Category Archives: Treats & Bones

Shih Tzu Day 103: The Shihtzuation with Nigel

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crazy little thing called Nigel

A shih tzu howlinga shih tzu in his dog bed.Our household is getting used to Nigel. John has been his biggest fan since day one. I think he’s adorable, but Nigel can be a handful. This morning he crawled into my lap and stayed there for awhile. Every now and then he would look up at me with a very sweet expression. I jokingly told John that when/if he leaves, we will retire his little black skull sweater, like when sports figures’ numbers are retired. John suggested we could frame it and hang it on the wall.

shih tzu with a Milo's Kitchen bag.shih tzu with tongue out of mouth.Flower and Candy are getting used to him too. At first, it seemed like they weren’t quite sure if he was replacing them. No, I don’t know how dogs think, but they did seem to retreat a little. I just kept giving them lots of love and telling them that this was their home and they were staying. I think Dottie accepts him, but she just tolerates him, kind of like when she tolerates when Flower wants to enter “her” space on the couch.

waggle, waggle

two shih tzus a shih tzu and a childEvery once in a while, Candy and Flower will suddenly leave Shih Tzu Central to saunter in front of the couch, going who knows where. Usually, they head for their home under the dining room table, like it was one of those makeshift forts kids make, thinking that once there, no one else will see them.

shih tzu begging for pizza.Sometimes, they turn right around and saunter back. It is really cute when they stop in front of my computer stand, where I can’t see them, and nuzzle or slightly lick my toes. Then, when I look down, Flower will do her little head waggle and Candy her butt waggle.

I always tell them to come up and see me, but usually, Candy walks on by. Flower often comes closer, puts her paws on the top edge of the couch, stretches and then slides clear down to the floor until she is flat. It is so cute, but I don’t know why she does it. It would be interesting to see what she would do if Dottie wasn’t queen of her end of the couch and Nigel didn’t reign over the John end. Usually when they start getting restless, I herd them outside, give them a Milo’s Kitchen dog treat or something else, and then try to get them to play in the yard.

I love you this big

Nigel with dog treat in mouthMy shih tzu trio couldn’t be more “my girls” than if I had birthed them. As Scottie McCreery, the reigning American Idol would say, I love them “this big.” I acknowledge their dysfunctions and fears. I have more patience with their idiosyncrasies than I ever thought I would have with a canine companion. Still, I have to admit that it is refreshing having a puppy in the house that loves people easily and hasn’t learned fear.

two shih tzus on a couchI know that Nigel’s life was different. I wish I knew what it was. John doesn’t understand how anyone could turn Nigel over to an animal shelter. Looking at him and seeing how he loves people, I assume he had a loving home. Maybe his family just couldn’t afford taking care of him when he had pneumonia. Maybe he was sick before that. We will never know, but it’s easy to wonder about his life before.

All we know is that the last couple months of his life were tough, but he seems very well adjusted. It was heartwarming watching the way that he completely trusted Leticia and Candace’s children, climbing into every lap that was available.

We also thought it was so cute the way that John’s sister Lynda and her husband Jeff embraced him, even though Jeff joked about him sneezing all over him. I imagine that is aftereffects of the pneumonia. He does sneeze a lot, and his big eyes always water. Despite that, he is so cute.

I thought he seemed a little down this afternoon. He was very excited when I got home though. I’m not sure what happened. Earlier he was resting by Dottie, with his head on her side. Since they are the two couch dogs, that’s par for the course. Maybe she gave him one of her ferocious growls, telling him he was intruding on her space. I try to stop that when I am there, but I can’t always be there.

in the ring

Candy and Flower picked a play fight with each other this afternoon. They were fighting in their make-believe ring for quite a while, their paws up. Well, they look more like dancing ponies than wrestlers. I saw Nigel watching them, and thought he probably wanted to play, but they haven’t yet accepted him, either in the morning when they get up or later in the day, in their “reindeer games.” My hope is that they will accept him soon. After all, they sure know what it’s like to be a dog down on their luck!

Shih Tzu Day 97: Upside Down Day

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Bones, bones and more bones

upside down black and white shih tzuHaving four dogs around the house means we need lots of bones! And it’s not possible to just pass out four. I have to have extras for when they steal each other’s. Flower used to be the biggest culprit in that area, but Nigel outdoes her. I haven’t figured out yet if there is a way to mark them, like you would a plastic glass at a party, so I know who is stealing whose.

I did discover that the Dollar Tree has retriever rolls, mini rawhide bones and pressed bones, which is a relief. They might not be their favorite treats, but they seem to like them all. All of the dogs happily chewed on what I gave them for a long time. I have bought the small red and white rawhide bones before, but I have never seen the girls demolish one. Nigel sat next to me for a good hour unraveling his into a gooey mess.

