Monday, May 3, 2010

Zuko's (Odd) Shiba Behaviors

Zuko is a typical Shiba in many ways and has a nickname of "Demon Dog". Shiba Shake gives a very fun article on the Good / Bad personality traits of Shibas. Zuko is exempt from only a few of these, for most it is matter of to what degree the trait manifests itself! I have only heard the Shiba Scream three times: twice while bathing him (he now goes to the groomer for that) and once when he was attacked by a dog at the park.

Pretending to be a cat.

Here is the "short" list of some of his amusing and odd behaviors:
    1. Somewhere along the way, he must have been pinched by the buckle on his harness and he started running from it. He got over the fear and now it is a game to him. The harness comes out and he takes off into the back room bouncing along the way. He goes into play-bow stance, tail wagging. Dork.

    2. He does not like to be seen when he poops. He will strain to the end of his flexi-leash and pace back and forth, back and forth, before he finally goes. If we go to the fenced-in dog park, he will run to the complete other end, go behind the bushes, and then finally go. Not sure if this is a Shiba thing or a dog thing, but I've seen a couple of other Shiba owners mention it.

    3. He likes to squeeze between our legs and the kitchen or bathroom cabinets whenever we are standing at the counter.

    4. He knows the sound of me cutting carrots and will come running for them.

    5. He likes to shred sponges. Woe to the dish sponge or cleaning sponge left lying around. So far he has suffered no ill effects, but this one is a bit scary.

    6. He loves to shred paper, napkins and tissues as much as he likes to shred sponges. I never thought "the dog ate my homework" was real, but he actually did shred my notes from a work call one day and I had to 'fess up to my co-workers that the dog ate my work notes.

    7. He was car sick as a puppy and still hates cars. He has reached the point where he can sleep in the car and will sometimes jump into the car voluntarily - but it is rare. Unlike other dogs, I don't think he's ever going to like the car. Shibas remind me of cats in this manner: they never, ever forget things. Ever.

    8. He loves ice chips. But only the ones that fall on the floor.

    9. He will steal your spot in bed at night. If you get up, even for a few seconds, it is as if he teleports instantly into your spot on the bed, snuggled up against your pillow. When you try to move him, he suddenly weighs 400 lbs and has grown roots into that spot.

    10. His favorite thing to pee on is geraniums. There seems to be a species that grows wild here and is sort of a weed: we see it in the parks and along the streets. This is absolutely his favorite thing to pee on. They must have some smell to them that screams "pee on me Shiba!!".
     On top of the world!

    -- Posted by Zuko's very amused owner

    9 comments:

    1. Sponges, tissues, cardboard - YES YES YES. We can't leave a sponge in a low place to dry after using it, cos it will get stolen. We can't put a cardboard box into the recycling, cos it will get stolen. Then we find all these pieces outside on the balcony, where suki's secretly dissected it.

      Squeeze between the legs - we get that too. Usually she stands between our legs and we can rub her tummy without too much fear of becoming a chew toy.

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    2. @Leisabell - Wow! It must be a Shiba thing then, the sponges and the squeeze between the legs. What is UP with that? :-) It must be a Shiba-cat thing. Our cats would do that too, so since Shiba's think they are part cat, maybe that is where it comes from? LOL....

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    3. Shiba's love to pee on geraniums as much as Robert Kelly love to pee on...lol. Weird huh? Mine almost scouts them out!

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    4. Hi!

      Its funny because my 9 month old shiba is named Zuko too! ahaha and he does nearly everything on that list except the harness thing and getting sick in cars.

      my shiba is scared of putting on the harness, but when you put it on him, he doesn't fight. And right afterward he goes straight for the door to wait excitedly for you. hahaha

      And im not sure about the geraniums thing. My shiba mostly just pees on grass.

      Does your shiba every try to run out the door when ppl are coming in and out? If they did, did they grow out of it?

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    5. Hi there! I wonder if it is a restraint thing with the harness? You know how Shibas LOVE being restrained (ha). Is your Zuko named after Avatar the Last Airbender? That is where we got our name.

      Running out the door: we live on a busy street in San Francisco with buses going by about 20 feet from the door. And the buses here don't stop for ANYTHING. So we trained Zuko to "sit" and "wait" every single time we opened a door. We would only open the door after he had done it and even on leash, he could not walk out the door until he had sat and waited. Now, he's very mellow about doors except at his doggie daycare. There is no "waiting" - he's off like a rocket to go play with dogs and doesn't even look back. :-)

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    6. Hahaha - I love this list.

      Sephy definitely does the pooping thing too. He is very particular about it and the stars have to all align in exactly the right way. :D

      Gotta love Shibas!

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    7. What is it with Shibas and shredding paper?!

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    8. Numbers 9 and 10 made me LOL! I don't have a Shiba but I have a Doberman and a Min Pin. Both will do #9. Size does not matter lol. That and the Min Pin will also stretch and push against me while we're sleeping and somehow take up the WHOLE bed.
      #3 doesn't really apply to the Min Pin because she is so small, but it does apply to my Doberman. I don't know what it is...try to pass by THROUGH my legs or if I'm leaning on the counter and the fridge is right in front of me, rather than going through between me and the fridge where there is more room, he will just about topple me over by squeezing between me and the counter I'm leaning on, a space that is smaller than he is.
      #7 My Min Pin loves the car and wants to hang out the window the whole time. Except I don't trust her not to jump out so I can't open it to her satisfaction. But I'll have the driver's side open more, so then she'll decide she has to sit on top of me and lean out that window while I have a protective arm there preventing any potential escape. This makes it extremely hard to make turns. :(
      #8 They both love ice. Hand-fed or from the floor or from a water bowl lol!

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    9. Hi aLmYbNeNr! The hogging the bed thing is pretty funny, isn't it? Past two nights Zuko has squeezed between me and my husband and stretched out as much as possible and then spent the night KICKING me!! Brat.
      Thanks for the post! :-)

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