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Hi,
Ok, I’m about ready to give up, I was doing so well with my 7 month old siberian husky puppy, and all of a sudden, in the past few weeks, she has become horrible in the car, standing on my center console from the backseat, and I struggle with getting her to go into her crate when it’s time for bed, or time for me to leave for work, when all of this wasn’t an issue like a month or so ago. She still continues to get me up in the middle of the night to pee at least once but most of the time it’s twice, but my trainer said to ensure she has access to water in her crate at all times. I can’t even lure her into her crate with boiled chicken! When she used to go in all on her own. I really haven’t changed my routine or anything, only difference was she got spayed back on January 5th, of this year. And the car ride thing, she used to get in a lay down, but now just stands with her front paws on the console, a few times I’ve had to suddenly brake and her nose hit the shift. This was even with a zipline I bought from Petco recently as the trainer strongly suggested she be strapped in, if not in a crate. Now, after getting that zipline, which must be too big for my car, (Toyota Matrix) she won’t even get in it, to go to class! I have to pick her up, when before she used to jump in fine…I even tried a peanut butter kong which she absolutely loves and that wouldn’t get her to go in on her own! I’ve thought about crating her, especially since I am driving with her to Florida later this month, but I am concerned that she’ll scream the entire car ride. I don’t know what else to do or try to make this a more positive experience. And it’s very hard to try to get her kennel in my car everytime we have training class as it’s the Large one, adequate for her full grown size, so it’s kind of hard to maneuver in and out and in and out. I even tried to do the open and close the door thing that my trainer is suggesting to prevent her from door bolting until I give her the release word of “OK”, which she does fine at home with in her crate with that door, but last night, I practically closed the door on her nose, which almost freaked me out. And I also have this great, freedom no-pull harness, but she cries when I try to put it on her, she’s already broken a cheap collar from PetSmart so now I have a Lupine on her, but still, she needs a harness, and I did what the trainer recommended, putting it on the floor and letting her sniff it, then giving her a treat, then putting it on her, giving a treat and taking it off….I still continue to have to chase her around to get it on her when I really need to, when we have to go to training. And I read about your technique with walking loose leash, the stop and go, but if we’re at a park, or even in my development, and she pulls, and I stop, she just sniffs the grass, or something on the sidewalk or road etc. So it doesn’t seem like the point is getting across to her. There is another dog at home that she plays with fine, a 6 year old border collie, I have no complaints about that at all. I just think she challenges us and I don’t know how to stop it, and I can’t always re-direct her chewing on the furniture or other stuff with a treat or kong because the other dog is always there. My boyfriend says they (siberian huskies) have got to be one of hardest, if not the hardest dogs to train. He thinks she will never walk loosely by my side on a leash because their breed is known for pulling. I can’t do pulling or agility quite yet with her as it is my understanding, from another trainer I once inquired about it from, that she is not fully developed and done growing.
Any suggestions/recommendations you can offer would be greatly appreciated, as I would love to get her into being a Therapy dog someday, as well as cart/sled pulling, skijoring, bikejoring, canicross.
Thanks!
Hello Nicole,
Yeah, as puppies grow up, they will start to gain confidence, become more independent, and test their boundaries more. Sibes are a more independent breed, so they may test and challenge more than the average breed.
1. Crate
My Shiba Inu showed similar behavior in terms of getting into the crate. Initially, he was ok with getting in on his own. However, after some time, he learned that getting into his crate usually means we are leaving the house, and he has to spend his time alone in the crate. Once he learned this, wild horses could not drag him into the crate – during the day. But he was ok going in at night, because he knows we will be there with him.
One thing that helped is to do crate desensitization exercises at various times during the day, when I am home to supervise. In this way, Shiba learns that going into the crate does not necessarily mean that people are leaving and has to stay home alone. Initially, I started with very short crate times, then I very slowly lengthen the duration.
http://shibashake.hubpages.com/_srec/hub/Dog-Anxiety-Fearful-Dog#mod_15989164
2. Food Rewards
With my Sibes, I have noticed that food rewards are a lot more effective when it is rare, and also when they are a bit hungry. This last year, I put Husky Shania on a mini diet because she was putting on a bit too much weight. She is a 3 legged dog, so I have to monitor her weight carefully. A nice side effect is that food rewards have become a lot more effective. Also, I only use certain rare rewards for more difficult tasks. Teeth brushing, for example, usually gets them something special that they only get for doing teeth brushing.
When I give them treats, I make sure to reduce their regular kibble intake by a comparable amount. I also break food rewards up into very small pieces.
3. Other Rewards
I try to use a variety of other rewards, in addition to food. For example, my Shiba loves playing chase games so I use that as a reward for him taking a bath.
My Sibes like going for long walks, so I use that to get them to wear collars and harnesses. I also use it to stop them from eating outside poop.
A key part of reward training, I found, is to use a variety of motivators, and try to identify which rewards are the most effective for different situations.
4. Nothing in Life is Free program
I follow the NILIF program with all of my dogs. This means that they have to do something for me before I give them anything in return, including food, toys, attention, and freedom.
5. Leash Training
When I stop, I also bring my dog in so that she is next to me. I just shorten the leash and therefore limit her freedom. We do not move again until she first does a Sit. She is not allowed to roam while we are in stop position.
When we start moving again, I usually give her a shorter amount of leash. If she walks nicely for a while, then I give her more freedom. When I want her to slow down, I briefly tighten the leash, and that is her cue to slow down. If she does not, then we stop.
I play around a lot with the length of the leash. The shorter the leash, the more control I have, and the less freedom my dog gets, and vice versa.
I am currently using the Premier no-slip collar for all my dogs during walks. It is great for preventing collar escapes, which my Shiba is really good at.
Heh, yeah they are certainly a very independent breed and they can be a challenge to leash train. My two Sibes walk pretty well on-leash under normal circumstances. When they see moving deer or cat though, they will still pull. Both of them have pretty high prey drive.
I just stop and wait until the deer or cat is out of sight, and Sibe has calmed down some, before moving on.
Hugs to your Sibe girl! Let us know how it goes.
Hello. I have a 10 month old female Shiba Inu and about two weeks ago she started to lose her hair like crazy. No matter how much I brush her it just keeps coming off and is even just floating off as she walks about and if she shakes, actual tuffts will fall off of her. And then starting today, her undercoat is falling off like pine needles off of a dead christmas tree? I have done alot of research and I know that they “blow” their coats, but I’m not sure if this is the normal shedding or something abnormal and her vet is unsure also since ours is the only Shiba Inu he has ever had contact with. For comparison reasons, I can brush her for about 7 minutes and fill an entire quart size bag with her hair and then I can put her in our dining room to run around (wood floors) and even though I just vacuumed, I can come back after her playing with a toy for ten minutes and there will be hairs all over the floor… Our Shiba Inu is adored by 4 kids ranging from ages 8-3 and they love her so much, but every time they are petting her or cuddling her, they literally have to completely change their outfits because they will be covered in hair. I greatly appreciate any suggestions or help. Her food is a high quality Holistic Brand Healthy Extensions food which she has been on since we brought her home. The only other thing that I can think of is that she was treated for fleas for the first time since the end of summer a couple weeks ago with Frontline plus because she had been near another dog and I felt nervous that the other dog may have had fleas and she had acted rather strange for 2 days after receiving the correct dosage for her weight. Besides for that, we live in upstate NY where it is still very very cold weather with no indication of spring, another reason why I question that it may not be the seasonal blowing of the coat. She is inside 99% of the time where it is normally about 70 degrees though with nighttime going down to 55 degrees. Thank you again for any help!!! ~ Kristie
Hello Kristie,
My Shiba Sephy sheds a lot when he blows his coat. In fact, he is in the middle of his coat blow currently, and I brushed him for about 15 minutes today. There was a lot of hair! We always joke that we can make another Shiba from all the hair.
