This special poem is for Shiba Inu Sephy. I love him very much even though he is often a big pain in the ass! 😀
Oh Shiba,
I feed you, I shelter you, I buy you many toys,
But when I reach for you, you step back,
Oh Shiba,
I walk you, I pick up your poo, I mop up your pee,
But when I call your name, you turn away,
Oh Shiba,
Kan-i, Ryosei, Soboku,
You bold rogue, good-natured scamp, spirited little wild thing,
I love you, just the way you are.
shebashake..my male shiba was trained in just one week. and now my new female is 11 weeks old and got her at 8 weeks and she never once went in the house or my store.i could not believe it..but i guess maybe becuase of my male {Yoshi} always went out with her she just cought on..she only went twice in her kennel first days..and Miaka like Yoshi always goes potty where no people waks or the edges of the yard in back…we are now living with our daughter and grand daughter as our house is flooded from the mighty missouri..they adapted well and have a fenced yard..the biggest thing with shibas is socialazation…they both come to my store every day i work{7 days a week} the female is much more lovey than Yoshi but he is very tight to me..jeff
Hello Jeff,
Yoshi is definitely a very lucky Shiba. He gets to be with you all day, and gets to meet new and interesting people. At the same time, he gets a very fixed routine, which Shibas really enjoy. A very nice combination!
Yeah, socialization is definitely important for all dogs – and probably even more so for independent breeds like the Shiba.
We’ve had over a month with our Shiba puppy. She was 4 mos when we brought her home. I had an Akita before and I understand that dominance and many other characteristics are similar. There is one big difference between Tudy (Akita, RIP with a huge attitude hence her name) and Kendra (Shiba puppy). Tudy loved people of all ages and Kendra is people shy and like the poem will step back from me. I’ve never owned a dog that did that and it’s a little disconcerting. I have been socializing her (though probably not often enough). Her first obedience class doesn’t start for another month-at which time she’ll be 6 mos. She gets spayed this week so am curious to see how she reacts to that.
I’m most concerned about her shyness. It’s killing my Dad that she won’t let him pet her unless I’m holding her-he’s a big dog lover. I’m also wondering if that is a bad way to introduce her to people? She seems to feel safer (as if she trusts me to keep her safe) while in my arms around new people. At least she doesn’t struggle to get down for some time. She also seems to be shyer toward men. Could that be their height or deeper voice, both?
I have been doing lots of research and reading on the net and have found nothing as helpful and resourceful as your site. I’m highly impressed with it.
Thank you! Ty! Ty!
Hello Kim,
Apologies for the late reply but I just got a new puppy and have been busy doing potty training. I forgot how much work it is to care for a puppy! 😀
Yeah probably both.
My Siberian Husky is also a shy and more submissive dog. One thing that has worked very well with her are desensitization exercises.
For example, have your dad sit a certain distance away and totally ignore Shiba puppy. Sitting will help because then he won’t look as large. No talking, no touching, and definitely no eye-contact. Shy dogs can get spooked with eye-contact.
However, what your dad will have are some super special hopefully smelly treats that Shiba puppy loves. Sephy seems to really like sausages, so that is what I use when I need him to do something extra special. Then when Tudy approaches even slightly to smell the sausage have your dad toss her a very small piece (but still no eye contact). Just repeat until she approaches on her own.
Then you can slowly add in eye-contact, then talking, and touch should be last, when she is already totally comfortable with the first two. This will teach her to associate people with yummy sausages. It will also help to associate affection from people with rewards.
The important thing is to go slowly, keep each session short, and always end on a positive note.
Another variation on desensitization is to have your dad sit, and you have Shiba puppy on a lead a good distance away. Far enough away that Shiba is comfortable and relaxed. Then engage Shiba in commands and reward. Once she is comfortable and responding well, move one step closer to dad and repeat. If she starts to pull away or get uncomfortable, then we have moved forward too quickly. So just move back and get her engaged in the exercise again.
As in the previous case, go slowly, keep each session short, and always end on a positive note.
Here is an article I wrote on Hugging a Dog that also has some related information.