12-20-09 Wrigley

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Poosicles

So it has started to snow here. Not more than a couple of inches each time. The first time out in the snow Wrigley just really wanted to eat it. It wasn't enough for him to have to bunny hop around which I am looking forward to. I did notice a new trait from the snow. Wrigley is enjoy a new treat called poosicles. That's right, his frozen poo has now become a tasty experience or an enjoyable toy for him. Multiple times we caught him picking up the frozen chunks of poo and running around with it. Then I caught him munching on something only to go outside and find that it was poo!

What happened to Shibas hating there own bodily functions. He is suppose to want to run away from his poo and find it disgusting. Instead I have the Shiba that loves to turn around and sniff it and now pick it up and play with it. So Gross! I watch him more now when he goes out so that when I see him go to the bathroom and he turns to smell it I can give him "leave it" so that hopefully he learns that this is not appropriate behavior.

12-06-2009 Wrigley

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Shiba Scream

Wrigley slept with us last night (Husband brought him up after I fell asleep so I couldn't say no) then woke up around 7:30 and jumped off the bed. I woke Husband up to take him downstairs which he did. Husband game back upstairs and went back to sleep but I stayed up and watched some TV. Around 8 o'clock we heard the horrible Shiba scream.

Wrigley sounded like he was in such pain and he let out two petrified shrieks. Husband popped up and turned to me with a scared look on his face as he jumped out of bed and we both raced downstairs. I was so afraid to see what was wrong but Wrigley just walked to us nonchalantly like nothing was going on. We looked all around for some wire chewed or the newly placed Christmas tree to have a missing light bulb or something. We couldn't find anything wrong and Wrigley seemed to be doing fine but it was such a scare.

I have never seen Husband move so fast in the morning or be so afraid that something was wrong. Now Husband is sleeping on the sofa and Wrigley is outside playing around like nothing happened. I'm realizing just how important Wrigley is to the both of us. I know how much we love him but to see Husband react so quickly to make sure Wrigley was OK really made it apparent.

Slipping and Sliding

For some reason our kitchen floor has become more slick. I'm not sure if it is because I changed my floor wash product to just steam instead of chemicals or if I'm not cleaning it as much as I used to but it has a slippery factor. Not bad for my husband and I but little Mookie (Wrigley's nickname) has a hard time getting his balance.

I first noticed he had a hard time going around our kitchen table to make it to the back door. If he was going any faster than a slow pace he wouldn't be able to get good gripping. Not a horrible thing, he just needs to learn to slow down. Then I noticed that when we throw toys to the kitchen for him to retrieve he would not go to get them. Now I know if your a Shiba owner that seems normal but Wrigley actually loves to retrieve his toys. Since we got him we have thrown things in the kitchen to have him run like a manic to get them. Not anymore though, he just looks at it all sad and goes to find something else on the carpeted area.

The thing that has made the slippery floor difficult is that one time when Wrigley was eating in the kitchen Husband scared him accidentally and he went all crazy trying to move fast but ended up slipping and sliding on the floor. So for the next day he would not go over to his food area. I didn't put it together until I remembered how weird Shibas are and something like that could actually have really bothered him. I moved the bowls over to an area where he could stand on a rug and sure enough he went right over and ate.

These dogs are so sensitive! I forget how if he has one bad experience it really makes him nervous to try it again or to venture out. Like one time when he was playing with his Bob-a-Lot (food dispensing toy) he kinda choked on a piece of food and now he wont play with that toy any more. I have tried multiple times and he still cowers when I bring it out. Moral of the story don't scare your Shiba while they are eating on a slippery floor or you will have to find a new spot for the dishes.

Wrigley says bee safe this Halloween!

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10/30/09 Wrigley

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Rainy Day

I have heard that Shibas are not big fans of water. Rain, baths, pools, ponds, lakes and oceans are not usually sources of entertainment for them. It rained a couple of days after we first picked Wrigley up. I was excited to see how he would react to this. I think I was really hoping he wouldn't like the rain purely so I wouldn't have to deal with being out in it and having to dry him off afterward.

We opened the back door for him to explore the rain. He slowly stuck his head out the door and was hit with his first drop. His head shot up as he tried to find out where it came from. Then he made his way out further as he tried to eat the rain that was coming down. At the time it was so cute.

Here we are months later and he still enjoys being in the rain. He goes out in the backyard and sits in it like a goof! Now its colder here and I still dont know why he finds it enjoyable. Every time he wants back in I have to dry his paws off which usually ends in a battle of him letting me do it. Sometimes he gets sneaky and darts into the house before I get a chance to dry him off. If he has been playing in the mud it adds to the excitement for him and the annoyance for me.

The sad part is I tried to get him to like, or at least tolerate, baths. You think he would enjoy warm water instead of the cold rain but no he insists on putting up a fight during the baths. Or I bought him a kiddie pool to play in during the summer and he would only go in when I put a toy in that he would want to retrieve.

Its interesting that something that he started out doing as a puppy still holds true now. It should be amusing to see what happens when it starts to snows. Shibas supposedly like to play in it but since I want him to enjoy the snow he probably will hate it.

Neuturing

Sorry that the picture is graphic of my dogs thing but I am trying to show what his neutering looked like after surgery.

