He is on regular blue buffalo puppy not wilderness. And I don’t plan on taking him off for a while just my breeder and vet says lamb is the best for them and normally huskies have problems on other meals but blue wilderness doesn’t make a lamb. So I guess but your comment it depends?

well i don’t know what to do since I got him he has had diarrhea. The very and the breeder say to keep him on lamb but I’m starting to doubt them both because he has been on two different lamb brands and thediarrhea has always been there. The reason I haven’t changed him food is because the very have him some meds for it (which I’m almost done with) but it’s only gotten worse

I recently purchased a Shiba pup. We will pick her up from the breeder in October. I did some research and found two foods that look pretty good. Buffalo Blue and Solid Gold. Her breeder currently has her on a different brand. What is the ratio of her new food that I should add to the old and how much food each day should she get? I love the site and have gotten so much valuable information. This will be my first Shiba, although I have had many dogs over the years.

Thanks!

Hi thanks for your advice! Yeah, he is a handful haha. Regarding the time-out thing, I’ was wondering whether to let him out even if he starts screaming and crying during that duration or leave him till he calms down and then let him out? I’ve heard that releasing them while they yelp/scream/cry will teach him to continually use that to get out. He’s very smart and has learned to sit already too (: Ace was also very well behaved for his first time at the vet’s yesterday. He didn’t make a really big fuss about microchipping and nail trimming (much less than my malamute who needs about 4/5 people holding him down for temperature/shots)

We did find out yesterday that he has started attempting to hump and all (I was surprised as he is still very young and my other/previous dogs only did it after a year old. They eventually stopped when we refused to play and ignore them but Ace us very persistent ). Any advice on that? since you did mention that Sephy had the same problem too.

I also notice that you have quite a collection of toys that use/contain food. Does this affect Sephy/your other dogs’ meal times? or do you use it as a substitute for dog bowls?

Taking care of Ace is actually quite a different experience for me compared to training my other dogs as they are usually compliant and are pretty much manageable.

As for potty training, I’m now taking him up to the garden on my roof (we didn’t have enough space for a backyard and my parents were afraid that the other two dogs would soil it) every now and then for potty and some outdoor space. Is this advisable or should I just use the garden for potty? He won’t be going outside to parks and the sort till he gets his jab for parvo and distemper in 2 weeks time.

Thanks for your help (:

I’ was wondering whether to let him out even if he starts screaming and crying during that duration or leave him till he calms down and then let him out?

Yeah they are very smart and as you say, will learn to use their patented Shiba Scream to get out if they can. I usually don’t let Sephy out until he has calmed down and is not whining. In the beginning, I waited for a very brief pause in his whining and then asked for a sit. As he got older, I slowly lengthened his necessary quiet time.

Ace was also very well behaved for his first time at the vet’s yesterday.

Wow that is really impressive! I wish Sephy was better at the vet. He is very sensitive to pain and is very fearful of vet visits.

I am not a big fan of humping so if Sephy does that to people he goes immediately to timeout. Nowadays, he doesn’t do that to people anymore but he will sometimes try to hump the other dogs during play. I stop that as well and if he keeps trying to hump, he goes to timeout and loses out on the play session.

Does this affect Sephy/your other dogs’ meal times? or do you use it as a substitute for dog bowls?

Yeah, all the dogs have to work for their food. They get some of their food from doing commands, some from Find-It, and some from interactive toys. I think they enjoy working for their food and it helps to give them some mental exercise. It also makes them eat more slowly which is better for their digestion.

I supervise them very closely during meal-times to make sure there is no stealing.

As for potty training, it sounds like you are doing the right thing. I think it is easier to teach a puppy to go somewhere outside the house because then it is clear that in the house there is no potty whatsoever. However, dogs can also be trained to go on potty pads, in the same way that we train them to go outside. It may just take a bit more supervision and repetition because they may not know initially whether it is ok to potty in a particular room, or whether it is just in the corners of rooms, or whether it is only on the puppy pads.

Hugs to Ace!

Hello Elias,
Shiba Sephy is very similar in that he really likes his routine. He is also very sensitive to the energy of the people around him. So big changes in his environment cause a lot of stress for him.

As for the biting, timeouts work really well with Shiba Sephy because he really values his freedom. If Sephy does not respond to the yelp, I stand up, fold up my arms, and turn away from him. If he continues to bite, I calmly say timeout and take him directly to timeout.

