up and sat me on that table where bad things happen!! However, she didn’t pick up that thing that makes a lot of noise and cuts off my fur. Instead, she gave me a treat and petted me, then she put me down. That wasn’t bad.

Candy looks even funnier!Later, Mom gave us this flat, white thing that was fun to chew on. She said it was something called a Flip. It didn’t have much taste, but it was fun.

scary man

We were all cozy in our area, and then that Man started talking to us and then came over to our private area, uninvited! We know Men want to hurt us, so we ran like crazy. He tried to pretend he was nice, by giving us hot dog pieces, but we know he has something very sinister in mind. I jumped on the couch so Mom would protect me. I couldn’t help it, though; when he held out more hot dog pieces, I took them.

Candy is a baby! She's afraid of that grey thing that makes noise.Still, I don’t trust him! Or any man! In fact, I don’t trust anyone, except I trust Mom just a little. While I was running away from that Man, I couldn’t help it. I did number two on the floor. Well, it’s his fault. I heard Mom say that I need a counselor. Is that true?

Shih Tzu Day 57: John’s Grooming Class

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grooming class for John

I'm running out of firemen! I need more toys!We arrived at the Gentle Groomer at 4:30 for John’s short grooming class. Lia had told us he could practice dog grooming on her Springer Spaniel. She talked to him a while first about questions he had from the dog grooming class video. She clarified some things we should be doing, such as the body areas people most often cut when grooming — including the Achilles tendon — and how to position the clippers for the pads of the feet.

Once his personal dog grooming class started, Lia said John was a natural. I knew he would be. I’m glad, because after his dog grooming class, I am hoping I will be relegated as his helper when it comes to the shih tzus’ grooming.

While we were at dog grooming class, we had a lot of dog talk with Lia. We were discussing different breeds and Lia mentioned that shih tzus were bred to be companions, as well as “alert dogs.” She said that it is common for shih tzus to alert larger dogs of potential danger. She also asked if any of the dogs want to be by my side all the time, because of the companion part. I told her that Dottie was the only one in that role at the moment.

We told Lia about our problems with the grooming table. She said to pick up Flower, or one of the other shih tzus. Then, put her on it at least once during the day, but at first, to merely give her a treat, show her love, and then put her back down, to get her used to the fact that if she gets up on the table, she will get a treat and love. Later, she said, do some type of grooming for just a minute or so, give her a treat, and put her down, until she gets more comfortable. We’ll try that.

Before we left, Lia pulled out a flat rawhide treat called Flips to give to their five dogs. I was fascinated by the excitement from the dogs. I have heard mixed things about rawhide, but I guess I’ll give them a try. It has to be better than plastic firemen.

back it up

All of the girls were excited when we got home. They ran to meet me, but backed up quickly to the safe zone when they saw that John was with me.

We don't trust that Man, but he has been giving us tasty treats!He is the new treat person, to get them to like him, so we ushered them outside and he handed out the new treat I got from Costco, Kingdom Pets sweet potato and chicken treats. I personally think they don’t smell nearly as good as other sweet potato and chicken treats I’ve bought, but the shih tzus love them. Flower ran up to him readily, and the other two followed her lead. He gave them extra treats; I think he feels bad because of their reluctance to trust him.

Shih Tzu Day 56: Just Another Dog Day

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same old same old

Can you spell B-O-R-E-D??I couldn’t sleep very well last night, because I was congested. John got the ceiling fan installed last night, but we couldn’t get the dimmer for the remote to work, so we left the electricity off in the bedroom. As a result, the alarm clock wasn’t functioning, so I had to sneak into the spare bedroom (now Candy’s escape room) and check the time on the computer. It was only 4:30.

I sneaked back into the room and got a little bit of sleep before the jingling made its way up the stairs. All three dogs came up at once. Flower barked hi to me briefly and then headed over for her morning tussle with John. I played with Candy and Dottie, and struggled out of bed at 6:00.

I remember when Mom spent more time with me!It was a quiet morning. When it came time for treats, John got out the chicken-wrapped sweet potatoes and gave some to Dottie and Flower. He whistled to Candy, and she came running from the very back of the yard, where she had been investigating. We love watching her run. She’s very fast.

John and I were gone off and on during the day, so I didn’t spend much time with the girls. I got the impression that the girls weren’t very happy with me. They stayed in their corner whenever I was there. My guess is that they don’t like sharing me with John, which they have to do a lot now, since he is on vacation, and they definitely don’t like it when I’m gone very long.

Shih Tzu Day 55: Puppy Mill Reminder

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Good Morning

I told myself before going to bed last night that I would get up early, to give John a chance to sleep in, without the dogs waking him up, but I couldn’t make myself. They ended up being extra playful. I don’t think he minded.

Flower has made it a habit to go back and forth between my side of the bed and John’s. He plays games with her, where she tries to bite his fingers, but he keeps moving them. He was also playing with her with his socks, but Flower kept running off with them.

Candy came up to us both for petting. Dottie went to John’s side occasionally, but mainly sat on my side, whining when I rolled to the other side of the bed to see the play there.

After I fed the girls, Dottie sat with me for a while and then jumped down. Flower jumped up on the couch to take her place. She played with a Pork Chomps treat for a while, and then sat there staring at me with a “come hither” and pet me look. I petted her for at least 10 minutes. Everytime I tried to stop, she’d stare at me. Sometimes when I stop, she gets down off the couch, but this time, she decided to lie down beside me, her head hanging over the edge of the couch, watching Candy smell the carpet and Dottie chew on her treat.

Dottie came up to sit with me for a while later on. This time, she jumped up on the couch without myself, which is unusual. I wonder if Candy will ever come up and sit with me on the couch.

Flower didn’t bark or growl at John when he came down.

Puppy Noises Stir Feelings

Flower jumped up on the couch this afternoon, landing on Dottie. She sat there while Dottie made a “get off me” sound.

John and I went out for lunch and stopped at Home Depot to get a new ceiling fan for the bedroom. We also picked up a dimmer, because I am hoping that if the lights are low when they come up to play, the girls will still be playful, and I can get pictures of them.

Candy, Flower and Dottie were excited when we came home. They started dancing in the middle of the room, but when they saw John come in the door, danced backwards towards the Safe Zone.

John got out treats, and Flower first started to race upstairs, but then realized she was missing out and came back down. After they got their treats, they went back to their corner for awhile. John went outside later and Dottie and Flower came out to greet me, wagging their tails and looking adorable.

We watched a few more episodes of The Dog Whisperer this evening. On one of the episodes, new-born puppies were whimpering, and all of the girls ran to the middle of the floor and stood there, looking around, including towards the TV. I wonder, did it made them think of the puppies they had? It was very touching.