I use The Furminator
to remove Sephy’s undercoat. It is very effective at getting the stuff out.
When I furminate Sephy, his undercoat comes out but his outer coat is still intact. How is the coat of your Shiba girl? Is her outer coat quality normal?
Is your Shiba girl doing well on other fronts? Is she energetic, drinking well, eating well, and has healthy stool?
What you describe doesn’t sound unusual to me, unless there is something else that is causing concern.
Hi again Shibashake!
Shiva’s had an interesting week so far. About five day’s ago I noticed a very strange bump appear on shiva’s face just below her left eye. I hadn’t noticed it before, and to me it just looked strange. I pressed on it lightly to see if it felt hard or fatty (like a tumor growth might), and it felt hard underneath my fingertips and her fur. I wasn’t too concerned until the next morning when the bump seemed to have gotten bigger.
I then remembered my friend had told me that she had needed some minor dental work, but that her teeth looked fine and it could be addressed later. I checked her teeth and sure enough both her back-most premolars had funny looking marks on them. I started researching what to do for cracked teeth, then learned that abcesses can form in these teeth. I then realized that the mark on her face that I thought was just a flea bite she picked at too much was actually a mini rupture.
This scared me a lot because I’ve never dealt with this in a dog before, and I wasn’t sure how bad the infection could get. It scared me to think I might lose my baby pretty much as soon as I got her. Shiva had been eating and drinking normally, lazing about normally, and playing with me as well. But I am also prone to overreacting when it comes to the care of my animals because I view them almost the way I would if they were my child, so needless to say as soon as the vet reopened after the weekend I was there with her to get the issue assessed.
Turns out she did have abcesses, but both of them have seemed to drain on their own. The vet went ahead and cleaned her teeth for me and gave me a list of some dental chews and toys to use to further remove her tartar buildup. He also gave me antibiotics to give her in the mean time while i monitor the spots on her face.
I’m so happy that she didn’t immediately have to go into surgery to remove any teeth. Those funny spots I saw were actually large chunks of tartar that had embedded themselves into the sides of those teeth causing minor damage and gum recession. The vet said as long as I do something to help her reduce her tartar build up, things should be fine.
Moral of the story: Sometimes spots on dog’s faces below their eyes are indicitave of abcessed teeth, or abcesses due to tartar buildup and irritation. They don’t heal normally like a scratch or other mark might, they stay for much longer.
When I still thought it was just a flea bite, I did clean to wound with some hydrogen peroxide to keep it from infection, and then put a thin layer of neosporin over the spot. I don’t really know how much good that did since it was an abcess and not what originally thought, but it at least prevented a nasty infection from rooting itself into the wound on her face.
The chews the vet recommended were C.E.T. dental chews, and a nylabone (which i already have at home thankfully!). So hopefully soon shiva will be completely healed up and happy!
Also, I was wondering, I know that while sifting through the many wonderful articles you have on this site about dog care and behavior, do you have any advice for brushing a doggie’s teeth??? I’m thinking I might start doing this since her teeth have so much tartar buildup.
As for the art, no I haven’t tried 3D yet, but I do sculpt and paint. I’ll post more links to pictures in the future!
Thanks again!
Hi Sarah,
That is very interesting with the face bumps. It is not something I have encountered before, and it is very good information to know.
In terms of Nylabones, make sure not to get the super-heavy duty versions. I have read some reviews that those have a risk of causing cracks in teeth if the dog bites too hard. I have regular Nylabones and have not encountered any problems with them so far.
Some time ago I got some processed deer antlers for Sephy and he cracked one of his pre-molars chewing on those. The dental specialist we went to told us to stay away from really hard chews such as hooves, and other chew-toys with similar properties.
I brush Sephy’s teeth 3 times a week. He accumulates more tartar than my Sibes for some reason.
Sephy does not really like handling or getting his teeth brushed so I use his favorite melted cheese+chicken meal during teeth brushing. I do not give him this food anywhere else so the only way he gets it is by letting me brush his teeth. Here is the process I use to brush Sephy’s teeth-
http://shibashake.com/dog/home-dog-grooming-tips#dog_dental_care
Hugs to Shiva!
I recently read that too, about the the non-edible nylabones causing fractures and cracks in teeth. I replaced shiva’s with the edible kind last night. Thanks so much for the advice on brushing her teeth! =)
Hi there. Your site is great! I have a beautiful 15mos old Shiba girl named Penny. She is headstrong but the strides we’ve made due to consistency and hardwork with a trainer have been extra rewarding because we’re doing it together.
My question has to do with her aggression inside my home. She loves all dogs at the park, on walks and at her shiba meetup. However, I didn’t socialize her at home. I thought that since she was fine with sharing bones and playing outside, she’d be fine inside her castle.
I was wrong. if there are NO toys, bones, food/water bowls down, she is okay. However, she will fight if there is anything out. How can we work on this? At some point, I’d love to foster and maybe even adopt another Shiba. This is not possible now.
thanks for your help!
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!
http://s1102.photobucket.com/albums/g446/felixLeo/?action=view¤t=322233_2676453714542_1352196244_33003958_1118185953_o.jpg
Here’s my pup~ Shiva
Hi! I just recently adopted my first shiba baby! I’m already in love with her.
She has some allergies and skin issues I have been trying to resolve since I adopted her last month. She’s extremely sensitive to flea bites, and due to information I received from when she was rescued, has the capacity to bite off all her fur and leave sores just to alleviate the pain/itch. Granted she was bald and covered in sores when she was first surrendered, she has now regrown about 95% of her fur. Although, I think her double-coat is still coming in, there are some areas that are uneven due to minor scars, and a few areas she still bites at on rare occasions. She’s been to the vet and is up to date on rabies and flea meds, and will be going back for her yearly visit and to get heart worm meds in a week. She was also checked for demo due to severity of her skin condition when she was brought in, and came up negative. THANK GOD!!! However I was wondering if you could give me some advice on a couple of different things.
First, I was wondering what kind of heart worm prevention you would recommend. Comfortis is the only medication that she is currently on, besides a small dosage of wild salmon oil I picked up to help with her skin issues, and the occasional allergy pill (half a 25mg tablet, Pro-Pet brand, Diphenhydramine HCl) I give her when her itching seems to be excessive. I don’t want to give her anything that would conflict with these.
Second, she has the tendency to sit down after she eats, lick the fur on her paws and bite her nails. I have changed her food twice, and she is currently on a no-grain high quality food. Could it be that this is just a habit of hers, like a nervous tick or compulsion? I have tried to make her stop and she just gets up, walks around, then sits and does it more until I reprimand her again.
I’d appreciate any help or advice! THANKS!
Hello Sarah,
Congratulations on your new Shiba! She is absolutely beautiful. I really like her long legs and body proportions. 4 paws up for rescuing her!
1. In terms of heart-worm all my dogs are on Heartgard. According to my vet it is very important to get dosing right, and as you say, it is also important that it does not conflict with other medications. It is definitely a good thing to discuss with your vet. My vet is the one that recommended Heartgard so that was what we went with. I haven’t done any in-depth research into it myself, so I can’t say if it is the best. However, I have not encountered any problems with it so far.