We took him in to get the balls cut. Well I thought pleural but as it turned out one of Wrigley's balls did not drop so they said they have to make another incision in his abdomen to retrieve the other ball! Yikes, poor dog not only does he get one cut but a second one. Poor me, it costs more money to retrieve the missing ball. The condition is called Cryptorchidism, which just means one or both balls did not descend. Im glad we picked him since he would not have been a show dog for our breeder. We do have some fun new nicknames for him though, Unaballer and Numero Uno.

Overall the whole neutering thing went well. I didn't cry or anything when I dropped him off. I felt a little bad but nothing over dramatic. When we picked him up I thought he was going to be so out of it but he really seemed fine, just ready to leave. He practically ran out of the vets office. He was definitely tiered and bummed with us on the couch but he was running around like crazy the next day. He also did not have an issue with going potty.

We bought a cone for his head but he never was licking that much and whenever we would catch him he would stop right away. It was funny though he learned to go out in the back yard to do it since we don't watch him as much. Whenever we would look out the windows he would be licking away. I think it also helped that we had 4 days of being home with him to watch him.

Later in the week his abdomen incision looked a little red and opened. We called the vet and they saw us right away. They said it wasn't infected but he may be licking too much. So we had to stop letting him outside every time he wanted to go so we could keep an eye on him better.

As of a month later everything with the abdominal one is completely closed and fine. I cant believe that we never put a cone on his head. I'm a little sad that we never did get a silly picture of him with a cone. All and All it was a way easier experience than I thought it was going to be.

Puppy Abuse

I feel so guilty. I did it. I never thought I would but here I am writing this. I came downstairs this morning and there Wrigley was chewing one of our video game controllers. He saw me and jumped up to greet me. I walked over to go pick the controller up and Wrigley went back to go get it in his mouth. It was over at that point. I was angry and frustrated since we have to control so much of his free time that we cant even leave him alone for 15 minutes.

I popped him on the butt. I use popped since it doesn't sound as harsh but I hit my dog. That sounds so sad. I hit, spanked, swatted or popped him on the butt. Not all those times, just one little hand motion and I felt sick to my stomach. It wasn't that hard but still the look in his eyes was like what the heck. I use the excuse that it was to teach him a lesson but in reality does he really understand what that means. I also did it in part of my angry. I was mad when I did it. I have been frustrated with all the recent chewing and I over reacted.

I hate to watch Cesar since I think his techniques are mean. The jerking, swift kicks to bodies, alpha rolls and all the other harsh things I feel that he does. I cant stand him actually but yet I did what I thought I would never do. The good news is that Wrigley doesn't seem scared of me or my hands. Maybe in the end he wont go after the controllers anymore and I can count it as a win for the Cesar Millan lovers of the world.

Fustration!

OK, I have been annoyed with Wrigley before. When he was a puppy he did somethings that would get on my nerves. But he was a puppy so he got a pass at the things he did or at least he had a good excuse. Usually it was something that Husband or I did so I really couldn't be mad at Wrigley for that.

Today has started out hard. As usually he was taken out of his playpen when my husband got up and then left out when he went to work. I dont have work today so I was upstairs trying to sleep. Then I hear some noises coming from downstairs. It sounds like a ripping noise. I couldn't ignore that for long so I raced downstairs to see Wrigley with a long strand of string from my area rug in the living room hanging from his mouth. He looked the Tramp from Lady and the Tramp where he is eating the spaghetti and meatballs. Kinda cute but annoying also.

I picked him up and put him in his playpen and went straight back to bed. When I came back downstairs I inspected the damage. Not too bad, you cant tell by looking at it that he was pulling out strings. Alright I'm not too annoyed now.

Later I noticed that he has been quiet and missing for a little bit. Never a good thing in Shiba world. I go back to the living room to see him with the area rug pulled up and the under side in his mouth! What is going on here!! We have left him out for a while now and he has never had any love affair with the area rug. Since I caught him in the act I made a loud noise to startle him and he did move away. I replaced the rug back to the original look and went on my way.

About a minute later I heard some more noise from the living room. Oh no, he is not back at it again. Yes he is, the rug once again is all twisted and moved around even more that last time. So the loud noise is not doing the trick. What is a girl left to do, the baby gates are put back up.

We have been doing so well. I guess its the unexpected life with a Shiba, especially now that he is in the teenager stage. Now Wrigley is pouting outside pretending he doesn't know who I am. I think I will take him on a long walk now. He needs to get out some of that naughty energy! I personally think he is getting back at me for making his neutering appointment today. How he knows these things I will never know.

Morning Fun

So as I was saying before Wrigley has been whining in the morning by the baby gate we have up so he cant go upstairs. Well one morning I woke up and it was 8:30! Wow I thought he let me sleep in. My next thought is this could be trouble.

A quite Shiba is not necessarily a good Shiba. That means he is entertaining himself with who knows what. My chairs, the plants I have, the chair covers that I found out he likes to chew. So I got up quietly so that I could sneak down to see what has helped distract him.

Spotted right there in the living room, black batting ripped from underneath my chairs. Wrigley looking very proud of himself, running around with pieces in his mouth. He keeps throwing the pieces up and catching them. The good news was the chair was free and it didn't do any damage that is visible. I try to rip out the rest of the batting so he wont be able to play with it again. I also sprayed the Bitter Apple chew deterrent spray.