 

two shih tzus rompingWhen he let it go and Dottie picked it up to try to help him finish it off, they had a growling contest. Neither would back down, so I had to intercede. Dottie happily chewed on one of the treats at Shih Tzu Central for quite a while, which gave Flower the opportunity to jump up on the couch without any dirty looks or growls from the couch monitor. I gave her a good rub down, and she jumped down as soon as I stopped. Whenever she does that I tell her she is a user; of course, she doesn’t know what that means.

two shih tzus romping

 

Nigel stayed outside by himself for a long time today. It’s tough being an outsider. But, hopefully it’s just an adjustment period. When he came inside, I was eating an apple and offered him a piece. He ate it like I thought he would. I still haven’t been able to get the girls to try one.

Dottie was in a playful mood today, so she picked a play fight with Candy. Then, Flower jumped into the fray. It’s always funny when Dottie gets involved, because she is usually so mellow.

 

Shih Tzu Day 90: Kitty Invades Shih Tzu Central

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Muddy Buddies

shih tzu with muddy feetshih tzu with towel on her headWe woke up this morning to the sound of Spot Collins meowing in the bathroom. Shortly after that, the dogs started barking. I headed out the bedroom door to greet the dogs, and John picked up Spot Collins to take him downstairs.

shih tzu with towel on her head

When the girls came back from romping in the grass after breakfast, I realized it was bath time for the dogs. Grass and mud covered all of their paws.

Dottie and Candy are better at baths than they are with blow dryers or clippers. They both shook, but we bathed them without them getting too traumatized. Flower was very good.

I took the dogs upstairs separately, beween baths, to blow dry them. As unexpected, they all tried to run, but they couldn’t go far, since the doors were shut.

Wherever they went they were close enough where I could point the blow dryers at their bodies at least. I left their faces alone.

Spot Collins Visits Shih Tzu Central

shih tzu with towel on headWhen all of the dogs were finishing drying at Shih Tzu Central, Spot Collins wandered over, drank a little of their water and then jumped onto the dog bed occupied by Dottie and Flower. Dottie stared at him a few minutes and then decided to get in another dog bed. Flower just kept staring at him like he was from another planet.

two shih tzus and a kittenSpot Collins is better. He drank lots of water and ate his kibble. When John took a shower, he set SC’s carrier nearby, so he could get his prescribed sauna. He is still sneezing quite a bit.

shih tzu with kittenWhen John left, SC kept crawling up on my lap. I let him stay there for a while. Flower stayed away from the couch. Dottie wanted up, but instead of sitting on the couch, as usual, she sat up on the arm.

shih tzu and kittenFlower started getting more aggressive towards Spot Collins after John left. She was growling at her, so I ended up putting the kitten back in her carrier for awhile. When I let him back out, Flower was too busy chewing on her bully stick to notice.

Flower jumped up on the couch for her massage-scratch-petting session. As soon as I started petting her, Dottie showed interest, too. Their fur was so soft after their bath this morning. Flower just sat next to me, so I could scratch her chest and haunches. Dottie, however, rolled over on her back for a tummy rub.

Candy never comes up for petting action. However, when we were watching Dancing With The Stars, I sat her between John and me. She actually relaxed and lay down, one paw on my leg, and stayed there for probably twenty minutes while John petted her.

Google Alert

I have Google Alerts set up on words involving my work, as well as words that will pull up articles to tweet about, such as puppy mills and shih tzus. I also have an alert for the Denver Dumb Friends League, because I like to tweet info about animal shelters and rescues. Today, my Google Alert gave me three articles on the Dumb Friends League; one was my post on Day 77, telling about Mom’s adoption of Panda and Spot Collins. It was a pleasant surprise, because I never expected to get an alert on my own articles.

Shih Tzu Day 89: Kitty in the House!

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Monday Morning

shih tzu on grassIt’s funny how things change when you have pets. I woke up at 5:15 and lay there for several minutes debating if I wanted to get up and go to the bathroom. Before, that wouldn’t have been an issue. Now though, I had to consider the three little dogs downstairs. They hadn’t barked yet, so I imagined they were still asleep. If I did go to the bathroom, their alert little shih tzu ears would hear me, and they would be running up the stairs to try to lure me down to the kitchen. I did end up getting up, but I was very, very quiet, and I succeeded in getting back to bed without waking the three girls up. In fact, they didn’t come up and bark until 7!

After the girls had breakfast, they went back to their dog beds at Shih Tzu Central. They seemed sleepier than usual. My guess is that they were partying last night. One clue was that someone had dragged the little orange dog up on the loveseat. Also, the blanket that covers the loveseat was cockeyed.

Chew, Chew, Chew

shih tzu with toyDottie has found another treat that she likes, the Hartz Crunch and Clean chew bones. I bought them because of their dental benefits. After all, the package said “scientifically proven to reduce tartar 87 percent.” I’m all for reducing tartar, but I get three in a bag for around five dollars! That’s a little expensive, and I haven’t been able to find a super economy pack. I think Flower liked hers, because it vanished after a few minutes. I sat Candy’s down in front of her. She didn’t take it, but Flower trotted up, grabbed it and trotted back to the dog bed she had been laying on. I took it from her and put it away, in case Candy might change her mind later.