In general, it is best not to use a crate as the timeout area because we want the dog to view the crate as something positive. This makes it easier to crate puppy when she is sleeping or home alone. I use the laundry room as my timeout area for Sephy and make sure there is nothing in there that he can chew, eat, or would be dangerous to him.

Here are some additional things I tried with Shiba Sephy in terms of biting -
http://shibashake.com/dog/puppy-biting-how-to-stop-puppy-biting

Other things that helped when Shiba Sephy was a puppy -
http://shibashake.com/dog/puppy-obedience-training

Another thing I did with Sephy when he was young was take him to the SPCA to play with other friendly dogs there (under supervision). He really needed a fair amount of off-leash time and I didn’t have a backyard then, so the SPCA play sessions really helped a lot.

A tired Shiba is a good Shiba.

Hugs to Akira. Let us know how it goes.

I really want another dog and am really interested to see how you invited your new dog into your home and how your Shiba responded.

My Shiba Inu Sephy does not trust very easily. He was pretty stand-offish when we brought puppy Lara home. He did not want puppy messing with him, sniffing his butt, and he did not play with puppy. He did sniff her, examine her, and then he kept his distance.

During the first week I made sure to supervise them very closely so that puppy does not bother Sephy and so that they did not have any negative experiences together.

I also made sure that they had many positive experiences. I had many short training sessions with puppy and during this time, Sephy would come over to beg for food. I made sure to praise and reward both dogs really well when they were calm and peaceful together. After a bit, Sephy would always come over whenever I started training sessions with puppy.

It is also very important to be fair and consistent with all the dogs. Puppy has to follow the same rules as the other dogs. In fact, puppy has more rules.

It took about 1 week before Sephy warmed up to puppy Lara. Once he included Lara into his circle of trust though, he became very tolerant of her and lets her sniff, jump over him, step on him, etc. Still, I supervise them so that Lara doesn’t bother Sephy too much and overly stress his patience.

Here are more of my experiences with getting a second dog.

Congratulations on your new Shiba puppy! Thanks for sharing all your great pictures – Kumi looks absolutely adorable!

In terms of crating, what seems to have worked pretty well for my Sibe puppy is to go very slowly. Currently, she is tethered with a very short lead to the crate at night. She will sometimes go in there to sleep but the door is open so she can come out for a short distance if she wants to. Initially we put her on a longer tether and we have slowly shortened it as she slowly gets used to her routine.

Another possibility, is to train puppy to go in there for very short periods of time initially and then slowly lengthen the time. For example, the first few days, give the crate command, throw a treat in, puppy goes in, Good!, treat, and let puppy out again. Don’t even close the door. Then once puppy is comfortable doing that, close the door and then open it back right away, and so on.

In terms of the potty, what I did with Sephy (when he was a puppy) is always bring him out on lead. I take him to his potty spot and say “go potty”. Then I wait for a few minutes. In that time I do not let him go exploring etc. – which is where the lead comes in very handy. If he does go potty, then I praise him a lot, reward him really well, and then he gets to go off-leash and explore in the backyard. We also play some fun games. If he does not go potty, then we come back in.

Usually, I have a black-out period after we come in, where I don’t take him out even if he whines. But I do watch him for potty signals. If I see him heading to the corner (that is usually his tell that he is about to go potty) then I take him out and repeat the process above.

In this way, he does not get rewarded for whining because he doesn’t get to go exploring when we first go outside. However, if he actually does his potty, then he gets rewarded really well.

Also try posting your questions on the Shiba Inu Forum -
http://www.shibainuforum.org/forum/

There are many Shiba veterans there with a lot of good information. Let us know how it goes!

Hello Amy,

After neutering or any kind of surgery, my Shiba Inu just wants to be left alone. I make sure to keep my other dogs away from him until he feels better.

My Siberians (2 girls, both spayed) seem to handle surgeries better and are in a better mood.

I have not experienced what you describe before so I am not sure of the cause. My best guess is that one or both were in pain or in some discomfort after the surgery, and that may have triggered something.

In cases of aggression, it is usually best to get help from a professional trainer. A professional trainer will be able to observe the dogs in real-time and identify exactly what is triggering the aggression. This helps us focus in on the right trigger and the right treatment. Since no two dogs are the same, visits with some professional trainers really helped me out a lot when I was having aggression issues with my Shiba Inu.

Here are some of my experiences with managing multiple dogs in the same household -
http://shibashake.com/dog/second-dog-introducing-a-second-dog

Here are some of my experiences with food guarding and resource guarding -
http://shibashake.com/dog/stop-food-aggression-stop-resource-guarding

Hey Alice,
I am so glad to hear that things are improving with Marcus. He sounds like a really fun and awesome puppy.

