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.