Day two of the quite Shiba. I woke up around 8 to a chewing sound. At first it took me a minute to realize what I was hearing but when it clicked I jumped out of bed and ran downstairs. What has he gotten into now! In the living room he found a new treat, some paper that was under the sofa. But not just any paper, huge 12X20 sheets that came in picture frames (I am trying to do a wall collage).

Shredded paper lay all over the floor and once again Wrigley looked like the proudest Shiba ever. With paper sticking out of his mouth and running around like a fool. How does he find the paper that I crammed under the sofa? How did he even get it out? They are a tricky breed! I cant be mad at him since it is my fault that I had the paper under there.

So I have turned in the whining for mischief. So far it hasn't been anything that I have been sad about or really cared about so I don't mind being able to sleep in later. I wonder when he will just relax in the morning and enjoy the downstairs in a safe way?

Whiner

We have stayed true to having Wrigley sleep downstairs in his playpen. It has basically become the norm in our house. He sleeps completely through the night and when we get up around 7 for work he is ready to start his day.

Husband usually goes downstairs first since he supposed to leave before me. He lets Wrigley out of the playpen and plays with him for a second then gives him a cookie and takes off for work. This leaves me to hear him whining, in only a way a Shiba can, for me to come downstairs to entertain him. On my days that I have work I have some time to feed him, go outside and play with him before sticking him back into the playpen until I come home from work for lunch to free him.

On my days off or days I don't go into work until later I still hear my little Shiba cries right by the gate we have blocking the stairs. He sits by the stairs and whines his little head off. I try to wait until he is quite for a couple minutes since I don't want him to think that whining gets me to come running but somehow I think that we have created a routine of him whining and us coming down the stairs.

Its so hard to resist though, since he is not really a barker (only if he hears another dog or sees something different outside will he give a couple of alert barks to let us know) its not really annoying but sounds more pathetic. Like he really misses us and wants to see us soooo bad. Then I feel bad that I am laying in bed so I get up to see him and I get the best welcome from my wiggle monster. He runs to get a toy so we can begin playing right away.

Just recently my Husband told me that when he lets him out of the playpen instead of Wrigley's usually greeting to my Husband he runs to the stairs and wants to go upstairs. How sweet I think that he wants to see me! He loves me more, I win! Of course my Husband is sad that he doesn't care about him and wants to see me. But then the other day I came downstairs first and let him out of the playpen. What happens next is my little love bug runs right past me and to the stairs. Ouch, I was totally rejected!

We now have realized it is neither Husband or I that interests Wrigley, it is the upstairs. We have been dethroned by the chance of him getting to run around upstairs and go crazy underneath our bed. I guess I can see the draw for him. The underneath of our bed is like crack to him. He goes crazy scooting around down there.

I wouldn't mind too much but we have so much stuff crammed under the bed that I hate to have him start chewing on random things. Which he always seems to find that random paper or wrapper that has fallen under there. I have gotten into more trouble with Husband by having Wrigley pull out candy wrappers that he didn't know about! Wrigley also gets a little too protective when we try to look at him or get him out. He goes into devil dog mode that normally we don't see. So it looks like the gate and the whines are staying for awhile.

Bed Time

We started to get in a bad habit of having Wrigley sleep in our bed. This is something I thought I was going to stand strong on before we got him. I thought people were crazy who let their dogs take over their bed. I want my full bed and I didn't want his dog hair all over my sheets. Sounds like pretty good reasoning and that I wouldn't break right?

Well at first we would put him on the bed when we were just watching T.V. and then when we were ready to go to sleep move him to his crate. We also put him on the bed in the morning so that we could get more sleep time. My husband and I both enjoyed this since we got more time with him, he is always so cute snuggled up in the bed, and it was easy to move him to the crate in our room from the bed. But then Wrigley got used to being in a huge comfy bed, who can really blame him for that!

So once we put him in the crate he would stay there for a bit but then start to whine. We thought he had to go potty outside but instead he put his paws on our bed and we indulged him. Hey, it was 3am and it seemed way easier then listening to him whine. Wrigley curled right up next to us and went right to sleep. The slippery slope was in full slip.

Other problems that started was Husband wants him to sleep in the bed. So when I was gone one night the boys had a slumber party. Another time Husband and I fell asleep with Wrigley in the bed so he just stayed there through the night. I can see why Wrigley is confused when we do put him in the crate.

Somehow we (or I) have started to transition to having Wrigley sleep downstairs in his crate. He really does enjoy going to his play pen and sleeping in the bed that is in there. So if he is sleeping when we are ready to go upstairs I decided to just leave him. Of course Husband was sad about this decision since he wants him close to us. Other times he stays downstairs is if he is acting crazy upstairs and wont settle down. The play pen is a good way to contain him so I know he wont get into anything. Wrigley actually sleeps longer when he is downstairs which is a huge plus!

So hopefully we can stand strong on keeping him off the bed and in his own space. It is hard when he is so cute and we do enjoy him being with us but in the end I feel it is the right thing to do for us. Although I can see writing in a couple of months that he always sleeps with us now!

July 4th

We made it through 4th of July!