When you teach your dogs commands, how do you come up with the method for teaching them?

I usually try to break the command down into little small steps and then use hand targeting to achieve each step. Sometimes I use shaping (waiting for the dog to offer behaviors that I want), but that requires a lot more patience.

The other thing that I do is carefully observe them, and see what action and stimulus trigger certain behaviors. For example, my Sibe Shania sings whenever I squeak a toy. So to train her the “Sing” command, I first start with the squeaky toy together with a hand gesture, then I move on to just the hand gesture tied to a verbal command, then I try it with just the verbal.

Big hugs to Marcus. Let us know what works best for you in terms of teaching him new commands.

Is your dog, Sephy, by any chance named after Sephiroth from Final Fantasy VII?

Absolutely! I am a big fan of the FF series.

Congratulations on your upcoming Shiba puppy. Share some puppy pictures with us when you get him.

Not Red XIII though?

LOL! I decided to name him based on temperament rather than based on looks.

Sephy used to be very neurotic about his tail and actually about his entire posterior region. We started handling him a lot in the back areas and tying that to rewards. That has helped him get more comfortable with unexpected touches or insects on his tail.

He is still pretty neurotic about flies though. If one gets in the house he will not rest until the fly is dead.

We’re seriously thinking about calling him Taz now

LOL – I like that name. It would suit a Shiba very well.

He’s sweet. Until he goes under the table and I have to pull him out and then he screams all over again.

The under the table thing sounds like he is hiding rather than anything else. I would carefully observe what are all the triggers that cause him to run under the table – is it when there are loud noises? when the other dogs stare at him? when voices are raised? Then he can be slowly desensitized to that trigger so that he no longer sees it as something scary that he needs to run away from.

http://shibashake.hubpages.com/_srec/hub/Bad-Dog-Dealing-With-Bad-Dog-Behavior#txtd_2606365

Also, what happens if you just leave him under the table? If it is a fear response, going in after him may trigger even more fear, which causes the screaming, etc. In general, I have found that it is most effective to deal with the root of the issue – which is what is triggering the run-under-table behavior in the first place.

Well, I’m not Shiba Shake of course, but I just wanted to comment. I can’t say I’m an experienced Shiba owner yet, I just put a deposit toward a 2 wk old shiba female though…after MASSIVE amounts of research and interviewing shiba owners via email. If you haven’t started on that, trust me you will want to now because there is a LOT to know. Until I did my own research I had no idea how different shibas are from most other breeds, caring for them is -very specific-. The good thing is your puppy is young so you can apply what you learn right away. Just some things I was able to gather: most websites will tell you they are headstrong and difficult to train, so be aware of that. You have to be consistant with your training, and establish your dominance. They also need to be socialized with other dogs and humans at an early age, as well as leash trained. Like I said though, I’m not personally experienced since my puppy hasn’t arrived yet but you definitely need to start reading -everything- you can about shibas now. It will help a lot in reducing your stress, I’m sure. Also, everywhere I’ve read says that if you give the puppy an article of clothing of yours to sleep with (anything that smells like you) your scent will soothe them and make them feel more comfortable when they are alone in their crate. One last tip I read: a gentle dominance training trick to use on puppies is holding them in cradled in your arms like you would a baby. They will struggle and whine, but don’t set them down until they have relaxed and given in to being held…this shows them your dominance (or so I read…sounds logical to me though.) Good luck and hope things go well for you!

Hello Michelle,

Congratulations on your new Shiba puppy!

What’s your method for when she does something bad?

When I first got puppy Lara the first two things I taught her were a mark (Yes or Good Girl) and a non-mark (No or Ack-Ack). A mark indicates to her that she is doing something good and it usually followed by a reward. A non-mark indicates to her that she is doing something not-good and is usually followed by an alternate command (and a reward), or a “punishment” which usually means she loses one of her freedoms or does not get something that she really wants.

For biting, I have found that bite inhibition training is very useful for my dogs. Bite inhibition training teaches the dog to have a soft mouth when it comes to people. This is great because even if an accident occurs, and the dog bites on a person, it will likely not cause much if any harm. I mostly do bite inhibition training through hand-feeding.