2. In terms of paw licking, Sephy does a fair amount of that as well. Sephy is pretty fastidious and spends a fair amount of time grooming. I think it is a common Shiba trait. They are very clean dogs, which is one of the reasons many people liken them to cats.
How often does she do it per day? How does her paw look and feel? Does she allow you to touch her paw? Is her paw sensitive? Does she walk comfortably? Depending on frequency, it could just be a grooming thing. To be safe though, it is best to get the vet to check her paws when you go back.
I am sorry I can’t be of more help, but with health issues it is best to consult with the vet. I usually just call them up and chat with the vet tech. They are pretty good about giving advice on what it could be, what to look out for, and whether it is an emergency situation.
Btw. did you make the drawing on the photobucket gallery? It looks very good, very anime-ish.
Hugs to Shiva. Great name – is she named after Final Fantasy Shiva?
Shiva’s name is actually from the Sanskrit word (and the Hindu god). I picked it cause it means “kind” & “pure” in some translations, and because she’s pure white, except for little red tips on her ears!!! I Also have a bit of a thing for anything Indian. The friend I adopted her from introduced me to Indian food, which then inspired me to really learn about their culture, instead of just eating their amazing food, so it seemed appropriate!
I’m taking Shiva to the vet for her yearly checkup in a week when I get paid again, so I will definitely bring up my concerns then. I think there’s a good possibility I am just being an anxious mommy because Shiva is the first dog I’ve had since I moved out of my parents home back in ’08. I really want to do what’s best for her.
Her paw pads look fine thankfully. I was worried that maybe it was a grass allergy, but I discovered she does this even if she’s off the grass. She ‘grooms’ herself in excess of thirty minutes most times and one one of her paws has done it enough to thin the fur causing pink to show through. Any who, I will definitely bring it up to the vet.
Also, I tried that treat thing you mentioned on part of your blog on new years – where you stuff a kong with wet dog food and freeze it. Shiva looooved it! I didn’t expect such a great reaction from her, but i was very pleased.
Shiva also did something that she’s never really done before yesterday. It kind of melted my heart into a puddle. When I was petting her after i got home from work, she snuggled against me as close as she could get and leaned into my hands. I can’t even describe how good it feels to have her do that. It was like a doggie hug!
As for the other picture on my photobucket, yes i did draw it. Art’s kind of a thing of mine. I used to draw in a more anime-style but after I went to an art program at SCAD a few times I incorporated a few of the realistic tricks I learned into my character drawings. =)
Thank you for getting back to me! I really appreciate the advice.
Let us know how it goes. Would love to learn more about heart worm medications, and the paw thing.
That sounds awesome. Shiva sounds like a big time sweetie! My Sibe Shania does something similar, and it is the best thing ever. Shania also senses when I am upset and she will come over and give me hugs and licks. Dogs are the best!
Have you tried 3D art? There are some really fun things that can be done with the 3d tools available nowadays. Anyway, would love to see more of your art. Please share a link with us when you have the time.
Bigs hugs to Shiva!
I have a bit of a problem with my sheba girl doing her best sheba scream when she is caged. i typically put her cage in another room and once she doesn’t hear or see me she will stop after a bit, but for the next two months I’m staying with my parents as I just moved to their state and am finishing college here. my sheba’s grating scream will really upset my parents and I’m desperate to figure out how to get her to accept her cage more and not view it as a punishment. any suggestions? (ps. I already found she does better with my daughter’s little pup that my sheba mothers in with her)
With Shiba Sephy, I went very slowly with his crate training. Initially, I just taught him the “Crate” command and I wouldn’t even close the door. I would say “crate”, throw a treat in, and he would go in. Then I would treat him again while he is inside the crate. Then he can come out again, and I just repeat. Once he is comfortable with going in and out, and sees the crate as a positive thing, I close the door just for an instant (1 second). Then I open the door and he can come out again.
Then I slowly work on training him to stay in the crate for longer and longer periods of time. This process is called desensitization, and it worked well with Sephy.
http://shibashake.hubpages.com/hub/Dog-Anxiety-Fearful-Dog#mod_16001226
Hello, my name is Kassie and i am about to be the proud owner of a shiba inu min pin mix and i had a few questions about the wonderful breed. First i wanted to know about how old is a shiba when their tail curls? Second my puppy (Kuma) is a very calm and relaxed puppy, does this mean he will grow up and be just as calm? Third i want to know what toys the breed loves the most. I bought him a wide variety of toys but i would like to know their favorite. Now i understand all dogs are their own but im inquiring about the generalities of the breed. Here is some information about my puppy Kuma. As of right now he is 4 weeks old, he is half shiba inu on his dads side and minature pinscher on his moms side. Both parents are full blodded. He, as a puppy, looks exactly like a black and tan shiba pup and looks nothing like a min pin. his behavior is very calm and relaxed he rarely cries or wines and is a major cuddler. He sleeps ALOT! Hope to hear soon so i am better equiped to handle his home coming!!! Thank you!
Hello Kassie,
Congratulations on your new puppy.
Hmmm, I don’t remember for sure. I think Sephy’s tail was curly from the beginning. Sephy has a double curl in his tail, so it looks like a bob tail.
Puppies and even dogs are usually more calm and quiet when we first get them. They are in a new environment, so they spend some time learning the ropes and figuring out their new environment. Many people refer to this as a honeymoon period. Sephy got all feisty after a couple of days though. He is a very bold dog, so it took him about two days to figure out that we were harmless.
Also, young puppies sleep a lot when they are young. A 4 week old puppy would likely spend a good amount of time sleeping. In terms of temperament, this is something that the breeder can observe over multiple puppy play sessions. With my Sibes, Shania and Lara, I specifically asked my breeder to pick a puppy that is more submissive.
In terms of games, Sephy really likes chasing games. He likes playing flirt-pole and also the water-hose game. Some Shibas really do not like water though, so this is also based on individual temperament. Here are a couple of articles on my experiences with dog toys.
http://shibashake.com/dog/best-dog-toys
http://thedoginc.com/fun-dog-toys
Good luck with Kuma and take lots of puppy pictures!
Thank you so much for your reply. Sadly i dont think Kuma will have a curlly tail
i went and visited him today and his tail only slightly curls:(and only when he is happy or excited, but thats ok i love him just the way he is. Today he was more playful and high spirited than previous meetings but he started to attack my furry boots( ah habit i will have to break early) he seems more happy gnawing on my finger than any toy ive showed him so we will see how that changes as he grows. Again thank you for your help!
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=298291080214179&set=a.288850274491593.64827.100000998670578&type=1&theater here is one picture of him!
Hello Kassie,
Thanks for sharing Kuma’s picture. I love looking at puppies. I was unable to access it though. It says “This content is currently unavailable”. Perhaps it is not publicly shared?
Oh yeah thats probably why try again i made sure that album is public not private go ahead and look at all his pictures from birth to recent.
Awww, he is such a cute little thing! His siblings are also adorable.
Love the bath pictures. Do they enjoy the water? Shiba Sephy generally dislikes water unless it is in service of play.
Given that was his first bath his sisters complained more than he did. as long as i was holding him or talking to him he was alright. He absolutely hated the blow dryer though so we had to stop. other than that he didn’t seem to mind it.
hello again, just an update i got kuma on the 8th and let me tell you its been a whorl wind of an adventure. the first night was the longest night of my life lol the second was so much better! he is only six weeks and he already understands that outside is the place i want him to do his business:) he is such a sweet little boy:)
That is awesome Kassie! He sounds like a really clever and good boy. Definitely put up more pictures, they grow up really quickly.