It was pretty uneventful. There were defiantly fireworks in our neighborhood and the city had some that we could hear but all in all Wrigley was not phased by them. It was so nice not to have him be upset by the loud booms.

I think he has become desensitized to loud noises from Husband playing video games. Husband likes his surround sound going and plays lots of shooter games with loud bangs and gun firing. Annoying for me but perfect for Wrigley to get used to so he wont even pay attention to a wide range of noises.

I highly recommend playing loud annoying noises from an early age. It makes everything easier. Wrigley doesn't really notice thunderstorms, garbage trucks, and other weird noises that he may hear. Which ironically makes our life much more peaceful.

Walk=First Bath

Today I went to take Wrigley on a walk around the block. I am trying to go on at least one a day for right now when he is still young. I know I will need to increase the walks and length when he gets older and has way more energy. Its also good practice walking with his harness and leash on.

So all was going well and we were almost home. Then two big dogs came running full speed out of their backyard WITHOUT leashes on! I freaked out since I didn't know if they were going to hurt Wrigley or me. He had his tail between his legs and was trying to get away. I wanted to pick him up so that he would be semi safe in my arms. Wrigley started to do his classic Shiba scream and I finally got him in my arms as the dogs reached us.

I cant even recall what happened then. I started to walk away slowly and the dogs appeared not to want to harm us. They started to sniff where Wrigley was standing. In all this commotion the owners never appeared from their house. I then smelled something stinky and realized Wrigley had peed or something on himself and me.

Time for a bath. I have never given him a bath but have been trying to desensitize him to the tub. I put him in it with peanut butter on the side of the tub and let him lick it while I run the water slowly. Now it was time for the big show. No more trial runs, he was going to go all the way in.

I had peanut butter on the tub again but once I started the water at full force to get it warm he was clawing to get out. I kept trying to show him the peanut butter but he wasn't having it. The water was finally warm enough and I got him under the faucet. He froze. OK, I can live with that. He just stood there under the water. I was able to soap him up and rinse him off with out major injury. He wasn't even screaming. He only tired once more to get out.

Finally I was done and he looked like a drowned rat. Once the water was off he went to licking the peanut butter. Soon after he wanted out of the tub and I needed to dry him off. He hates the towels normally when we try to just dry his paws off so his whole body was hard to do. I put some treats on the ground and while he snarfed those down I dried as best as I could.

He dried pretty quickly and by then he was pawing at the door to get out so I gave a finally treat and let him out of the torture chamber. I thought he was going to be pissed at me but he was fine and defiantly hyper. He went running around downstairs and trying to kill his stuffed toy. As I write this he is tuckered out and taking a nap.

I am so mad that the owners of the dogs just let them run around with out any leash on. Also that they didn't even notice what was going on and didn't come out to get the dogs or at least to say that they are not going to rip my dog apart! I want Wrigley to be comfortable with dogs so I would have put him down to meet them if I knew that it would be OK.

Now I feel that he is traumatized by dogs and by going on walks. These early months are so important for socialization and getting them acquainted to different things. I feel like all our positive work that we have done could be set back. I am hoping that this doesn't change his attitude to other dogs.

I'm also pissed at Husband since when I told him the story he was like did you let him meet them. I was like no, I was trying to make sure he wasn't going to be eaten or that I wasn't going to be mauled. He thought I should have just left him on the ground and waited to see what was going to happen! How faustrating, I really enjoy our walks and now I don't want to go on them.

3am Wake Up Call

For the past 3 days Wrigley has been getting up at 3am. Not cool. Since we got him he has slept through the night getting up around 5am. So this change in ability to sleep until morning has really started to bug me.

I wouldn't mind so much if he started out not sleeping through the night but to reverse in what we have is hard. I also need to figure out what is going on with him.

He sleeps in a crate in our bedroom. So maybe we need to change locations and put him in his x-pen downstairs. When I take him out the first thing he does is go get a drink of water. So I was thinking we could put a little water in his x-pen and that would solve the thirsty problem. But that does add on to the need to go potty outside which is his next step in his 3am fun time.

After he goes potty I put him in his x-pen and go back to bed. I don't hear him make a peep when I leave him down stairs. That kinda helps me rule out that he doesn't needs more exercise during the day and he is getting up out of boredom. I still would like to start walking him more though just because I think he needs to get out.

My last concern is that his urinary infection he had a couple of weeks ago is either back or not cleared up. He didn't change his sleep habits when he had it but I still feel like he may be having some issue. I'm going to try to experiment with different things and hopefully we can go back to our regular sleep habits.

First Damage

Well, we have official received our first damage from Wrigley. At least it was just the plaster and not the molding. When I cannot watch Wrigley I put him in his x-pen but Husband is not as diligent as I am. He thinks that since Wrigley has done so well for the past month that it would be ok not to confine him when he left for work today. Boy did Wrigley prove him wrong!

I didn't even notice it at first but then I was sitting on the couch and Wrigley was hanging out in the corner that he likes. That's when I noticed the paint missing from the wall and then the metal hanging out.

We try to give him plenty of heavy duty chew toys since we know that he is teething and that puppies do chew. But the allure of the corner won over all the nice chew toys that I bought. Lesson learned, we need to keep our eyes on him more and to put him in his x-pen when we are not there to watch him.

