You can touch this one!

How are Shibas seen in your area? Good? Bad? Indifferent? What the hell is that thar dog?

Today, Tierce and I decided to drop into a local doggy daycare to check out what they had for sale. While I was there, the staff exclaimed over the fact that Tierce was friendly and pettable. They told me that the one Shiba they took care of needed to be lassoed in order to take her for a walk and didn't like to be touched at any time. Seven months ago, my veterinarian said that Tierce might well be the only Shiba she doesn't have to muzzle. Even people at the school where Tierce goes for socialization have remarked that Shibas are snappy around children.

The truth is that members of our breed, when they are not bred and raised responsibly, are nasty little creatures. We're starting with a dog that, even when it is healthy and well-adjusted, is naturally dominant, high-strung and independent. Bred without care and raised without structure, a Shiba will evolve into a canine Vlad Ţepeş.

I blame Shiba owners for the breed's bad reputation. They are not doing their jobs. What every Shiba owner has control over is the structure that they provide and enforce. Yes, yes, I know - sometimes people acquire Shibas that have less-than-stellar origins over which they and the Shiba have no control. That still doesn't preclude them from starting and maintaining control over their Shiba's behaviour.

Insisting that your dog behave politely towards other people and not immediately try to kill other animals is not just good for you and your dog. It also helps pave the way for the Shiba breed in other situations. Breed prejudice has long been considered the problem of Pit Bull people and Rottweiler fanciers, but it can work against any breed not considered "nice". Some people will refuse to rent to people who own certain breeds of dog or refuse to interact with them without a muzzle. This is not how we want the Shiba inu to be reacted to!

Little dogs are often perceived as less dangerous than big ones, and that causes some people to treat their little dog's aggression/dominance as not serious. Every person who has had to deal with a little dog who refuses to be touched, groomed or let someone take items away can attest to this fallacy. While a little dog may not be capable of the sheer damage of a large one, it is still capable of inflicting severe wounds and, in the case of small children, even death.

Things every Shiba should be informed of:

1. Nothing in life is free.

2. Children are living hot dog dispensers provided that you sit quietly.

3. Vets are actually kind people who dispense cheese (most veterinarians encourage you to bring your dog around for random treats so that they associate the vet's office with cheddar rather than shots).

4. Your food/toys/leash/collar/brushes are not your property and you will not treat them as such.

5. Your nails will be clipped. Your ears will be cleaned. Your fur and teeth will be brushed. You will sit/stand/lie quietly and not bite the brush or the hand that wields it. This is not negotiable. You may pout.

6. At no time will you ever growl/snarl/snap/bite at your owner or any person who is put in charge of you.

7. Lunging and trying to kill other animals upon sighting them is not in your best interests.

It's all very well to say "this is bad and don't let Shibas do this", but how do you correct them when they step out of line? Thoughts on this will be chronicled in a future post.

Nothing in life is free

Right now I am pissed right off. My landlord's kids decided to throw a party. Early in the morning, my mother came over to pick me up to do laundry. Unfortunately I was dead asleep and did not hear the alarm or anything that ensued. A couple of the kids demanded to know who she was and what she was doing. Then they called her a bitch, made obscene gestures and scared her enough that she did not even come to my door; just drove away and called me on the phone. We're still waiting for the landlords to come home.

We've heard some of the laments from our landlords before. Their children are lazy, rude and unappreciative of the advantages they have. Our landlord regularly mows the lawn; his children never stoop so low. They are helpless when confronted with a set of gardening tools or cleaning equipment. I have never seen them in the laundry room, but you can bet I've met their mother in there.

They are clear products of parents who never set boundaries or expected their kids to adhere to a standard of conduct. Everything these kids got, got handed to them on a silver platter. Consequently, they are useless wastes of skin. What is disturbing me is that they are now threatening wastes of skin. My mother is 73 years old and was deeply frightened by the menacing behaviour of these teenagers.

We might think that this is a human issue, but it is also an issue of importance to those of us who own dominant, pushy dogs who will, if not properly trained and socialized, use aggression to get what they want. Shibas perfectly fit this description. If they are handed everything they get without having to work for it through obedience or certain behaviours, they will assume that they have the right to take it. And take it they will.

Biting dogs are usually made, not born. People just ignore or don't recognize the signs. It starts small - a dog pushing ahead of the owner out the door or growling over food or a cherished toy. An owner who makes excuses for their pet or who does not pay attention is telling the dog that they accept the dog's taking an Alpha role. This enables the dog to think that it has the position to possess, warn and eventually take the final step of attacking to maintain its perceived standing.

I believe that when it comes to dominance, you cannot be your dog's friend. You can love your dog and rely on his companionship, but you always have to be willing to stomp to death the slightest notion that your dog has the standing to threaten you or any other human being. You must always be on the alert and be ready and willing to deal with dominant behaviour.

This doesn't mean that you take a baseball bat and beat the everlivingfuck out of your pooch if he lifts his lip. It means that you need to take the time out of your day to regularly enforce your dog's subordinate position with you and your family. It means sometimes feeding your dog his meals by hand - only after he obeys commands or is maintaining a certain position. It means insisting that he sit quietly and wait at the door when you open it instead of bolting out ahead of you.

It means involving your spouse, friends and children in your dog's education as a subordinate pack member. There's a bit of an ego boost when your dog will only listen to you, but do you really want your dog to ignore or threaten your spouse, family or (Dog forbid) your child when he's being told something that he doesn't really want to do? No. Especially if it involves removing something from his mouth.

I believe if these children were raised with the NILF principles I've outlined for dogs, they might not be the self-serving, rude, lazy, useless pieces of shit that they are today. Tierce might have followed in their footsteps if I had allowed his pushy behaviour to develop into true aggression. Fortunately, there is no way that I am going to allow a dog of mine to be a little shit who thinks he's all that and a big bag of kibble. I'm thinking more of a small bag myself.