He is way to clever for only six weeks. I started kennel training him the first night to get him use to being in it while im away and at first he didnt want anything to do with it but after about 2 days he realized it was harmless and recently i would place him in there after he had fallen asleep but leave the door open so he would know he is in there because he wants to be instead of him having to be. Now when he falls asleep on me i pick him up and put him by the door and he walks in and falls back to sleep. its only a mater of time before he goes in it to sleep on his own:) he certainly has the cunning of a shiba inu thats for sure
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!
Thank you
kuma is now 9 weeks going on 10 and im having a few problems. Kuma gets bored with his food very easily. to begin we had him on just plain old dry food but he would only eat little bites a lot through out the day and night but i was worried he wasn’t getting what he needed so i found a lamb flavored wet food and mixed it with the dry and at first he couldn’t get enough of it. After a few days he went back to eating just little amounts. So i started mixing baked shredded chicken and steamed chopped baby carrots(his favorite treats) and he would eat it but we went back to dry food after he ate too many carrots one night and got sick. now we are mixing chicken and beef wet food with shredded chicken with broth and mixed in dry food and for now he is loving it but i can tell he is getting bored. I dont know how to please him so he can eat as much as he should. Any suggestions? My vet said that when he reaches 6 pounds to start a plan to feed him 3 times a day and to only allow a specific amount of time to let him eat it and it should correct it but im not so sure… he is stubborn like a shiba 
speaking of which another one of my problems is his stubbornness. he is a great boy… when he wants to be and when something is in it for him. i will tell him not do do something and i know he understands but he goes back and does it again. ive even removed him from a situation and even a room and he goes right back and does it again. for example i have plants in my living room that he wants to eat and ill tell him no and ill try to get him to chew his toy instead or take him out of the room and the next time he is in it he goes back to chewing them. i dont know how to stop him do you?
LOL! I went through the same thing with Sephy! I also mixed in wet with dry, at which point Sephy would just lick up the wet food and not want to eat the kibble. Then I ground up the dry food and mixed it in with the wet, at which point Sephy would only eat little bits of it. Then I started mixing in boiled chicken, bacon, cheese, etc.
Finally, I decided that he could stand to lose some weight, so if he did want to eat, that is fine. I only gave him his food at very fixed times, and only for a fixed duration, just as your vet suggested. He skipped a few meals, but after some time, he got hungry and started eating plain kibble.
Now, I also make him work for all of his food, including his kibble. He does commands, grooming, etc. and whatever is left over he gets through interactive food toys.
Sephy used to love chewing up my books. I would no-mark him (ack-ack) and body block him away. Then as you say, I get him to do something else. If he keeps coming back to chew books though, he goes to timeout. I start with very short timeouts, maybe 30 seconds to 1 minute. If he chews books again when he gets out of timeout, then he goes back in for a slightly longer period of time.
He stopped doing it once he realized that trying to chew books means he loses his freedom in the house.
Hugs to Kuma! Let us know how it goes.
Thank you i will try that. Just an update kumas tail does curl but not as much as a shiba
Hello! Your website is so helpful… Our little Shiba is almost a year and half old. She generally is very playful and sweet. We experienced some food aggression when she was younger, especially with big treats – rawhides and anything else that she could not chew and eat immediately. After eliminating those and being more bossy with her meal time, she was doing really well. However, last week she woke up and immediately threw up. She didn’t feel well the rest of the day – not eating and very lethargic and snuggly – which is not her usual daytime nap routine. Around 11 p.m. I tried to hand feed her, which we have done occasionally since she was a puppy. She stopped eating and for a moment I thought she might throw up but to my surprise she lunged at me instead! She ended up biting my lip and I ended up with stitches. Right after she bit me, she immediately started kissing my feet and rolled over on her back when my husband rushed into the room. It’s like she knew she did a really bad thing… Any advice on what to do now? I’ve contacted a professional trainer but thought a fellow Shiba owner might have some Shiba-specific ideas… Thanks!
Hello Emily,
It sounds like it may be health related. Sephy is a lot more intolerant when he is not feeling well. He also feels a lot more vulnerable, so sometimes he responds with aggression. Is she eating better now? Has she still been vomiting?
My dogs also got sick over Christmas. It was a dietary thing, but they started vomiting, getting diarrhea, getting lethargic, and losing their appetite. I took Shania to the vet, and also packaged up samples of all the things we feed her. I also brought in a sample of their stool. The vet gave her some anti-nausea medication and injections, and also gave her some fluids. They also gave us medication to help replenish her large-intestine bacteria. We also started feeding the dogs a very bland diet – e.g. boiled chicken.
Both Shania and Lara got better after about two days. Sephy is still not totally well. I think he takes longer to recover from these digestive things. I make sure he gets a lot of quiet time to rest, and also that he doesn’t drink too much at one time. Drinking too much can also cause vomiting. When Sephy is hurt or not feeling well, he is also very sensitive to what I am feeling. If I feel afraid or stressed out, he gets that way as well and starts using aggression to keep people away. While in this state, it is more about fear and vulnerability with Sephy, and not about dominance or who is boss.
Another thing with Shiba Sephy is that he can get antsy when we do things that are outside his routine and comfort zone. For example, we trained him with the collar when he was a puppy and he was fine with that. Then, there was a whole time where we just left the collar on and therefore didn’t have to put it on him. After a while, he got unaccustomed to the “collar putting on” process, and we had to repeat desensitizing him to “putting on his collar”. It could be a similar thing with the hand-feeding.
Now we take off his collar and only put it on before his walks. So it is something that we do every day and has become part of his routine.
Hope this helps. Let us know how it goes with your Shiba girl.
Hi Shibashake,
Thank you so much for this site – your articles and personal experiences have somewhat prepared us for our little monster shiba puppy, Luna. I have to admit, after raising four high energy puppies (non-shibas) into excellent dogs, I really didn’t understand what all the fuss was about with Shiba Inus. That is until we met Luna. Sigh… She is the most gorgeous tri-colored (Black) shiba but such a brat! She shows absolutely no remorse, no fear, no submission and she wants what she wants = ) Of course, she is also super smart, funny, and melts us each time she meows (yes, she meows..).
We are learning the hard way and will most likely need to hire a dog behavior specialist (something I have never done). She appears to have no problems meeting and playing with people but she does bite everything and everyone. We keep spraying her with breath mint each time she bites, and it seems to work until the next time… at least she continues to have minty fresh breath!
The question I have for you is regarding grooming. I noticed that she is starting to shed, so I brought out our furminator (the one for small dogs) and used it on Luna. Now she has bald spots all over her formerly beautiful fur! Actually they are not bald spots, but her top coat is gone in spots and only the undercoat shows. Needless to say, her fur looks just terrible. She’s less than 4 months old so she is not blowing her puppy fur just yet. I don’t understand what happened! We generally brush her with a regular grooming brush and did not have any problems. I used the furminator once, and some areas were fine and others, were less so… the irony is that she didn’t mind the furminator at all. Fur kept coming out in batches and I could have kept combing more fur out, but I noticed that some areas started looking grey and short =(
My husband says that the fur will grow back and that I shouldn’t obsess – but her fur is looking uneven and splotchy. Ive used this furminator on our other dog (boston terrier) and haven’t had any problems. Could you tell me how you used the furminator on Sephy? Did you experience this patchy fur issue with him? I’m so sad that I ruined her coat =(
Hello Jody,
Congratulations on your Shiba puppy! Luna sounds totally adorable.
