A story of Shih Tzu Dogs

photos by : Gaye Johnson
Doggies Beauty Update …

Gaye Johnson is a dog lover. She emailed me two photos of her lovely pets Panda and Reggie. Both of them are Shih Tzu dogs, Panda is the one in black and white and Reggie is the lighter color. Gaye treats both of them like puppies though they are quite elderly. Panda is twelve years old and Reggie is going to six in November. Shih Tzu dogs has a life span of about 15 years.

Her husband Stan too loves Shih Tzu dogs. They both live in Florida and they always encourage friends and family members to get Shih Tzu dogs. Their son owns one and it is named Remy. The dog is pure black and is a beauty. All of their dogs come from a breeder in Traverse City, Michigan. Two years ago she lost one of the Shih Tzu dog TeeCee. He died when he was eleven. Gaye said she may add another one if everything is going fine with her husband.

Gaye mentioned that TeeCee’s father, Mowgli, was Panda’s grandfather. And Mowgli is also Reggie’s greatgrandfather.  They are all of the same breeding line. In fact Panda’s father is TeeCee’s brother and Panda is TeeCee’s niece All of their dogs come from a breeder in Traverse City, Michigan.

With its long, floor-sweeping double coat and royal bearing, the Shih Tzu was another imperial court favourite. It was cross-bred from the Lhaso Apso (or Tibetan Mountain dog) and the Pekinese. In Chinese Shih Tzu means “lion”. Asiatic dogs for hundreds of years were bred to resemble miniature lions. These so-called “Lion dogs” were small and bearded, had encompassing heads, level faces, short noses, huge round eyes, square bodies, and short legs.

Due to the Shih Tzu’s size at only nine to ten inches (22.8 to 25.4 cm) high at the shoulder and weighing about nine to sixteen pounds (4 to 7.2 kg), these bundles of joy are just the right size for every home and lap. Though small, playful and mischievous, it is not afraid to stand up for itself and defend its master. The breed was bred to be loving They only want to love and be loved

Gaye loves the Shih Tzu dogs partly because of her family background. Gaye’s mother was born in China and lived there until she was married.  Her father was a missionary for the YMCA and they lived there for 30 years. Gaye’s mother met her father in China and he brought her back to the USA.

Gaye and Stan are a lovely couple and they always find time to walk with their pets Panda and Reggie in their backyard. I am sorry that Stan was admitted hospital but now resting at home. With Gaye’s tender care and I hope he will return fast and full recovery.

Gaye love photography and she like to take pictures of birds, flowers and wildlife. Many of her good pictures can be found in her blog Gaye Johnson photography

Doggies Beauty

I was attracted by dogs barkings while having lunch with my family at the Summit Shopping Complex recently. Then I realized that there was a dog competition at the lobby which was surrounded by a rather large crowd of people looking curiously at the doggies.

Suddenly two dogs look familiar and caught my attention.It made me think of my blogger friend Gaye Johnson’s Shih-Tzus dogs Panda and Reggie

Many of the dogs came well-groomed with their fur immaculately brushed. Some even had their coat or tail colored, and like pampered children, they were dressed and carried around by their owners.

It was just merely a competition of doggies based on their obedience, ablility to follow the commands set by the tester. The dog owners will show the signal and command their dogs to follow.

I don’t know much about dogs and I don’t know why many of these dog owners want to own dog at home. Is it because their children are begging for one, or is it because they need one to guard their house to warn would-be intruders?

I talked to some of the dog lovers to get some tips on how to handle the dogs at home and in public. Dogs are wonderful companions and they are happy to see you when you come home that they can barely contain themselves. Some dogs get so excited that they jump up on you and anyone else that comes to visit.

Many dog owners will send their puppies to some special care centre where they get together with a qualified trainer to start teaching their puppies the basic obedience commands like, sit,stay,jump.run and so on.

When you socialize your dog, you’re getting him to learn through experience that new sights and sounds are fun, not scary. And many dog owners will exchange ideas among themselves when they take their dogs to get more exposures to socialize at dog competitions.

Perhaps it is a good idea to own a dog when I retire. Taking the dog for a walk in the morning or evening will also produce a soothing effect and even decrease blood pressure. But I know my wife will hate it as she dislikes and afraid of dogs.

Valentino Rossi won in Polini Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix

Wow! I got an invitation to watch the Polini Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix 2008 at Sepang Circuit. I have not been taking photos of motor sports here for years and it is totally different from the past.

The Grand Prix motor racing track at Sepang is an international standard compare the old days in Shah Alam. The photo equipments which used in the early 70 was totally outdated as the old anolog camera has no motor drive. The technology of cameras nowadays has helped photographers so much easy to shoot this type of action photography.

My movement restricted as I was only allowed to be in the grand stand areas. My past experience led me to get a place where I can snap within my shooting range. It took me a while to gain back the feel of shooting.

The super bikes has more power as the thunderous sound of the super bikes’ engines roaring round and round the circuit was deafening.

The weather was hot and Valentino Rossi may like it that way as he was beaten by Pedrosa´s Repsol on pole position on raining. The 2008 MotoGP World Champion had started from second on the grid, but held onto the tail of Pedrosa´s Repsol Honda RC212V as his rival attempted to make an early breakaway

Finally Valentino Rossi took victory number nine of his 2008 season in the Polini Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix, escaping from the clutches of Dani Pedrosa in the final third of an exciting race at the Sepang circuit. click here to Read the sports event in detail

Just to share some of these photos which I took from the grand stand with my Canon 30D and 70-200mm telephoto lens