Mr. male shih tzu puppy is a handful

I have started getting a little impatient with Nigel, the little “devil dog.” During my morning ritual with the girls, our male shih tzu puppy decided to just start charging the girls, hoping they would pay attention to him. He’s taken to biting Candy’s tail constantly and he tries to boss Flower and Dottie. He’s quite a bit different from the sweet little boy who arrived here fresh over pneumonia and a sterilization and hernia operation.

Nigel has some fabulous qualities. For instance, thank goodness he is house trained. I am very happy that this little male shih tzu scratches at the door to tell me when he needs to go outside, and he would go out, hundreds of times a day, if I let him, particularly to smuggle out toys and bones. But, he also fakes that need a lot. Joey used to do the same thing: scratch on the door to make me think she wanted outside, but as soon as I got up, run away from the door. It was her ploy to get me to give her food, and I think that’s what Nigel does too, many times. Like Joey did, he scratches at the door, and when I get up, he runs away from it.

Earlier, my little shadow Dottie sat patiently while I got my coffee, put things away, etc. The minute I sat down and pulled my computer table towards me, Dottie jumped up and ran to the couch, as usual. Today, though, the devil dog shih tzu puppy ran up and grabbed her tail while I was helping her up onto the couch. No wonder she growls at him when he comes to her side of the couch.

Later, I was working away when I realized that Flower was sitting with me and Dottie. Nigel had been on one side but crossed over to see what was happening on the female shih tzu side. Dottie wasn’t happy, probably because of the tail pulling earlier, so she jumped down. I’m sure she wistfully thinks about the days when it was just she and Mom on the couch, with no male shih tzu puppy in sight.

Flower tried to visit me earlier, but devil dog shih tzu puppy kept tackling her. I never know if she wants to interact with him. Today it looked like she was having fun with him, until she jumped up on the couch where he couldn’t get her. Bad boy shih tzu puppy didn’t like that and kept barking at her. I wanted to be a little kid and say, “Shut your big mouth; she can stay up here if she wants!” Well, I think I actually did say that.

To sum Nigel up, this shih tzu puppy is vocal, rambunctious, headstrong and pushy. But, whenever I find myself wondering what the picture would be like without him, he comes up to the couch with a bone in his silly little mouth and looks up at me with those big eyes, or begins to pull my socks off, and I have to smile. So, on the other side, he’s lovable, charming, adventurous, inquisitive and goodnatured.

Is it shih tzu puppy love?

Candy sometimes loses patience with Nigel too. But, like me, she still thinks he’s charming. This afternoon when Candy was outside, I heard a noise and quickly went to see if she was okay. Her and Nigel were sparring on the patio. I’m still cautious, so I opened the door to see if she needed an escape route, but they moved away from the door, so she must have been having fun.

I left the screen door open, and later, I could hear their heavy breathing. An hour later, the two shih tzu puppies were still playing outside. Still later, when the scuffling was getting quite loud outside, I opened the screen door, and they both looked at me and then ran around the corner where I couldn’t see them. I couldn’t help smiling. Is this puppy love?

When he came in later, devil dog seemed all tuckered out. He put his head on my lap and stayed there for quite a while. Candy didn’t come in when he did. I tried to approach her and she ran. She is a strange but adorable little thing. Later, when she did come in, she sat in one of the dog beds looking depressed. Did she wish she was still playing with Nigel? Another aspect of puppy love perhaps?

Candy and Nigel had another play date inside later. This time, Flower decided to get in on the action. She would get up on the couch and when she thought Candy needed help, would fly off and join the fray. I kept hearing yapping, but no one was trying to escape, so I let them play it off. Maybe none of it is puppy love. Maybe it’s all just puppy play.