Walks are more fun without the constant pain in the neck.

Walking has not been very fun lately.

Both the Pungent-One and the Female in my pack have started to snap my leash during walks. Sometimes this happens very often.

It is painful especially when the Pungent Male does it. When the Female one does it, it is merely annoying. I am getting really irritated by this.

For now, I will give them the benefit of the doubt. They seem pretty clueless and do not know any better. But this cannot continue indefinitely – ultimately, I am going to have to show them the error of their ways.

It is exactly behavior like this that makes 2-legs strange, incomprehensible, and untrustworthy.

2-legs do not understand that if I wanted to, I could also use aversive techniques on them, and I am much better and more accurate at applying it than they will ever be.

I am much better and more accurate at applying aversive techniques than 2-legs will ever be. Look at my teeth!

If they do not want me to bite them, then it is only fair that they show me the same courtesy.

But 2-legs is only 2-legs. They are slow to learn, so I will give them some time.

Plus, they give me cheese … For the sake of cheese I will be patient, use small words, and speak very slowly. I will go now and have a dream about cheese … ummmm CHEESE.

Shiba Sephy dreaming about cheese.

Shiba Wisdom
Dear 2-legs,

You have thin skin, weak legs, and small teeth. You cannot run very fast, are easily hurt, and have weak, inaccurate bites. In a fair physical fight, you cannot win. So why do you choose this way of fighting?

I have been doing some reading on 2-legs and I know you have big brains and can do some things better than I can – like make cheese! If I were you I would focus on brain and cheese skills.

If you choose to fight, and force me to fight back, then everybody will lose in the end.

If you choose to fight, and force me to fight back, then everybody will lose. If you give me trust and respect, I will also return in kind.

Related posts:

1. Shiba Diary – Dog Trainer
2. Shiba Diary – Bath Time
3. Shiba Diary – Neutering

Bite inhibition basically means training your dog to have a soft mouth.

When they are puppies, dogs automatically learn this lesson from their mother and their litter-mates. When a puppy bites down too hard on a litter-mate, he will get a yelp and play stops while the hurt party licks his wounds.

Through this process, puppies learn to control the force of their bites because they know that biting too hard will cause play to stop.

Dog bite inhibition.

Dogs use their mouth to interact and play, not just to attack.

The mouthier a dog is, the more important to teach him bite inhibition.

It is important to continue this lesson throughout a dog’s life. The mouthier a dog is, the more important to teach him bite inhibition. My Shiba Inu is an extremely mouthy dog, and I am extremely thankful that I taught him bite inhibition from a young age.

Later on, he really started acting out and doing leash biting, humping my leg, and biting on my hands and arms. Throughout all this, he never broke skin.

Bite inhibition, made it possible for us to re-train him and re-train ourselves with very little wear and tear on both dog and humans.

When excited, dogs may mouth on people, not to hurt them, but to interact with them.

Bite inhibition is important even for normally even-tempered, social dogs.

Dogs use their mouth to interact, not just to attack.

When excited, dogs may mouth on people, not to hurt them, but to interact with them. This may cause accidental bites if the dog does not have good bite inhibition training.

Dogs may also bite as a reflex when they are startled, for example, when you accidentally step on their tail. A dog with bite inhibition may scratch your arm, but an untrained dog will cause deep puncture wounds.

The best time to teach dogs bite inhibition is when they are young. Puppies may have sharp teeth, but they have not developed the jaw strength of an adult dog yet, so they cannot inflict the same type of damage that an adult dog can.

The best time to teach dogs bite inhibition is when they are young.

Hand-feeding is a great way for teaching bite inhibition to my dogs.

I have found that hand-feeding is a fun and good way for teaching bite inhibition to my dogs.

Hand-feed your dog at least some of his kibble every day. If he bites too hard when getting his food, do a sharp ouch or yelp and ignore him for a few seconds then start hand-feeding him again. When your dog takes food from you gently, praise him and keep feeding him.