I did not start using the Furminator on Sephy until after puppyhood. He did not shed much until after he grew up. The fur will grow back though, so no worries.
Here is a post on the Shiba Inu forum of someone who went through the same thing with their Shiba-
http://www.shibainuforum.org/forum/discussion/5874/puppy-shedding/p1
Hope this helps. Hugs to Luna.
thanks so much for the time you’ve taken to put together this site, I have a question about time outs. I started doing time outs when my puppy continues to bites and growl at us or at our other dog even after being corrected, but I’m not sure when to take him out of time out. as soon as I put him in time out he whines and whines and yelps. he is only 8 weeks but I wanna make sure he doesn’t develop any bad habits and I’m afraid that if I let him out of time out while he is whining and crying he will learn that if he whines and cries he will get his way. I know you mention that you only did very short time out at the beginning; did your dog whine and cry? and if so did you still only stick to the short time out or did you wait for your puppy to calm down before getting them out of time out..
please any help on this matter will be appreciated, I don’t want to cause more harm than good.
Hello Andy,
Puppy Lara did whine a bit in the beginning. In general, I don’t let my dogs out when they are whining because that rewards the whining behavior and next time, they will whine more. However, I am also careful with puppies who are still in potty training. Sometimes, they may just need to potty. In general, I don’t put puppy in timeout unless I am fairly sure she does not have to potty anytime soon.
Also, I try my hardest to set puppy up for success so the number of timeouts is minimized. For example, during play I have many play-breaks so that puppy refocuses on me and has the chance to calm down. As for biting, bite inhibition training is very helpful for all my dogs. Once puppy is a bit older and has learned some bite inhibition, I teach her not to bite on people.
When puppy Lara bites, I first redirect her onto a toy. If she redirects onto the toy, then she gets rewarded with a game. If she keeps biting on me, I non-mark her (Ack-ack) so that she knows it is an undesirable behavior. If she keeps biting, I withdraw my attention by standing up, folding my arms, and turning away from her. If she continues to bite, then I put her in a short timeout. Lara is now about 11 months old and I only used timeouts on her a handful of times.
Here are some of my experiences with puppy biting and puppy training-
http://shibashake.hubpages.com/_srec/hub/Train-a-Puppy-Obedience
http://shibashake.com/dog/puppy-biting-how-to-stop-puppy-biting
Hello,
I have a 6 year old Shiba who we have had problems with since day one! As a puppy we took him to dog training, we kept this up for 3 months once a week. Outside of dog training, he would be walked every day, but not trained constantly every day. He was kept outside on a chain for the first year as we didn’t have the fence built, although he was allowed inside at night. He has always been very dominant and aggressive towards anyone who is trying to make him do something he doesn’t want to do or simply someone who is doing something he has not approved. He was attacked by another dog whilst out on a walk (the dog that attacked jumped it’s fence to have a go at Basil) within the first year we had him, and as a result had puncture wounds around his eye, but other than now having a slight droop to his eye has shown no signs of this affecting him.
At about a year and half, due to family circumstances he went to live with my Dad and Step mother, since moving in with them, he has become an escape artist, he does always come home within a few hours, and at first we would spend hours looking for him, but now we just leave him to it. In the early days we had a ‘dog whisperer’ try and help with training him. He would snap and bite at my step sister when she walked past him (who was 9) if she went into an area or on furniture he was not allowed on. Eventually thanks to the dog whisperer we managed to show him that my step sister was further up the rankings than he was by allowing her to squirt him with a water pistol at her own pleasure, this seemed to work and the biting towards her stopped. During this time he also had the company of a lovely obedient Border collie who wanted nothing more than to please and have cuddles, she was made the higher ranking of the two by feeding her first etc. His behaviour did improve slightly. Unfortunately this year we lost the Collie to cancer, in the last few days she was in a lot of pain and he didn’t leave her side, followed her everywhere. After she died, he became very mopey and whiney, so it was decided he was lonely and they got a new puppy. They were introduced on mutual territory at a friend’s house where neither of them had been before, and seemed to get on ok. The new puppy is a border terrier and is showered with love (he is not allowed her toys etc.); she is showing signs of being as obedient and loving as the collie. They have had no problems getting on. However over the last 2 weeks he has taken to whining all night outside in his kennel, keeping everyone awake – they think this is because the Puppy gets to sleep inside! He is becoming more dominant and to be honest everyone has lost interest in him and fed up. He is my dog, but is living with my Dad while I am overseas so there is not much I can do from here for him. I know neither of the dogs get walked much, although they have the run of the garden all day and he is only in the kennel at night. The vet has suggested giving him the chop to make him less dominant. He is a picky eater and generally won’t eat much of his dinner (they get fed a small amount in the morning and night only), yet he will get very defensive of his bowl if anyone goes near it, especially the puppy – they get fed at the same time in the same room. After having a quick read on here making sure he gets a walk everyday would be a big help as well as maybe re-introducing some training, however I feel this is something they won’t want to do if he shows no sign of immediate improvement and will give up on him. Is there anything else you can suggest? As I said everyone has had enough of him and he is on his last legs with them.
I love him a lot and i know I am slightly biased towards him. I do slightly feel as if he is neglected in the family because he is arrogant and does not show any love towards us… But I have no idea how to change this, and help my little boy!
Hello Haley,
With my own dogs, I have found that what worked best is to be totally consistent and fair with their training and rules. When I got a new Sibe puppy, I made sure that she follow the same rules as the other dogs. Otherwise it could create confusion, that can result in various behavioral issues. In addition, it could also create competition among the dogs that could lead to aggression.
Here is more on my experiences when I got a new puppy-
Introducing a second dog.
Can you please tell me the average length of a Shiba Inu from the tip of it’s nose to the rump (base of tail) – cannot find info anywhere. Thank you.
Sorry, no idea. I could measure Sephy but he is a large Shiba so he wouldn’t be average.
We’re on our 3rd shiba. Love them but I can’t remember when they learn the shiba smile. I remember that the previous puppy took a while to smile and then never stopped. Ideas?
BTW, great site esp. for newbies.
What an interesting question! I am not sure when Sephy ‘grinned’ for the first time.
I was pretty clueless about Shibas in the beginning, so there was not much grinning in our household for the first few months. But Shiba Sephy is a great teacher, and got me in shape in no time.
Nowadays, the thing that is sure to get Sephy grinning is scratching him on the right spots. He really likes being scratched under his rear leg, right at the part where it connects to his body. Often, he will roll over, ask for scratches, and start grinning!
http://shibashake.com/dog/dog-scratch-zones
Any tips for nail trimming? My little sheebs used to never have a problem with it and for some reason has decided in his little shiba brain that nail trimming is the ultimate torture. I’ve never cut his nails too short and try to make the process as calm as possible (treats, baby talk, etc), so I’m not sure why he’s decided to throw a fit every time the trimmers come out. Screaming, squirming, the works. It takes at least two people to get the job done.
He’s also started obsessively rubbing his face on the carpet. Morning ritual consists of stretching, running out of his crate, commence rubbing his face on the rug for the next five minutes. I’m sure it must feel good, but he’s gotten to the point where he’s rubbed the fur and whiskers off from his snout.
Thanks in advanced for any advice you have to offer!
Hello Vanessa,
Sounds like it could be some sort of allergy. I would consider calling up the vet and seeing what they say.
