Tag Archives: Nigel

Shih Tzu Day 136: Nov. 12 (Catch Up)

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I tried something different today and cooked up some ground turkey to mix with vegetables for them, instead of ground chicken or hamburger. They all liked it.

Dottie is getting more comfortable with John. When he was giving out snacks in the kitchen, she came up to him without hesitating. She wouldn’t do that a month ago.

Candy has been amusing me with her cuteness again. She was doing her pony act, bucking all over the place, spurring on Flower and Nigel. She did it right in front of John, which is another first. I have been turning over food and treat duties to him as much as possible, so they will bond with him. It looks like it is starting to work.

Shih Tzu Day 110: Dog Play and Dog Treats

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Experimenting with dog treats again

a shih tzu near a dog bed.I experimented with dog treats again today. I still haven’t quite figured out which dog likes which dog treats. I threw several out on the floor, to see who would go for what. Flower and Nigel seem to be the most versatile as far as dog treats go. They all seem to like pig ears, and Nigel and Flower really like the bully sticks. It’s touch and go with the Greenbrier Kennel Club mini red and white rawhide bones, pressed rawhide bones and retriever rolls from the Dollar Tree. Sometimes these dog treats lie around for days, and then someone picks up one and begins to chew on it and all the other dogs want it. Then it’s back to bone wars.

a shih tzu pulling a sock off. Today, the other three grabbed a Beefeaters pig ear strip, but Candy chose a red and white rawhide bone. Dottie usually likes the rawhide bones too. Nigel doesn’t seem to discriminate between dog treats. He likes anything, and is expert at unraveling the Oinkies pig skin twists, but something has to be eliminated from his diet, because he has been stinking up a storm. My guess is the rawhide dog treats, which I have debated giving the dogs, because I have heard such mixed opinions about rawhide.

Overall, at the top of the dog treats list is a good-old fashioned, real dog bones from the meat department with real marrow in the middle. I bought some this week. Five minutes after I passed them out, Flower had collected three in her bed, so I had to confiscate two and redistribute. They are a little pricey where I found them, at five dollars for five small bone pieces. Not bad if you have one dog, but giving them to four dogs makes a difference!

A different life

a dog stretched out on a couch.I was thinking today how different life is from a year ago, when I edited or wrote alone in my quiet house, sometimes with the TV on in the background. Now, it’s normal to have to pet a dog on each side between making editorial corrections. I also used to worry about forgetting to take my eyes off the computer screen for long lengths of time.

a shih tzu chasing another shih tzu.Jumping up dozens of times a day to open the door when Nigel scratches at it, to either come in or go out, changes that. Plus, watching the shih tzus when they start playing also gives my eyes the opportunity to rest from the computer. Definitely, I laugh and smile more than I used to, because how can you help it with so much cuteness around?

My couch gets more and more use these days. While I worked on my laptop this afternoon, Nigel rested on one side of me and Dottie and Flower on the other. Dottie seems to be getting used to the fact that she can’t always have the very end of the couch. She didn’t growl today when Flower sat there. Flower stayed on the couch for some time. Their body language is so different. Dottie lies down, her head down, Nigel cuddles up right next to me and Flower looks like she is always on guard.

Nigel still seems a little put off at times that he can’t always get them to play with him. He especially can’t understand that when I get up in the morning, they want to play with me. That is “our” time, from when I walk out the bathroom door until when I go into the kitchen and start putting their breakfast together. He lunges at Candy and then Flower, but they ignore him or yap at him. I always think of Rudolph not being a part of the “reindeer games.”

Since the girls were ignoring Nigel this morning, and I had gathered up all the dog treats, he decided to look for attention elsewhere. He sat at my feet and began pulling a sock off my foot. Sometimes I let him take them off, but sometimes I stop him. Today, I allowed him to pull one off before I retrieved it.

Candy and Goo Goo Doll

I was watching Candy trot across the floor today. With her fur longer, she reminds me a lot of the Persian cat we used to have, Goo Goo Doll. They could have been good friends.

two shih tzus on a couch.We got Goo Goo Doll, named after one of my favorite bands, at the same time we got our Yorkshire terrier, Joey. About a year later, we brought home a Rottweiler for my teenage stepson, who was living with us. Bo, who came from a farm, seemed like he got along with both Joey and Goo Goo Doll. However, our son kept him downstairs in the day when we were gone. One day, however, Bo got loose. Goo Goo Doll was dead when we got home. It broke my heart, and Bo went to a home without cats.

