Shih Tzu Day 117: Flowerlicious & The Shih Tzu Madhouse

shih tzu breath analyzer

I heard Dottie’s moan at a little after 6, but beyond that, there was very little sound until 7. Yes! I might slowly be training my furry alarm clocks to let me sleep a little later than the shih tzu sisters want me to.

one shih tzu on a couch and three shih tzus on the floor.Candy and Nigel stayed outside to tussle after breakfast. I am still getting used to Candy having a playmate, since she used to seem like such a loner, sitting outside on the porch or in front of the shed all alone. Maybe she didn’t really want all that alone time after all, but just wanted a little male shih tzu companionship.

I admit that my shih tzus are what people would call “beggars.” We feed them people food that we think is good for them or at least don’t think is bad for dogs. When we don’t feed them, the shih tzus sit and watch us eat. I admit that I eat in the kitchen sometimes to avoid those four sets of shih tzu eyes. Today, I had cinnamon toast in the kitchen. When I came and sat down, Dottie came very close and sniffed my breath, verifying that I was holding out on them. I made it up to the shih tzus later by giving them a small piece of bologna at lunch and giving Nigel some of my apple. I gave the shih tzu sisters one of their apple and chicken dog treats. Flower was happy with me, because she jumped up to see me afterwards.

Flowerlicious

Flower and Candy came and sat in front of my computer before John left. He decided to attempt to pet Flower and she didn’t run! Our progress is inch by inch, but it is progress.

a black and white shih tzu and a grey and white shih tzu at play.Since Flower and John had a bonding moment, I decided to give her the remaining supermarket bone. They come five in a pack, at five dollars each, and I only ever buy one pack at a time, so there is always one bone left over. Flower was on her couch, so I smuggled it to her. I knew Nigel couldn’t get it from there, since at least so far, he can’t jump up on the couch.

I was looking at Flower on the red blanket on her couch and a new nickname came to mind: Flowerlicious. I don’t know why that popped into my mind. Maybe I read something about Fergie “Fergalicious” recently.

a black and white shih tzu and a grey and white shih tzu at play.Flowerlicious has been a sassy shih tzu today. She gave Dottie some of her own medicine. She growled at her when she came up to the couch wanting me to help her up. Later, she sauntered over to Nigel’s bed, examined his loot and stole a retriever roll, although she had her own on her couch. Her stash on her throne prompted all the shih tzus to come see what she might be hiding.

Flower was sniffing around the dining room table this afternoon, standing up on her back legs and trying to access what was on top. I realized I had a treat bag there, so I moved it, even though I didn’t think there was a way to reach it. Actually, she could reach it, but I believe only if I left a chair out, because I’ve seen that happen when some foster doggies visited the house.

Flower took a jousting turn with Candy’s boy toy this afternoon. I looked down and saw her slide across the hardwood floor, at Nigel’s prompting. Candy wandered over to the couch while Nigel and Flower were playing, and I reached down to pet her. While I was doing that, Nigel and Flower play fought their way over to where we were. Flower left Nigel alone for a second to bite my hand, and Nigel promptly started biting Candy’s tail. Pretty soon, they were biting each other’s faces. Ouch. That always looks like it hurts. Fun at the Shih Tzu Madhouse!

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Shih Tzu Day 68: Furry Alarm Clocks

furry shih tzu alarm clock switch

Although I felt sorry for our little shih tzu princesses, we did something last night to try to keep the furry alarm clocks from waking us up at 4:00 a.m. We shut our bedroom door and the bathroom door, so they couldn’t come up to the bed.

That isn’t as easy as it sounds. I personally love the jingling sound of their dog tags as they fly up the stairs, and the scratching of little paws on the bed. However, I would love to sleep in for once. I guess many people would say you sacrifice that right when you get pets. I just want to know if all dogs get up as early as our shih tzus.

