Tag Archives: Dumb Friends League

Shih Tzu Day 78: Love Fest For the Shih Tzus

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stubborn shih tzus

John tried to get the shih tzus to go outside when he got up this morning, but they wouldn’t budge. I got up an hour later, at 6:30, and escorted the shih tzus, dancing outside my door, downstairs.

I love our playtime in the morning. The shih tzus jump up and down excitedly outside the door. I reach my hand down, and each of them vies to play with it. Candy clamps down with her teeth, until I pull it away, and then Dottie and Flower grab it, mouthing it gently. Then, the cycle begins. Once we have played a few minutes at the top of the stairs, I tell them it’s time to go downstairs. The shih tzus run down as I walk, turning every now and then to run up a few steps, and then turning around again, to run down a few steps until we get to the bottom.

Once at the bottom, the hand game starts again. Here, though, the shih tzus try to grab my toes with their mouth, too. Lately, Flower grabs my hand, or foot, and then jumps up on the couch to gnaw on one of their Oinkies, and then jumps back down to join the fun.

It rained last night, so I could’t sit down on one of the chairs. I fed the shih tzus and came inside, leaving them outside to play and do their business.

the possessive shih tzu

shih tzu on dog bed.Dottie continues to be a possessive dog. Flower came and put her paws on the couch this afternoon, and Dottie, in their corner, ran over and crowded in. Later, I visited Shih Tzu Central with the idea of picking up Flower, and Dottie ran over and stood in front of Flower. I petted Dottie, picked up Flower, and put her on the couch on the non-Dottie side. Dottie came to the couch, and I helped her up. She tried to crawl over my lap, but I figured she was going to try to shoo Flower away, so I kept her on her side.

shih tzu love fest

I got back about 7:00 p.m. from picking up Spot Collins at the Denver Dumb Friends League and taking him to Mom’s. John got home a little later. After we ate, I decided to try an experiment — a love fest.

shih tzu on a couchA lot of people try to keep their dogs off the couch, for one reason or another. We, however, are constantly trying to get our shih tzus to be couch dogs. Of course, Dottie eagerly sits by me, and Flower visits from time to time. She visits less now than she did, but I do believe it’s because of Dottie. Over the last ten weeks, Candy has only jumped up on the couch when I was there once, when something frightened her. She jumps up regularly after we go to bed, because I have caught her when I’ve come downstairs at an unexpected time. She just doesn’t jump up on the couch when the humans are up and about.

<u srcset=shih tzus on a couch.” width=”300″ height=”199″ />I went and got Flower from Shih Tzu Central and sat her on the couch, but she wouldn’t stay for longer than a few minutes. Then, I got Candy and put her on the couch between myself and John. She lay down and put her paw on my leg and seemed fine. After being there about a minute, she slowly raised her head, gazed into my eyes, and then slowly lowered it again.

Candy seemed cozy next to John, so I went back and got Flower from their corner, lay down on her couch and held her on my stomach. She relaxed a little while I petted her head and her ears and rubbed her tummy. While I was on the couch with Miss Flower, Candy didn’t move away from John.

I tease John because I have slim fingers and small hands, and I always tell him his “fat hands” are better for massages. I asked him to give Candy his fat hand massage, and he complied, rubbing her face and tummy and massaging her back.

While we were with Candy and Flower, Dottie sat on her end of the couch, watching what was going on. After I thought Flower had received enough love, I brought her back to Shih Tzu Central and went and spent time with Dottie. I’m not sure how much Candy and Flower enjoyed it, but I like to think they did and I plan to schedule regular love fests.

 

Shih Tzu Day 77: Visit to the Denver Dumb Friends League

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More Grooming For Dottie

We put Dottie on the grooming table this morning. Surprisingly, she wasn’t as good as Flower was the last few times. We couldn’t get her to keep her head still, when we were trying to groom her face, mostly. Also, she kept wanting to sit down, so I had to keep sitting her back up and tickling her tummy to try to get her to stand.

shih tzu on a makeshift grooming table

Dumb Friends League Visit

I left the house when John did, to take my mom to the Dumb Friends League has waived their fee temporarily on cats over one years old. Cats between six months old and a year are $50, and kittens under six months old are $120.

You can see kittens playing when you first go to the cat area at the Dumb Friends League. I fell in love with a tabby named Spot Collins. Mom liked a small black and white kitten, but someone else did too, because they pulled it out for someone while we stood there.