Food Dispensing Toys

I love food dispensing toys!

More importantly Wrigley enjoys them. The first one that we gave him was the Everlasting Fun Ball. You can stick treats in it big or small and they have to roll the ball around to get them out. We usually put two bigger bones in the opening so he has to get those out first to get the rest. He does have a hard time getting the bigger treats out that I cram inside.

Then I tried the Bob-a-Lot. Its a great toy that he loves. You can put lots of dog food and/or treats in it. It has two openings and you can adjust the size of the openings. He does great at pushing it around and getting the treats out. It is so nice to have something that keeps him busy and entertained. I also have heard if your dog eats too quickly that it is a great product to help slow them down. It is a more expensive dog toy though around $20. Wrigley doesn't destroy many toys so I cant weigh in on how it holds up. This is my favorite!

Next up on my food dispensing toys trial was the Buster Cube. I like that there are different sizes since Wrigley is small. I only have used it once and he played with it but the thing I don't like about it is that the treats coming out are sporadic. With some of the others he can figure out how to actually get them to come out but with the Buster Cube he just has to roll it around until one finally comes out. In the long run that may kept him entertained more but I feel like if he doesn't know what to do to get them out then he will give up.

I also have given him the Premier Twist and Treat. This one is also good but the opening for the food to come out is bigger than most so bigger treats are needed so it is not pouring out at once. He's puppy food comes out so quickly but I do occasionally seal it with some peanut butter or cream cheese and he loves that. When I go to work I give him that and it is completely cleaned by the time I come home.

The last one I have is the Tug-a-Jug. I don't have much to say on it since he really hasn't got the hang of it. They do have different sizes but the one I have is still pretty big. He wasn't able to get treats out but he did drag it around and bark at it. So I'm hoping that as he grows he will be able to figure out it.

All in all I think that food/treat dispensing toys are a great thing to invest in. I always give him one when I go to work and I just make sure to cut his other food accordingly. Not only do they keep him busy but I feel it works his mind to try and figure out how to get the food out and it is a natural positive reinforcement since it dispenses the treats. You can also give them the toy without treats and just let them play with it. Anything to keep them busy!!

Sickness

A couple weeks into having Wrigley and he has already been on two medications for different things. I feel like a bad parent always having a sick puppy. The sicknesses are nothing too major but still I hate having to keep giving him medicine, which he hates and tries to get out of diligently.

The first started right away. We noticed him scratching his belly a lot. At first we just thought it was due to our grass being too long. We could barley see him when we took him out side so figured the grass was irritating him. But after we cut it short he still was itching. Then one night he started to whine when he was scratching and seemed in a little pain. We did notice that it was red and looked bumpy. Luckily we already had a vet appointment for his first round of shots. The Dr. did notice that it was inflamed so we were given a spray that had some antibiotics in it.

Trying to sneak a spray bottle to his belly is pretty tricky. The first time he didn't know what we were doing so it worked out fine, he was just surprised. Later on though he would see the bottle coming and get out of the way. We tried to play with him and get him on his back but somehow he would see that bottle or sense us being tricky and he quickly would flip over. The good news was that the medicine really worked and it cleared up right away.

Everything seemed good and he appeared healthy until I gave him his first heart worm medicine dose. The brand is Heartgard and the main ingredient is ivermectin. Nothing happened for 10 hours and so at first we didn't even realize he was sick. We just had gotten done with playing out in the backyard and he seemed tired which isn't unusually after playing around. The part that should have tipped us off was him wanting to sit with us on the couch and he let us cuddle with him like crazy. We just thought he was being so sweet and loving. As time went on I finally realized that he seems sick. Then he started to hide in corners and we knew something was wrong.

You gotta love the Internet since we found some information on sickness after giving the heart worm medication. He didn't have any seizes or vomiting so it said the main thing to do is to make him comfortable and wait it out. So we made him a fort on the couch with pillows and a blanket were he remained until he poked his head out when he felt better. After that he gradually returned to his normal self and I felt a crisis had been adverted. I was going to call the vet the next day though to tell them what happened and how I wanted to give him a different medication.

Husband went to take Wrigley out in the morning with our same routine. Later Husband told me that I was going to have to get up soon since Wrigley did not go pee when he took him out. Seems odd, what puppy after a long night doesn't want to go pee right away. I got up a couple of hours later and knew that I needed to get him out right away since he was probably going to explode. There he sat in the grass just looking around when I took him out. OK, now that is really not normal not to want to go after that long of time.

Finally he went and he headed back inside. I had to wipe his paws off since it had rained and he likes to get into the mud. That's when I noticed a yellow, thick substance on his penis. Oh lord, something else is going wrong. I work in a hospital lab so I am pretty familiar with infections which looked to me like one. I thought maybe it was a fluke but when I took him out later he tried to go but it looked like nothing came out and he started to lick down there and I notice the same stuff going on.

So it was time for another trip to the vet. I was nervous about dealing with stuff coming out of his penis since I was the one who wanted a girl. I had to call Husband to give him a hard time about wanting a boy and now things are oozing!