Shiba Sephy gets easily irritated when he is not feeling in tip-top shape. If he is not feeling well, I think he starts to feel vulnerable, and will generally not let people handle him. It could be that the nail trimming issue is a mood or vulnerability thing that is related to the allergy issue.
With Shiba Sephy, I use a nail grinder to groom his nails.
http://www.squidoo.com/groom-shiba-inu
HI,
I have a question for you. What age is it appropriate to train your puppy? My breeder says I am doing to much and that I am causing an over hyper puppy down the road. All I am trying to do is spend his energy so that I can spend time and love him, and have my schedule at the same time. I made a play toy like you suggested in one of your articles and we played like for an hour. My puppy didn’t want to stop because he loved it at least I thought so. The breeder says, that’s too long and that it should play time for five minuets. Then she said that training my puppy at 11 weeks of age at pet smart was too much. All I hear from the trainers is that the earlier you train the better off you are and that 11 weeks is a good thing. Is this true? Am I over doing it? All I want is a well behaved husky puppy and grow into one as an adult…She also says that I am smothering the puppy with too much stuff and things to do. Is that true? We wake up and go potty, in the play area outside till breakfast for me and my family is done, and then I play and then let him be for an hour and half or so, and then play with him and try to train on a leash one step at a time for like ten minuets or until he gives the sign Im tired of my leash, and let him romp on his own with other dog, then he sleeps, and then dinner, and let him relax and groom and then off to bed. Is that a too busy schedule? What should I do then? He’s already crate trained when we got him, and doesn’t howl at night, but just has bounding energy. What do you do with it? Am I going about this the wrong way? please am I over exhausting the puppy like the breeder said?
Hello Sarah,
Sounds like you and your puppy are having a blast!
In terms of training, I usually start as soon as I bring puppy home. I only use reward training, so there is little stress placed on puppy. However, aversive techniques, e.g. collar corrections, should generally not be used on a puppy until he is much older.
With Shania, I also enrolled her in a positive puppy class when she was about 10 weeks old. The important thing with puppy class is to make sure that all the other puppies are also up to date on their shots. Other than that, we had a good time, and Shania was very much the teacher’s favorite demo puppy.
Perhaps your breeder is most concerned about changes in schedule? My dogs really like to have a fixed routine. Whenever there are any significant changes in their routine, for example if I get busy with work, friends, or unexpected emergencies, they get stressed, and unhappy.
For this reason I set up a regular routine with puppy Lara very early on. I made sure that it is something I can maintain every day, even after puppy has grown up.
Maybe this is what your breeder is concerned about? Have a chat with her and see what she has to say.
Hugs to your puppy! Husky power!
Hi
ThisI kuala I love the info you talked about
I walk dogs and one of the dogs I walk is a shiba inu
.I agree they are soo cute and I get alot of comments like
“omg it looks like a little fox”.personly I love dogs that’s why I started walking them.
Does shiba inus like clothes ?
Thank you Kuala.
Heh, I think that generally, they don’t. Sephy will not let me put anything on him, not even a bandanna! Other Shibas are probably more tolerant, but they still just tolerate.
Good luck with your dog walking business.
Hello, I had a few questions about training my new shiba inu puppy. It’s a little difficult to train him because I need to take him out on a leash to potty and I dont feel like I have much control at that time. So far, he’s started to learn that when he pulls, he wont get anywhere, but he will sit down or lay on the ground. Once that happens, he wont get up for anything, he wont come when I call his name and he wont come over for treats. So I either have to pick him up or try to force him to stand up by pulling up on the leash and lifting him with his harness. I don’t really think this is working at all though and I just got a no-slip collar hoping that will work more in my favor to train him. I dont feel comfortable pulling him up with that on though because I dont want to hurt his neck. He also bites the leash a lot when he is laying down or getting frustrated. Do you have any suggestions on what I can do to fix this?
Yeah, Sephy does the lying down thing as well. Some things that work with Sephy -
1. I scrape my foot on the concrete sidewalk very unexpectedly. Sephy does not like this sound and usually gets up.
2. When he is in his lying down mood, I stop him before he lies down. When he wants to lie down, I just keep moving on.
3. If the first two fails, I lift him up on his front legs by his chest and then I just get him moving. Sometimes he will do an alligator roll in order to prevent me from lifting him. When he does this, I just put brief upward pressure on the leash. He really does not like this so he gets up.
I had *a lot* of issues with Sephy and leash biting. Here are a couple of articles I wrote about our leash biting experiences -
http://shibashake.com/dog/train-your-dog-to-stop-biting-on-the-leash
http://shibashake.hubpages.com/_srec/hub/How-to-Stop-Your-Dog-from-Leash-Biting-dog-biting-the-leash
What ultimately worked best with Sephy, in terms of leash biting, is to put my hand very close to his collar so that I have good control over him, and get him on a fast, quick march home. At that point we do not stop for anything, and he goes right home.
This teaches him that leash biting = end of fun walk.
If he continues to leash bite once we get him, I put him in timeout.
Once Sephy realized that his leash biting hijinks only ends the walk, he stopped doing it. I tried many many things before I found something that worked for him. Different dogs may respond differently, so try things out and pick the technique that works best for you and your dog.
Let us know how it goes.
I need help and not sure if this is where to ask my question. I have a Shiba who is my handsome man. His name is Neeko. I have had him about a year and he is great, when I got him I or someone was home alot of the time. I recently decided to go back to school and the kids are back in school as well. He is great in his playpen (as he hates kennels) but since our time away he has been jumping out of the pen. I dont mind this other than he eats my shoes, my couch and anything else he can find. Ok maybe not eats but tears it to shreds. I get that this is seperation anxiety along with bordom but what can I do. I CANT AFFORD to put him in doggy daycare or get a dog walker. My husband says he should go to a new home but I dont want him to. But is that what is best?
Hello Michelle,
It is difficult to say what is best, especially without having seen the situation firsthand.
With Sephy, he really did not like being alone especially when he was young. We slowly trained him to get used to it and slowly lengthened the time when we are away.
He is a lot more Zen now and knows that we will come home after some time. There were a few times that we left him home for about 5 hours and he did really well. But this does not happen too often.
Some possibilities to consider -
1. Get home during lunch break to take Neeko out for a walk and for some play. This will help to break up his day.
2. Get a neighbor to drop by and look in on Neeko.
3. Slowly train Neeko to get used to relaxing in a crate.
4. Slowly get him used to being alone. I started by leaving Sephy alone for very short periods of time and slowly lengthening the time period.
http://shibashake.com/dog/separation-anxiety-dog-why-how-reduce-dog-stress#desensitize
I have also seen some people use time-release toys to keep things a bit more interesting.
Good luck. Let us know how it goes.
I got a 9 week old shiba inu at the beginning of August. We initially had some problems with him growling at us, trying to bite us, not liking to be patted or picked up. I had a dog behavior consultant (trainer) spend 2 hours with us and she said he needed to get used to our touch so constantly treat him as we touched him. Things got better. However, the other day he bit my 13 year old son and me on the cheek. I am assuming I need to establish myself as more of a dominant figure, but I don’t know how to do that. I have been going to puppy kindergarten with him for the last 2 months. I don’t know what else to do, and the kids and I feel like we don’t even want him anymore.
Hello Carol,
Yeah, I had a lot of issues with my Shiba as well. Shiba Sephy was extremely stubborn, mouthy, and high-strung. I put a lot of work into him and he is a lot better now, but certain things he was born with -
1. He is still aloof and mostly enjoys his own company. He will sometimes ask for tummy rubs and affection but a lot less so than my Sibes.
