Official Vet Report: "He's a Chill Shiba"

There have been so many sad reports about Shibas on the internet lately. And each time I read one, I force-snuggle Zuko and tell him he has to live forever. To help ensure that, I scheduled a vet appointment and took him in for a full check-up. He more or less seems like a super-healthy dog, but I can be a bit of a paranoid puppy mommy at times.

Chilling

I'll say upfront: our vet is amazing. He really likes Shibas and has worked with them a good bit. I like him both as a doctor and as a person. He never says "do this" - instead he says "this is what I think and would recommend, but it is your choice". He gives you the information and let's you stay in charge of your pet's health.

First thing that came out in the exam was Zuko is a bit chunky. I knew it as soon as he stepped on the scale: 31 pounds. He was 28 pounds. Oops. Someone has been getting a little too much cheese! The doc said it wasn't too bad and Zuko carries it well, but he'd be better off a couple pounds lighter.

The rest of his physical exam was good: heart, lungs and so forth - all good. Teeth are starting to get some plaque but not too bad. During this entire time Zuko was standing on the table being a good dog. He wasn't thrilled, but no shaking, no whining, just the "martyred Shiba" look. Of course, he was also getting a little bit of spray cheese, so it wasn't all that bad.

Then came time for the blood draw. Oh boy. Our vet did it there in the room with me present and two nurses holding Zuko. I was ready for the Shiba scream. I was ready for thrashing, violent craziness. Nothing. I am not kidding - he didn't even whine. He did tuck his tail, which is the first time I've ever seen it truly tucked! I was so proud of the little dude I gave him tons more spray cheese. As soon as he came off the table, the tail curled back up and he decided he wanted to go explore the rest of the clinic since his leash wasn't yet attached. As usual, he bounces right back after "trauma".

So why the bloodwork? I told the vet I have a lazy Shiba. He gets the zoomies, he goes nuts at the beach, he's a monster at daycare - but given what I have always heard about the breed, he seems lazy. And I wanted to rule out any underlying medical issues. The doctor tested his thyroid and blood levels, and checked for heartworm. We received the results Saturday morning: all clear.

Official vet report: "He's a chill Shiba". We have that shocking rare Shiba, probably almost as rare as a Shibasquatch*: a mellow, chill Shiba.

One final note: We did start him on Heartgard. Northern California rarely has cases of heartworm due to the fact we really don't have many mosquitoes here. Dr. Layba has never recommended it, but we discussed it this time. He said he and his fellow Bay Area vets have seen a slight rise (meaning a couple cases a year) and if Zuko is what he called an "adventure dog" and goes everywhere with us, then it would not hurt to have him on it. I tend to believe we over medicate ourselves and our animals, but I also believe in preventative care so I made the decision to start him on it. Of course, the nice tasty chewable "pill" was rejected by Zuko. I broke it up into smaller pieces and he spit them out. So I had to wrap each piece in cheese to get it in him. Day one of his diet and he figured out how to get a whole slice of American cheese!!

-- Posted by Paranoid Puppy Mommy

*Shibasquatch is a Twitter hashtag reporting the odd occurrences of a Shiba being spotted off-leash and behaving. Much like the Sasquatch, the Shibasquatch has true believers and those who think this is just a myth. For more information, run a Twitter search!

"I believe in Shibasquatch"

Leash Monster: Training update!

Lots of changes in our world recently and I'm way behind on blog posts! So without further ado, an update on Zuko's on-leash snarling.

I mentioned before I wasn't sure we were getting the most we could out of the group classes. Zuko's "issues" are pretty specific and random. Or so they seem.

Then I got the brilliant idea to talk to the folks at his daycare. They run a huge gig there, lots of dogs, all cage-free. They are separated into size and activity groups for indoor romping and go outside in their groups. Some days they have upwards of 50 dogs! And with all that chaos, they still get stellar reviews on Yelp - so they must be doing something right.

One of the guys there, Scott, trains service dogs and is always there. He knows Zuko well, and I asked him one day if Zuko is snarly with other dogs. He said he isn't, unless the other dog won't back off and listen when Zuko says he's had enough rough playing. He said when they see that, they will either move the other dog into a high activity group or put Zuko in a lower activity group. He was also very clear that while Zuko snarls, he has never seen him try to bite a dog and it is his opinion it is not in Zuko's nature to actually bite and be aggressive. The snarling is him communicating the way dogs communicate.