A wiser puppy

Tierce has settled down some now. He is mouthing a lot less and his tantrums have slowly dwindled. This is good. He is walking a lot better onlead now - actually trotting and moving ahead! Puppy class will commence on the 24th - for us humans!

Tierce Temper Tantrums

Well, Mischa and I finally experienced what Mom went through last weekend. Tierce was lying in Mischa's arms and decided he needed to get out of them NOW! When thwarted, he started baring his teeth and snarling and twisting to get free.

Mischa shook him by the scruff of the neck and held him down. He wasn't hurting Tierce, but the cacophony of wails and screams would have had one believe that the dog was slowly being roasted over an open fire. Then Mischa carried him over to the ex-pen and dumped him in. Silence. A slightly bewildered puppy stared at us through the wire. I picked him up and cradled him. Nothing.

I had previously emailed both Tierce's breeder and Shassi's breeder about what Mom went through. Apparently it's not unheard of, especially when the Shiba is a little alpha male. Tierce did the equivalent of a three-year-old human screaming thrashing and kicking at anyone and everyone.

BUT... and this is a big but...

Mom still has that deep scratch. We're going to be watching Mr. Tierce very carefully for signs of another temper tantrum and responding to them accordingly. This kind of thing has the potential to get out of hand VERY quickly.

Troubles with Tierce

Tierce bit my mother the other day. It's a one-and-a-half inch long scratch that has a tiny bruise purpling in on one end. This is not good. Some people might think that he's 'only a puppy', but this kind of behaviour has to be stopped RIGHT NOW.

Mischa and I had come back from SCA camping (we had figured that since he only had his second shot, he should wait until his third to come camping with us) to find a note to this effect in the kitchen. Upon reading this, I phoned her and she came over. She had had extreme difficulties from the start; Tierce did not like his harness, did not like his leash and was extremely aggressive. She said that he snarled and growled "like a big dog" and that he snapped at her when she had tried to put his harness on.

I got her to put the harness on him again and he was showing his teeth towards her. I took him and gave him a big shake. He yelped and after that, Mom didn't have a problem putting anything on him.

The thing is, that while Tierce is mouthy and a brat, he has never exhibited these signs of aggression towards us. He doesn't like his harness that much, or his lead, but has never snarled, growled or threatened in any way. We have been correcting him for his mouthiness and thought that we had that part covered. Apparently not. I am worried, because I want to socialize him and a biting puppy is not something that most people want to pet.

1. Mom is going to come over to see how I handle Tierce. We are going to involve her in his obedience training and practice putting the harness/lead on and off him.

2. This dog is going to get socialized. I'm going to start taking him downtown and wherever there is a lot of people and stuff going on. The vet says it's okay if we stay away from heavily canine-trafficked areas.

3. I'm going to enrol him in obedience classes as soon as possible. Puppy classes have already been and gone at the kennel club, but if I can get some somewhere else, I'm there.

4. He is never going to get away with anything remotely resembling dominance aggression. I'm going to load a tiny spray bottle with Bitter Apple to spray in his mouth. It's quicker than having everybody cover their arms and hands in the stuff.

5. While there is no excuse for this behaviour, I am probably going to get my Tierce-walker friend to take care of him on the weekends I'm away. He has had no problem with Tierce so far, so he's a better choice. We'll just have to work around his work schedule.

I am very upset with this. Tierce is a pushy, dominant puppy with the potential to go seriously wrong if he is not brought up short. Dominance in a young puppy is never to be ignored or laughed off. It's a serious matter that needs immediate attention.

Boss puppy? I don't think so!

Tierce is a very dominant puppy. He doesn't like to be held on his back and mouths a lot. We're in the process of teaching him that humans don't make good chew toys. Also, that ALL humans don't make good chew toys!

I find that people either are too concerned with disciplining someone else's dog or think it's cute that a puppy is gnawing on them. I think that this is a behaviour that needs to be nipped in the bud. I believe that puppy biting can lead to adult biting, because the puppy has been lead to believe that it's okay for him to bite people. No matter how gently the pup is mouthing, it's still a dominance behaviour. Basically the dog isn't respecting your boundaries as a pack member and that has to be stopped.

I use scruff shakes as my main method of negative reinforcement. It triggers an ingrained response, as that's where a bitch would grab her puppies to carry them. It's also one of the main points for a dominant dog asserting his/her status to grab. I also tap him on the nose when he starts biting at my hands. He doesn't like that very much! However, I don't want negative reinforcement to be my main method of dealing with this.

One of the things I'm trying is feeding Tierce his breakfast while he's on his back, one kibble at a time. Since he only eats a handful at each meal, this isn't too time-consuming. He was a lot better once he figured out that relaxing on his back meant that he got breakfast! I think I'm going to continue this and see how it goes. I also try to carry him around on his back, like a human infant, several times a day.

Once Tierce is fully immunized, I'd like to start him on a "stranger feeding plan". Basically this means that I take his breakfast/lunch/dinner with us on a walk and give it to people, especially children, who want to feed the puppy. This way he associates all strangers with food and good times. Also, he'll get reinforcement for obeying commands from other people = submission. Tierce isn't going to be allowed off lead in an unfenced area and he's not a protection dog. Therefore, I think that encouraging him to obey commands given by other people is a good step to showing him his place as a subordinate to all humans.

I've also got him a beef chewie that he likes very much. I plan to get more, and maybe some of the bigger bones. He has a stick (see picture) that he is very fond of. I think providing outlets for chewing may also help. Tierce is a puppy, after all, and puppies need to chew a lot!