Tag Archives: Dog Whisperer

Shih Tzu Day 62: Candy Wags Her Tail for Daddy

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tail-wagging Candy

Shih tzu on carpet.I think we had a major victory last night. When John got home from work, Flower forgot that she had spent the whole week with him and barked ferociously, as if he was an intruder. Dottie just hung back, but Candy greeted him with a wagging tail. That’s pretty good, since Candy’s tail rarely wags. Flower didn’t bark for very long, however, especially after John passed out the Milo’s chicken jerky.

Dottie’s turn on the table

Dottie was patient on the grooming table, but wouldn't walk on the leash.We are going to try to either put one sister on the leash or do some type of grooming every day. This morning, we put Dottie on the table. We trimmed around her paws and a little on the bottom of her feet, gave her her treat and put her back down. Flower is always too nervous to eat a treat on the table, put Dottie did.

panic mode

Shortly after John left, I was messing around with my blog site, trying to figure out why I couldn’t set up email subscriptions correctly. Right after that, it showed an error. I panicked, since I hadn’t backed it up for a while. It turned out that Fatcow was having a problem. Thank goodness. I did back up the site as soon as it came back up.

Candy’s turn with the harness

Candy took a few steps in the harness, following a Vienna sausage.The girls all seemed so bored today, languishing on the carpet, floor or in the doggie beds. I decided they should get a little fresh air, and while they were at it, Dottie could have another leash and harness lesson. Dottie was stubborn, and didn’t want to budge, though, so I targeted Candy.

I tried to do what Cesar recommended, introducing the harness to her, and giving her a bite of the chosen treat, Vienna sausage again. She took the bite and didn’t seem too disturbed by the walk-in harness, so I put it on her. I didFlower was relieved to avoid the grooming table and leash. have to carry her out to the middle of the grass. She didn’t walk as much as Flower did the other day, but she did take a few tentative steps. She’d stop, I’d offer a small bite of the sausage, and she would take a few more steps. I didn’t want to push her too far, so I made it a short session. I split the last sausage between the three of them.

Candy went upstairs for a short time after we came in, but then she came down and spent most of the afternoon with us. I think that’s another good sign.

Shih Tzu Day 60: The Treat Man

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John, the Treat Man, Not the Scary Man

It appears that John might be going from being a Scary Man to being the Treat Man.He has been following Lia’s advice, throwing down hot dog pieces when they don’t expect it, so that they will look forward to having him at home. When we got home from church and running errands, Flower started to approach him, without barking, but she stopped herself.  All three came up to him eagerly when he passed out the sweet potatoe and chicken treats. Afterwards, Candy started digging her back paws into the dirt, kicking it up around her. It was a cute sight.

No to the Potty Patch

I had high hopes that the Potty Patch would be our answer to carpets that don’t smell like Parfum de Urine, and that, if necessary, the girls would like to do number two on it as well, although that isn’t as big a problem as the other. Once again, my girls thought it was more fun to scatter the pieces on the carpet, then to actually sit on it and do their business. Maybe I should have sprinkled some dirt on it, to make it look more like real grass, or, in our case, maybe I should have bought one that resembled dying grass.

Candy Joins the Family

Candy had second thoughts about trying to escape.Sunday evening was very peaceful. Dottie took her place beside me on the couch. Candy chose to join us, instead of hibernating upstairs. She spent a lot of time crossing in front of us, going from one end of the living room to the other and back. For some reason, Flower abandoned her usual spot on the hardwood floor for the comfort of the blue dog bed.

Later, she jumped up on the couch, landing half on Dottie. They stayed there quite a while, while John and I watched a few episodes of The Dog Whisperer. The more I listen to Cesar, the more I realize that I tend to reward the girls for bad behavior. He also says it’s important to  begin with structure and then move on to awards/treats.

In one episode, he explained how to put a harness on a fearful dog. According to Cesar, you must first show the dog the harness. Then, take a treat and make the dog come to you and take the treat from your hand, through the harness. Eventually, you should be able to slowly put the food in the dog’s mouth and, while she is submissive, put the harness over her head. I’ll try that next time.

For some reason, one episode caught their attention again. They ran out of the Safe Zone as if someone had flipped a switch. Candy got excited and wagged her tail — a rare occasion — turning her head excitedly. I think they miss other dogs. I hope we can leash train them soon, so we can take them out into the world and see how they react to other dogs.

“I’m a Good Guy, Promise”

John wanted to take the dogs outside without giving them a treat, so they won’t expect it every time. Flower and Dottie wanted to come back in instantly, but Candy came up to him and they had a petting session for a few minutes. When they came in, Candy lay down at his feet. It reminded me of something Cesar said earlier to a dog: “I now you don’t know me, but I’m a good guy, promise.” They have to be realizing that John is a good guy.

