Published on September 02, 2005

My friend looks at her shih-tzu with slight irritation, while the little dog looks back at her as if to say: “What’s wrong?”

I know why she’s upset. She’s decided that he shouldn’t sleep in her bedroom anymore. In her kitchen, she’s just installed a doggie house, a miniature wooden mansion, complete with a chimney, carpeting inside and a little door so the kid can come and go as he wishes – except that he isn’t coming or going. He won’t even enter.

It doesn’t matter to him how elegant this domicile is or how much it cost his owner. He doesn’t like it. Such rejection! I would smile at the silent scene, except that in my own home, I face the same sort of failure.

Among my turtle herd, the Indian roofed turtle gang (Kachuga tecta) are the cutest. Big Mac (also known as Mama) is about 12 centimetres long, but her four boyfriends are much smaller, only around 6cm long. The boys’ markings, their striped necks and red cheeks, are sharper than hers as well. A few years ago, two of Mama’s eggs hatched and we got a little brother and sister. I’ve been keeping these two in their own separate tub. Although still smaller than her mother, the girl is now three or four times the size of her brother. With this sort of competition, I was concerned that the boy wasn’t getting enough to eat.

This turtle species is gregarious and loves company. “Why not combine the tubs and put the two generations together?” I thought.

With a bit of sawing and hammering, an impressive four-tub condominium took shape last week – a garden room, two swimming rooms and one dining room. Happily, I put all the kachugas together and waited to enjoy the sight of their enjoyment over the increased size of their living quarters.

The older generation adapted readily. They love the larger basking and swimming areas. But the younger generation wasn’t as flexible.

Though the boy has quickly learned which tub holds the food, the daughter has rejected the condo completely. No matter how many times I’ve put her back in the condo, she jumps out and heads for a distant garden tub, where she buries herself in the soil, coming out to nibble from the box turtles’ food trays in the early evening.

Is she disturbed by the other turtles? Possibly. She’s not fully mature yet. In a natural environment, she would hide herself until she was ready to mate, but in the condo, she might feel unduly annoyed by amorous boys.

All that hard work for nothing! Eventually, she’ll have to have her own private tub.

For the finicky shih-tzu, privacy is also an issue. He doesn’t want it. Why should he sleep in a miniature mansion in the kitchen when his owner is in the bedroom?

I don’t know how long my friend will be able to keep her bedroom off limits to a determined shih-tzu. Miniature mansions are not the answer, and I suspect this one will end up as a conversation piece.

Questions about your pets? Fax (02) 751 4446 or e-mail laurie@nationgroup.com.

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