We started talking about on-leash issues and Scott told me what they do to get the dogs' attention in playgroups. Zuko has always been good with his name, so they do use that and reward him with treats for focusing on them. Also, they use "look". In obedience, we learned "watch" - with a point to your eyes as the hand signal. I was standing there with treats and Zuko was fixated on me - then Scott said "look" and Zuko's head whipped around to look at him.

Interesting, right? Such a little thing, but to have consistency in the command used makes a difference. Zuko spends anywhere from 5-8 hours, 2-3 times a week at doggie daycare. They are working with him all the time and if I am using a command they are not using, guess who is losing? (Me).

So now on our walks, I take cheese or the Natural Balance sausage-roll treats and whenever he sees another dog, I do a "look" and he responds. He will cheerfully walk right past another dog, looking at me for treats. In class, the idea was to use "leave it" to create this behavior. Zuko knows "leave it" when it comes to icky stuff on the ground and other objects, but he was just not getting it with dogs. By using "look" I'm leveraging a command that turns his focus away from the dogs and one that he already knows is always rewarded with some good stuff.

We've had zero snarling incidents for about a week now. That isn't to say he hasn't TRIED to snarl. I have found one certain pattern: puppies. Young puppies, under probably 6 months or so, set him off. I am not 100% sure if he just gets all excited and is lunging at them to play or he's ready to put them in their puppy-place as an adult dog. Considering how violent-looking Shiba-play is, it probably doesn't matter which one it is - both are scary to a little puppy! Usually the pups give a yelp and back off. This week I've been able to catch him before he gets into full lunge and draw him back to me with the "look" command.

For now, I'm happy to have a good way to intervene and reward Zuko for focusing on me. In theory, he should start to look at me in anticipation when he sees another dog, right? :-)

Next step will be working on "go say hi" - for that, I think I may leverage private training with Scott. The benefit of working with a private trainer at a daycare is we can bring dogs in all day long and test Zuko! 

Good Dog?

-- Posted by Zuko's slacker mom/typist

National Shiba-Inu Meet-up: Survey says...

Well, I'm not really sure what the survey says. :-) Other than people seem to really want to do this and price for a hotel isn't the biggest factor.

A few factors that do stand-out:

1) For those who cannot fly with their Shiba, driving means we should really aim for the "middle" of the US.
2) Time of year is important: cooler weather is preferred, but too early in the spring or too late in fall will prohibit drivers from the West coast and the North from being able to make it due to storms and snow.

Click photos for the full results and image. 

Memorial Day was preferred, though Labor Day also had a strong showing.

There were additional write-ins for the Northeast and other locations. However, back to the drive-time for folks, the middle-America areas seem best. Texas, Kansas City, Omaha and St. Louis were the strongest showers. New Orleans came up a few times but having recently visited NO, I didn't get a dog-friendly vibe from it. Cost would also be a factor there.

One of the write-ins mentioned that St. Louis isn't an easy city to navigate, but Omaha is - however, if we factor in dog-friendly factor, St. Louis still seems like a winner.

I love that 20.8% said cost didn't matter. :-) However, looks like we need to stay under $100 a night for budget which rules out the bigger cities (like New Orleans) and probably even Austin, TX which was listed as a write-in.

One of the write-ins that didn't fit on the screen mentioned swimming wasn't a priority since these are SHIBAS ... who typically hate water. ;-) However, beaches and lakes seem like a good idea since most Shibas love to dig in sand and / or chase ducks. What we humans like is irrelevant if you ask the Shibas. (ha). However, dog-friendly restaurants, parks and fenced-in off-leash parks seem to be big hits. Contests and prizes are also a stand-out!

So, where does this leave us? With 49 respondents (it is 50 if you can me) I'm not sure we have a clear winner. If you factor in driving challenges and time-of-year, Memorial Day weekend wins (hopefully the weather won't be too hot by then) and St. Louis or Northern Texas win.

Personally, budget will be a factor and time to plan, but I think Demon Dog and family could make this. If anyone knows just how dog-friendly St. Louis REALLY is, that would be helpful for planning. Oklahoma, Nebraska and Northern Texas still seem to be in the running if we can find good dog-friendly sites there (again, looking for input).

Chime in! Let's see if we can pull this off.

-- Posted by Zuko's event planner

Trick or Treat!

It is almost as if my friends at Woofgang's Doggie Daycare know I am a Demon Dog!

Trick or Treat. I think I was TRICKED!

-- Posted by Demon Dog

The Beach!

I luvs the beach. We haven't been there in a long time, even though it iz only like 2 miles from our howse (lazy hoomans).

One thing you might not know about the beach: there are Teradactyls there. See the footprints?