I think Goo Goo Doll even had the same type of temperament as Candy. After thinking about the similarities, I picked up Candy, hugged her and carried her around a while, and then I sat down and put her on my lap. She lay there for a while before she got restless.

I knew she had answered Nigel’s call to play a little later when I heard a rapid pitter patter of little paws and looked up to see her running by, Nigel behind her, with Candy’s tail in his mouth.

Flying Flower

two shih tzusI have a lot of nicknames for Flower, but John gave her a new one: Flying Flower. He calls her that because of the way she flies across the floor and leaps up on the couches, and because of the way she leaps and dances when I come down the stairs, when she is going to get breakfast and when I come home from somewhere. Sometimes she twirls around in the air in a complete circle before touching her feet to the ground again.

Shih Tzu Day 105: Puppy Mill Study

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Puppy Mill Findings

a shih tzu that is a former puppy mill mother.Since Dottie, Flower and Candy were puppy mill mothers, I read everything I can find on puppy mill dogs. I read an interesting study today on dogs rescued from puppy mills. Best Friends Animal Society and the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary collaborated on the study.

It said that dogs from puppy mills show significantly elevated levels of fears and phobias, which we’ve experienced firsthand as adoptive parents to our shih tzu half sisters.

three sisters that are former puppy mill mothers.The study also said that they might have a heightened sensitivity to being touched and have compulsive and repetitive behaviors. It said the most prominent difference was in the level of fear, and that compared to normal pet dogs, the chance of scoring in the highest ranges for fear was six to eight times higher in recovered puppy mill dogs.

What I thought was very interesting was that the puppy mill study showed that the behavioral differences existed whether the dogs came from dirty, inhumane puppy farms or from cleaner, law-abiding large commercial breeding operations. The reason is that puppy mill dogs are confined with little or no interaction with humans or experiences outside their confines.

three shih tzus who are half sisters and former puppy mill mothers.The study showed that dogs that have not been positively handled were psychologically in worse shape. It concentrated on former mill dogs that have been in new homes an average of two years. Although many owners saw dramatic improvement, some were still struggling. Ninety-five percent of the new owners said that would adopt another puppy mill rescue, and the researchers believe it is because bonds with mill dogs are very deep.

A follow-up questionnaire led to a list of strategies that could help puppy mill dogs adjust. This including being patient, being sensitive to the dog’s reactions, holding and cuddling dogs and having a well-adjusted dog in the household. I was happy that the study verified what I thought about Nigel probably being a good influence on the girls.

After reading the study, I thought what I have thought many times, which is that I would have liked to see what the girls would have been like if they had not spent the first part of their life in a puppy mill. I wonder how different their personalities would be. But, it sounds like there is hope. It will be interesting to see how they change as the months and years go by.

Nigel’s doctor visit

two shih tzus lying on a couch.When Nigel and I walked out of the bedroom door this morning, he seemed dejected. I think it is because the girls don’t yet ask him to join in their morning “reindeer games.” He doesn’t understand that their prancing around is their way of greeting me, and that it does not signal that they want to play with him.

Delores from BFF Rescue picked Nigel up at 10 a.m. to take him to his vet appointment at Clear Creek Animal Hospital. Dr. Lindsey said his stitches from his hernia surgery have healed nicely. She noted that he has a small cough, probably from getting over pneumonia. She also said he has a small rash on his tummy, which could be from eating grains. I will need to experiment with his diet to see if it goes away.

Shih Tzu Day 101: Nigel in the Middle

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shih tzu in the middle of a family gathering

three shih tzus in sweatersshih tzu and little girllittle girl with shih tzuWe invited the children and grandchildren over to celebrate Jurrien’s birthday, which was a coupe of weeks ago. John’s idea was to make cinnamon rolls with the grandchildren, but it didn’t work out. Leticia overslept, so her and her five children didn’t arrive until after John had already completed the preparation process.