I really like my vet. He does a great job of spending time with us and answering all my questions. So we needed to get a urine sample. this seemed like an impossible task to me. I deal with getting pee from babies and how hard that is so how in the world are we getting the pee from a dog. My first thought was something was going to be stuck up there or he was going to have to be "milked" to get it out! YIKES!!! Thank goodness those thoughts went bye-bye when the vet said they will follow him around until he pees then sick something under there to collect it. OK, I can deal with that but good luck having him go.

Not too long later he returned and said there was success! The vet said he cooperated and went pee right away. After being tested he said that he does have an infection. There was lots of white blood cells and a few bacteria. So here we go again, more medicine to give. This one didn't seem so bad when he explained it. We just put some in the dropper, put it in his mouth and let him lick it then squirt it in. Sounds tasty, Wrigley loves to eat stuff, no problem right!?

First attempt at medicine was hard. I had my mom hold him while I put the dropper to his mouth. He didn't want to lick it. It was like he was clenching his mouth closed. On to prying it open, he wasn't having that. But I did get it in so I gave a quick squirt of the medicine and it sprayed out into his mouth. He gagged and sprayed some of the medicine back out to me and my mom. Gross.

Later that night is was time for round two. This time Wrigley had wised up and was putting up MUCH more of a fight. He was scratching the heck out of us trying to get away as we tried to put the dropper in his mouth. He was also doing the Shiba scream, which is the worse sound. It literally sounded like we were trying to kill him! I knew we weren't hurting him but man that is a great defense tactic! Finally success, but at the cost of Wrigley coming near us. He ran away and tired to stay as far away from us, even when lured with treats. Now we put the medicine in his food and he eats it right up and we don't have scratch marks all over our bodies.

All in all he has been sick three times so far. We are averaging once a week here. Not good! I'm hoping that once his UTI has cleared up we can go awhile without having to give him medicine or any other non vaccine vet visit. At least we are being proactive with his health and noticing what is going on with him but I do feel like if I show up to the vet again they may call dog protective services on me.

Socilization

When you talk with Shiba owners the biggest thing they say to do with your new puppy is to socialize them like crazy. That does not mean just with people it means other experiences that you could encounter throughout the life of your dog. I have started to socialize with people since its easy to get them to come and visit a new puppy!

So far Wrigley has done really well. We had Husbands mother, sister and brother-in-law over first. I did make little treat bags for each person with some cheese and normal treats. I wanted to make sure he has a positive association with people. I didn't even need the treats he just went to everyone and was totally comfortable.

He gave kisses and licked their hands. Then he went to normal Shiba mode and went off doing his own thing. Occasionally he would come over to people and investigate. Of course they would try to play with him and he would allow it for a couple of minutes and then was done.

The biggest issue he has is with people picking him up. At first he may be OK with being held but if you try to have him sit in your lap he will become a wiggle monster and tries his best to get out of your grasp. He may even resort to biting anything he can get a hold of. If you are standing you have a better chance of him relaxing.

Next was a bunch of my friends and their boyfriends over for a Memorial Day party. I was a little nervous since it was so many people, around 14. I played with him a lot before people came so that he would be sleepy.

The first people arrived and he just lay there sleeping. They went over to Wrigley and he just let them pet him. I did have the bags of treats so they gave some to him which I was glad because even if he doesn't mind people now I still really want to treat him so he has the best experience to carry him through his adult life.

People trickled in over the hour and he was pretty much the same throughout. He didn't move when the door bell rang and he also let people pet him. Some of my girlfriends even picked him up and held him and he just hung out acting like the model puppy.

The party turned to food and drinks and Wrigley just slept through all the noise. It was great!! Everyone was commenting on how he was the best puppy. I was just thinking I hope it stays this way. He woke up and played more with people seeming to enjoy it.

Finally we had my parents and sister over for my Birthday. Once again I tried to play with him a lot before people came over so he wouldn't be as rambunctious. This time it wasn't as successful. He actually reacted when the doorbell rang. When I went to get the door he was jumping up on the gate.

My mom went to put something in the dinning room which is also gated off and he went running over to the gate and jumped on it trying to greet her. They both sat on the floor with Wrigley and he was all over them. He was biting at my dads hands and shirt and was so excited. I was trying to correct with "ah-ah" and redirecting his attention to a toy. But he was all about my dad so I finally gave the toy to him and that seemed to help.

My sister made it and he tried to bite her clothes too. Finally he calmed down and went off playing with his toys. We were all sitting on the couch and brought him up. I told them he is not a fan of sitting on the couch and that he always tries to get down. He actually liked climbing over everyone on the couch.

He went to everyone on the couch kissing them but wouldn't really stay still. My sister told me she made her dog into a lap dog and so she would do that with Wrigley. He sat on her lap while she pet him and he did not make an attempt to escape (I still do not have the same success).
Dinner was served and he stayed in the other room just chewing on his bully stick. Which is so nice to have him doing his own thing and not begging for food at the table.

All in all he has done pretty good meeting all the weird people we have thrown at him. Every time he meets someone he is never aggressive which is the main goal I have for him. My next step is to make sure he doesn't play bite people.

That is hard though since people have a tendency to want to play with him with their hands. Doing that makes him especially snippy but he just thinks he is playing with them and then they are like "he likes to bite". Well if you put your hands on him and push him around of course he is going to do that! So maybe my next goal is to teach my guest the appropriate way to play with a puppy.

