1 week till show time!

Happy Second Birthday big man! Over the last few weeks, Ike has been beefing up and shining his shoes in preparation of his big day next Saturday. He is getting well aquainted with the grooming table, and much to his dismay he has been asked to enjoy his meals on it as well in the hopes that this will help him form more positive associations with it. We are taking daily trips to Petsmart, Petco, and Southcenter mall to help him get used to his admirers, crowds and noises associated with those things. He is baiting in all of these places now and focus on me is much improved, although he still initially gets "jello buns" aka the performance jitters/shakes.

Our Daily Walk

Beebe experienced a major setback in the polite dog walking department. She had a huge hissy fit at our neighborhood park which ended with her growling and snapping and us leaving the park totally stressed. So much for that relaxing AM walk. As usual, Ike was carefree, happy, sniffing for bitches, but little sister just came unglued as soon as THE SCARY BEARDED JOGGER WEARING A SILLY HAT appeared.
Actually, she suspected he was nearby, as somehow, by some horrible coincidence, we almost always happen to see this guy whenever we are at our park. He doesn't appear to live there, but he always appears out of nowhere, merrily and rapidly striding towards us with hat bobbing on his head and long flowing beard fluttering in the wind, obscurring a large portion of his face. Like a reactive dog's worst nightmare, it becomes her self-fulfilling prophecy. She begins building up this unreasonable fear as soon as she realizes we are entering the park and then gets this squirrly, fish eyed look, which ends in a total shutdown in a matter of seconds as soon as he appears.
While I have one happy dog standing next to me sniffing trees who has had very little formal training, the dog to whom I have devoted 1.5 years of formal obedience, agility and good citizen training is the dog that has the least ability to cope with this benign circumstance. We tried to walk it off, but she refused any treats or eye contact with me although she was responding to all of her obedience commands, so I basically lost her focus and we had to leave. The thing that got me was that we passed 6 or 7 people at the park and on the way home with her eagerly going up to sniff and no barking or fearful reaction at all. We should do great on the CGC test, as long as the bearded jogger with his funky hat don't show up...

Weekly Shibatudes: an update

I will try and post a weekly or so update about our goings on.

Ike: We went to the breeders and I got a very good lesson in ring handling and proper presentaion. Long and short of it, if I am careful with how I move and present him, Ike should be fit enough to officially start doing some shows.

I entered him in the June 6-7th Puyallup cluster, so we will see how it goes! I have a few weeks anyways to iron out the kinks and go buy something suitable to wear for myself.

Beebe: Week 3 of her CGC class has gone by with good progress. She is showing very good focus and attention. She still can't seem to keep the "bark" inside, every once in a while one just slips out. She is doing extremely well with heeling and sitting to be pet. The instructor told me she had way too much obedience training. With shibas, you can never have too much training.

Agility class is likewise, going very well. Beebe has really "turned on" with this type of training and her obedience work has improved 10 fold because it's turned into an awesome game now. Tunnel-okay with that but sometimes she decides to back out of it or jump on top of it, same with the chute. Weaves poles-would rather try and jump over them (I don't know how this works in her brain). Aframe-loves it! Dog walk-my shiba may be a mountain goat. Tire-does ok. Teeter-umm, it moves when she touches it so she would rather it didn't exist.

We may be taking some time this summer to enter some Obedience/agility competitions, and will post dates later.

Our love/hate relationships

Beebe: I love nylabones, I hate that Ike has one
Ike: I hate crows, I love the tortillas they hide in the grass for me every morning
Beebe: I hate the rain, but I love the yummy worms
Ike: I love looking snazzy, I hate baths :(
Beebe: I love going on walkies, but I hate my leash
Ike: I love to scooty butt on the carpet, I hate it when mom then takes me to be "expressed"
Beebe: I love to nibble my tummy, I really hate my cone
Both: We love, love, love our food, but we hate that it's always hiding from us!

Deep Thoughts by Ike

A good bitch will always appreciate a straight forward, assertive no nonsense humping, so if the mood strikes, by all means, hump a bitch. Sofas sometimes need to be put in their place also, so it's ok to hump sofas, too.

A little more about us

We live in the Shiba Inu friendly Puget Sound region of Washington state and are fortunate to have several great, reputable breeders in residence who work closely with various breed clubs and Japanese experts in the improvement and preservation of this wonderful breed. Why I chose NOT to utilize one of these breeders in the purchase of my first Shiba, is one of my greatest failures as a dog owner.

It wasn't from lack of education, either. As an experienced dog person who had worked professionally with Shiba Inu before, I had also seen the terrible results of bad breeding first hand. I am terribly disappointed in myself that 1 Shiba bitch puppy, the very first Shiba pup I had ever seen, was able to sway my resolve and cause my hand to pull out my check book on the spot.

2 years later, Beebe has undergone multiple procedures for treatment of allergies, an immune deficiency, demodex, papillomas, and behavior problems. Looking back I realize she is incredibly fortunate to have come into a home that can provide the care she needs and cover the high costs of her medical care.

The second time around, I was gun shy but I did find the right second dog, Ike. Thank you Leslie Engen at San Jo Kennels! I think this boy is my doggy soul mate. It took over a year of interviewing, e-mails and looking at dogs on multiple occasions before I found the best match for us. He was not what I started out looking for, but he is just what I needed.

Stay tuned for updates on Beebe's formal Obedience and Agility training, and Ike's adventures in the show ring.

Introduction

Welcome to our blog!

Please lower your expectations immediately. As Shiba Inu don't have functioning thumbs, I am obliged to write out their thoughts at their bidding, and sometimes am allowed to type my own. Therefore, it's a given that much will be lost in translation, but we'll try to make it work. Therefore, the quality of this writing is expected to be dismal, at best. The Shibas apologize in advance for the dummy at the keyboard.

We will keep you updated on our mundane lives, tell you all about the ho-hum walks in the park, the tiring plastic bag chases, the exhausting rides around boring Puget Sound, and if you insist, we shall also speak about all the lame-o things we are forced to do when we would rather be sleeping or licking ourselves most discreatly. We are definately too naughty shibas.