We were told that some of the cats were in a confined area because of a highly contagious upper respiratory infection, but that we could still look at them. We put down the numbers for three of the older cats, plus Spot Collins, and then waited to visit with the pet counselor.

shih tzu on makeshift grooming tableAs it turned out, two of the cats we wrote down had the URI, and Mom didn’t want to affect her other cats, so we crossed them off our list. I founded another cat, 8 months old, and already neutered, whichI thought Mom might like, so I had the counselor bring him into the room so we could visit with him. He was black and white and named Panda. She liked him, so we started looking for a friend for him. We brought an orange tabby in, but he didn’t seem very friendly, so we ruled him out.

I talked Mom into visiting with Spot Collins, and he passed inspection. We brought Panda home, but Spot Collins, 3 months old, needed to be neutered, so I will have to go and pick him up at the Dumb Friends League tomorrow. I would have liked to take him to our home, but I don’t know how the girls would react. Maybe at a later date.

Ants in Candy’s Pants

I didn’t get home until late in the afternoon. Of course, the girls were excited, to see me, and I’m sure, to get their afternoon treat. Candy seemed to have ants in her pants later on. She jumped and danced all over the carpet, and then went under the table and started growling, at seemingly nothing. It is possible that she saw a mouse that we have seen a few times. That’s another good reason to bring a cat home.

Flower kept coming up and putting her paws on the couch. I think she would want to sit with me, if Dottie wasn’t always there.

It rained, so when John got home, he gave them their evening treat from the couch. Dottie and Candy eagerly took theirs. Flower eyed him warily, ran up, took one, and then ran around in a circle on the carpet. I really wish I knew what causes her erratic behavior.

While John was out of the room, I put Flower on the couch, on the other side of me. She stayed for a while, but jumped down, so I went and got Candy. She seemed relaxed. She put her head on my leg and stretched out. She was there for probably 15minutes. When John came back into the room, he sat on the other side and petted her. She didn’t get up until he got up about ten minutes later.

Shih Tzu Prelude: In Search of a Shih Tzu of My Own

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Candy, Flower and Dottie

Candy, a 2-year-old shih tzu

Off and on when I had looked at shih tzus online, I had looked at the Denver Dumb Friends League’s Quebec Street Shelter and Buddy Center, as well as local rescue centers. I recent read that the Dumb Friends League was charging only $50 for an adoption fee throughout the end of June. I looked at the site, but I didn’t see any shih tzus.

Another choice was the Colorado Shih Tzu Maltese & Lhasa Apso Rescue, but I cringed at the $300 adoption fee. Bella, the dog I had met at PetSmart, had been in the Evergreen Animal Protective League’s foster program, but they didn’t have any shih tzus on their site that were under 5. I had determined I wanted a dog at least that young.

I looked at Adoptapet.com and Petfinder.com. Each site showed a handful of shih tzus. Three shih tzus came up in Arvada, near me. They were listed by the BFF Rescue, a shelter that transfers homeless dogs from high kill shelters to foster homes until they can be adopted by a new “forever family.” Candy’s profile said she was born on 4/24/2009. That meant she was 2 years old. She was 11 pounds, which was average for a shih tzu. I read she was from a puppy mill. It also said that she had come to the BFF Rescue with her half sisters, Flower and Dottie. I read on that Candy was “still very shy and will need a lot of time and love in her new home.” Having a “shy” dog didn’t bother me. Joey had been shy. It said that Candy and Flower were very bonded and that the rescue was hoping to find them a home together.

Flower, a 2-year-old shih tzu from a puppy millDottie, 5 years old, is Candy and Flower's half sister.

With that in mind, I read Flower’s profile. Flower was  born on 4/13/2009 and was 14 pounds. Along with being shy, her profile said Flower was  “afraid of many things and would need a lot of love and understanding.” Her name made me think of Happy Flower, a dog I had seen on the Dumb Friends League’s site shortly after meeting Bella. this Flower, obviously, wasn’t yet “happy.” Maybe she could be, with the right person. But could that be me?

The adoption fee on either dog was $175, which wasn’t as good as the Dumb Friends League’s special, but was better than what I would spending going through the EAPL. I was definitely interested. I also stole a glance at the profile for Dottie. She was born on  9/17/2005, which made her 5 and a half years old. Although I had told myself I would look at dogs 5 years old and under, I still thought I wanted a younger one,  but she had a cute face. I read that she was also shy and afraid of many things, that she would need a lot of time and love and that she was good with other dogs and cats. It also said she would need another small dog in her new home.

I liked the fact that the dogs seemed to need each other. Our Yorkie was very possessive and never wanted other animals near us or her. I picked up the phone and called the number given for Delores at BFF Rescue, hoping to speak to her about Candy and Flower.