First Days Home

We went to pick the puppy up on Thursday. The breeder had brought all the puppies so we could see them. My husband and I thought they were smaller than what we thought they were going to be. My husband and I got to play with the boy and girl separately to see which one we liked.

The boy was first and he was very into both of us. He was coming over to us and licking our hands. Then he would try to get to our faces and he gave my husband kisses. So of course my husband was sold. I still wanted to see the girl though.

She was fine when the other puppies were with her but when she was by herself she wouldn't even touch us. She would jump back and forth and try to come to our hands but in the end she didn't. I knew I would never be able to talk my husband into the girl when she wouldn't even come to us.

So we picked the boy!!

We were off, Wrigley in the back of the car in his crate. Our family just grew and my husband and I became responsible for another living thing. He started whining right away but the breeder had given us a chew bone so once we gave him that he pretty much quieted down. It was a two hour car trip home and by the end I was ready to take him out and hold him. Wrigley was fine, sleeping in his crate but I wanted to cuddle with him. My husband was actually the responsible one saying not to disturb him since he was being good.

We stopped to get gas and then I took him out of his crate. He was so cute just crawling all over me and looking around. We found out then that he loves to give kisses! We made it home shortly after that and I took him straight out to the backyard to go potty. Which he did promptly but the grass was so tall I could barley see him and it was super dark.

Once back inside we let him explore but he really liked to sit by us and play with his new toys. He found his reflection in our entertainment center and went crazy barking and "playing" with it. All of a sudden he froze and peed. Well I guess it is better to have him potty in the house b/c he was scared of his reflection then just b/c he doesn't know any better, right?

I was ready for bed at this point so we took him upstairs to our bedroom where we keep another crate for him. In he went and he whined a little bit but settled down pretty quickly. I woke up at 3am and could hear him moving around and chewing on a toy. I didn't know if I should take him out but then he stopped making noise and I fell back to sleep.

I woke up at 5:45 and I could hear him whimpering so it was time to get up. I dont know the last time I was up that early but I made it outside with him. He went potty right away but then wanted to play. He was running all around the backyard and I was trying to keep up with him in my sleepy state. Time for breakfast.

He eats Eukanuba for puppies, which I think is a crappy dog food and I will be transitioning him to something better. I sat by him the whole time petting him, putting my hand in the bowl, and hand feeding. I want him to get used to people around him when he eats so he will not guard his food. He really didn't eat that much and hasn't since we have had him home but I do give him tiny treats throughout the day to give positive reinforcement for good things he does.

Somehow with the little amount of food that he eats he still went poop 5 times! I have no idea where all that came from but it just keep coming!! Hes doing great with potty outside. I have heard Shibas are picky pottiers but so far he is good about going in the backyard. I give lots a praise and a treat each time he does it though. I also try to play with him after he goes poo so that he doesnt feel that he goes and then I bring him back inside.

After a long play session outside I took him to meet some people from work. He did great! Just hang out while they held him. They even held him like a baby and he just stayed there eating it up. It was wonderful, he seemed like such a good puppy.

The next day went pretty much the same. He slept until 6am and he finally ate more at dinner. The grass was long in the backyard so he started itching his belly a lot and had some red bumps on it. Of course we feel horrible that we have already injured him :( Now the grass is cut short but he still is itchy so when I go to the vet I will bring that up.

I have got him to sit and lay down but I am having a hard time with leave it and drop it. He goes crazy when I try to get him to leave a treat so I need to work on that when he is more relaxed. I can shove a treat in his mouth when has a toy and he will drop it but I dont know how long it will take to make the connection.

I have noticed that he is getting a lot more rambunctious since the firsts days he was here. Wrigley is defiantly getting braver and has the Shiba attitude of not paying attention to us when he is engrossed in something. He is such a doll and we both love him already. He has made us laugh and shake our heads at the random stuff that he does. I think he has made the transition to our home pretty well and I hope he stays this sweet.

Wrigley is home!!!

Boy Vs. Girl

We are getting close to picking up our puppy. This Thursday is the day that we go to pick him/her up! We are so excited and have been running around trying to make sure everything is in place for when the puppy gets home. The breeder choose the lighter red male to keep so that leaves the dark boy and the girl. I have always wanted a girl and Husband wants a boy.

What is the real difference between a boy and a girl besides the obvious one? I don't know why both of us want the same sex as we are. Is that a normal thing to be drawn to your own sex? I know breeds may have standard characteristics for boys and girls but we are getting whatever we have fixed, so I heard it may not even matter at that point.

The main reason I want a girl is that I don't like the boys "thing", as childish as that sounds. I also am not the biggest fan of humping and the boy marking on everything it sees. I also have stereotypical thoughts that boys would be more aggressive and not as cuddly.

The main reason Husband wants a boy is that he wants a "buddy". I don't know why he thinks a girl cant be his buddy but in his own male mind I guess it doesn't work that way. He also thinks Wrigley is a boys name. He has some sound reasoning for wanting a boy (lots of sarcasm here).

The breeder has said that both of their personalities are similar. Not dominant but not submissive. They both are outgoing and love people. She took some videos of them separately and she dropped something or threw a toy so that we could see how they reacted. She also held them like a baby and touched them in the mouth and on the paws. They both handled the tests beautifully.

