Shibulations

Hi!

2011-10-28T13:28:00.000-07:00

What a Stinker

2011-07-20T15:01:00.000-07:00

I wish my camera was working on my phone today...took Izzy and Z to some amazing woods near us and Z ran through the fence, under the gate and into a nearby cow farm (no nearby cows thank goodness). However, lots of nearby cow pats. Iz and I had to watch him jump (so happily) from pat to pat, the head goes slowly to one side and down towards the floor, then all legs are kicking in a fury until he springs back up and onto the next pat. The boy was covered - literally. There were two small patches of white, one between his eyes and one on the side of his belly, the lure of the treats was too much to finish full coverage...stinker...

Vets

2011-06-15T10:59:00.000-07:00

Well, the past couple of visits to the vets have been a total disaster!! Poor old Z is pretty suspicious by nature, so he's cottoned on that they dont do nice things in there -even after plenty of 'just for a treat' visits in between. The vet has given up trying a bit I think - he used to be very good at distracting, making friends, giving treats, but now he seems to have categorised Z as trouble and no longer bothers (even though all he does is demonstrate his lung power with the most impressive Shiba Screams ever!) Time for a change of vet? Does anybody else have any experiences with vets and Shibas clashing?

The War on Slugs

2011-02-02T14:55:00.000-08:00

Ziggy went out into the garden, a normal looking little fella, and came back looking like this...

I can only presume that he needed this war paint for some great battle against the slugs in the back garden...

Snow!!!!

2010-12-02T12:55:00.000-08:00

Ziggy loooooooves the snow! And boy, is it snowing here. The whole country has come to its knees, and thats pretty much where the snow is on Ziggy...

And here he is attacking our little friend Maya...As you can see her fur is less well equipped to deal with the snow - it just stuck all over her face!!

A Vision In Beige

2010-11-21T12:58:00.000-08:00

Proud of the Little Terror

2010-11-11T14:34:00.000-08:00

Recently, it has been fireworks night. As a particularly neurotic dog you may expect Z to have gone mental - but he was very chilled about the whole thing.

Also, we walked across London to a friends house and he didnt get aggressive to one of the dogs we walked by even though he has been getting a bit of lead aggression recently. I have been really upping his socialisation through his adolescence and he is really starting to calm down around other dogs. He has never tried to bite another dog, even when they have bitten him, but he he'll certainly make a big fuss (surely not- a Shiba making a fuss I hear you cry!!). Onwards and upwards!

His recall was even pretty good today (although he's still well and truly attached to a training lead!)

Right, whats next on the training list...

Dear Kuma and Hiro

2010-09-23T15:13:00.001-07:00

Sorry I have been away for so long - she seems to think that just because she has exams people don't want to see my face any more!

Well - here is a picture of me looking particularly great after rolling in something particularly stinky the other day - I think that the two of you will appreciate this:

There really is nothing better than a poo-ey face!

I will be in touch again soon,

Keep rollin'

New Toys!!

2010-07-15T14:01:00.000-07:00

This week Izzy has been staying with us again and I bought them a new toy. It's made by Mikki and it's a squeeky, bouncing, rubber cat. Here's them doing what they do best - trying to destroy it! So far it's lasted pretty well. It bounces really high too and of course a toy that makes sounds like it's dying a slow and painful death always goes down well with them!! All in all a popular choice.

Shiba Sleep Over

2010-05-31T05:57:00.000-07:00

This weekend I have been privileged enough to be party to a Shiba Sleepover with our friend Izzy. This is Izzy...don't tell Z but she might be my favorite...

We have been to the beach again - Dungeness this time. What a strange place! It's pretty cool - with floored boats all over the place and parts just strewn across the pebbles.

Ziggy found a dead (and rotting - of course) fish to make his most favorite thing ever - and also to create a special eau de dead fish roll-on, which was lovely in the car on the way home...and he wonders why I like Iz so much...

How Much is That Doggy In the Window....woof woof

2010-05-15T09:37:00.000-07:00

My interactions with boys (from da hood) tends to go like this:

Them: 'Scuse me, but what kind of dog is that?

Me: It's a Shiba.

Them: How much are they?

Me: (In my head - WHAT?!?!?) Outloud - It varies.

Them: Yeh but how much?

Me: (walking away) They're supposed to be red....

These people NEVER try and pet him, ask about his temperament or any questions or even demonstrate any interest in him at all, apart from his monetary worth. In fact they usually seem a little scared of him...Guess what they're interested in him for...

I do not want to be discussing what I paid for my dog - especially not when dognapping is rife here already (ah the joys of owning a dog in London - if they're not getting attacked they're getting stolen!). I find myself muttering as I walk away trying to avoid the question. One day I'll pluck up the courage to say 'it's none of your business'.

Camouflage

2010-05-11T13:33:00.000-07:00

Spring - or Summer now I guess - but it's still feckin' freezing - is wonderful for many reasons. Ziggy has found a new one. He is camouflaged in the fallen blossom. Makes stalking that much easier!

