Shih Tzu Happens

Me in My New Garden I was having a great time with my brothers RJ and H. We played a lot in the garden and with my toys and I also go to go on loads of walks. One day I noticed that mum was putting on a little weight again, this was just after Christmas and so I thought it was just due to that. I know I managed to indulge in plenty of treats and snacks and so I don’t blame her. Wait a minute, I feel that I have noticed this before? What was the reason last time? I noticed mum putting on weight and then H came along a few months later……Oh No! I know what’s going on – Ahhhh! Not another brother or sister! Yes, that was right, Mum had not put on any extra weight due to Christmas, she was having another baby. I knew what to do and so became her close bodyguard and gave her company throughout. We had a problem. Our house was not big enough for us all, especially when the new baby was to arrive. Mum and Dad searched all over, looking for a new home and then a couple of months before Mum was ...

Me chilling in the summer sun I love the summer: Long, hot days (not too hot as my fur coat keeps me rather warm) long plays in the garden, trips to the beach, rides in the car and generally having great fun with my family. During these summer days I would play in the garden with Dad, RJ and now H as he is a little older. My favourite games are playing with long dog although he does get covered in grass after playing outside, and small squidgy balls (just the right size to fit in my mouth). Dad did try me with a tennis ball as I saw a lot of other dogs playing with these on the beach. There was a device that this ball fixed into and then this was flicked in a fast semi-circular motion which launched the tennis ball for what seemed to be miles. The other larger dogs on the beach loved this. Unfortunately for my delicately small mouth, the tennis ball was far too big for me and so this toy was a non-starter. One of my best games was playing with small stones: they were just the right siz...

Me playing in the garden During the hot summer weather, I liked nothing more than playing with dad and RJ in the garden. We used to play fetch with the ball, and I could get this back to them before they had even reset their throwing arm. I raced back and gave them an exited Gruufff! To let them know I was ready for the next throw. RJ used to sit on the trampoline we had in the garden and despite me being quite small (beauty in a small package I’d like to think of it!) I could jump all the way up onto the trampoline and drop my ball next to him. Especially if he was not throwing it again fast enough for me. Queen of the trampoline! Dad thought that my athleticism was such that I may be able to be entered into an agility competition. With that in mind, he set about making up a course for me to jump around and test my skills.  Me Showing off my show jumping skills This was great fun, but I soon got bored of this as I just wanted to play with my ball. Therefore, on round three of the ...

Right - Off we go... . Now H was getting a bit older, dad would take him out in his pushchair. This was a bright red colour and had a pushchair seat with three wheels, one at the front and two at the back. There was another baby carrier which fixed into the top of the pushchair when H was still quite small. As he grew up a little the baby carrier could be removed and could then sit in the normal seat. Underneath the pushchair there was a canvas shelf used for carrying H’s baby bag. When dad was taking H for a walk to sooth him to sleep after a huge feed, he would take me with him. The large wheels of the pushchair meant that he could take us off the path in along various dirt tracks and bridle ways. These were covered with stones and rubble in places but just dirt tracks in others. The pushchair had no problems negotiating these with its huge wheels.  After a short while, H would always drift off into a deep sleep and dad would let my leader out onto a long lead so that I could exp...