Here are a couple of articles on dog biting and bite inhibition -
http://shibashake.com/dog/puppy-biting-how-to-stop-puppy-biting
http://shibashake.hubpages.com/_srec/hub/How-to-stop-your-dog-from-biting-you-and-biting-others-dog-aggression-aggressive-dog

Sometimes a Shiba can be stubborn though and will not stop biting even after I non-mark and redirect him. In these cases a time-out works best for Shiba Sephy.

Once I have good bite inhibition then I switch to a No-Bite policy, but I still keep up with hand-feeding.

In terms of physical forms of discipline, I tried that with Shiba Sephy when he was young and that did not work out well for us at all. This is the story of my early days with Shiba Sephy -
http://shibashake.hubpages.com/_srec/hub/Shiba-Inu-Sephy-and-Me

We had a lot of challenges, but things worked out in the end.

At what age should I start trying to get her to go up and down the stairs?

With puppy Lara she started going up stairs first. I think that is easier and less scary for them. It was something that I just let her do by herself and when she was ready, she just did it. She probably started doing that after being with us for a couple of weeks – but that would depend on the puppy. It took another couple of more weeks before she tried going down stairs.

I did sometimes play games with her on the stairs – just going up one or two steps with a toy and she would come after me to get it. While playing, she is focused on doing something else, so she doesn’t think about how scary the stairs are.

And what’s your opinion on the Bark Off?

I have never used Bark Off before. From reading the reviews though, it seems that this method of sound aversion is not very effective with many dogs. Shibas are usually more stubborn than most breeds so I am not sure how well this would work.

Another sound aversion training technique that I did try on Sephy when he was a puppy is to put a bunch of coins in a soda can, tape up the open tab, and then shake the can. Sephy definitely did not like that sound and it worked for more minor types of rule breaking.

However, for more serious things I use a time-out which has been the most effective thing for Shiba Sephy. It also worked very well on Siberian puppy Lara. I only do that for serious things though, like continued biting, leash biting and humping.

This article on puppy training may also be helpful -
http://shibashake.com/dog/puppy-obedience-training

Good luck! Let us know how it goes!

Hello Michael,

Sounds like Max has some resource guarding and food aggression issues. These issues usually arise because every time someone or another dog comes near them, they get their stuff stolen from them – so they feel that they must start guarding. Shibas have a pretty high protection drive, so they are also more likely to guard than the average breed.

There are a variety of ways to reduce this guarding behavior, but food aggression training requires a fair amount of time, supervision, and careful management. It also depends on how often and how long the dog has already been practicing this behavior. Here are a couple of articles on my experiences with food aggression issues -
http://shibashake.com/dog/stop-food-aggression-stop-resource-guarding
http://shibashake.com/dog/resource-guarding-shiba-inu

I would also consider going to see a professional trainer about it. Food aggression issues can be dangerous to people, so it is best to start off on the right foot.

When we brought him home, he immediately ran under a table. I tried to get him out, but he started to make this high pitch shrieking noise

LOL, yeah Shibas do the Shiba Scream when they find themselves in a situation that is really not to their liking. Shiba Sephy used to do that with my dog walker when she tried to force him to walk in a heel position.

The running under the table thing sounds like he is just unsure about his new surroundings. Shiba Sephy actually did that at the breeder’s house when we tried to put a collar on him.

The way I deal with the Shiba Scream depends on why Shiba is doing it. For things that he is fearful about (e.g. running under the table because of the collar), I make sure to desensitize him to it when we are home, in a quiet place, and when I have a good amount of time for training.

If Sephy is just whining or screaming because he wants something, like for me to open the door for him then I totally ignore him until he stops and is calm. Once he shows the behavior that I want, then I open the door for him.

If he is outside and whining then he loses his outside freedom and has to come in the house. If he continues to scream he either just gets ignored or he gets put in time-out.

I have found that with the Shiba Scream, the worst thing to do is to give Shiba a strong reaction because that is what Shiba is usually looking for. However, if he gets no reaction or just a calm time-out, then it is no fun for Shiba and he will stop and try something else.

Was it a mistake taking in a Shiba under the conditions that we have two other dogs

That is very difficult to say. It would depend on the temperaments of the dogs, the people, the amount of time, etc. It certainly does sound like a challenge though. It would of course be much easier to get a dog that does not already have food aggression and guarding issues.

do male dogs just gravitate towards women more, or is that something that’s a myth?

Heh, not in my experience. I think dogs gravitate towards the people who spend the most time with them, and give them the most resources (food, play, etc.). Actually there was a study that indicated that both wolves and dogs can pick out people who are in a more attentive state and these are the people they will beg from.

