Millie gets herself stuck.

I'm not even sure how she did that...

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What can make a hippopotamus smile?

Water, of course! 


Today on the Millie Cam, I witnessed Millie dunking her stuffed hippo in her water bowl. She just might be smarter than I have previously thought. 


Though it's hard to tell from this photo, in the bottom left you can see her navy blue water bowl with a gray hippo floating in it. And also note, the adorable way in which she is sprawled out, upside down, sleeping.

Millie Cam Live!

What's the next best thing than getting to see Millie during my lunch break? Watching her on my new Live Millie Cam, of course! I've added a page so that if any time you want to see Millie too, you can check out the Millie Cam page and see what she's up to! She kept me highly entertained throughout the day. Here's a shot of her sleeping upside down when I checked in on her around lunchtime. I also got to witness her shredding the newspaper and eating it, peeing a couple times on the towel that was hanging on the edge of her playpen that she pulled in, and grabbing her ceramic food bowl and carrying it all over the playpen. There's no therapy in the world like watching a puppy play.

Fun with Brie & Wally!

A brief but very fun visit with Millie's brother and sister, Wally and Brie, in Winston-Salem!

Little Millie Piggy stealing Brie & Wally's food.

Me & Brie

Millie's Twin Brother Wally

Wally & Brie

Wally choosing to pack himself in bag to come to Richmond.

The First Casualty of the Millie Offensive

So far, Millie's chewing hasn't caused any real noticeable damage... until today, that is. You see, Millie's newest favorite thing to do is to chew my clothes. The ones I'm wearing, to be specific. I suppose in Millie's eyes, things are much more enjoyable to chew on when they're a challenge, and clothing that is on the move and attached to a human being provides that necessary challenge. 

So today, when I got home from work, Millie wanted to hold on to the hem of my favorite dress. Though her teeth are teeny tiny, they are razor sharp and tore a nice hole right in the hem of my dress. 


All of the reading I've done on how to curb bad behaviors like this says to ignore the unwanted behavior. Well, I'm no expert, but I'm not sure how you ignore the behavior when it literally prevents you from doing anything. It's not easy to walk with a dog attached to your dress. I've also read that you replace what you don't want her chewing with something she is allowed to chew, like a toy, but I can't even get her to release her grip long enough to get free. Any suggestions?

The Perfect Halloween Costume

This costume is irresistible. And it's now Millie's Halloween costume!

Millie & the Runt

Millie with her runt sister Penny. Millie looks huge!

Banjo + Millie's Labor Day Fun

Banjo hates water. We live near a river and we often walk down to sit on the rocks, and Banjo freezes up as soon as he realizes where we are. But we take him anyways, knowing that once he is sitting on the rocks, he can relax a little and perhaps even enjoy himself. Plus, it was just one of the most beautiful days we've seen in such a long time! So off to the river we went, but this time, for the first time, with Millie in tow.

Shih tzus hate water. It's part of their DNA or some kind of special shih tzu code that you must hate water, but we figured since Millie's so small, we could just carry her on the rocks and sit down and she would be fine. Not to mention, she had already made her infamous plunge into my parents' fountain, so she had some experience with water other than that in her water bowl or the bath water. We figured her fountain-leap was just a fluke, and she would certainly not like water again, especially moving water in a very unfamiliar place.

We guessed wrong. Millie actually liked the river. I took her out onto a small rock that was at water level, and after a few quick sniffs, she waltzed right on in. It was only up to her tiny little shih tzu knees, but it was enough for her legs and tummy to be fully submerged. She didn't go for a swim, because I wasn't dressed to hop in after her, but we know a life jacket is in her near future if the river is something she continues to enjoy. All in all, a fantastic first trip to the river, and perhaps the first dog I've ever had that actually likes water.

The only downside is the bath Millie had to have afterwards to get rid of the stink of river water and all of the dirt and filth her little wet paws picked up on the walk home. That water, as it turns out, is just not as much fun in Millie's eyes.

Busy Buddy Bouncy Bone + Kong Wubba

Millie is still chewing anything she can get her tiny little razor-sharp teeth on, so I thought I would try out a few more toy options to keep her occupied. 

First up we tried the Busy Buddy Bouncy Bone. In theory this is a great toy for Millie. It combines three things she loves all in one: A bone, a ball, and flavored raw-hide. She showed absolutely no interest in it. I can't determine why she didn't like this toy, but for some reason it just didn't work for her. All I can hypothesize is that the raw-hide was too difficult to reach (so she wasn't getting any semi-instant gratification) and the bone and the ball just got in the way of what she wanted (the raw-hide).

Next we tried the Puppy Kong. I've heard good things about this toy, and Millie definitely showed interest in it. I bought the peanutbutter flavored Kong Stuff-n-Paste to go inside (because that's her favorite flavor) and let her have at. She had devoured the stuffing in about 5 minutes and then left the toy behind. Moral of the story here, in Millie's eyes, the toy is boring, but the paste is fantastic. I have previously reviewed the Busy Buddy Squirrel Dude, and these two toys are essentially identical. I would recommend either one, but rather than buying the Stuff-n-Paste to put inside, just buy a jar of peanutbutter. It's much cheaper, and I'm pretty sure that the Stuff-n-Paste is just literally peanutbutter in a tube. This toy is not a good one to keep your puppy occupied for long, but I've found it's the perfect distraction to keep her busy when I'm trying to get something quick done around the house, or when I'm trying to get out the door and feel guilty seeing her sad puppy eyes. 

Oh, to be a puppy.

Millie has taken a liking to leaves. I try to imagine what goes through her head each time she sees one on the ground. I believe it goes something like this:

"Oh, a leaf! I've never seen one of these before!!!" [Walk three steps.... See another leaf...] "Oh, a leaf! Wow! These are rare!" [Wander two more steps... See another leaf...] "Oh my, a leaf! I can't believe I've seen three in one day. Lucky me!" You get the picture.

Millie finds them fascinating, and I envy her ability to see such wonder in something we hardly even notice. Oh, to be a puppy when everything you see has the potential to be the absolute coolest thing you've ever seen in your entire life. I can't wait to see her reaction once autumn arrives. It might just be a little too much for her to fathom.

Lazy Damn Dog

Banjo doing what he does best.

Lazy Beagle from Banjo and Millie on Vimeo.

Small Victories

Today, for the very first time, Millie pooped when I came home on my lunch break! Normally, she has already pooped in her playpen by the time I make it home, making it hard to teach her to potty outside. Under normal circumstances when I have all the time in the world to be outside with her and wait for her to potty, she takes about 15 minutes to sniff it out and decide to finally go. But today, when I got home and took her outside, she went running out to the yard, turned a couple of circles, and got right down to business.

I realize to most people this is highly uninteresting information, but when you have a puppy, it's the small victories that matter.

Millie's Raincoat

She is seriously adorable.

Millie's Raincoat from Banjo and Millie on Vimeo.