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.