Hi Sabrina. I don’t think the article is suggesting not to teach your dog tricks or for him not to obey you. Teaching you dog to sit is very good for both human and dog. It’s a precursor to many other essential commands like stay/wait and come. There will be times your dog wants to do something dangerous and being able to command him not makes life much better for you and your dog.

Your dog is an animal, but a domesticated animal, bred to obey humans and live in a human society. He absolutely needs you to be the boss and take charge so that you can guide him through that world.

This article has some good input from other Shiba owners. 😀
Why are Shiba Inus one of the most difficult breeds to train.

Thanks for the advice shiba, I’ll definitely use it when I do get a puppy. Right now I’m still deciding and working things out but the shiba’s are such adorable, smart, and amazing dogs so I’m pretty sure my mind is set.

That is a great question.

When my dog gets into trash, he is usually not trying to get my attention. Instead, the trash itself is the reward. Trash smells good to him, and there are many ‘new things’ in there that he can eat or play with. These are things that he will never get otherwise. The same is true for when a dog jumps on counters or tables – he gets rewarded with whatever is on the counter or the table.

Since the reward is the trash or table-stuff, ignoring my dog in this case, will not have an effect.

To stop the behavior, I want to make sure that my dog *never* gets rewarded for the behavior. Therefore, either I have to be there to supervise and stop him *before* he gets anything, or I have to make sure that there is nothing for him to get.

With trash, we have it in a closed space or container that our dogs cannot get to. Otherwise, I am there to supervise and make sure nobody goes trash diving. If my dog does it, I no-mark then body block him away from the area. Then, I get him to do something else. If he keeps going back, then he has to leave the room. In this way, my dog learns that –
Trash diving = get nothing and lose access to certain rooms,
No trash diving = get more freedom and get to be with his people.

The thing with dog behavior and dog training is that it is very context dependent, and the details of each situation are important, as well as the temperament of the dog. The general principles of how dogs learn are the same, but I need to change my motivators depending on the situation and depending on my dog.

Send us some picture links of your puppy when you get him. 😀

i will do ANYTHING to prevent this from happening again.

Three things that helped with my Shiba Inu-

1. Get help from a *good* professional trainer.
Based on what you describe, the best thing to do would be to get help from a professional trainer.
http://www.apdt.com/pet-owners/choosing-a-trainer/

2. Learn all that I can about dog training and dog behavior.
I read a lot of articles, books, and studies on dog training and dog behavior. However, there is a lot of misinformation out there, therefore, I rely most on –
a) Scientific studies.
b) Articles from the top veterinarian schools (those which also have a strong behavioral branch) – e.g. University of Pennsylvania and UC Davis. For example, here is an article on dominance and aggression from UC Davis.
c) Well established dog advocate organizations (e.g. RSPCA, ASPCA).

3. The key with dog fights is *prevention*.
Prevention is very important because we *do not* want our dog to practice aggressive behaviors, and have it become a habit. With my dogs, I prevent fights *before* they occur through supervision and proper management.

I set up a fixed routine and teach them clear interaction rules. I separate my dogs if necessary, use muzzles if necessary, and make sure to set them up for success. For example, if I know that they are most likely to start a fight when guests come, then I make sure to keep them separated and properly secured *before* opening the door. In general, I identify things that trigger the behavior, properly manage them when such triggers occur, and also work on safely desensitizing them to those triggers. This is also something that a professional trainer can help with.

That is a great quote! I will have to include it in the article.

“But how can we clearly show our ‘pack’ we are protecting them?”

It depends. For example, my Shiba Inu does not like new dogs sniffing his butt, so I make sure that during greetings, there is no butt sniffing. I also only let him meet easy going dogs that are under good control by their owners. In this way, I set him up for success so that he will have positive dog encounters, and will be more confident about meeting new dogs.

Some dogs do not like people suddenly stepping into their space. Others do not like too much noise, etc.

Part of being a protector, I believe, involves understanding our dog’s needs, and boundaries. Then I help him fulfill those needs, show him that I respect his boundaries, and help him expand some of those boundaries through positive, and successful encounters.
In terms of maintaining peace within the pack, I teach my dogs that I am the one that resolves conflicts, so they do not/should not deal with it themselves.

Dogs usually have conflicts over resources, e.g. food, space, toys, affection, people, etc. Therefore, I teach my dogs that I give out resources, and there is no stealing. If one dog wants to rest and does not want to be bothered, the others should not bother him.

At the same time, I try to show them that they get the most resources when they cooperate and work together. When they compete, for example through stealing, the instigator loses his resource and may also lose his freedom. When they are calm and work together, everybody gets extras.

Here are some of the things I do to keep the peace-
http://shibashake.com/dog/second-dog-introducing-a-second-dog