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Shih Tzu Day 69: Canned Dog Food and Lap Dogs

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canned food test

Shih tzu on red blanket. We continued our experiment of shutting the bathroom and bedroom doors again last night, to see if our shih tzus would let us sleep longer. I could hear someone barking at 5:00. However, the barking stopped, allowing me to stay in bed until a little after 6:30. When I opened the bathroom door, three happy and excited shih tzus rushed me.

We have never fed them canned dog food before, and John wanted to know how they would like it. We picked up a can of Priority beef dinner and I gave them each a tablespoon with their dry food, instead of cottage cheese. They definitely liked it. Dottie ate hers in one bite and before I could stop her, rushed over to Candy’s bowl and scooped the tablespoon out, eating it, too. I told her sternly that she couldn’t eat Candy’s food and then went and got Candy another tablespoon. I can see why Candy only weighs eleven pounds and Dottie and Flower weigh fourteen. I have to watch them diligently to make sure they don’t steal her food.

lap dog?

shih tzu in dog bed.After the shih tzus went into the yard to do their business, Dottie came back and put her paw up on my leg. I thought she might want me to hold her, so I picked her up and sat her on my lap. She sat there peacefully, so I guess I was right.

Although shih tzus are supposed to be lap dogs, these dogs haven’t got there yet. I think this was the first time Dottie ever acted like she was asking me to pick her up. Flower acted like she wanted to sit on my lap once when we were outside, when a noise scared her, and Candy has never indicated she wanted to be picked up and held. I hope that changes over time.

excited dog and jealous dog

excited shih tzuIt was a quiet morning, with each of our small dogs in different beds. I left the house at 11:00 and didn’t get home until after 4:30. Once again, the shih tzus were yappy happy. I took them out to do their business and gave them a small sweet potato and chicken treat.

When I heard John’s truck in the driveway, I started telling the girls, “Daddy’s home,” in hopes that I will one day train them that it’s a good thing. When he opened the door, they barked and ran to hide under the dining room table. When he told them hello, Candy cautiously came out, and then did her tail wagging, hello dance.

Once outside, John passed out their chicken jerky. Candy and Dottie came up to him readily. Flower came up to him, grabbed her piece quickly and leaped off the porch, a safe distance away from whatever she thought was going to happen.

When we came inside, Dottie took her usual seat on the couch by me. When Flower jumped up to join us, Dottie growled at her. She did that a couple of times, and John said that I should correct her because she was beginning to think she owned me. I shook my finger at her and told her to be nice, but I am not sure how to correct that behavior.

Shih Tzu Day 64: Not My Normal Shih Tzus

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shih tzu panic button

shih tzu with a newspaper toy.I woke up this morning thinking that something was out of place. First off, “I” woke up — something or a shih tzu, or two or three — didn’t wake me up. I lay there for a few minutes listening for the jiggling dog tag sound. Nothing. I turned over to see the regular alarm clock, not the furry alarm clock I had been waking to, and saw that it was 6:07. After a few minutes, I started to get worried. Was one of our shih tzu puppies sick? Or worse, did one of them have an accident and die in the night? The other shih tzus would have surely alerted us if that were the case, I reasoned.

shih tzu on stairs.I know. These sound like irrational thoughts, but when at least one noisy shih tz has woken you up every morning for more than a month, silence is eerie. When I still hadn’t heard anything ten minutes later, I got out of bed and went to the restroom, thinking that might trigger a response. Suddenly, the dog tag jingling began, followed by rapid paw steps on the stairs. Then, a furry grey and white shih tzu head peeked into the bathroom. It was Flower, my usually rambunctious shih tzu; followed by Dottie, my couch companion; and Candy, their shy but adorable and independent shih tzu sister, bringing up the tail. I might not like them to wake me up at the crack of dawn, but I was very happy to see those little girls.

shih tzu imperial lion dance

The shih tzus followed me to the bottom of the stairs, and then got in front of me and did their imperial lion dance. When I turned on the light, I saw that there were two yellow spots on the training pad. Yes! And I didn’t recall seeing any upstairs. Wow. Something was wonderful, but really wrong with this picture!

I went to the kitchen to put their bowls of cottage cheese and kibble together. Flower and Dottie followed me, while their sister shih tzu waited patiently in the living room.

