LoveOurDogs.com

We found out where Monkey (our Shichon or Zuchon puppy) came from!

Well, we know where he came from, but here is the breeder site. - LOVEOURDOGS.COM It looks like they breed Shichons as well as other designer breeds.

Here is what the site says about Shichons:

Shichon (Shih Tzu/Bichon)



Shichon is a Shih Tzu/ Bichon mix. The breed also referred to as Teddy Bears or Zuchon. They are playful and lively, but also very gentle and calm. The temperament is that of a very gentle, self-assured and well mannered dog. The Shichon is friendly with everyone and love to just sit near you. The Shichon is Hypoallergenic, making them great for allergy suffers. They enjoy baths and are easy to groom. They are the ultimate lap dog!

Its so true!

They also have Puggles and Shorkes (Shih Tzu/Yorkie) - very very cute, check out the site and the pictures! They serve the Chicago Area.

Winter Potty

This was the coldest weekend in January so far this year. As January is Chicago's coldest month, and it gets pretty cold here, it was a COLD one. We had temperatures drop to -18F (feels like) and -5 Fahrenheit its pretty cold. And the dog walking gets pretty short.

I have observed a peculiar thing in our puppy. When taken out first day of the cold spell, after a few minutes he started lifting his paws and holding them up. He actually looked like his paws were freezing! Of course this is unconfirmed but its strange.

Now I have heard or read somewhere that Huskies and big sled dogs don't have feeling in the tips of their paws and they can survive the deep freeze without feeling it. Unfortunately our dog is a shichon (also called a Zuchon) a descendant of the ShiTzu and a Bichon. I doubt that his ancestors had developed this survival component.

So until it warms up to at least to 15 F degrees we will have to make our potty outings breef. Interestingly he has started picking up the speed in which he decides to get his business done. There is a bright side to taking the dog out in blistery and bitter cold of the winter.

First Snow for the Puppy - Monkey looking for his potty spot after snow fall

Here is a video of monkey frolicking in the snow. We've been wondering how he is going to react to snow covering up the yard where he just barely got used to going potty. We are happy to report that there were no long lasting problems. There were certainly several accidents as he didnt get used to going in the snow initially. After several long waits and good treats after he went, he got used to his old grounds and fell into the old good habits again.

Here is a video of Monkey, our shitchon puppy looking for his potty spot in the first big snow fall. What a good dog.

Shichon Zuchon videos

Here is an experiment. Lets see how well YouTube and google server up relevant dog, puppy, zuchon and shichon videos here. Enjoy!

Watch the latest videos on YouTube.com

Zuchon

Although there is no official entry for Shichon in Wikipedia, there is a mention here:

Wikipedia mention of Shichon

Here is what they say:

Shih Tzus are sometimes cross-bred with other toy dogs. One of the more commonly known mixed breeds of Shih Tzus are the Shih Poo^[10]. The Shih Poo is a cross breed of a Shih Tzu and a toy Poodle. The "Zuchon" or "Shichon"^[11] is a mix between a Shih Tzu and a Bichon Frisé. They may also be crossed with Maltese dogs. There are many other mixed breeds that include the Shih Tzu.

Christmas and Hanukkah cards featuring Monkey

Official Monkey Holiday Cards



Monkey with Chirstmas hat in snow background. I think the cardboard rein dear body is supposed be an extension of him.



A holiday greeting for the chosen ones.


And finally another traditional Christmas card with a very cute puppy in it. The shichon bichon puppy really looks like a teddy bear dog and makes fantastic holiday cards because he takes adorable puppy pictures.

Dog Adolescence

So we have our puppy potty trained. He is very good at home, and hasn't had
an accident for over two months.

However we have found that he is only potty trained at home. When I take
him to the office for an extended amount of time he does not abide by the
same rules he was taught at home. He does go out if he is taken for a walk,
but he is unable to hold it in the office. We thought that he would
eventually stat following potty rules that he learned at home, however today
was the last straw on that hope.

I believe a re-training is in order for a new location. We'll keep you
posted on the progress.