The Beach 2

2010-05-11T13:23:00.000-07:00

I'm glad they never made that movie!

Anyway - my friend got some better pics of our time in Cornwall - inc the new top banner - very swish. Also - the drive back was too much for the Kitten (the car) and we had to get towed home...embarrassing....

ps - that's an attempt to make him look like his true self (a fire breathing dragon) not pizza...

The Beach

2010-05-10T15:51:00.000-07:00

Ziggy has never experienced sand in all his fifteen months of life - so we went to Cornwall this weekend. Boy does he love the beach! Unfortunately my camera didn't work very well so all I got were these pics...Zig spent the whole weekend pouncing on everything! You can just see him pouncing on the grass...his favourite was to do this to the sand and then run round like a lunatic and terrify everyone within about a 10 metre radius! Oh well - maybe he'll learn some manners one day...hahaha....

Ziggy the Treat Monster

2010-04-30T17:30:00.000-07:00

Recently I have been questioning Ziggy's reaction to a treat heavy programme of dog training. He has begun to only do things if he deems the treat level worthy of the task - and so I have taken all treats away (in things like walking to heel or for general commands - he still has to do something such as 'leave' in order to earn something high value like a rawhide).

He is still on a kind of NILF programme - in that he must sit before he is allowed into the garden or out of the car etc - but I am now limiting or canceling the use of treats in this.

Often, to keep asking him to do something before giving him anything - such as his food, getting cuddles etc - meant that every time we engaged I was asking of him. He began to get stressed whenever you went near him if he was tired - as if he was dreading what you'd ask him to do. Now I appreciate that this could also be interpreted as him putting up a fight to me taking the 'alpha' position but I genuinely feel that he is more relaxed and gentler with me now that I am asking less of him. After reading Turid Rugaas 'Calming Signals' book (which i thoroughly recommend for every dog owner - I will post more on this soon) it has totally changed the way that I behave with Z. And I also believe that he is responding well to it. I am interested to see how this develops...

Wave to the Camera

2010-04-16T15:33:00.001-07:00

It's been a long time. We're sorry. Here's Ziggy saying hi...more updates when exams are over...wave to the camera Z

Dried Banana

2010-03-26T07:47:00.003-07:00

Today, thanks to a nice lady in the park, we discovered that Ziggy goes absolutely mental for dried banana, even ignoring his chicken for it! Well, you learn something new everyday...

Hairy Bum and The Ambush

2010-03-24T06:05:00.000-07:00

All this came off his bum in oooh...30 seconds! And he's still itching! Double coated breeds huh - thank heavens for the furminator and Dyson Animal...

And then he decided that the camera was much more interesting SLURP.

Cute Puppy Pics!

2010-03-23T05:02:00.000-07:00

Here's some pics of the Zigmeister as a puppy. I love the fact that his nose was so black and now is quite light brown...

We Did It! AKA The Towel Part 2

2010-03-22T14:30:00.000-07:00

Today was a rubbish and rainy Monday - apart from the fact that Ziggy let me towel him down from wet until he was dry! This is such a good sign. He was still nervous but enjoyed the play (see 'the towel') and was actually choosing to trust me rather than just defend himself against the terrifying towel! What a drama queen he is!

Thank you Simone (Pawsitive behaviourist) for showing me how to gain his trust with the towel. It just shows what a difference a demonstration and another persons view point can make. Even though I am studying behaviour myself and it is a relatively simple problem, sometimes it's so hard to see the obvious thing to do when it's your own dog. I am so involved with him I wasn't thinking rationally. Well, not any more. For anyone else with a nervous dog - make it fun! You can't force them to trust you - be gentle and try not to get frustrated!

The Towel

2010-03-21T05:24:00.000-07:00

Ziggy has always had a slight fear of his towel which has got so much worse since adolescence, in fact so bad that he bit me recently after a particularly muddy walk. It was a very horrible day for both of us. I couldn't believe that he had done it (and I don't think that he could either), he was so stressed he peed in a straight line up into the air while lying on his back. We both spent a little time away from each other - he slept and I cried. But after all the drama had subsided we have been undertaking Systematic Desensitisation and today was a real break through. Ziggy is able to be wiped down without too much fear. Fingers crossed if this continues he may actually begin to enjoy it!

Systematic Desensitisation is changing an emotional response to something that the dog fears. In this case the towel - by playing fetch, tug and 'high five' with the towel itself; also a bit of rough and tumble (which is his favorite) with the towel over my hand so that he gets used to being touched by it. Another good one that Simone Day (a behaviourist) told me about is getting your dog to wipe his own feet by doing 'round round' on a mat.

Where to start...

2010-03-20T13:28:00.000-07:00

Where do you start with a Shiba?!

Well, I have been living with Ziggy for a year now and it really has been full of so many highs and many lows.

We recently charged head long into adolescence and it has been a full on challenge already! More of that soon; I plan to post regularly with updates, experiences and advice I find for anyone in the same position. For now though I am going to trawl through the old photos and show the Zigmeister in all his glory...