<u srcset=shih tzu face off” width=”300″ height=”225″ />I heard the frantic barking at 4:00 a.m., and was tempted to get up. How can I train them to not wake us up so early, though, if I do that? Intermittently, I heard barking and whining, until I got up at about 6:30. I think that Dottie and Flower were outside our bedroom door, while Candy barked from downstairs, asking her sister shih tzus what was taking them so long to get us up. Flower and Dottie flung themselves at me excitedly when I finally opened the door, and Candy joined the celebration once we came downstairs. That’s good, since I thought the shih tzus would all be mad at me.

I can’t say that we caused this whacky schedule. At the foster home where the shih tzus lived before coming here, the man went to work at 4:00, so I imagine they got used to that schedule. I would just like to know how to get the shih tzus un-used to it and on our clock.

shih tzu sistersIt also doesn’t help that they get a treat almost every time that they go out, which makes them feel cheated when they don’t. That means that when I try to get them to go out merely to do their business, I’m not successful. I need to quickly learn some training habits before they get any older and more set in their ways!

time out

Last summer, I rode my bike nearly every day, and John and I made long bike trips on the weekend. However, this summer has been devoted to our adopted dogs. This morning, however, we made a three-hour, 30-mile journey. We came home tired, knees aching, and all we wanted to do was sit on the couch.

The shih tzus didn’t mind the lazy afternoon, once they got their sweet potato and chicken treats. Flower and Candy mainly lounged in their dog beds, while Dottie rested beside her mom.

Shih Tzu Day 32: The Shih Tzu Sisters Scatter

John causes the shih tzu sisters to scatter

I decided to bring Dottie upstairs with us, away from her shih tzu sisters, for a few minutes at bedtime last night. I closed the doors so she couldn’t run out, and I just talked to her. John said, “Do you think she’s going to answer?” because I talk to them constantly.

Life looks much better without a quesy tummy.When I got into bed, I put Dottie between us. She stayed on the people bed for about twenty minutes before she finally lay down. I could tell that her head was still up though, so she wasn’t completely relaxed. I turned over and set her on the other side for a few more minutes, and then I put her down on the floor and opened the door. She ran into the hall, but then she just sat there wagging her tail. I’m not sure if she went downstairs or not after I went back to sleep. I’m thinking about getting a dog bed to put upstairs and see if any of the shih tzu sisters give it a try.

The furry alarm clocks went off at 5:30, which was way too early, since we stayed up late. John was researching tools on his iPad, and I was working with pictures and updating my blog.

Who says puppy mill moms can't become fluffy puppies? Again, I tried to ignore the shih tzu sisters, but they kept coming back until I dragged myself out of bed at 6. John was reading the instructions for the camera we just bought, so he couldn’t help me get the bowls together, as he sometimes does. It took longer than usual, especially since Flower kept barking while I was trying to get everything together, so I kept stopping to go to the door and tell her to be quiet. I know she needs some discipline. We’re getting to that point. Inch by inch.

Our experiment with Dottie yesterday resulted in the shih tzus still acting afraid of John this morning. I think Dottie and Candy would have forgotten it, and maybe even has, but Flower has gone back to barking constantly at him. The result is that they all scatter whenever he gets near them in any way.

John and I went out for pizza after church, so we were gone for a few hours. When we got home, to try to get the shih tzus a little more comfortable with John again, he passed out the treats. It seemed to help.

they’re alive

It has been very hot, and the swamp cooler doesn’t seem to be doing its job. That might be why the girls have been on their beds in their corner so much this afternoon. However, at one point, all the animals came alive. I don’t know who hit the switch. Shiloh jumped up on our couch, and Flower jumped up on her couch, bringing one of the Angry Bird toys with her. Dottie had been next to me, but she jumped down on the floor. Candy stayed behind at Shih tzu Central.

twilight

John took a bike ride, with Shiloh on a leash. Shiloh did very well. When they came back, we sat outside in the twilight. Flower barked a little, but not much. They all wandered around the garden or sat on the porch. They all came in but Candy, so John went and picked her up. He held her and stroked her for a few minutes. She didn’t seem to mind.