Evidence: Exhibit A - Footprints

My mom sayz these are not teradactyl prints. She claims these are "seagull" footprints. I disagree. Notice me examining what had clearly been a teradactyl party spot before I arrived:

More clues

Unfortunately, everyone knows the Shiba Inu is a mighty hunter. Since I did not see, stalk or capture a teradactyl on the beach, I can only assume they left cuz they knew I was coming for them.

Next time I getz them!

-- Prince Zuko, Master Detective and Hunter Extraordinaire

Leash Monster: Update - the proper way to meet and greet

Last week in Leash Monster training, we continued to practice the "leave it" idea. As you dog sees or approaches another dog, you do a "leave it" and then turn the dog around and walk backwards.

It sorta works with Zuko. I think Shibas are related to that little girl in the Exorcist though - Zuko can swivel his head around to a shocking angle and STILL be walking towards me while giving the evil eye to the dog behind him. Impressive, but not helping the situation.

What's that over there? Can I obsess on it? Is it a dog? Please let it be a dog!

Our trainers from Dog Evolve swear by the Gentle Leader head collar. They claim there are pressure points on the back of the head where the leader sits that help calm a dog. Jokingly, they refer to it as "doggie Prozac". And clearly, some of the dogs in class really, really need this. One woman has a herding dog mix who she says is a spaz. I've never seen it - because she's had the Gentle Leader on the dog in every class and he is super mellow. However, I struggle with this - I don't want to use something artificial to force behavior in Zuko. Nor do I want to put him into a zen-trance. I love my happy, energetic dog. I just don't want him lunging at other dogs and being a leash monster. Every other dog in class is using the Gentle Leader now except us. The trainers asked and I said I'd rather not - and the one trainer supported this. She said the only dog she has ever had a complete freak-out-melt-down when having a Gentle Leader on was.... wait for it... yeah, a Shiba Inu (surprise!).

What I have done is switch back to the front-clip Easy Walker harness instead of a collar. I'm guessing dragging him away and him making choking sounds as it happens is not reinforcing the message that leaving dogs alone is a GOOD and HAPPY thing. Of course, this puts us back where we were months ago - we think he was clipped by a harness buckle as a puppy and he flinches everything one of those snap close behind his head. We tried reconditioning him out of it, but he's like a cat - he will never, ever, ever forget it.

So - back to the lesson last week on proper greeting. In my last post I talked about Mr. Rudeness and his face-sniffing issues. In class, we focused on first approaching a dog and doing the "leave it" and turn and walk backward before anyone got snarly. Next, we would pass each other - quickly - the whole time talking to your dog and dangling a treat in front of them. In this exercise, the dogs are next to each other so when they are looking at you and that tasty treat in your hand, they are ignoring the other dog.

The next step is to just stop as they reach nose-to-butt position.  The dogs are facing opposite directions and positioned in the right place to turn their head, sniff butts and be polite. Even the slightest turn of the head to proper sniffing position is immediately marked and rewarded and you continue walking forward.

Whew! Easy enough in class - the dogs are all getting to know each other and everything is calm. At the end of the class they brought in a good sized female lab - a new dog!! This was the test... and everyone passed except for the one dog who barks so much at other dogs she has to be isolated during class or she will not stop. (This dog's trainer is the one who actually needs the training - he's very timid with her).

I am personally relieved I do not need to lead by example to show Zuko the proper way to meet and greet another dog. ;-) We've been working on doing the "leave it" and then "go say hi" and stopping where he can be set up to properly greet. Of course, this morning we met a Shiba mix who he knows and we passed each other, stopped, and they BOTH immediately turned all the way around so they could face-sniff. No monster-badness happened, but I was still left standing there rolling my eyes and shaking my head. Shibas. 

-- Posted by Zuko's bewildered mom

P.S. - If you haven't heard, the Twitter Shibas are considering a National Shiba Inu Meet-up next year! If you could / would attend, please complete this survey before Oct 30th!

If you could do a National Shiba meet-up, where would you go?

@WalkingYuki @LeahShiba @_tar0_ and I started a Twitter thread on the dream of a National Shiba Inu Meet-up. Where would we meet? When?

Ideas so far:
St. Louis http://www.explorestlouis.com/pets/index.asp
Needs to be over 3-day weekend
Dog-friendly city and hotel or B&B

For those of us on the West coast, St. Louis shows about 30+ hours of driving but my mom sayz she has always wanted to do the "Route 66" drive so it is possible. From NYC it is about 15 hours.

Other locations "mid-country":
Amarillo, TX
Wichita, Kansas
Omaha, Nebraska

So what do ya'll think?