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)