When I opened the back door, the shih tzus scurried out, jumping up and down excitedly for their morning meal. I sat down their dog bowls and sat down on my lawn chair to watch them eat. Flower did approach Candy’s bowl a few times, but came to me for kibble hand feeding, letting Candy finish. Then, one by one, the shih tzus wandered out to the yard to do their business.

lazy shih tzu afternoon

three shih tzus on the carpet.

Throughout the day, Candy mainly rested in front of the couch on the hardwood floor, although she did go to her dining room corner at times, and ran up to her room intermittently. She actually didn’t go upstairs until I turned my makeshift laptop stand over to try to shorten it. That small bit of noise sent her scurrying up the stairs. It makes me wonder if she just has ultra-sensitive ears. John mentioned last night that sometimes when she goes upstairs after he gets home, even though she seems happy to see him, it’s after we have turned the TV on or up.

Her shih tzu sisters mainly languished in their corner throughout the hot day, occasionally coming out to lie on the carpet and chew on the mini Pork Chomps Knotz I gave them earlier, or the rawhide Flips from the other day that still clutter the floor. Correction, only Flower chewed on the Knotz. Neither of the other shih tzus took theirs quickly enough, so she gathered all of them around her, going from one to the other when she got bored. Later, Candy must have stolen one away from her, because when I looked down, they both had a Knotz in their mouth, chewing away contentedly. Dottie dozed on the couch nearby, next to me. I guess that is the difference between shih tzus that are barely out of the puppy stage and 5-year-old dogs like Dottie.

switched on shih tzus

The shih tzus all came alive shortly after 6:00, though, rushing me like they had seen aliens or a ghost. My guess is that they finally felt a breeze, and it put a little life into them.

three shih tzus playing.I don’t like to open the front door, because the shih tzus react to every little noise, but the heat, and a swamp cooler that doesn’t seem to be working, drove me to give it a try. The shih tzus went crazy when the neighbor came home, following Flower’s lead and barking up a storm. The other times the shih tzus began barking, I couldn’t figure out what caused it. Each time, Flower watched the door, wide eyed and panting, while her shih tzu sisters lounged on the floor, waiting for their sibling to alert them to imminent danger.

a shih tzu jumping while another watches.startled shih tzus

In our plan to get the shih tzu sisters to adapt to their daddy, John and I agreed earlier that he would come in the back door to see if Flower and Dottie would react differently. We also agreed that he would come in bearing dog treats. When I heard his truck, I was the cheerleader, chirping that Daddy was home and they should be excited.

When he came in the back door, the shih tzus were so startled that they weren’t quite sure what to do. I asked him to go out and come back in the front door. As soon as he left, the girls looked expectantly at the back door. When he did come in the front door, Candy danced to him, wagging her tail again. Although Dottie and Flower weren’t that exuberant, they didn’t treat him like an intruder.

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.

Shih Tzu Prelude: Flower’s Carefree Side

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Visitation Continues

I went to see my potential foster daughters this morning. I am not getting far with Flower. That little shih tzu began growling instantly. Dottie seemed a little friendlier. She did let me hold her, but she won’t make eye contact. When I tried to sit in their pen, Flower began barking and immediately rushed to sit in front of Candy. I think that Candy would probably adjust more quickly if Flower wasn’t trying to protect her.

I startled the dogs by rattling one of the bags of dog treats, and Dottie jumped off my lap and ran to huddle with the others. I finally convinced her and then Flower to take some chicken jerky. Candy had to venture out a little to get some from my hand, and I picked her up. I could tell she didn’t like it, because she leaned away from me, but she did let me scratch her ears and pet her for a while.

Once they went outside, Dottie and Candy ran up to me repeatedly for a treat. Flower finally came over. The most hope came from the fact that Flower jumped up and down excitedly near Barbara when she came outside. I take that to mean that one day she might be excited and happy around us, instead of growling and barking and scared.

Barbara said that they were gone quite a bit over the weekend, so the dogs weren’t that happy with them.

I am hoping to take the dogs home by July 4, so we need to hurry up and get the needed work done. We have to provide them a dog run or exercise pen and make sure they can’t get under the porch. We also have to put up something over the bottom of the fence, such as chicken wire, so they can’t get out. Then, if we put the exercise pen in the living room, we need to figure out how to herd them from the pen and out the back door. I think we can pull the couch out and make a walkway so that they walk behind the couch into the kitchen to go outside.