They showed, for the first time that wolves, like domestic dogs, are capable of begging successfully for food by approaching the attentive human. This demonstrates that both species — domesticated and non-domesticated — have the capacity to behave in accordance with a human’s attentional state. In addition, both wolves and pet dogs were able to rapidly improve their performance with practice.
~~[ Science Daily ]

Hello Cynthia,
Based on your description it sounds like it could be from stress or anxiety.

From observing Shiba Sephy, he gets stressed whenever there are any changes in his routine. He also thinks of himself as the caretaker of everyone in the house, so when people are missing (not according to schedule) he can get stressed.

When Sephy gets stressed he often tries to relieve his stress by chewing on things. While we were going through Shania’s surgeries, there were big changes to our routine, and during that time Sephy chewed up a lot of things – including some headphones. Luckily he isn’t really interested in eating the stuff.

Once we were done with that, Sephy settled back down.

The common way for dealing with such anxiety issues is to desensitize Shiba to them. For example, Sephy used to also get stressed when we went grocery shopping during the weekends. To get him over that, we would sometimes both leave the house during the weekends, but only for very short periods of time. We started with just a few minutes – step out, step back in.

Then we slowly lengthened the time.

Your scenario is a bit higher level than that since it also involves having people over. But perhaps desensitizing her to having nobody in the house outside of her routine would be of some help.

As you say, putting her in her crate is another possibility, but if she gets too stressed she may try to break out of her crate and hurt herself. I would first try it for shorter durations and see how she does.

Another possibility is to get a dog walker to take her out during those times, or do a short daycare session.

Here is an article on dog separation anxiety that may have more ideas.

Let us know how it goes. Hugs to Sasha!

Hello Othman,

I got a Shiba as my first dog and it was definitely a big challenge for me. It is doable – but will require more time and effort than many other breeds. Also, unlike most other dogs, Shibas tend to be a lot more aloof (this is one of their more cat-like characteristics.)

Shibas also have pretty high prey drive, so they have to be trained to get along with house cats.

Looking back, I think I would have started with a different breed and then get the Shiba as a second dog. In this way, I would already know a lot of the general dog stuff from my first dog, and can focus on the Shiba specific stuff with my second dog.

However, I am also a big believer in getting the dog that we want most. Dogs are a lot of work, a lot of money, and can sometimes be a big pain in the ass, so it is important not to have any regrets over the look, breed, and temperament of the dog that we choose to share our lives with.

If you are interested in getting a Shiba Inu, check out the breeder list on the National Shiba Club of America -
http://www.shibas.org/breeders.html

When I was looking for my second dog, a Siberian Husky, this is what I did –
http://thedoginc.com/siberian-husky-puppies#how

Here is what to look out for in terms of finding a good breeder -
http://thedoginc.com/siberian-husky-puppies#breeder

Let me know if you have more questions.

No worries Winton. I will send you an email.

Hi Jess,
I started with rawhide but several trainers warned me about them. The problem with rawhide is that sometimes dogs chew of pieces that are too large and when they swallow them, they may choke on them. Based on what I read, Shiba’s are susceptible because of their long sharp teeth which allows them to tear chunks off effectively.

Another problem with rawhide is that it is not digestible by dogs. As a result, it may also cause digestive issues if it absorbs water and expands in the dog’s stomach.

I now use bully sticks. I don’t give them too much of these, maybe about 1 per week or less. The nice thing about bully sticks it that it is digestible, and is mostly made up of protein.

However, they are more expensive and the dogs can get through them very quickly. Shania finishes one in about 15-20 minutes. Still though, she likes it very much. Sephy is weird and will only work on bully sticks that have first been per-chewed by Shania.

Bully sticks can also be somewhat smelly. Some of this is brand dependent.

Anyway send me some pictures of Zeus when you have the time so I can include them with his new poem.

Hello Maria,
What is your FB URL? I tried looking for your but there are too many hits. Thanks!

Hahaha – that definitely sounds like a Shiba! Sephy has also slipped out of his collar a couple of times by backing up. I now use the Premier no-slip martingale collar and it is great for preventing collar escapes. It is interesting that she favors her Shiba side so much, since Labs tend to like water.

Big HUGS to Kali. Do you have any pictures for her up on the web? Would love to see her.

Hi Brett,
Sounds like you are already doing all the right things so I am not sure what more I can add. My Shiba breeder told me that a bath and a blow-dry afterward gets the most hair out.