First, make it easy for your dog to get at the food without biting you, then slowly make it more difficult by covering the food partially with your fingers. You can also combine hand-feeding with training and handling sessions.

Hand-feeding also helps to prevent resource guarding issues, so it is good to continue this practice throughout your dog’s life.

I first learned about bite inhibition from Ian Dunbar’s book After You Get Your Puppy. He has more in his book on bite inhibition and puppy socialization.

Although it is easier and safer to teach dogs bite inhibition when they are young, it is never too late to teach them to have a soft mouth.

Bite inhibition will significantly enhance your relationship with your dog because a dog with a soft mouth is easier to trust, easier to handle, and a joy to spend time with.

Note – If your dog is already food aggressive or resource aggressive, it is best to consult a professional trainer. Do not perform bite inhibition exercises on such dogs as they may bite anybody or anything that comes near their food.

A dog with a soft mouth is easier to trust, easier to handle, and a joy to spend time with.

Related posts:

1. Why Do Dogs Attack?

Operant conditioning actually encapsulates both reward and aversive training. In its simplest form, operant conditioning says that to shape a dog’s behavior, we can either add or take away a reward stimulus (positive reinforcement, negative punishment); or we can add or take away an aversive stimulus (positive punishment, negative reinforcement).

Operant conditioning in itself is not pro-reward stimulus or aversive stimulus.

However, it is interesting to note that B.F. Skinner, who developed many of the operant conditioning principles, has expressed that reward stimulus is the preferable form of control.

When someone says “operant conditioning” trainer, it actually refers to all dog trainers because every trainer uses some form of operant conditioning techniques to shape a dog’s behavior.

Included in the operant conditioning framework are studies on timing, frequency, and schedules of reinforcement.

For example, operant conditioning studies tell us that a variable schedule of reinforcement is more effective than a fixed schedule of reinforcement. I.e. rewarding our dogs intermittently for behaviors is more effective than rewarding our dogs every time, or every other time.

Similarly, if you over-correct a dog, he will quickly get habituated to your corrections, and may no longer respond to future corrections.

Operant conditioning is based on many years of study, by scientists and psychologists.

It provides us with a useful framework to not only shape the behavior of dogs, but also that of all animals.

When someone says that reward training does not work, or that aversive training does not work, it goes against all the scientific evidence that we have.

Both reward and aversive techniques can be used to shape animal behavior.

This includes getting your dog to perform good behaviors (e.g. Sit, Down) as well as stopping your dog from performing bad behaviors.

Personally, I use reward techniques almost exclusively with my own dogs because it is less risky, and the effects of making training mistakes are less serious.

When looking for a dog trainer, make sure to find one that understands the basic principles of operant conditioning and classical conditioning.

These two processes underlie much of what goes into dog training, and someone who understands these behavioral psychology principles will be in a better position to understand, guide, and shape your dog’s behavior.

Related posts:

1. Using Food in Dog Training – Bribery or Reward?
2. My Dog Training Mistakes
3. Dogs Are Not Human!

This is a true statement.

According to Wikipedia,

Currently, the domestic dog is listed as a subspecies of Canis lupus, C. l. familiaris.

We humans are not part of that evolutionary tree, so it is true that dogs are not human. However, there is a tendency on our parts to humanize our dogs anyway. We often overlay human feelings and human morality onto our dogs’ actions.

Bad Max pooped on my carpet because he was trying to get back at me for leaving him alone.

Sam dug up my roses and chewed up my designer shoes because he does not love me anymore.

Dogs are not human!

Humanizing our dogs can end up hurting our dogs, and ourselves, because we end up not seeing the root cause of their behaviors.

Max probably pooped on the carpet because of anxiety.

Sam likely dug up the roses and chewed on shoes because he was bored and nobody else provided alternate activities for him.

However, “dogs are not human” is not some magical line that can be used to dismiss our responsibilities to our dogs.

1. Grooming and Basic Care

The other day, I read an article where the author proudly proclaimed that “dogs are not human” and therefore there is no need to brush their teeth or take them to the vet for ‘little things’.

