Tag Archives: Shih Tzu Day

Shih Tzu Day 139: Nov. 15

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thrashing shih tzu

Somebody threw up in Nigel’s bed and on the floor near it before I came downstairs. I threw it in the laundry and checked breath, but couldn’t tell who might have done it.

Once I settled down on the couch and Dottie came up, she started thrashing around, making a whining sound. I couldn’t tell if she was in pain or not. She was on her side, and she put her front paws together and moved them up and down on the sofa. I scratched her ears in case that was the problem, and when I went to move them, she lifted her head and touched my hand with her mouth, so I kept doing it. When I stopped, she had stopped thrashing.

the green dog mystery

Flower ran up to the couch a little later, Nigel in hot pursuit. After she jumped up I noticed that the green dog was lying on the floor in front of me. Either Flower had it, and that’s why Nigel was chasing her, or he brought it as a gesture of peace. I imagine it was the first scenario.

Once Flower jumped up on the couch, she kept staring at me, so I figured she wanted her haunches rubbed. She loves that the most. She always raises her head and then moves it from side to side when I give her a massage, her eyes looking bigger than normal.

Nigel ventured back to the couch for the green dog, and then ran out the door with it. When I ended Flower’s massage, she jumped down and followed him outside. She came back in with a rawhide flip in her mouth; I think Nigel smuggled it outside earlier. Nigel ran in after her, but then did his roadrunner beep beep routine, running into Shih Tzu Central and then back out and out the back door. I couldn’t tell if he had something in his mouth, but he was probably stealing something else.

Flower’s partial escape

When we brought the female shih tzus home, we made a makeshift fence so they couldn’t get up on the landscaping tiers and escape into the backyard of the neighbor behind us. Flower found she could get through a small entrance, though, and when I looked out, she was on the bottom tier, making a dash in the direction of the squirrel, high above her head. I had to get up on the landscaping tiers and chase her down. John will need to secure it a little better.

Paws up

Candy and Flower both came and put their paws up on the couch this afternoon, their cutte, little faces next to each other, moving from side to side. Looking for treats, I presume. I am still not used to Candy doing that. It always makes me smile to see both of them there.

Later, Candy came up to the Nigel and John end of the couch and put her paws up on it and looked at me and at Dottie and Nigel. I picked her up and she sat down for several minutes before crossing over me to sit next to Dottie. She let me pet her for a while, and then she moved next to me and curled up and stayed there for a while. She surprised me again by going up to John later for petting and sniffing his boots.

Shih Tzu Day 138: Nov. 14 (Fan Tan Candy)

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John had today off. First thing this morning, we weighed Nigel. He is now 11 pounds. I think he was 9 pounds when we brought him home from BFF Rescue. I guess he is fully recovered from his pneumonia. He has probably put on weight from all the treats he steals as well.

I spilled coffee this morning and Flower and Nigel ran to lick it up. It made me think of Joey. She loved when someone dropped food or spilled a drink, and by the time we grabbed a paper towel, she usually had cleaned it up.

When I went upstairs to put some clothes away, Dottie came to find me. I picked her up and came out into the hall. Flower and Nigel were both there waiting, which is unusual. When we got downstairs, I went to set Dottie on the couch and Nigel attempted to bite her tail. She barked and growled fiercely at him again.

Flower seemed to be acting confused this morning. I think it was because I took all of the couch cushion covers off to clean them, after Flower did her pee on the couch routine again. All the cushions were standing up, so she had to stay at ground level. I successfully washed the covers in the washing machine, although I wasn’t sure if I should. I used a little bit of upholstery cleaner and regular detergent. It would be nice if I could find some type of waterproof cover to put over the couch, so I don’t have to keep washing the cushions. It would be even nicer if Flower stopped peeing on the couches!

Later, after the cushions were back in place, Flower came up to the couch, and Dottie growled again, hoping she would scare her away. Flower rebelled and jumped up anyway. Dottie growled and barked. This time, I formed my hand into a bite and firmly “bit her,” made a sound and said “no!” I still am not sure what my “no” sound should be. John said the dog trainer in Accidental Tourist advised clucking, but I can’t quite get clucking down.

I gave the shih tzus DreamBones today, which do not have rawhide. It’s hard to get them all to like one thing. For several minutes all I could hear was chewing. I think Dottie was the loudest.

Nigel and Candy were playing today when he discovered Flower had found a red and white rawhide twist somewhere. He barked incessantly, and when he had the chance, ran up and took it from her. I took it back from him and gave it to Flower. She took it to Shih Tzu Central so she could chew in piece.

Flower and Nigel were tussle partners this afternoon. He must have gotten too rough, though, because they seemed to be having fun and then Flower shot across the floor and hid under the table, the Grinch right behind her. A little later, when he ran up and started barking, I let Dottie growl and bark at him. I don’t know if I should correct her every time she does that. Sometimes I think he deserves it.

Candy is so cute when she waltzes by the couch. Her tail looks like a fan and waves when she prances. I’ve started calling her Fan Tan Candy, after the Fan Tan Fanny song that goes, “Fan Tan Fanny was waving her fan,” from Guys and Dolls. This time, her body was bending in two, like a cat, as she waved her tail. Then she started barking at either John or Nigel. it must have been Nigel, because he jumped down to play with her.

Nigel’s shenanigans were trying John’s patience today. I was a little relieved. He often frustrates me and John doesn’t seem to understand why. I guess he got a taste today of my normal day with the shih tzus. After John spoke to him sharply a few times, he wandered over to the black and white dog bed, dragged it around a while and then threw himself into it and put his head on the side, a pouting look on his face.

(Pictures coming later)

Shih Tzu Day 137: Nov. 13 (Catch Up)

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Last night while John and I were watching TV, I kept smelling the distinct scent of dog urine. I finally realized it was coming from the cushion I was sitting on. There wasn’t a wet spot, so Flower must have relieved herself on it earlier and I didn’t catch it. I soaked it with cleaner this morning, and with the no-mark spray I have been using.

That left me with no where to sit, since I wasn’t thinking and soaked the other couch cushions for good measure. I moved my laptop to the kitchen table, but Dottie looked so confused.She is so used to sitting by me. She kept wandering around, glancing at me from time to time. I finally grabbed a throw and sat it in front of the couch. I used Nigel’s stairs for a laptop stand. I thought Dottie would come sit by me, but she went to lay in Shih Tzu Central. Nigel came and plopped down by me, though, with his bully stick in his mouth

Dottie eventually came up to see what we were doing, spotted my unattended coffee cup and snuck in a few sips before I caught her. After that, she cuddled up next to my side, which is unusual, with her head on my leg. I thought she was being affectionate, but then I realized that she was trying to get to the coffee cup I had sat between my legs.

Flower was sitting on the floor near us, but when the Man came down, she ran back to Central. Dottie got affectionate again after I grabbed a bagel and cream cheese. In fact, she was growling at me, showing her displeasure in my non-sharing mood.

The girls and Nigel had bully stick wars this afternoon. Nigel still believes that if I pass out four treats, they are all his. Flower can usually jump up on the couch to get away from him with her treat. However, Nigel somehow managed to jump up on it today, causing Flower to flee, bully stick clenched between her teeth.

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.