Tag Archives: Dog Behavior

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 49: Laughter is the Best Medicine

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Flower’s Fixation

Mom says we look like the Billy Goats Gruff. Must be before our time!I am not the main attraction any longer when the shih tzus come upstairs in the morning. Dottie and Flower come to my side and do the usual routine, with Dottie barking maybe a few times and then whining and Flower barking, both of them scratching at the bed, to try to get me to acknowledge them.

Look at this face. How could I do anything bad?You take the head, I'll take the legs, and pull real hard!Now, however, Flower stays on my side for a minute or so and then runs to John’s side of the bed, barking like crazy. He puts his hand down, and instead of the small bites they give me, she backs up, charges towards him, nips at his hand and does it all again … and again and again. After visiting that side of the bed, however, she seems a little more aggressive with her nips when she comes back to me. I have to keep telling her to be gentle. I am not sure what that behavior means.

Dottie follows Flower to that side of the bed sometimes, or else she just sits quietly and waits for me.

Candyland

I'll save you! Candy made the trip up the stairs this morning again. Her sisters tend to push each other around, but push her around even more, so she stays at the back while they are scratching at the bed and vying for attention. When I peeked over the side, Candy got up on her back legs and excitedly waved her paws in the air, like a dancing bear. I don’t like being woken up this early in the morning, but I can’t help but laugh, and, what do they say? Laughter is the best medicine.

Muddy Buddies

The shih tzus definitely get dirtier now that we have opened up the yard to them.The grass is wet a lot of the time, so when they come in, their paws are muddy. It’s definitely time to give the carpets and hard wood floors a big cleaning!

Quiet Time

I heard the bag crinkle, and that means treats, right?The girls were quiet for most of the day. Flower spent a lot of time chewing on her firemen. She mangled two of them pretty badly. I am considering going back and getting her the policemen and the military men, but it might not be socially acceptable for them to maul them, plus I still am not sure if the small pieces of plastic Flower swallows are very bad for her. I do throw away the parts after she disengages them from the bodies.

Dottie sat with me on the couch for quite a while. She seems to be content just to lie or sit there while I work on the computer.

Did Shiloh Teach You That?

I don't know who Einstein is, so how could I look like her?I heard a commotion earlier today and looked up to see Candy and Flower play fighting. Well, they were play fighting, but it wasn’t like the other day. What Candy was doing was pretty funny, but I don’t know if it is normal.

She had Flower pinned to the ground and she had her head between Flower’s legs. Then, she jumped up, and somehow, Candy positioned herself where she was sitting on her face and made the strangest gyrations. I don’t know how to read up on that to see what it’s supposed to mean! I do know that Shiloh exhibited similar sexual behavior to both Flower and Candy, and those advances looked like that, so maybe Candy thinks it’s just another way to play. And, I tend to forget that they were puppy mill moms. Hmmm. It is hilarious to watch them.

 

Shih Tzu Day 35: Flower, the Poophead Princess

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Flower aka Poophead Princess

I wonder what a morning would be like without Flower raising a ruckus? She wouldn’t stop barking at John this morning.

To mix things up a little, I decided to feed the girls their food in front of their couch. They are very comfortable eating outside now, but I need to make them comfortable inside, around John, and need to get Flower to quit barking, which makes the others uneasy.

They all came up to their bowls and began to eat without a problem, but Flower kept looking around nervously. She eventually ate, so the others did top.

The Poophead Princess oversees her subjects from her throne.I love my little Wild Flower, but I am definitely losing patience with the little psycho baby/control freak. Beyond the barking issue, she has to really want your attention to accept it. I went to cup her face in my hands this morning, which I often do, and she bolted out of the pen like her tail was on fire. Less than thirty seconds later, she was back, as if to say, “Oops. I overreacted, but just don’t get so close.”

My new nickname for her is the Poophead Princess, although it should be stronger, like Shih Tzu Head Princess.

Mom’s In a Mood

I had “elegant egg salad” (egg salad with big pieces of eggs) for lunch and decided to give the dogs some. I hand-fed Flower, Dottie and Shiloh some, and they loved it, but as usual, Candy held back timidly, so her sisters ate any intended for her.

Is it safe to go back inside?I decided to put a little in each of their bowls. I set Shiloh’s in the kitchen and the girls in the living room, up near the dining table. Flower and Dottie went to eat theirs, while Candy was deciding if it was safe. Then, Shiloh rushed in and decided he’d eat Candy’s. I got irritated, since this is a habit, picked him up abruptly, said it wasn’t his food, rather loudly, and sat him down on the rocking chair. Candy flew under the table, and Flower followed her. I finally got Flower to come back out. The tension didn’t seem to affect Dottie.

I had placed a dog gate in front of the table to make it harder for Candy to hide under it, but she had found the opening. After the Shiloh incident, I ended up putting her bowl on the other side of the gate, with her, so she would be comfortable eating.  I figured if she was that stressed, I’d let her stay there for now, as Flower (and Shiloh) are the worst problems, and not her shyness or insecurities.

Egg on Your Face

After Flower ate, she had egg salad on her face, so I got a pet wipe, hoping I could get close enough to clean up her already usually scruffy face. Not a chance.

I followed her into Shih Tzu Central and attempted to gently put the cloth near her face, but she jumped back and forth, eluding me. When I tried to catch her and hold her, she acted like she wanted to nip at me. I gave up, exasperated.

Later, I caught her chewing on the vacuum cleaner knob. I really need to find some nice, hard, plastic toys suitable for dogs with plastic fetishes.

Flower avoided me for a few hours after the egg salad incident, but decided later to come back around. First, she lay down on the  carpet in the vicinity of my feet. She visited their corner for a while and then decided it was time to hop up on the couch and see what Dottie and I were up to.

Flower sat there for a while, staring at me while I petted her. When I stopped, she deciding to lie down.

Candy’s Home Under the Table

I have to hide this, or Flower will take it from me.Candy spent much of the day under the table. When she decided to come out, she grabbed one of the stuffed animals I got the other day off the floor. She initially stopped on the carpet with it, then started to go back to Shih Tzu Central, but instead, ran back under the table with it.

She stayed there for quite a while before deciding to join the others back in their corner.

Usually once or twice in the afternoon, the dogs communicate somehow with each other that it is time to rush out of Shih Tzu Central. Sometimes I know what pushes their buttons, like the Magic Mesh commercial, but today I don’t know what caused it.

I had my small camera next to me and decided to try to catch their antics on video, so I picked it up and hit record. Shiloh got a little carried away and knocked it out of my hand. Oh well. One day I’ll get them on video.

Head Stomping and Hell Raising

Flower usually checks to see where Dottie is on the couch before getting up, but I don’t know why. She still aims her jump at one spot. Today, that spot was where Dottie’s head was. It amazes me how resilient dogs seem to be. Dottie didn’t even flinch.

Flower raised hell again when John got home. Heaven knows what makes her that way. When we went outside to give them their treats, she tore through the garden, jumped up onto the porch, rushed back down, then back up, bumping into things along the way, until she wore herself out. Sigh. And worse, my camera was inside.

The funny thing is that the entire time, John never said a word. He did, however, get up and walk towards her several times, which fired her up even more, until she eventually calmed down.

Poor Dottie didn’t know what to do, so she ran wherever Flower ran, always a little behind. Candy just tried to stay in the background, out of the way.