Tag Archives: exercise pen

Shih Tzu Day 30: In Hiding

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Hiding from Mom and Dad

The girls woke me up at 5:30, like clockwork. When I finally got up and went into the bathroom, Dottie rubbed very hard against my leg. I’m not sure what that means. I assume she just wanted to be close to me.

What's the name of this Flower? Hey, that's my name!

I am going to refrain from giving the kids many treats today, because Dottie still has diarrhea. I feel bad because she also still seems fearful of me, after I impatiently pulled her the few inches towards the training pad yesterday. I ended up using the sides of the exercise pen to make a fence between the living room and the dining room, so they couldn’t run and hide under the dining room table. They tend to do that when they get scared, and Dottie has been doing it a lot. Candy and Flower hide there often as well.

Playing Nice with Mom

When I'm in the garden, I forget I don't feel good.I left the house for a few hours to meet a friend for lunch. When I got back, the girls were all very playful. Candy played with the orange dog off and on. When I held her and then released her, she didn’t go right back to her pen. Neither did Flower.

Shiloh found a way to get up on a dining room chair. That is another reason to block off that area. The table is full of clutter, and I have the treat box there. I forgot to close it earlier, and I think that might have been his target when he got up on the chair. When I shut the container, everyone thought it was opening, dropped what they were doing and came running.

They did their wild dog impression, where they all rush towards me at once, Dottie and Flower wagging their tails, Candy attempting to move hers and Flower bobbing her head from side to side.

The highlights of the afternoon included watching Shiloh trying to dominate Flower, and watching her sass him back. After John got home, Flower jumped on the couch with Dottie and me, while he sat beside me, for the first time. It helped that he was eating Bugles, and he offered her a few.

Shih Tzu Day 10: The Lawn Mower Monster

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John and I didn’t go to bed until after midnight. Since the shih tzus have been leaving “gifts” on the carpet for John to find, we formed the Superyard into a closed pen, instead of leaving it open. However, I didn’t go to the trouble of securing it shut.

When John got up this morning, at about 6, at least one of the shih tzus was running around out of the pen, thankfully, without leaving any reminders. If we really don’t want them to get out of the pen, we will have to try harder.

I knew I should go downstairs, but I slept for about thirty more minutes. When I came downstairs, the dancing began again, even though John was sitting nearby on the couch. They must be getting a little more comfortable.

I didn’t see any evidence that they had done number one or two, so we herded them outside. The exercise pen was still muddy, so we used the safety gate from Barbara’s to make a smaller pen on the porch. However, again, we didn’t secure the end, so Dottie went around it and down in the mud. The other two stayed on the porch.

I fed them their breakfast outside. After that, they stayed quietly in their pen for awhile. When John was upstairs, Dottie decided to wander around. We went to lunch and to get the girls some more cottage cheese. I couldn’t find any Pork Chomps, so I got them some treats that looked like chicken wings. I gave them  each one when we got back. Dottie didn’t eat hers, probably because of her missing front teeth, but Candy and Flower did.

Later, we took the girls outside again, although they never seem to do what we want them to do out there. John gets them outside quickly, as long as I block off their “tunnel” once they get through it, since Flower always wants to turn back. Once outside, they were okay until they heard John start up the riding lawn mower in the shed. They scattered and then all of them came back to sit by me. They let me pet them while they watched John intently, and Flower let me hold her for awhile without fidgeting.

Candy didn’t seem scared, but just inquisitive. Flower seemed nervous and Dottie shook like a leaf. I put Dottie on my lap for awhile. They stayed on the porch with me for about ten minutes.

Shih Tzu Day 9: Dogs Gone Wild

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John got up early this morning and went downstairs. He isn’t used to having to watch where his feet land, and took a few steps before realizing he was tracking poop.

Can you do this with your tongue?When I came downstairs, our shih tzu sisters were giddy with excitement. They danced around crazily, bumping against the side of their Superyard. They waited impatiently while I put together their breakfast: a mix of dry dog food, Natural Balance and a tablespoon of cottage cheese, which they love.

They stayed in their playpen until John left, as usual, and then one by one, started wandering around.

Barbara called after John left for work and said she could come over and do some grooming for Dottie. When she got here, I could tell that they remembered her. They didn’t growl or bark.

As far as the dog grooming went, Dottie surprised me. Joey, our Yorkie, trembled and shook whenever she had to get groomed. In fact, she trembled any tiYou think this Bird is Angry!me she got in the car. As a result, she only got in the car if she had to go to the veterinarian or the groomer, which reinforced her fear that something bad was going to happen to her. But Dottie sat there very calmly while Barbara trimmed her, with the clippers and scissors. She wasn’t so calm when it came to her face, but she was able to trim some of it. With her face trimmed, she reminds me even more of the faces of the Peace and Garcia Ty Beanie Babies I used to collect.

Flower surprised me even more. Although Flower likes me to pet her, she still bolts when I try to pick her up. This time, she tried to get away, but calmed down as soon as I picked her up and went to sit by Barbara. She handled the grooming almost as well as Dottie.