2. He still pushes his boundaries from time to time although not as often as before.
3. His instinct is still to use his mouth but he is very good about redirecting himself nowadays. When with people he will redirect into a lick instead of a bite.
Some things that helped me with Sephy –
1. Following the NILIF (Nothing in Life is Free program). This just means Shiba *always* has to do something for me first before he gets anything in return.
2. Setting up a very fixed structure and routine. Shiba Sephy has lots of rules.
3. Using a drag-lead but only with a regular flat collar. This helps me control him more easily while inside the house and stop him when he misbehaves.
4. Properly using time-outs for serious mis-behaviors.
5. Bite inhibition training.
As for pack leadership, here are some things that helped with Sephy -
http://shibashake.com/dog/pack-leader-to-an-aggressive-dog
I found that it was very important to set Sephy up for success so that he does not keep practicing bad behaviors. In particular, Sephy is pretty high-strung and he can go rear-brained very quickly. I make sure to always have a lot of calming breaks for him, and I also *very slowly* desensitized him to touching, handling, and restraint so that he learns not to see it as so much of a threat. I don’t overly restrain him and I don’t do rough play with him.
Shiba Sephy does not trust very easily but once I started observing him and understanding his needs and boundaries, things got better.
Truthfully, it was very difficult in the beginning and I put in a lot of time and effort. I am not naturally a very patient person but the whole ‘Sephy Experience’ really made me a lot more patient and Zen about very many things. If you are interested, here is the story of Sephy and Me -
http://shibashake.hubpages.com/_srec/hub/Shiba-Inu-Sephy-and-Me
Just wanted to put an FYI out there. Took my dog to the vet for an eye infection. A week later turns out she has glacoma. Today, just came back from the ophthalmologist, good news her pressure went from 55 to 32. Still need to bring that down but we will. Turns out my 5 year old Bella is now blind in her right eye. I was told by the ophthalmologist that this common in Shiba Inu’s.Once they get it in the one eye, Bella is predisposed to getting it in they other eye. We r doing preventitive measures now. But GET YOUR SHIBA’S EYE PRESSURE TESTED. I haven;t stopped crying since I got home. My biggest fear, what do I do if she goes blind in the other eye? Get your doggies tested!!!!!
Hello Dakota,
Thanks for bringing up this really important topic. I have also made it into a post -
http://shibashake.com/dog/dogs-and-glaucoma
Big hugs to Bella. When you have some time, please let us know how Bella is doing with the preventative treatment.
My husband and I recently adopted a lovely stray from Tennessee from a rescue organization — we think she’s some sort of hound dog, and about 15 months old. We’ve had her for approximately two months. As she’s gotten more comfortable with us, she’s also gotten more “sniffy.” Our twice-daily walks have become something of a chore, since it sometimes seems like she wants to sniff something every three feet — a tree, the corner of a building, an apparently featureless patch of sidewalk. She’ll also sometimes stop walking entirely, which I assume means she’s afraid of something (though there’s usually nothing obvious we can see, like a dog or a person). When she walks on a leash, she walks beautifully — at our knee with a loose leash. She only occasionally pulls, mostly when she’s eager to meet a new dog. So that’s not the problem — what can we do to get her to speed up? Does she need more stimulation at home? She has plenty of toys and bones, and I usually give her food in a Twist-and-Treat or a stuffed Kong each day. We also usually play tug-of-war or fetch with her in the evenings. Is she just being a dog?
Sounds like she is a scent hound, which means that it is in her DNA to follow her nose.
One thing that may help is to do scent training with her. She would probably really enjoy that, it would give her an outlet for her tracking skills, and it would also put some structure around the activity. This Wikipedia page has some good scent training tips -
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Search_and_rescue_dog
It is probably also possible to use scent to help her speed up during walks – maybe with Find-It or Fetch games integrated into the walk especially with a scent enhanced toy. Note though that scent hounds *will* follow their nose often to the exclusion of everything else – so it is usually best to keep them on-leash when there are roads or other possible dangers in the vicinity.
Hi,
I have a puppy who was born with 3 legs, missing a front leg. I have been trying to find support information on caring for one. My pup loves to run and play, but he has injured one of his back legs twice already. In fact we are off to the vet shortly. I’m concerned for the long term problems like arthritis, curving of the spine, and injuries since he is just a pup and has a LONG way to go. Is there any advice you can give me that you found helpful with your little guy?
Thanks,
Norma
Hello Norma,
Some of the things that I do with my 3 legged Siberian Husky, Shania -
1. I give her a Glucosamine tablet every day to help with the joints based on the advice of my vet. Definitely consult with your vet in terms of dosage as it will be dependent on size.
2. I make sure that my other dogs don’t play too rough with her and I also have a no-getting-on-furniture rule. Jumping off elevated surfaces will be very bad for Shania since she is missing a front leg.
3. It is better to walk a 3 legged dog on more flat surfaces, but this is not always possible. Getting down hills puts more pressure on their leg joints.
Here are more of the things that I do with Shania -
http://shibashake.com/dog/three-legged-dog-care-tripod-dog-care
http://shibashake.hubpages.com/_srec/hub/Three-Legged-Dog-Tripod-Dog-Care-Tips-How-to
One of the most challenging aspects of living with a 3 legged dog is balancing between happiness and safety. In general, I try to let Shania do all the things that she enjoys but I manage her environment carefully and try to direct her towards lower impact activities.
Hugs to your puppy. How did the vet visit go?
I have a gentle, submissive, wonderful Australian Shepherd. My neighbor has a female shiba inu. We have a shared drive way with my house against the driveway. My neighbor walks her dog down the driveway past my house on a daily basis. My dog is often laying just outside my front door or in the yard. Three times over the last 2 weeks or so, her dog has attacked my Aussie. The shiba was on a retractable leash and lunged, actually biting my wonderful dog (no true injury these times, yet). Now my dog is terrified of hers and runs to our door crying to be let in whenever she sees it. She can’t enjoy her own yard anymore. My husband asked her to use her front door and sidwalk rather than the driveway since this route would avoid our front door and prevent our dog from being injured. She says she will not change her habit of using the driveway.
I feel that her dog is too aggressive to be allowed such leeway – it is poorly trained in general. Any thoughts or suggestions of how to deal with this frustrating issue. I want my dog to be able to play outside without fear or injury.
Hello Jessica,
This is a difficult issue to deal with because it is more of a human issue rather than a dog issue.
One possibility is to talk to your neighbor and see if she is willing to do desensitization exercises using rewards and distance with your dog. This way will be more challenging because it requires a fair amount of time and patience in dealing with both people and dogs. However, it will ultimately help both dogs coexist together more peacefully.
Another possibility is to try and convince your neighbor to use a regular 6 foot leash. Flexi-leashes really should only be used for dogs that are very well trained. However, understandably so, people will be very sensitive about the upbringing and temperament of their dog. This option will also require a lot of communication skills, time, and effort.
Another possibility is to report the bite incidents to Animal Care and Control. However, this will only escalate the matter. In my experience, getting into it with the neighbor becomes very unpleasant, very quickly. In the end, everyone walks away unhappy, and the situation ends up being worse than it was before.
http://shibashake.com/dog/off-leash-neighborhood-dogs
Please help! I adopted a 5 year old Shiba rescue without knowing all of her history. At the time, I knew she had some trust issues after being shuffled around. She lived in 6 different homes within a 6 month span (mine being the 6th). Mine is the 4th “forever” home. Everyone so far has given up on her. The first home, she bit a child. The second home, she pulled down a woman, injured her hip and ran away from her. The third home, she got away from her owner and killed the neighbor’s pet chicken.
