A really cool 2-legged one.
January 20th 2007
I got to meet a really cool 2-legged one today.
So far most of the 2-legs I’ve met have not been very impressive. Most have erratic energy that reflect fear, anger, or frustration.
This dog trainer, however, is very different. Straight away I could sense that this one has an air of authority. When he tried to put a new thing around my neck, I put up a big fuss, but this one just held onto me and was very calm and unafraid. Sensing this I calmed down as well,… the neck thingy may not be so bad after all.
My male and female pack followers were also around and they seemed to also get calmer after a howl and yip, noise session with the Yoda-like 2 legs.
Afterwards, we all went for a walk and it was a lot of fun. I also got to practice my SITs and since I am so good at it I got a lot of cheese – yummy!
Finally, the Calm-One picked me up.
In general, I hate being picked up by 2-legs because that seriously curtails my freedom. Also I don’t really trust the 2-legs not to drop me – after all they are inferior with only 2 legs.
Everyone knows that –
4 legs goooooddd, 2 legs baaaadddd.
So, of course I showed my displeasure by squirming and showing teeth. I also put my teeth near Calm-One’s neck just to see what he would do. But, strangely, he just remained calm throughout. I started to relax as well.
Being held by Calm-One was not too bad after all.
Shiba Wisdom
Wtih us dogs, it is all about inner energy. We can sense what you are truly feeling so you cannot pretend. To really make a difference, you must change your inner energy and true self.Really, we should get paid a lot more for all the self-help lessons we give 2-legs!
i have a Shiba Inu and his name is Rocco. He is great for our family but my dad who does not really like dogs, well this is a bit of a jump
he’s a great dog but he cannot be let off the leash, but we do take him to dog parks a lot and he is starting to listen better so hopefully one day i can take him to run around and have him come straight back when called.
but if your looking for a breed: you should not get this dog if you have strict people in your house hold of people who don’t like dogs to much
but there great for fun loving family who love to play with him/her and will not get to mad if he acts up now and then
Was the “Animal Farm” reference intentional? It probably was. This is why Kira (my shiba) I love reading this blog– it’s well written, creative, and informative. I’ve replied once before, to one of your posts about socializing. My question is, under what circumstances would you recommend bringing in a trainer? Kira is house-trained and knows the basics, but I’ve been weighing the cost/benefits of bringing in a home trainer. She’s having trouble bonding with my partner (who lives with us) and is at best completely indifferent, if not hesitant and scared regarding him. Would a trainer help with something like this? Thanks! We’ll continue reading and enjoying. <3
Yeah I can definitely relate. I was pretty scared of Sephy as well early on because he was such a crazy dog. At one point he started redirecting his frustration onto me and started biting my jacket. He would do kill-moves on my jacket when we were out walking and something set him off. That was pretty scary.
It is difficult to build a relationship with someone you are scared of or hesitant about. I did not really have a good relationship with Sephy then and really wanted to change things. At that point, the thing that helped me most was to inject a lot of structure into our activities together – there were a lot of rules and I planned for all of his Shiba maneuvers.
I also took little steps so that we could maximize successes and minimize failures. The more successful walks we went on, the more confident I became, and the more confident I became, the better behaved Sephy was. Shibas really are very sensitive to human energy. My Sibe is a happier girl, I think, because she does not react so strongly to the energy of the people around her. However, Shiba Sephy can sense any little change and often reacts strongly to it.
Here are some of the things I did with Sephy that helped me build a better relationship with him –
http://shibashake.com/dog/pack-leader-to-an-aggressive-dog
Training and doing fun joint activities with Shiba is a great way to build a better bond. Feeding is also a great way to strengthen the bond. Dogs usually develop a strong bond with the person who feeds them most. The way to a dog’s heart is almost always through her stomach 😉
Also it is important that everyone in the household institutes and enforces the same rules for Shiba. That way Kira will see everyone as belonging to the same pack/family.
I think getting a trainer can help – but it is also difficult to find a good Shiba trainer. I have had trainers that are pretty clueless about Shibas, and couldn’t handle Sephy at all. I have also had some really good trainers who taught me a lot. Bad trainers can sometimes mislead you in the training process – which was what happened with Sephy and me early on. Nowadays, I try to do as much research as I can on my own so that I can tell which trainers know what they are talking about and which of them are just blowing out hot air 🙂
In the situation you describe it may be very helpful to have an independent third party come in and observe the interactions of everyone in the family. Usually, when it comes to dogs, people find it easier to accept advice from a professional. Bringing up a dog is often like bringing up a kid – a very personal thing.
Awesome that you got the Animal Farm reference! It was one of my favorite movies when I was growing up. I don’t think I understood all the nuances, but the story had a big impact on me nevertheless.