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Take Your Dog to Work Day, Friday, June 22

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It’s been a while since we’ve posted! We’ve been very busy and Mom hasn’t been much help with our Twitter account and is behind talking about our lives at the Freeze home. She promises to catch up soon, because A LOT has been happening here!

In the meantime, we ran across this information on the 14th annual Pet Sitters International “Take Your Dog to Work Day,” which is Friday, June 22.

We’re lucky. Mom has an office at home, so, technically, we go with her to work everyday. Nigel and Dottie sit on the couch with her most of the time. I jump up to see what’s going on now and then. Since all dogs aren’t that lucky, we want all the Humans out there planning to take dogs like us to work to be prepared. Follow these helpful tips by celebrity dog trainer, animal behaviorist and radio host Harrison Forbes.

Practice Makes Perfect: Before to bringing your dog into the office, practice polite behavior by taking them out to public places. Letting Fido tag along on your next trip to the park, pet store or café patio will help them become more acclimated to new people, places and animals. This will help them learn proper behavior when greeting people and help them relax in new settings.

Plan, Prepare and Protect: Plan ahead and check with your co-workers to make sure everyone is allergy-free and comfortable with dogs. Also, prepare your work space by hiding electrical cords, and setting out a dog bed and water bowl. Most importantly, make sure your pet is up-to-date on vaccines and protected from fleas and ticks that can be passed from other four-legged office mates. Use a monthly topical treatment like PetArmor®, which is the fipronil-based preventative that offers the same protection as Frontline® at about half the cost.

Walk This Way: Learn leash manners before stepping foot into the building. A trick to combat leash pulling is to stop walking or stop and walk in the opposite direction. When the dog stops and the leash becomes loose, start walking again. Repeat this exercise until your dog learns to walk with you instead of pulling ahead. This can be a long and frustrating process, but it will be effective in the long-term.

Sit and Stay: Condition your dog to sit and stay on command. This is the proper way to greet co-workers, and will help ensure your work day is productive. Teach “sit” and “down” by practicing ahead of time out in public, and offering a small treat for every successful command. Keep training sessions short and gradually build up to an hour. Once at work, encourage your dog to sit or lie down in its bed while in you’re working in your office.

Getting to Know You: Avoid office disputes by asking permission before you allow your dog to greet another dog, and don’t force your dog to become ‘friends’ with another dog; let them meet in their own time. Try to keep a loose leash when introducing your dog to another. Pulling tightly on the leash may cause your dog to become nervous and to growl or snap.

Shih Tzu Day 111: Candy and her Boy Dog

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The trouble with boy dog friends

girl and boy dog friendsCandy and her boy dog friend have been frolicking again, inside and outside. I know she enjoys playing with Nigel, but there are times that she does not want his attention. I always know when that is the case, because she yips loudly and looks like she wants to bite his little boy dog face off. I have had several stern talks with him that when a lady says “no,” it’s not “maybe,” and he has to stop and not force her to play. If he learns that, she might like him better and go out on more dog play dates. Of course, it would also help if he stopped stealing her bones and the other girls’ dog treats. Then they might all like him better.

Nigel and the cable guy

I had to have Comcast send a cable guy out today because of trouble with my cable box. Nigel greeted him at the door with his tail wagging and was practically sitting on his lap when he sat down on the couch to do some programming. Not my girl shih tzus, of course. I was in the kitchen and heard a low growl. I asked him what happened, and he said, “I don’t know! All I did was make eye contact!” It was actually kind of funny. My girl dogs are definitely different than our boy dog.

I don’t really think it’s a case of girl dogs or boy dogs, however. It’s more likely because of their time at the puppy mill. From Nigel’s behavior, he probably had a good home at one point before ending up at a shelter, so he has a lot better social skills. He definitely wouldn’t make a very good guard dog!

A boy dog in Shih Tzu Central

a black and white shih tzu on a dog bed. After the cable guy left, I took Nigel for a walk to tire him out. I sure don’t have a lot of stamina since I stopped taking regular bike rides. Running up the hill beside him tired me out! When we came back, I had the back door open for the dogs and a bee came in. I was trying to figure out where it went and looked over at Shih Tzu Central; it was flying around near Nigel, and he was trying to bite it. I was thinking that he looked funny trying to bite at it, and then I realized something. He was “at Shih Tzu Central” trying to bite it. He was actually lounging on the blue dog bed.

Four shih tzusFlower and Candy didn’t seem to think anything about having a boy dog in one of their beds in their private corner, although Dottie seemed slightly put out. They all mainly just ignored him. Since that was the case, I thought I’d work on a little bit of togetherness and moved his bed in there as a test.

He lay in there for a while without any reaction from the girls. However, he didn’t stay very long and seemed lost without his dog bed being in the living room, so I moved it back out.

Dry training pad

The training pads I have down were dry all day. It’s possible that the girl shih tzus are learning how to hold it until they go outside. I didn’t find any evidence that they had gone anywhere else in the house. My fingers are crossed.

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.