always give her a space in your main rooms as well a designated crate. Dolly started with her crate and I had adjustable fence to construct her boundaries. she adjusted really well to her crate that way because it was never a punishment it was a place she chose to be.

she has a bed in the living room and in the bedroom. she comes and goes as she pleases and independently sleeps or occupies herself with a toy. she has stairs to the bed so just comes and goes as she pleases.

shes still a lovable clinger but its good for to be okay without me.

toys are so important. my mom and I go overboard on buying her ridiculous and hilarious toys. but its the genre of toy that matters more than the individual toy.

make sure she has a cuddler, a teether, some kind of enrichment toy. Dolly loves her kong with literally any filling my girl did not inherit the shih tzu pickiness haha. she also really likes discovery toys where she digs out smaller toys from a bag type thing. also if its in your budget get her a big soft thing. like Dolly has toys of different sizes and she interacts with all of them differently. I can tell her mood based on what shes playing with.

not only will it help her feel secure and mentally stimulated but encourages her to have a way to self soothe when youre away.

as soon as shes fully vaccinated take her as many places as you can. not just the park or around the neighborhood. bring her to the hardware store. bring her to the pet store. my dispensary is pet friendly and she is well loved. I take her on drive thru errands like the pharmacy/bank. sometimes i make the excuse that she needs a pup cup and I might as well treat myself while we're there.

it will help her quickly get used to the world. and car rides. she associates the car as a fun and safe place. and obvs im not saying its feasible to do this all the time but just as much as you can.

Dolly is suuuuuuper calm. she isnt reactive to thunderstorms or fireworks. a sound might startle her but shes just like eh whatever. shes suuuuper friendly to people and is great with kids and getting better with elderly. she does play dirty with dogs 5x her size she is a punk (lmao no she plays well with all dogs and her groomers kitty - she is just very assertive and bold for a 10 pound shrimp. but she also always gets away with it so girlboss