One has nothing to do with the other.

Dogs need a certain amount of basic care.

Dog grooming, including nail clipping and teeth brushing will help to improve the general health of the dog, give him a higher quality of life, as well as hopefully a longer life. There are also teeth cleaning toys available in lieu of teeth brushing.

As for vet visits, there are some things that can be treated at home, but there are other things that require medical attention. There are a variety of books written by qualified veterinarians describing symptoms that are treatable from home and those that require veterinary attention.

Anything that involves bloody discharge usually means that a vet visit is necessary, sooner rather than later.

Yearly vet visits are also necessary for shots against dog diseases (e.g. Parvo, Rabies) and sometimes for teeth cleaning.

But dogs are not human. In the wild they would not have a vet.

True, and dogs have shorter lifespans in the wild.

They also do not have to deal with overcrowding, synthetic materials, cars, or live in the backyard all day with nothing to do. If dogs should be wild, then leave them in the wild and get a fish for a pet.

Or perhaps a virtual dog.

2. Affection

Another popular area where this “dogs are not human” line often gets trotted out is in giving affection or even food rewards to our dogs. Apparently, because dogs are not human, it is somehow wrong to give them human affection.

In truth, much of this affection-giving is more for us, than for our dogs. Giving affection to our dogs makes us feel better, and helps to lower stress.

There is nothing wrong with giving affection, attention, or food rewards to dogs, as long as it is done with the right timing to reinforce good behaviors.

Some of us run into problems because we reward or give affection at the wrong time, and as a result the wrong behavior gets reinforced.

Timing is one of the most important components in dog training and in shaping a dog’s behavior. If you discipline or punish your dog at the wrong time, you will also inadvertently encourage bad behaviors.

In fact, this University of Pennsylvania study shows that aversive methods have a higher probability of encouraging aggression in dogs compared to reward techniques.

3. Physical Aversive Training

“Dogs are not human” is also often used as a reason for why physical aversive training is more effective than other types of training.

In particular, since dogs are not human, we should try to be like dogs and bite them, slap them, pin them to the ground, and growl at them.

Just as dogs are not humans, humans are not dogs.

However hard we may try, we will never be dogs, and our dogs will always be aware of this plain fact.

Both reward and aversive techniques come from the field of behavioral psychology, and behavioral psychology techniques can and has been applied to both humans and dogs.

For example, if you look-up desensitization and flooding, you will see that they have been applied, and are still applied to help both dogs and humans cope with phobias and stress.

It may be true that “dogs are not humans”, but that statement has nothing to do with the behavioral psychology techniques that we apply to train dogs and shape behavior.

Dogs are not human, but that does not mean they respond better to aversive stimuli.

One does not follow from the other – they are two separate statements that have no relation to one another.

Yes, dogs are not human.

All that means is we should try and understand their behavior, without any human moral overlay. 

We should learn to communicate with them, so that they understand us, and we understand them. By doing this, both dog and human can share a strong, happy, and lasting bond.

Related posts:

1. Operant Conditioning and Dog Training
2. Do Dogs Need Other Dogs?
3. Should Dogs Be Left in the Wild?

I had a difficult time finding a good dog trainer for my Shiba Inu.

He is not an easy dog to handle, and most trainers that I visited initially were not very familiar with the Shiba Inu breed.

Finding a dog trainer

1. Get a list of all the dog trainers in your area. If you live in the United States you can use quickly generate this list using the Association of Pet Dog Trainers search tool.
2. Decide which dog training style most suits you and your dog.

There are generally three groups of dog trainers -

• those that mostly use reward techniques,
• those that mostly use aversive techniques, and
• those that use a combination of the two.

Here are the pros and cons of the different dog training styles.