Since living with me, she’s bit me 5 times. Once over a dead animal part, another when I accidentally woke her up when I twitched in my sleep (she used to snap badly when she slept on the bed and got woken up. I stopped letting her on the bed as much, but she jumped up while I was asleep the time she got me good), and the other three times have been based on fear aggression towards other dogs redirected back towards me. Two of these times warranted hospital visits.
I absolutely love this dog regardless, but I’m starting to wonder if I’m the best fit for her because it seems her aggression is worse when I cannot walk her 2-3 hours a day. I aim for 1-2 hours most days during the week because of work. When I first got her, I read Cesar’s Way and tried to implement what I learned. I’ve been watching the dog whisperer. I have consulted a behaviorist before she started biting, but when Roxy bit me the first time, it took her days to call me back. I consulted a referred dog trainer, but he wants me to pay $1500 for her to go into intensive boot camp, which should work, but I will still always need to monitor her. I had a Reiki practitioner come out, but she bit me the very next day.
I have only had her 4 months, but I’ve spent thousands on her already (medical, behavioral, new things), and before I take a $1500 leap, I want to know what my options are. What else is out there, particularly for Shibas?
It’s at the point where most people I know are telling me to get rid of her. Some even suggest I put her down, but I could never bring myself to do that.
At this point, I’m desperate and reaching out to any avenue I can! I tried emailing Cesar Millan and other rehab groups within the past couple of weeks.
Please help!
Dear AnneMarie,
Big hugs to you. I too went through a difficult period with my Shiba and he wasn’t even a rescue. In fact, with my Shiba, I was the one that caused a lot of his behavioral problems.
I started with Cesar Millan’s techniques based on the recommendation of my breeder and a vet tech. I mostly did collar corrections (under the direction of an aversive based trainer) and alpha rolls on Shiba Sephy. To make a long story short, things seemed to work at first, but only for a very short time. Then, things started going downhill. My Shiba got more aggressive and the collar corrections I was doing was not having much of an effect anymore. I also noticed that my Shiba did not trust me much.
I was using a prong collar at the time, and a trainer recommended that I switch to a choke chain.
After looking up choke chains some on the internet I decided that it was too risky to use on my Shiba. I also considered using shock collars for a very short while but really decided against it after seeing some of the research that has been conducted on it. Shiba Sephy is a tough little guy and I did not want to keep escalating the force of my corrections. It seemed like there had to be other more effective methods.
I called up all the trainers around my area and luckily I found one who recommended 3 different books to me -
1. Bones Would Rain from the Sky by Suzanne Clothier,
2. The Other End of the Leash by Patricia McConnell, and
3. The Culture Clash by Jean Donaldson
All three books are great but it was really Suzanne Clothier’s book that made me think about dogs and dog training differently.
In my experience, Cesar Millan’s more aversive methods only made my Shiba more aggressive and less trusting. I think this is because Shibas are a very dominant and stubborn breed. When I tried to force Sephy with brute force he would just fight back with all that he had.
http://shibashake.com/dog/shiba-inu-training-secrets
Another thing that helped me with my Shiba is visiting the various Shiba forums and seeing what other veteran Shiba owners said.
http://www.shibainuforum.org/forum/
Sorry for the long introduction but I wanted to let you know where I was coming from with my Shiba. I also went through some of the things you described -
1. Accidentally woken up
My Shiba Sephy is the same way. One time he was sleeping under me while I was on the couch. I reached down to touch him and startled him awake. He got really stressed and air snapped before he knew it was me.
I have found that in general, it is best not to startle dogs awake. When they awake suddenly, they are not necessarily aware of who startled them awake and whether they may be in danger. Nowadays, I make a lot of noise before I approach a sleeping Sephy. This ensures that he is mostly awake and not in a deep sleep. Then I give him some time to orient himself, then I go pet him.
I also don’t sleep next to Sephy for this reason. Sephy is also not allowed on furniture. He was wild as a pup, and would cause 10 kinds of trouble while on furniture. For the safety of everyone, we decided to have a no-furniture rule.
2. Protecting dead animal parts, food, and toys
Shibas are partly bred to be guard dogs so they have a pretty strong protection drive. I have seen many Shiba owners describe food aggression or resource guarding issues with their dog.
The main reason why dogs become aggressive with food is because they have learned that when someone approaches them, it is usually to take away their food or toy. Therefore, they feel that they must protect what they have from people. The key to helping a dog with food aggression issues is to help her associate people coming near her to be something positive, rather than have it be a negative event where she fears that she will lose the thing that she holds dear.
3. Boot camp
This was also something that I considered for Sephy initially but I decided against it.
a) All of the boot camps that I looked up practiced aversive dog training which was not something I wanted to continue with Sephy. They are risky and even when they ‘work’ they do not really build the type of bond that I wanted with my Shiba.
b) Boot camps are mostly interested in making a dog obey no matter what. Quality of life for the dog is not really a consideration. For me, quality of life for my dogs is very very important.
c) Boot camp gets a dog to obey the trainers at boot camp. When back in his home turf, the dog may start to regress back to his old behaviors.
d) Shibas have a very strong, stubborn and independent spirit. I absolutely did not want to break my Shiba’s spirit.
Finally, I also do want to say that even though I had a lot of problems with my Shiba Sephy, he never really caused any serious bite damage. I got him as a puppy so most of the problems that he had were due to initial inexperience and mistakes on my part. Your case is much more advanced.
Some possibilities -
1. Get in touch with a good reward based trainer and see what he/she has to say. Preferably find one that has had experience with Shibas. I went to a lot of trainers and the ones who are not really familiar with Shibas really could not handle Sephy very well. This also includes aversive based trainers.
http://shibashake.com/dog/finding-a-dog-trainer
2. Talk with the rescue group that you got her from and see what they suggest.
3. Talk to Shiba owners in online Shiba forums. The nihonken forum link above is a good place to start.
With Sephy, setting up more rules and routine at home helped a lot. When he was young I set up a baby gate so that he stays in the kitchen when I am too busy to supervise him. I also think that using a basket muzzle for safety can sometimes help – but this depends a lot on how the dog reacts to the muzzle.
Here are more of my Shiba Inu experiences -
http://shibashake.com/shiba-inu-tips-information-care
Let us know how it goes with Roxy.
I’m trying to convince my family that shiba’s are the way to go but the thing that holds them back is the shedding. Could you do a blog post about what you do about shedding since you have a husky and a shiba?
Hello Andrew,
Shibas do shed a fair amount but not as much as Siberians. They blow their coat about twice a year, but there is probably some shedding all year round.
When my Shiba is blowing his coat, I Furminate him almost every day. Other than that, his coat doesn’t really need much upkeep.
In my opinion, coat grooming is probably one of the least problematic areas with a Shiba. It is their independence, boldness, and crazy stubbornness that will drive you nuts.
I just wanted to say that this is the best Shiba Inu website I have found! I have a 2 year old shiba and I always love reading new things and reading other people’s opinion on living with a Shiba. Your website is perfect and very helpful. Thanks so much!
Thanks for your kind words Elizabeth.
I had a lot of tough times about my Shiba, but he is also such a funny, endearing, and lovable little guy. It is difficult not to love a Shiba.