There is a Cat in Our House!

shih tzu staring at kitty in pet carrierDid Mom bring you in here??Mom and I had to take Panda and Spot Collins back to the Dumb Friends League for a vet appointment this afternoon. They have both been sneezing, but now Panda has blood around her mouth and nose. The vet said Panda had the URI that many cats there had and that he wanted to keep Panda there, mainly because he was severely dehydrated and they could control it better there. He said they would probably have to keep Panda there for three to five days.

two shih tzus staring at a cat in a pet carrierWhen he checked Spot Collins, he said he had a temperature and definitely had the URI as well. He gave us a ten-day supply of Doxycycline and said we should pick up some Gerber chicken and gravy baby food, to get water and nutrients into him. He also said that we needed to either run the vaporizer for him or set him in the bathroom and turn on the shower for fifteen-minute intervals, twice each day.

a shih tzu staring at a cat in a pet carrierWhen I got home, I brought in the groceries I picked up, put them away and then took the dogs outside for a treat. While they were outside, I went and got Spot Collins out of the Jeep and took him upstairs. I set his pet carrier on the floor, turned on the shower, shut the door and went downstairs and set the oven timer.

shih tzu with mouth openWhen Flower came inside, she ran to the stairs, trying to figure out why there was noise upstairs. When the timer went off, I got Spot Collins and brought him downstairs. I sat the pet carrier by the couch, leaving Spot Collins in it. Spot Collins meowed loudly, wanting to get out. Candy and Dottie merely look at the kennel, and then walked away.

Flower’s eyes got big. She ran up to it, barked, ran back, ran up, barked, ran back, repeatedly. I tried to shush her, because I didn’t want her to give Spot Collins a heart attack.

I was lucky that I didn’t have long until John got home. As soon as he did, Flower’s fixation with Spot Collins diminished. After we had dinner, John syringe fed SC the Gerber baby food, then held him on his lap. No longer interested in the alien in the living room, Flower retired to Shih Tzu Central for the evening.

Shih Tzu Day 86: Will Dance For Food

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The Breakfast Dance

breakfast dance 1The shih tzus didn’t want to let me sleep in today. They barked until I tumbled out of bed at 6. I needed to get up early anyway, because I had to finish up some work before I left for a morning appointment. The little dogs did their usual breakfast dance, which begins once I pick up their dog bowls and head for the back door, and ends once I put the bowls down.

breakfast dance 2I was gone for probably five hours, so they were very excited to see me when I got home. I put groceries away and got them outside, but Flower ran back in because of loud machine noises next door, so I gave her a treat inside.

breakfast dance 3The Canyon Creek apple and chicken wrap bag is almost empty, so I have to be making another PetSmart trip soon. That’s the only place I know that carries a big enough bag to last a while for three, small, food-loving dogs. They each got a small piece and then I gave them all a small sweet potato treat on the couch.

breakfast dance 4Flower jumped right up, then she sat there for a while. When I started to pet her, she rolled over on her side and then on her back.

breakfast dance 5I still haven’t been able to get the dogs’ mouths open to put the Tropiclean teeth gel on their teeth, so I have been experimenting with different so-called dental products. This time I bought something from Walmart that looks like a rawhide Flip. I passed them out, and they all chewed on them for awhile.

When they got bored, Candy and Flower took turns taking an Oinkies roll from each other. Candy would be chewing on one on the carpet and lay it down. Flower would trot over, grab it, and head back to Shih Tzu Central. It seemed unnecessary to me, since there are always several half-eaten Oinkies on the floor. I think they just like taking things from each other.

Wrong Truck

breakfast dance 6breakfast dance 7The girls are pretty good at recognizing sounds. For instance, they know when I am up, because they know every sound from when I go into the bathroom until I open the door. They bark once they know I am up, but they don’t start barking crazily until the electric toothbrush goes on, because they know the bathroom door will open shortly.

breakfast dance 8They know when I am home because they hear the garage door opening and then closing. When I get out of the Jeep I hear frantic barking. However, then they stop, waiting to see if it’s really going to be me or if it might be that Man. Once I walk in the backdoor and say hi, they go crazy, dancing around.

When John comes home from work, they hear the rumble of his truck and start barking.

Today, however, they heard another truck an hour earlier than John would be getting up and started barking. They acted very confused when they waited a while and then the door didn’t open.

breakfast dance 9I got down on the floor and told them they were silly. Then, I started making noises. Flower kept running up to me and then running off again, doing her “ruff” thing. Dottie just looked puzzled. When John did get home, Candy started to get excited, but then she checked herself. After all, if Flower and Dottie aren’t excited, should she be? However, once John told her hello, she ran up to him, shaking her little butt in greeting.