3. Visit the websites of all the dog trainers on your list, and filter out the ones that do not use the dog training techniques that you think are appropriate for you and your dog.
4. Call up all the trainers that are still on your list and quiz them about the dog training techniques that they use. Tell them some of the problems you are facing with your dog and evaluate the answers that they give you in return.
5. Pick the top three trainers based on your phone conversation, and set up a dog evaluation session with them.
   Most trainers will want to evaluate your dog first before coming up with a training program. These are usually private evaluation sessions that last from 1-2 hours and cost from $50US to $100US. These sessions are also useful for evaluating the trainer in action with your dog.

Do not just follow whatever a trainer tells you.

The dog training profession is not very well regulated so you may run across some mediocre or bad trainers before finding one that suits you.

If you feel uncomfortable about particular training techniques, ask them a lot of questions and do some online research of your own. If the trainer is rude to you or does not want to answer your questions, then leave and find another trainer who will actually work for his pay.

Remember that you are the boss because you pay them, not the other way around.

Do not be afraid to terminate training if you discover in the middle of the program that the trainer is not knowledgeable, does not suit you or your dog’s temperament, or is making your dog stressed and unhappy.

It is also a good idea to ask a trainer what his policy is if you decide to terminate training early.

A great resource in my Shiba Inu trainer search was my local SPCA.

I had very good experiences with the two SPCAs that I visited. Both of them had very knowledgeable dog trainers, and very reasonable prices. They were also very willing to accommodate my training requests, and had a variety of balanced dogs at the shelter that they were willing to use to help train and socialize my Shiba Inu.

Often, the best teacher for your dog is another dog, especially with dog-to-dog aggression issues. While we may try to learn dog to better communicate with our Shiba, a well socialized, balanced dog, is not only extremely fluent in dog language, but knows when, and how to use it to achieve the most effective results.

Using other dogs is often an invaluable tool in dog training. Therefore, find a dog trainer with good access to other dogs, if you can.

In addition to the SPCA, dog trainers who are attached to a dog daycare or dog walking service will frequently have access to appropriate dogs that they can use in the dog training process.

Also consider getting help from your breeder. Good breeders know their breed well and can point you in the right direction to get help for your dog. They may even provide your Shiba with some good playmates.

Dog trainer vs. boot camp

An alternative to getting a trainer is to send your Shiba to boot camp.

I have never sent my Shiba to boot camp.

My poor guy got stressed from going to daycare once, for about 8 hours. He came back sick, depressed, stressed, and car reactive. I don’t think he would handle boot camp too well.

My opinion is that boot camps are risky.

You don’t know exactly what is happening to your dog during his time there. A trainer once told me that she subdued a Shiba by giving him an extremely strong correction with a choke chain and then holding him down in a forceful alpha roll while looming over him and growling at him. The Shiba defecated and after that incident, he was very "well-behaved".

Even if my Shiba miraculously became well-behaved, I would lose a lot of hard-earned trust.

Finally, the training done at boot camp may not transfer to you. If you are still fearful of your Shiba, projecting weak and unbalanced energy, and inconsistent in enforcing your rules, your Shiba will return to his old ways.

My Shiba Inu trainer experiences

Shiba Inus are still not very common in the United States and it can be difficult to find a trainer that is familiar with Shibas.

Shibas are primitive, stubborn, and extremely strong willed. Therefore, it is best to get a trainer with a lot of Shiba experience, is knowledgeable of the breed, and has successfully trained them.

After over a year and a half of meeting with trainer types, I have finally met one who knows Shiba. She handled my Shiba very well and very correctly identified him as a "reaction junkie" (playing, chasing, or fighting are all rewards to him as long as he gets a reaction. The bigger the reaction, the better it is.).

Previous trainers who "said" they knew Shiba, but really didn’t, have alpha rolled him to detrimental results. Others were uncomfortable dealing with a dog that mouthed so much, would not surrender, and would be constantly trying to push their buttons.

Remember that if at first you don’t find the right trainer, find another one.

To quickly get a feel for the trainers around you, enroll for classes in a variety of places, and take your Shiba to a nearby SPCA, daycare center or training facility to get advice and evaluations.

If you have more tips or stories about finding a good dog trainer, please share them with us in the comments section. Thanks!