So we are stuck. It all comes down to meeting them in person and seeing which one we like the best and that likes us the best. It is interesting if people pick their dog by what sex they want or if they go straight off personality. Since in the end I really think that it comes down to the personality.

3 days from now we will know if personality or sex or both wins out in our puppy decision.

Personalities

I have an obsessive personality. When I get interested in something I go fully into everything about that subject. I got into green living and become totally enthralled. All I did was read articles, magazines, books and find products that went along with that. Now I still am into that subject but I have found something else to take my time up.

We have been thinking of getting a dog for over a year now. In this time I have tried to read as many training books as I can. I have gone on countless websites to research the topic. I have been frequently checking on Shiba forums (I have links below) even asking some questions. I even have a note book that I fill with information and tips that I want to remember. I also have been reading peoples blogs so I can get a better picture of what it is like living with a Shiba. I'm not a crazy, I'm just thorough.

My life is by the book. I like to follow rules and directions. I think it has gotten worse because of the job I have and following procedures and protocols are so important. When this puppy comes home I want to be as prepared as possible so that it doesn't come out a delinquent. Books and people talk about socialization being the most important thing to do for a Shiba. A book by Ian Dunbar says to introduce your dog to 100 people by the time it turns 16 weeks. So here I am ready to count all the people that my dog comes in contact with.

Books also say to pay special attention to children. Which is going to be hard for me since I have no kids in my life. I guess I am going to have to be the creep at kids playgrounds saying to the them "you want to play with my puppy." Ridiculous but if that's what it takes so my dog will like kids I need to get over it. Oh and I'm anti-social so this whole processes is going to be tricky.

Dunbar's book also talks about having puppy parties. He has a game which entails having each of your guest touch your dogs ears then give a treat, tail then give a treat, paw then give a treat, BUTT then give a treat. Im sorry but I will not be asking people to come over and cop a feel at my dog, I drawl the line somewhere!

Then you have my husband who is as carefree as they come. He hasn't read any dog books or scowered websites. His training motto is "if you love it it will turn out fine." Yes I know we are going to butt heads on how to raise our puppy. I want to be consistent and give the dog boundaries, he wants to be the cool dad who the dog wants to play with. We are heading for disaster.

Hopefully his relaxed approach will help me chill out and actually enjoy the experience instead of following the time chart and exercise list for each day with the dog (I created one but not on spreadsheet so its not as pathetic). Maybe I will rub off on him and he will follow some basic doggy protocols of not letting it have free rein of the house when young or not keeping all the toys out for it so we control the fun and if I'm really lucky the Nothing In Life for Free program. We will be perfect if we can combine our personalities to make one balanced person.

Husband

A lot of people ask me the question "Does your husband want a dog too?" My answer is yes but I feel like he is the kid telling the parents of course I will feed it and take it out for walks but when we actual get the dog I will be doing most of the work. Now I'm hoping that he will prove me wrong but I know his track record. Not that he can't be responsible but I don't think he understands how much work goes into taking care of a puppy.

Just the other day we were watching a Shiba on YouTube and the owner said something to the effect of their puppy's only sleeping a couple of hours at a time during the night. So they have to get up and take him out multiple times. Joe looks at me and asks "That's not how our dog is going to be right?" I just had to laugh. No we will have the one puppy that doesn't whine or get up at night to go potty outside. Boy is he in for a surprise.

The one thing I do know about my husband is that he will be good at loving our dog. He is so caring and really wants a buddy and a playmate. It is so cute to see him playing and running around with his sisters dog. I'm so excited to see our puppy and him together. It will be interesting to see if he takes on a more authoritative, leadership role or if he sticks with the silly, rough housing side.

The Beginning of the End

My husband and I have thought about this decision for a long time now. We have been together for over eight years and married almost one year so it is pretty much the naturally progression. I have read the books, talked with people that have ones, and done as much research as I can on the subject. We finally decided that we are ready for this big step in our lives.

So we have been waiting for what seems like forever for the arrival of our new bundle of joy. I have seen the ultrasound pictures and started to purchase items to be ready for when it comes home. I have been going through the house to make sure it is as safe as possible for the little one. I know you can never be fully prepared for the change we are about to go through but we feel as ready as we ever are going to be. I know it is going to change our dynamic since we have a pretty easy life right now. We watch TV, movies, and play video games so in the beginning we are really going to have to adjust to all the new responsibilities that we will have. I mean we are going to have another life to look after. I am sure once that fuzzy four-legged thing comes home we will be so happy. What, did you think I was talking about having a baby? Please, it took me a year to come to terms with getting a puppy and how much that is going to change our lives. I'm not ready for anything else!

Its pretty interesting how much work goes into getting ready for a puppy or it could just be how obsessive I am but more on that later. The puppies were born on St. Patrick's day, 3 boys and 1 girl. I want a girl and Joe wants a boy. The breeder is keeping one so we are pretty much just waiting till they decide which dog they want before we can figure out which one is ours. It is definitely the beginning of a new life for us filled with responsibilities and the end of our old carefree easy life. I'm going to document the ups and downs, the joys and the frustrations of our life with a Shiba Inu running it.