I think that Candy touched John’s heart so much that he decided to take them out again later, and this time, really give them a treat. I was working, so I sat that one out too. This time, John was sharing Vienna sausages with the girls. He ate one first, watching as three little noses sniffed the air. Candy came up to him first, winning half a sausage. Dottie quickly grabbed hers and gobbled it down. Flower kept her distance, until John called her name. When she came up, she took a bite, but Candy rushed up and stole the rest of hers. John pulled another one out, since Candy had stolen the rest of hers. He also decided to give the rest to Candy, since she is the smallest. And probably, since she’s warming up to him the most.

Shih Tzu Day 53: Happy Birthday, Dad

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Swim Day with Grandpa J

If I sit really still, the visitors will think I'm a shoe and leave me alone. Dottie, Flower and Candy The dogs were home alone a lot today. It is John’s birthday, and instead of a typical birthday present, I gathered coupons for free birthday meals. We started out the day by going to IHOP for breakfast. We came home and spent a few hours with the girls before going back out for lunch at Noodles.

While we were at lunch, Leticia and her children and Gabe, Crystal and Avi arrived at the community pool. We told them we’d come by later with our camera, because I wanted to get pool pics of all the kids. We had a pool party for John’s birthday last year, but then, we both swam. We didn’t feel like getting wet this year.

Do we really have to have visitors?I knew that Flower, Dottie and Candy wouldn’t like the grandchildren to raid their house after the pool party, so I told everyone we would set up the ping pong table outside and visit out there. However, they wanted to come inside and say hi to the dogs. As soon as they came in, Candy ran upstairs to hide.I found her later hiding in John’s side of the closet. She must have thought she’d look like a shoe and would go unnoticed. It reminded me of a famous scene from “ET,” where ET hides in the closet. As for Flower and Dottie, they stayed in their corner, growling their unwelcome.

Is he going to pull another treat out of that bag or not?After everyone left, we gave the girls some privacy. I had one more phase left of my birthday present to John, which was dinner out at Macaroni Grill. When we came home, we took the girls outside for their nighttime treat and romp in the grass, before settling down on the couch, with Dottie beside me, to watch a few episodes of The Dog Whisperer.

Shih Tzu Day 38: Another Saturday with the Shih Tzus

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A Shih Tzu Saturday Morning

No sleeping in anymore, even on Saturday morning! I think I got to stay in bed until 5:30. Got up and started doing laundry, helping the shih tzus with their Twitter account, deleting old email. Flower barked when John came downstairs. I think she thinks he needs her permission to move around the house. I finally stopped her. She barked while she was outside waiting for food, but stopped as soon as I brought it out.

I sure wish I could get control of the peeing and pooping in the house situation. Someone, probably Flower, thinks she should pee when she comes upstairs to greet me in the morning, too. Always in the same spot.

I watched Dottie use the training pad the other day,so I know she knows its purpose. However, she only managed to get half on the pad, and the other half on the freshly steam vacuumed carpet.

I also watched Flower squat right next to it, like I saw Candy do the other day. I stopped Candy in time, but not Flower.

The Horrible Harness

I succeeded in almost putting the Comfy Control Harness on Flower. I didn’t get it on quite right, and when I tried to fix it, she tried very hard to bite me. It’s hard to take her serious, with her eyes so big and her head bobbing from side to side. She looks more like she is trying to catch flies than bite me.

Dottie is the calmest of the bunch, so I slipped the harness on her, attached the leash and had her walk around wearing it, the leash dragging on the ground. I took her outside and she took a few steps, not really knowing what I was trying to accomplish.

When John got up and came outside, I decided that he could try to get her to walk on the leash while I tried to get the experiment on video. Dottie suddenly wasn’t calm anymore. She bucked like a Bronco, twisting and turning, then stumbling over something on the ground. John decided it might be better if I held the leash next time. I went and picked her up, but she wouldn’t look at me. I’m sure she felt I betrayed her by taking her out of her comfort zone.

A Playground for the Dogs

John and I spent the afternoon expanding the dogs’ playground. We gave them the entire backyard, except for a very small area we fenced off at the far back, where the landscaped area slopes up to the neighbor’s fence. It would be possible for a determined dog to get up there and get through the fence into the neighbor’s yard. I doubt if the shih tzus would venture up there, but Shiloh already has climbed to the top.

When we brought the dogs out for treats, they forgot all about eating. We had thought they might slowly venture away from the area they had used before, but that wasn’t the case. Flower started sniffing around outside the old perimeter, going further and further, followed by Candy and finally Dottie. They all explored quite a bit.

After getting treats, Flower and Dottie went in, but Candy the Inquisitor was content to roam the yard for another 30 minutes.

The Dog Whisperer Barker

Shiloh had a little extra fun in the afternoon. He got to sit on the riding lawn mower with John.

Later, however, he got into trouble. He just can’t stand it when dogs bark on the “Dog Whisperer,” and I refuse to not watch it because of him. We have three shih tzus to train, and we need all the help we can get! This time when he ran to the TV, tried to leap into it and began barking, we pulled him back and put him on a leash. He still rushed the TV, barking, a few times, before he got tired and settled down. My fear is that the shih tzu princesses will follow his lead.