Comments for Shiba Shake

Comment on Dog Bite Inhibition by shibashake

shibashake — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 00:54:57 +0000

Yeah, I got a new Siberian Husky puppy last year (puppy Lara). In the beginning, my Shiba Inu (Sephy) would also guard his food and toys from puppy. Dogs usually compete and fight over resources which may include food and toys, but it may also be attention from us, sleeping space, digging space, etc.

Some things that helped Sephy and Lara get along-
1. I supervise them very closely and make sure that there is no stealing. When I cannot supervise, I make sure that no stealing can occur.
2. When there are conflicts, I step in and resolve them. In this way, my dogs learn to let me handle things and not try to handle it themselves.
3. I do not allow them to use aggression with each other. If they show aggressive behavior I non-mark them (No or Ack-ack) to let them know that it is unacceptable. If they continue, they go to time-out.
4. I set them up for success. For example bully sticks is really high priority with my dogs, so when they are working on those, I separate them. In this way they can enjoy their bully stick without worrying about being disturbed.
5. All dogs have to follow the same rules and I try to be very consistent about rewards and consequences.

I also did a lot of group obedience training sessions with Sephy and Lara. This teaches them that when they work together they both get really good treats, attention, and even fun games. I try to manage things so that they get rewarded most when they cooperate. I also reward them for being calm around each other.

Here are more of my experiences with introducing a new dog into the family-
http://shibashake.com/dog/second-dog-introducing-a-second-dog

Comment on Dogs and Children – How to Prevent Dog Attacks by shibashake

shibashake — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 00:39:29 +0000

Yeah, sadly it is always the dog that gets blamed and the dog that has to pay the ultimate price.
http://shibashake.com/dog/why-dogs-attack

Comment on Puppy Potty Training – Facts and Myths by shibashake

shibashake — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 00:37:28 +0000

Hello Janis,
Based on what I have read, it seems that dogs prefer going on the type of surface that they were used to as a puppy. I train all my puppies on grass, and as adult dogs that is what they prefer to go on. My Shiba Inu especially will not go on concrete or rock.

Shiba Inu Sephy also has to find the perfect spot to do his business. I think it has to do with scent, type of surface, safety of location, and probably other factors. It also depends on the temperament of the dog. Some dogs are just more particular about such things. My Siberian Huskies, for example, are a lot more relaxed about pee and poop locations.

Sephy will pee and poop in the backyard if he absolutely has to, but usually he prefers to do it during walks.

Comment on Dog Bite Inhibition by Lisa

Lisa — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 13:56:56 +0000

I have 2 huskies. The female is 12 years old and is sweet and gentle. We have had her since she was 4 (our friends owned her before that.) She is never aggressive unless chasing squirrels. She doesn’t even bother our cats. about a year and a half ago, we got a male husky that had been in 2 homes before age one. The original owner bought the dog for their adult son and then he was left chained to a tree outside for 12-14 hours a day. They were told they had to get rid of him and they gave him to a neighbor. The neighbor didn’t like that he chewed things and could jump their fence. This is how we got him. We have an acre of land with a fence and an electric fence. He is a male dog. He is very aggressive and possessive of toys, food, and me. He guards the food at times and did not like if we took the food. Same with his toys. I have been hand feeding him. He tends to take it softer if I flat hand the food but if I am holding out a bone he sometimes takes it aggressively.
My main concern is that he is aggressive towards our other dog. I can give them both a biscuit and our female will eat it but the male will sit down with it in front of him. Even when the 2 dogs are separated he will do this. Then if he thinks the other dog wants it, a fight insues. He actually tore her lower eyelid this past time. When our female want to come near me, he will get up and block her way. How can I get him to realize he cannot behave this way? I don’t want to have to make him go to yet another home. We have had him for 1 1/2 years. He is a sweet dog and they don’t conflict all day just certain times. We used to leave fod out for them in 2 bowls but I have stopped that. I just don’t know when to feed them as they don’t eat on a regular schedule like other dogs.

Comment on Why We Don’t Walk Our Dogs by shibashake

shibashake — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 04:26:58 +0000

My dogs are already pretty hyper so I shudder to think how they would be when juiced up on coffee. I don’t drink coffee anymore either coz I am such a light-weight that one cup gets me awake all night long. Then I am a zombie the next day.

You probably already know this, but too much coffee can be bad for our dogs. Just wanted to make sure that anyone reading this post has all the information.