Candy was a different story. She struggled to get away once I picked her up and sat down on the floor by Barbara. Barbara was able to trim her more than she had been able to previously, but Candy fidgeted quite a bit. Barbara said she could tell the girls trusted me, or they wouldn’t have been as calm as they were.

After Barbara left, I realized how much the trim affected Candy. She went outside by herself and sat in the corner of the exercise pen near the house, where I couldn’t see her. It had been raiI told you clippers freak me out!ning, so she got lots of mud on her paws. Barbara had just cut the mud out of the pads of her feet and I didn’t want the new mud to harden, so I washed her paws in the sink and sat her back down.

She went and sat down outside the indoor pen, against the wall, so I knew she was still feeling threatened. I shouldn’t look at Milo’s chicken jerky as the cure for everything, but I gave her a piece. About 10 minutes later, she came around and got back in the pen with her sisters. I took the opportunity to take a group photo that included one of their Angry Birds dog toys.

I was concerned when it started thundering this afternoon, but the shih tzu sisters didn’t seem to notice it. I thought it might scare them. I guess if the noise comes from outside, it’s not a threat to them, even though Candy in particular is afraid of most things, including her shadow.

Men still terrify them. They didn’t growl or bark when John got home, but the three shih tzus ran for the backdoor when my stepson, Gabe, came over. In fact, Flower was so afraid that she ran into the kitchen and stood near my feet until I picked her up. That is the first time Flower wanted me to pick her up — she was that frightened.

I went outside with Flower, Dottie and Candy and stayed there for about 15 minutes. Flower sat quietly in my arms most of the time. Their fear, in particular towards men, makes me wonder what they went through at the puppy mill. It also could just be from other males they have been around, or maybe they are just more used to women. We will never know.

Things are a lot different than I thought they would be. When I first met these furry darlings, I thought Candy and I would bond the most, but she is the most aloof, and Flower seems to rely on me the most. She continues to nudge me to pet her if I pet either of the other dogs.

Shih Tzu Day 7: The Doggy Circus is in Town

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You'd be having a bad hair day too!The shih tzu sisters have been doing great. We had Leticia and the grandchildren over all day Sunday. The dogs weren’t thrilled, but they didn’t seem traumatized.

We ate outside in the garage and let the children come in one by one to meet them. They behaved when Rema, Junior and Evita came in to meet them. They even came out into the room when Oriana was inside, but Flower did growl at Dulcea.

We were afraid how they would react badly to the Fourth of July activities, but they came through with flying colors. We tried to get them to go outside to do their business early in the evening, but fireworks went off and they scurried back inside. After that, we stayed inside and watched movies. They handled the gunshots and loud noises from “The Mechanic” well, so action movies shouldn’t be a problem. I think the noise on the TV blended in with the fireworks outside, so they were fine.

I saw you hide the chicken jerky!Candy did a little dance across the carpet last night that was adorable. I don’t know what it meant, but she sure is entertaining. They all dance around when I come downstairs in the morning, although they get serious when John appears. I know they will warm up to him, as soon as they realize he won’t hurt them.

When they continue to be most excited, however, is when they hear the Milo’s Kitchen bag rattling. Flower jumps around like a dancing horse and they all rush me. I’m not sure if that’s acceptable behavior, but I prefer them to be rambunctious over shaking in the corner of their exercise pen.

Don't even think you can jump higher than I can!Candy is pretty good about going outside willingly, but the other two still think they should do their business in the pen or on the carpet. I bought some training pads for them, but as soon as I put one down, Flower began wrestling with it.

 

 

Shih Tzu Day 2: Candy, the Early Riser

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Where can I hide?Dottie, Candy and Flower made it through their first day here as foster dogs. It probably has been how Delores first expected. The shih tzus have been tentative since Delores and Barbara left.

John got up at 4 a.m. this morning, because he kept hearing someone’s dog tag tinkling. Barbara told me that her husband usually got up about that time and took them outside before he went to work. I hope they will adapt their schedule to us, instead of the other way around.

When he came downstairs, Candy scurried back into the Superyard. She hesitantly came back out, and then she went outside and did her business. John said she growled and barked at him. She has never growled at me, so men must frighten her.

I came down about 7 a.m. and got Candy to go outside. I also picked up Dottie and took her outside. I couldn’t get Flower to budge. I should have left her, but I went in her play yard to try to get her to go outside. She went, but she wasn’t happy.

I was just getting used to my last foster mom!

When we came back inside, I put Dottie on the couch next to me. She was still shaking a little, but she did allow me and John to pet her, and every once in awhile, she’d look up at me. That was at least better than yesterday, since she wouldn’t make eye contact with me at all then.

Nothing smells familiar!

After John got up from the couch to get ready for work, she jumped down off the couch and went back in the pen with her sisters.

Candy surprises me. She came out of the pen a couple of times when I was talking to Mom on the phone. She was the last one I expected to venture out on her own.