I have also noticed with Sephy that when I do more regular brushing during the year, he has a lighter coat blow. Last year I was less regular with his brushing, and his most recent coat blow was quite heavy and a big hair fashion emergency.

Try asking this question in the Shiba nihonken forum. Somebody there will probably have some good suggestions.

Several possibilities –
1. Try putting up a curtain so he can’t see you.
2. Have a play or walk training session in the backyard so that he is not there when you first go into your office.
3. Have your husband start feeding and training him more. This will help to create a stronger bond and set him up as another go-to person for Kiba.
4. Keep repeating the non-mark and time-outs, and try lengthening the time-outs of subsequent sessions. I usually have a very short initial time-out for Sephy, but if he keeps repeating, I start leaving him in there for longer and longer.
5. Have your husband do the time-outs etc., and you just totally ignore him. No talking, no eye-contact. With Sephy, he will sometimes start with his Shiba moves just to get a reaction from me – even if it is a negative reaction. The worst thing for him is to be ignored.

With Sephy, it took a whole lot of repetitions before he gave up. Shibas are extremely stubborn.

Also I have noticed that Sephy is extremely effective at sensing my feelings. If I get upset at something that he does, it is also a response, and he knows he can start using it to get what he wants. Once I was able to be Zen about his vocalizations, he stopped doing it. For example, he will sometimes whine a lot when he wants to come in or go out of the house into the backyard. I just ignore it – totally.

He has learned that I don’t care if he whines and he only gets let in when I am ready. Nowadays he knocks on the door once with his paw and waits there. Sometimes he gets impatient and knocks a few times for which he mostly just gets ignored. Sometimes I tell him to stop doing it – but only once. This lets him know that I have heard him, but I am not ready at the moment.

Make sure never to give Shiba anything when he is whining, even something like eye-contact. If you do, he will likely do it even more and with even more GUSTO!

Good luck! Let us know how it goes.

Hello Cynthia,
Sorry for the late reply. I just got a Sibe puppy last weekend and have been busy keeping the little ball of nuclear energy in check.

I’m wondering if she is doing some kind of shiba mind trick on me where she is demanding treats in lieu of real food??

LOL Shiba mind trick – I like that! Yeah Sephy definitely did Shiba mind tricks on me when he was younger. He still tries today, but I have now developed a good resistance to it. Like Sasha, puppy Sephy would refuse to eat his kibble, and only eat the good stuff. When mixed together, he would pick out the good stuff and refuse to eat the kibble. I did all sorts of things to get him to eat, including grinding up his kibble and then mixing it into some wet food. That worked for a while but invariably, he went back to playing hard to get.

Switching to fixed meal times really helps. Shibas are stubborn but they will eat if they are really hungry. With fixed meal times, Sephy now works for his kibble. Sometimes he will start playing his Shiba tricks again and not eat for 1 day or so, but I just stick to the meal plan and he starts to eat once he realizes that he ain’t getting more of the good stuff.

Once eating kibble becomes a routine, Shiba will be less likely to try this particular mind game.

Should i move her treats where she cant see them?

That may help. I know that Sephy becomes more obsessive when he can see something. I usually move stuff so that Sephy is not tempted to try and jump up on counters. However, it will likely not have too much of an effect on begging.

should i scold her when she begs?

Different owners have different beg rules and restrictions. For example, I am fine with begging, as long as they do it nicely, e.g. Sit, no jumping, no biting, etc. Also no temper tantrums if I choose to ignore them. I also discourage begging when I am having dinner. Usually I will tell Sephy to go to his mat/bed, and reward him for doing that. Nowadays, he just goes to his bed on his own during meal-times.

I have found that a good way to get Sephy to do what I want is not only to tell him “No”, but also to tell him what to do instead. For example, just telling him not to beg didn’t work out well with him, whereas telling him to go to his mat instead lets him work and allows him to get rewarded.

Hi Andrea,
I had a similar experience when Sephy was young. I was out walking with him when he was 3/4 immunized and we met a friendly dog from an equally friendly neighbor, and I let Sephy meet the dog, smell his butt, etc. Later I got really worried about parvo. It turned out that Sephy was ok; it was just limited exposure, for a very limited time, and in a clean neighborhood, so the risk of infection was very low. However, for a while there, I began to look at everything through “parvo lenses”.

Try not to worry too much. Just make sure he is still eating well, pooping well, and not showing any clear signs of sickness (e.g. vomiting). Also, no harm giving your vet a call and see what the nurse says. In the beginning I called up my vet a fair amount.

Hugs to Kiba.