Comments on: My Shiba Inu Story

By: Linh

Linh — Fri, 19 Feb 2016 02:39:10 +0000

My boyfriend and I just welcomed a 3-month-old rehomed Shiba Inu a while ago and he is turning 6 months old this month. I cannot believe how similar our story is compared to yours. It has definitely been a rough 3 months and we have been on what feels like an emotions rollercoaster. We have already fought and argued with each other so many times which used to never happen during all these years we were together. I had my first emotional breakdown the other day when our Shiba Zora was being so hard to deal with. Our successful attempts to correct his mischief were always short-lived and quickly followed by repated or other bad behaviors. At one point we started questioning our decision to have him at the first place, and our training competency (or incompetency). Despite feeling so hopeless and helpless at times, we still love him and want to believe that there is hope. Coming across your blog is like seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. Reading your stories made me feel calmed, comforted and empowered. I am most certainly going to revisit your blog frequently. It is such a relief to learn that we are not an odd case, and that there are others who went through the same, who persisted and succeeded. We are going to keep reminding ourselves to practice extreme patience and control of our temperament.

By: shibashake

shibashake — Mon, 25 Jan 2016 00:43:05 +0000

In reply to Hank. Congratulations on your new puppy and thank you for your wonderful comment! Big hugs to your Little One. :D

By: Hank

Hank — Wed, 20 Jan 2016 19:47:05 +0000

We have read all your articles before we got our puppy and now I am going through again because it’s really helpful and some of your story are exactly the same scenario that we are encountering with our Shiba.
So far our puppy has been with us for 20 days and thanks for your story/suggestion I think he is on the right path to a cute, well-behaved dog!
Thanks again for sharing the priceless experience!

By: shibashake

shibashake — Mon, 09 Mar 2015 04:30:41 +0000

In reply to Cecily. Thank you Cecily. Yeah, all of my dogs respond better to reward training. But as you say, they all also need consistency and structure. I think that many people (including me in the beginning) think that structure can only be achieved through more physical or dominance techniques, which is obviously false. It doesn't help that there is so much inconsistent information about dog training on the web.

By: Cecily

Cecily — Sat, 07 Mar 2015 09:21:08 +0000

Your story is amazing, our Shiba also responds to the obedience reward training extremely well. I think Shibas will bond to your more, if you show them love during training, but also you show them authority.

By: shibashake

shibashake — Thu, 21 Aug 2014 23:54:53 +0000

In reply to CB.

Yeah, I had a difficult time with Sephy in the beginning. The good news is that after I controlled my energy, learned more about dog behavior and how to properly redirect Sephy, things got a lot better. 😀 Some things that helped with Sephy-

1. Consistency and structure – I set up a fixed routine and a consistent set of rules. I make sure to consistently enforce those rules so that he knows what his boundaries are, what to expect from me, and what I expect from him in return.

2. I follow the Nothing in Life is Free program with all of my dogs. This teaches then to work for the things that they want most and motivates them to follow commands and house rules.

3. This is what I do when my Husky puppy bites on me.
http://shibashake.com/dog/how-i-trained-my-husky-puppy#bite-training

More on how I discourage puppy biting.

4. I do bite inhibition training with all of my dogs. This teaches them to control the force of their bites.

5. I always try to set my dog up for success. Whenever I introduce him to something new, I start small and slowly build up his tolerance. I try not to expose him to situations that he is not ready for. I use leashes, gates, and other management equipment as necessary. For example, I used a drag-lead on Sephy when he was young so that I can more easily control him, calm him down, and redirect him. I only use a drag-lead while I am supervising him, and only with a flat collar or harness (no aversive collars).

6. I always try to remain calm and decisive. If I am stressed out, frustrated, fearful, anxious, or angry, Sephy will pick up on my energy, get stressed out himself, and his behavior will get even worse.

7. I also read up a lot on dog behavior and we visited with several professional trainers to troubleshoot particular behaviors. Reading up on dog behavior allowed me to better read Sephy, as well as improve on my technique and timing. It also helped me in terms of picking trainers.
More on how dogs learn.
Where I get my dog training information.

Dog behavior is very context dependent, so it was helpful to have a trainer observe Sephy and read his body language, within the context of his normal routine and environment.
http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/virtual-pet-behaviorist/finding-professional-help
http://shibashake.com/dog/finding-a-dog-trainer

A few more things I learned from my difficult time with Sephy. 😀

Good luck and big hugs to your Husky puppy!

By: CB

CB — Wed, 20 Aug 2014 18:44:08 +0000

Thank you so much for sharing your story! I absolutely love your site and all your posts. I come back to it frequently (and make my boyfriend read it as well). I’m a new dog owner and currently have a 12 week old husky. I’ve been using aversive/alpha roll methods feeling horrible and regret it every time. I know he is teething and is only a puppy, but he bites everything and anything that walks into my home – to the point of breaking skin. I know he understands the word “no,” because sometimes he will respond and stop; while other times he will persistently continue. He gets very bored very easily, so I have felt that the aversion methods was my only option left – even was considering a shock collar prior to your post. I love him dearly and have been feeling hopeless the past few weeks. Any other words of wisdom would be greatly appreciated. It’s comforting to know that other people have gone through something similar!

By: shibashake

shibashake — Mon, 09 Jun 2014 19:02:36 +0000

In reply to Andrea.

Heh, yeah, Sephy and I went through a lot of tough times. We both came out of it better and stronger tho, and I learned so much from our experience. Today, I mostly use resource management techniques with my dogs. It has worked well for us.

Here are two more Sephy stories that you may enjoy-
http://shibashake.com/dog/zen-dog-training-tips
http://shibashake.com/dog/embarrassed-by-my-dog

Big hugs to your Husky boy!

By: Andrea

Andrea — Mon, 09 Jun 2014 00:15:07 +0000

I have a husky mix who just went through a class with a teacher who uses the Caesar Milan method. He pretty much shut down and got really aggressive in class. It really upset me and I felt hopeless. After reading this I don’t feel as alone! Thank you for your story! I am going to do some more research and try some more things.

By: shibashake

shibashake — Sat, 07 Jun 2014 04:53:32 +0000

In reply to Brandi.

What is his daily routine like? What type of training is he currently on?

when my husband raises his voice my dog sometimes pees.

That sounds like it could be submissive urination.
http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/virtual-pet-behaviorist/dog-behavior/submissive-urination

The aggression behavior sounds like it could be resource guarding.
More on why dogs get aggressive over food and toys.
More on how I prevent resource guarding.

However, dog behavior is very context dependent. Therefore, in cases of aggression, it is usually best to get help from a good professional trainer.
http://www.apdt.com/pet-owners/choosing-a-trainer/