Hi All. I would like to introduce our 2nd Shih Tzu, Xena. She arrived at the end of January just shy of 9 weeks and has settled in well. Zeus took about a week and a half before he accepted her. We have her now for just over a month. On the recommendation of the breeder we got a playpen after a week so that Xena was separated from Zeus so that he could check her out in his own time. Also, if we were out for several hours she was secured in her own area. Compared to Zeus she is more confident and friendlier with a lot of energy. I am not too sure if it is do with her genes or if it was the nurturing that she got from her breeder and her mum. There was some hesitance about getting a 2nd dog. The push was coming from me whilst it was the other half that was keen on getting Zeus. Zeus loves to cuddle in the morning but come evening he prefers his own space. My wife feels a little short changed since she had not expected his independent nature. I felt that getting a 2nd dog would bring a bit more happiness and possibly an evening cuddler I did quite a bit of searching for a suitable 2nd dog for Zeus and what came up was another Shih Tzu or possibly a Maltese. We did hunt for a Havanese but could only get a male - all the females were gone or it may have been the case that they would not sell a female to us given that we had a male Shih Tzu. We did consider a Poddle cross but noticed that Zeus was not into Poodles or Shih Poos or Maltipoos. He did get on well with a Maltichon (local dog) and liked to play with an oversized 7kg Yorkshire terrier for 15-20 minutes but after that they had enough so would not be soulmates. He liked bigger dogs like the Labradooble and the odd Cockapoo but we did not want anything bigger than Zeus. The Coton Du Tuleur was another option and at one point I did express an interest in a local male Lhaso Alpso that was not accepted by another dog but they gave him to someone else. Xena will be most likely be like her mum at around 7kgs so would guess that she'll be two thirds the size of Zeus. We have no plans on mating the 2 and will look at medical castration (temporary neutering) for Zeus so that she can remain intact for at least 2 years. The breeder did ask if we would consider breeding from her but that's a bridge that we will cross when we get there. After the 2 litters that we had from our 2 Cockers in the 90s, it is not a road I would go down too easily again. We picked the name Xena (Warrior Princess) after observing her about 2 weeks. Her aunt competed in Agility competitions and did well. We noticed that she is fast and can keep up with Zeus on a sprint. So far we are really enjoying her and do not expect to have some of the same challenges that Zeus has presented to us in particular his stubbornness and on occasions his refusal to walk ! If he does not want to walk we don't force it and simply return home. This only happens now on a rare occasion. Xena in Ukrainian / Russian translates to Zina which means belonging to Zeus. It's not a proper Greek mythology name like Zeus but it's a modern day version of a female dog that can hold their own.
Nice story of welcoming Xena to the family! It sounds like she is fitting in well and is a great addition.
Thank you for the feedback Lovely pets. It has been a re-learning experience how to walk 2 dogs at the same time. Local grocery store provides a nice hook up point & a bowl of water for our 4 legged friends
Sorry but - Although dog prices have fallen since Covid lockdown ended, it is worth noting that many dogs - and especially easily saleable puppies - have been stolen from tie-up spots outside stores. I would not recommend leaving a dog unsupervised outside a store, particularly one with car parking, which may aid a quick getaway.
Hi Carole. There is no need to be sorry. You are correct in highlighting that dogs and especially puppies should not be left outside shops. Our local store did have an incident early on last year when a small white dog was snatched and was never seen again. I would not normally go to this particular store but generally bring Zeus into the shop at the door so he is in full view. With the 2nd dog and particularly with Xena having a mind of her own I left them outside. It was error of judgement on my part.
Hi All. I just thought that I would give a little update on the post honeymoon period Zeus and Xena are still doing very well ! When it was just Zeus there was a system where he would take time out and essentially be alone. What has happened now is that he wants to be with Xena. He might go off to the quiet part of the house and then within 5 minutes he is back thinking that he is missing out. Zeus was never an evening cuddler but now that has changed ! He sits up beside me on the couch resting his snout on my leg. He will do this for 15-20 minutes and I would quietly rub him and then he goes off to his quiet area. I do take him off on his own so that he has a complete break from the house for 4-5 hours and then it is back to sharing his space again. The odd time I would see Zeus discipline Xena but I would rarely intervene. Time out is good leveller if it gets a little heated. If we are out for say 4-5 hours we would leave Zeus loose in the house but Xena would be in her playpen area. It is only when we go out for a short spell that they would be confined to the kitchen area. Thankfully Xena is quite independent and does not suffer from separation anxiety which seems to be a trait of the Shih Tzu breed. We did expect to have a lot more work and cleaning with 2 dogs but we did underestimate the dynamics associated with it. Re-assuring the alpha male that he is still no. 1 has highlighted the sensitive soul that he is. It would be hard to go back now to just one dog.