Related posts:

1. Best Dog Trainer
2. Shiba Diary – Dog Trainer
3. Shiba Inu Sephy’s Resume

Are bad dogs simply untrained or were they born bad?

Some people believe that certain bad dog behaviors are a result of bad breeding while others believe that they are wholly the result of bad dog training.

The truth, as always, is somewhere in-between.

Breeding and breed does contribute to a dog’s temperament and behaviors. Some dogs are more high-strung than others, some are born confident, some are more susceptible to fear or stress, some are more mouthy, etc.

To get a dog with good temperament, do some research on the breeds you are most interested in. Once you have made a decision, do a lot more research into good breeders or adoption agencies in your area.

Puppies from pet stores, and online stores are mostly from puppy-mills, and will have a lot more health and temperament issues.

Even though breeding and breed does contribute to the overall temperament and behavior of a dog, it can be counterbalanced with training and management.

Dogs that are born with a less balanced temperament, however, will require more time, patience, training, and management.

My Shiba Inu, for example, is easily stressed, very stubborn, and naturally mouthy. Therefore, I manage him carefully and only expose him to situations that I know he can handle. At the same time I am slowly desensitizing him to the conditions that cause him stress.

My Siberian Husky is just a happy-go-lucky dog, and needs less management and attention.

We should all recognize, though, that some dogs are just more difficult to manage than others.

Try not to judge others too quickly because of the misbehavior of their dogs.  Just like us, dogs do not all start from a level playing field, and what we consider to be bad behaviors may be a result of the dog’s natural tendency towards fear, stress, or anxiety.

And if you have one of those more challenging dogs – know that you are not alone. Your dog can be properly managed and trained with time and patience. Make sure though that his unexpected behaviors are not a result of any physical health issues.

And a Big Kudos to you for sticking with your dog, and helping him through his challenges. That makes you a big Dog Hero and you should stand tall and be proud!

Related posts:

1. Dogs Are Not Human!
2. Embarassed by My Dog

Here is what Nicco said -

Nothing wrong with being nice to people and dogs. Being the educated dog owner that you are though, I’m sure you’re aware that there are certain things people do that we consider respectful to one another but don’t have the same meaning to dogs. These are things like allowing your dog on the couch or your bed without your permission, letting the dog rush out the door before you, giving in to a dog’s persistent demand for attention, moving out of their way instead of making them move out of YOUR way, etc, I could go on forever.

The dog may not be trying to dominate your household, but what we see as being “nice”, the dog sees as winning small battles. A training book I read called “Training the Hard to Train Dog” describes these battles as small points that the dog wins. The more points he wins, the more control he gains over the house. Again, it may not necessarily be a dominance thing, I think it’s more of a survival thing. If this were nature, he would be exploring all of his resources to maximize his chances of survival.

So the point of my rant is, it’s great to be nice to a dog, so long as it’s fulfilling for a dog and not indulging him. Again, being the responsible owner that you are, I’m sure you’re not letting your dogs run wild around the house, but there are certainly owners who make the mistake of being “nice” in human terms, and they’ve lost control of their dog.

I think Nicco brings up some really important and interesting points within dog training.

1. All dogs need some discipline and structure

A dog owner should have sufficient control over their dog so that the dog does not become a danger to himself and to the people and animals around him.

2. What rules to institute with your dog?

Some dog owners do not allow their dogs up on furniture. I also have the no-getting-on-furniture rule for both my dogs. One of my dogs is a three-legged dog and I do not want her stressing her joints from furniture jumping.

My other dog, the Shiba Inu, likes getting into mischief, and frequently causes some kind of chaos when he gets onto furniture. Therefore, the no-furniture rule is a good way to curb his inappropriate behaviors.

However, not all dogs need this rule. I have seen dogs who get on furniture and behave like a perfect Lassie. I think the important thing is to tailor your rules to fit your dog’s needs. We should be consistent but flexible.

3. Battles and winning points

Finally, this whole notion of battles and winning points is also very interesting.