Chocolate, Coffee, Caffeine
These products all contain substances called methylxanthines, which are found in cacao seeds, the fruit of the plant used to make coffee and in the nuts of an extract used in some sodas. When ingested by pets, methylxanthines can cause vomiting and diarrhea, panting, excessive thirst and urination, hyperactivity, abnormal heart rhythm, tremors, seizures and even death. Note that darker chocolate is more dangerous than milk chocolate. White chocolate has the lowest level of methylxanthines, while baking chocolate contains the highest.
~~[ People Foods to Avoid Feeding Your Pets ]

Comment on Questions & Comments by shibashake

shibashake — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 03:58:20 +0000

That is a great way to crate train a puppy!

Go slowly, always make crate experiences positive, get them used to a routine of sleeping in the crate, and very quickly they will be doing it themselves. I should post something about this.

Kuma is a very lucky puppy!

Comment on Shiba Inu Training Secrets by shibashake

shibashake — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 03:50:05 +0000

Hello Natalie,

Congratulations on your new Shiba! 4 paws up for adopting a dog in need.

Share some pictures with us when you get her, and let us know how it goes.

Comment on Dogs and Children – How to Prevent Dog Attacks by eddiesmom

eddiesmom — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 00:29:22 +0000

awesome advice i always feel like the dog does get the most of the blame even if its not entirely their fault. it reminds me of a story on the news last year lol i always have a story. they said a one year old was viciously attacked by the family pet siberian husky who was 6months old (now remember viciously attacked) the dog jumped on the child, child fell backwards and hit his head on the end table and split it open. the animal control removed the dog and had it evaluated. hhmmmmm maybe your with me on this and maybe your not but husky pups are full of energy the child was prob playing with a toy and the pup wanted the toy too and jumped and thats when the baby fell. now viciously attacked i think not, no bites at all by the way. it really irked me where the hell were the parents they both needed to be supervised especially a baby and a puppy what do you think ms shibashake?

Comment on Puppy Potty Training – Facts and Myths by Janis Davies

Janis Davies — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 23:44:43 +0000

Hi,

We have a 21 month old Bishon/Pug/Shi Tzu cross that has always been most comfortable going to the bathroom in our front yard,or on a walk. We have allowed this since he was a puppy but this winter and last we have tried to get him to go in a fenced kennel. He adamantly refuses to go in the kennel on the rock/snow. He will hold his pee and poop for hours if he is not allowed to go in the front yard or when we take him for a walk. He also, when in the yard, will go from spot to spot until he finds the perfect area to do his business. How can we change this behavior? Any suggestions would be most appreciated. Thanks,,,,

Comment on Questions & Comments by shibashake

shibashake — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 23:34:10 +0000

Hello Marnie,
When I got a new puppy (Lara) last year, Sephy was pretty stand-offish with her and would guard certain toys, especially toys that he is working on. In the beginning, I put a drag-lead on puppy and made sure that she does not bug Sephy when he is chewing on his toys.

I also supervised puppy closely to make sure she does not steal from my other dogs. If any dog steals, it is a timeout offense and they also get what they stole confiscated. On the other hand, the victim gets whatever is stolen back, plus additional treats and good stuff. I am the one that steps in to resolve conflicts over resources, so the dogs learn to let me handle it.

If any of them shows aggression with each other, then nobody gets the resource. I will take it away. If they continue showing aggression afterward, the one that continues goes to timeout.

In general, I have found that what works best is to set everyone up for success. It is better to prevent stealing, than deal with the results of a theft. After some time, Sephy learned that puppy is not going to steal his stuff so he learned to relax more.

I also did a lot of group obedience exercises with puppy and Sephy. This teaches him that when he works together with puppy, everyone gets rewarded. In this way, he sees puppy as part of his family rather than as a competitor. I made sure that puppy follows the same rules, and does not get any preferential treatment. Sephy got to see that puppy goes to timeout just like he does when puppy acts-out and does not listen.

After about 1 week, Sephy accepted puppy into his circle of trust.

Sephy views new dogs differently from dogs that are in his family. I am sure that if a new dog comes to the house, he would be more protective of his belongings, and he would also be protective of his family (Shania and Lara). I would likely have to retrain him and supervise him for each new dog I bring in.

Here is more on my experiences with introducing puppy to my other dogs-
http://shibashake.com/dog/second-dog-introducing-a-second-dog

Hope this helps. What does your trainer say about this?

Big hugs to Penny!