Candace and her three children didn’t arrive early either. Oh well, at least everyone could enjoy eating the cinnamon rolls even though they didn’t get the experience of making them with Grandpa.

shih tzu and little girlI was still emotional when everyone got here, so I explained that I was teary-eyed because of the pictures of our shih tzus I just looked at. I didn’t have much time to think of those pictures after that, though. Everyone thought the sweaters I got for Candy, Flower and Dottie were adorable.

However, the center of attention was Nigel, sporting his skull sweater. Everyone knows that my girls aren’t party animals. When company comes, they go to shih tzu Central and wait it out there, hoping that no one will want to talk to them. Well, except for Dottie, who is getting better about that.

shih tzuEach shih tzu did venture out when it was time to move outside for treats, however. And they all eventually accepted treats from a variety of children.

Our social shih tzu, Nigel, however, is different. He wandered around looking for a lap to sit in, pleasing all the grandchildren and the big people.

Shih Tzu Day 93: A Dog in Our Bed

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A Dog in Our Bed

two shih tzus on a couchNigel aka James Brown aka Elvis is doing well today. Delores told us she thought he would want to sleep with us, so we carried him up the stairs to see what he would do. When I sat him down on the bed, he immediately lay down, right at home. I felt kind of guilty, since the girls don’t sleep with us, but it is the choice they make, so I am sure they didn’t lose sleep over it.

I didn’t want to upset the routine too much, so when I got up to get ready to go downstairs, John stayed behind with Nigel. After the girls and I said our hellos, John gathered up Nigel and Spot Collins, sleeping in a kennel in the spare room, and brought them down.

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two shih tzusDelores said that Nigel had been on a special diet. She wasn’t sure if he had allergies, but they had been giving him Taste of the Wild, which is grain-free dog food. She sent a bag of kibble and two cans of wet food home with me. Since I have been wanting to experiment with the girls’ diet anyway, I added some of his kibble to theirs and gave them a tablespoon of his wet food in place of their cottage cheese. Flower and Dottie liked it, but Candy wouldn’t try it. I fixed her a new bowl with cottage cheese.

a tabby cat and shih tzu drinking out of same bowlAfter Spot Collins ate his food, he decided to help Nigel eat his. The invalids have to support each other. After that, Nigel and SC hung around together. The Dumb Friends League called and said that Panda was much better and was being released today. I told Mom I didn’t see any reason why Spot should stay here another day. I don’t think she will have a difficult time giving him his medicine for the next few days. Plus, he is eating and drinking and I don’t think he needs his daily sauna anymore.

shih tzu and pink bird toyI needed to get some work done before driving across town to pick up Panda. While I worked, with Dottie next to me, on her side of the couch, Spot Collins climbed into my lap. Soon, Nigel scratched at the couch and I let him up and sat him on the other side of me. Pretty soon, he put his head on my lap next to SC. Later, however, he crawled over my lap to lay next to Dottie. He looked like her son, lying next to her. I wasn’t sure what she would do, but she just looked at him and then looked away.

shih tzu and kittyNigel got acquainted with the girls’ pink bird they rarely play with. I am going to move some of their other toys into the living room so he can have something else to entertain him. I thought it was really cute when I looked up and saw SC and Nigel drinking water out of the water bowl at the same time. In the early afternoon, however, Flower seemed to be getting a little testy with SC. She was circling him on the blanket I had down on the floor, in what didn’t seem like a friendly way, so I decided to put the kitten back in his kennel until I took him home. He didn’t like that very much, and meowed for the rest of his stay.

Slow Down

In the afternoon, Flower decided to sprint across the yard. Nigel started running behind her, but I stepped in to slow him down. I don’t want him to hurt his incision. I was glad that Candy and Flower started playing after that. Nigel doesn’t seem to have affected Flower, but I thought Candy might have been acting a little less happy than usual. I don’t know what goes through their minds, but I didn’t want her to feel less loved, so I make sure to show her and the other girls as much attention as our recovering foster dog gets.

I wrote Delores to tell her that Nigel was doing well. I also told her that John was already very fond of him. I know he loves the girls, but I also know that he is really enjoying the company of a well-adjusted, non-fearful dog.