Is this normal dog behavior?

That corner is her little "nest" it is "her territory".

She's a puppy and is playful and wants someone to throw things so she CAN bring them back.

Shih Tzu's are very friendly and playful dogs with a comedian side to them.

She's just being herself - play with her, you'll both enjoy that.

Oh! That "Shoe thing" - Don't you know that when you're a puppy, a SHOE - ANY shoe (or slipper) makes an excellent teether?

REMEMBER: She's a puppy - she's still cutting teeth and exercising the ones she already has.

You could give her a BEEF bone to chew on - Or get her a BEEF rawhide bone from the Pet Store - MAKE SURE it is BEEF and MAKE SURE it DOES NOT HAVE KNOTTED ENDS.

Some dogs chew them off and Choke on them because they try to swallow them.

NO RAWHIDE KNOTS PLEASE!

My 4 year old white shepherd does somewhat the same thing. Or maybe it's just the opposite.

She has certain things that belong in certain parts of the house.

some toys belong in the den, some in the office, some in the bedroom and some in living room in the toy box.

She will go get them to play with them or whatever but then puts them back where "they belong". If I move something to clean the house, she will give me the hairy eyeball and put it back in its place.

I don't know why, but it seems to make her happy and after all she is picking up her toys which is more than most 4 year old kids will do so I just go with the flow. It's normal enough for me.

Grandpa has a Shihtzu, full bred. He does the same thing. Taz will try to take the socks off anyone in the house that doesn' t have shoes on. He also hordes stuff in his bed. I'm guessing that is just that type of behavior for that type of dog. I have a Rottweiler and she doesn't do that.

Shoes are always good for a victory lap. My dogs will take my shoes and parade around as their "naughty" behavior. They have fun and I suspect that I react a lot more to them stealing my shoes, which of course makes them enjoy stealing them.

One word of caution : be sure that when you take something away from your dog - whether it's your shoe or his chewy bone, etc, be *sure* to offer a treat in exchange. There's something about the way you described what your dog is doing that makes me think that you could spend some time playing the object exchange game with this dog and it would be good for both of you. Here's a link to help:

http://www.paw-rescue.org/PAW/PETTIPS/DogTip_Resou...

1. is your dog teething?

2. Dog's want their own stuff some dogs will stay in their "Spot" like the rug

3. shoes are usually the only things dogs can get bc they are on the ground most of the time

4. the behavior in your dog is normal seeming to me

My dog does that too.

She puts all her treats, toys, little treasures she's acquired, our clothes, and anything else she finds in her secret spot.

My dog likes shoes (I suppose) because they're harder then most stuff we give her to chew on.

She's chosen that area as her den and wants to have her posessions around her. Shoes smell like owner's feet so they are a prized possesion/toy.

She's claiming what she thinks is hers and bringing it to a place she is calling her home which is the corner she has selected.