Personally, I do not see interaction with my dogs as a series of battles. Rather, I see us as working together to achieve a lifestyle that suits us all.

For example, my Shiba Inu likes playing with my other dog inside the house. I let them do this in most areas that are dog safe. However, they are not allowed to play on the stairs for safety reasons.

When they do that, I tell them to stop. If they do, they get rewarded. If they don’t, play stops until they cool down.

With dogs it is almost all about shaping behavior and communicating with them in a consistent manner so that they can understand you.  If play always stops when they rough-house on the stairs, then they will naturally stop playing on the stairs because that gets them bad results.

There are no battles – instead, there is a cooperative learning process. There is no winning and losing, because by working together, everybody wins.

I only control and manage my dogs as much as is necessary to ensure that they can live a good, happy, and long life – this includes taking their safety and health into consideration.

When my dogs win and are happy, I win and am happy too.

Sometimes, I also indulge my dogs by giving them a lot of tummy rubs and yummy healthy chicken. I don’t think there is anything wrong with indulging a dog – that for me, is part of the fun of dog ownership.

I think problems only arise when dog owners do not communicate with their dogs properly – i.e. they reward the dog for inappropriate behaviors, and do not communicate to the dog what is desirable and what is undesirable. Mis-communication I believe is at the root of almost all bad dog behavior. The other part has to do with not fulfilling the dog’s needs.

This whole notion of winning and losing, I believe, is unnecessary and creates an antagonistic relationship with our dogs. Ultimately we create the strongest bonds with our dogs by working cooperatively with them to achieve common goals.

Related posts:

1. When Did ‘NICE’ Become a Four-Letter Word?
2. A Dog – Robot, Companion, or DoorStop
3. Who is the Best Dog Owner?

Who is the best dog trainer?

Is it Cesar Millan, The Dog Whisperer?

Or do you think it is Victoria Stilwell from It’s Me of the Dog?

Or do you prefer Tamara Geller? Ian Dunbar? Patricia McConnell? or someone else entirely?

Nah, it is not any one of these people.

Is it ShibaShake?

Certainly not!

So who is the best dog trainer?

The best dog trainer for your dog is — [drum roll] — YOU.

I know, I know, this is a bit cheesy, like that person of the year TIME article; however, it is also true.

• We get to spend the most time with our dogs. We get to observe them 24/7 and we should know them best.
• We love them more than anybody else, so we should be most willing to put in the effort to make them happy and balanced.  

This does not mean that we automatically become best dog trainer.  No, no, this is a prestigious title that requires a whole lot of work.

• We must do a lot of research online so that we understand the good and bad of different dog training methods.
• We must research the different types of dog equipment and dog products available to us so that we only pick the ones that are safe and healthy for our dogs.  
• We must keep our dog healthy, fulfill their need for exercise, and not do anything that will inadvertently cause them physical or mental harm.

And the work is never done.

We must always keep an open mind and be receptive to new dog information, dog studies, and dog training techniques.

The reward of being the best dog trainer though – is priceless.

A happy, well-balanced dog who trusts you, and is not afraid of you.

Related posts:

1. Finding a Dog Trainer for My Shiba Inu
2. Shiba Diary – Dog Trainer
3. Cesar Millan vs. Victoria Stilwell

Many people view the use of food during dog training as doggy bribery

Is this true?

To find the answer to this question, we must examine dog training in greater detail.

Dog training can be divided into – Aversive based dog training (traditional methods) and Reward based dog training (positive reinforcement methods).

Reward based dog training controls the dog by controlling his resources. This includes the dog’s toys, access to the backyard, play-time, walk-time, and much more.

Food is one of the key resources in a dog’s life, so it plays a key role in reward based dog training.

Is reward based dog training essentially dog bribery? Just like bribery, is it a bad practice?

Read more about food and dog bribery …

Related posts:

1. Operant Conditioning and Dog Training
2. Brad Pattison, CET Dog Training, & In The Doghouse