Max & STRANGERS

Max, our three year old Shih Tzu, is pretty much blind in one eye. Somehow, he cut his eye when he was just a few months old. A couple of surgeries and months of cone-wearing later, he gained the ability to see light (we think). Because of his poor vision, he gained a distrust of people other than J, myself and our parents.

Max loves to hear his own voice when we have company. He will bark incessantly until he fully establishes who they are. Even then, if they make a sudden movement toward him or leave the house and come back, he starts the barking all over again.

So, when we have any kind of repair person or some other STRANGER over, we started putting Max & Molly in their room and closing the door so that he will not be traumatized by having STRANGERS in the house.

Now, when Max comes out of the room, he starts barking/sniffing all over the whole house, retracing the STRANGER's footsteps. Periodically he will come up to J or I with a quizical look on his face as if to say "WHAT WERE YOU THINKING!?!? YOU LET SOMEONE COME INTO OUR HOUSE!!!!"

When he finally convinces himself that they have left the house, he collapses on the floor - completely exhausted. Our poor, little guard dog. Life is rough sometimes.