Christmas!

Christmas was good, Conker loved all his new toys, treats and food.  He spent most of the day working on his new 12" bully stick or chasing after one of his plush toys.  (penguin, bone and moose are his favorites.)

In other news, Christmas was Conker's first day of raw food!  He didn't get any breakfast in order to be sure he'd eat his first hunk of bone-in chicken breast, but that wasn't an issue and he went right at it as if he'd been doing that his whole life.  I held onto it just in case he was a gulper but he chewed every piece he ripped off, no matter the size.

At first he avoided the bone but after he figured out it was also tasty, he crunched away until he was finished, leaving only a few ounces of chicken for leftovers. 
Hopefully he'll adapt quickly to eating raw.  He's had a few occasions where he's come running up to one of us and let us know that he needed to go outside right-now but nothing horrible has happened yet.

Extra picture.

Ugh.

Conker seems to be declining in his dislike of strangers.  He goes out all the time and sees plenty of people from afar and up close, but lately he's been getting more and more skittish around people.  I went to Petsmart today and took him along since before now he liked to sniff stuff but this time he was trying to run away from everything.  That was greatly disappointing.
I'm considering raising some money somehow, going to Oregon for a month or so, carting him along with me and have him be around my Mom's people-loving dogs and see if their attitude might rub off on him.  Well, in a more cost-wise sense I need to do is find someone around here who is willing to help me with getting him to be at least slightly tolerant of strangers in his presence.

Ice

It rained ice last night.  Not hail, ice.  Freezing rain is the correct term for it, I guess, but saying it rained ice sounds much, much cooler.
Conker liked the new winter weather event.  He found it fun to punch holed through the ice to the snow beneath and was even more thrilled when I made a snowiceball and tossed it at him.  He likes to bite them in half and chew all the pieces until there is nothing left.

Unfortunately Fred doesn't get along with ice. At all.  He slipped on his way home from work last night and royally screwed up his knee.  Now he can barely make it up and down the stairs without my help (or a cane) and he can't take Conker out anymore.  Just me.
He slipped on the stairs this morning but caught himself as he was going to work.  My neighbor wasn't as fortunate, and messed up her hip when she fell.  Both Fred and my neighbor's guy (not sure if he's a boyfriend, hubby or roomie) called the office and got nothing.  A maintenece guy came by sometime and sprinkled a tinsy bit of salt on the sidewalk and stairs but that hasn't done much good, so I went out and chipped as much ice off the steps and rail as I could.

Conker and I went for a walk today.  We stopped in at the treat store, made a donation (Zoom Groom) to a local shelter and headed home.  On the way we found a giant piece of salt and nabbed it.  Now there is much more salt on the steps and sidewalk leading to our apartment as well as around the neighbor's car.  There was a ton of loose salt where I found the giant piece and it's not doing anything lying in a huge line like it is, so I am going to go back later tonight and scoop some up so we can have more once the giant piece runs out.

SNOW! (Saturday, December 11th)

  I really didn't think it was going to snow in St. Peters this early.  I'd been watching the Weather Channel the whole day and they kept saying that we were only going to get a tinsy bit of snow.
Well, around 6 at night the snow was beginning to fall, barely enough to see but enough that one could spot it blowing across the road in car headlights.  By 11 at night there were gatherings of snow on rooftops, cars and patches of grass.  By 2 AM the ground was covered.  We decided to go out at 3.  It was so bright due to the snow in the air we didn't need lights.

Conker had never seen snow before.  At first he didn't want to come off the steps or touch the snow but after a bit of coaxing, he jumped right in.

Conker decided the snow was the best thing he'd ever seen.  He constantly ran around, jumped and rolled in it and chased the large flakes blowing in the wind.  I was surprised at how quiet he was, normally he makes a lot of noise when he plays like that.  I was glad he didn't bark since our neighbors probably wouldn't have liked that.

We decided to go for a walk around the complex.  Conker wanted to stay in the large grass area and run some more.  He was on a 30 foot lead and surprisingly had no urge to run off.  Though he didn't want to leave the grass area, he followed after he realized we were leaving.  He stayed close the entire time.

Conker would trot ahead of us and sniff the snow then run to catch up after we had passed him.  He liked to jump onto the "planters" with grass and bushes and sniff at whatever was under the snow, but for the most part he stuck to the snowy sidewalk.
We spent a good 45 minutes walking around the complex.  Conker slipped on a patch of ice that I, immediately afterward, slipped on as well but I caught myself before I landed on top of him.  Conker really enjoyed his late night in the snow, but we were getting tired so we decided to call it.

The snow was still there the next day and had added an inch or so, bringing the snowfall to around 3 inches.  We took Conker out for a quick 20 minute 30-foot lead walk then had breakfast/lunch.  After that we walked to the treat store and bought him some more Orijen and a few treats.

Letting Conker run around in the snow on the 30-foot lead did something to him.  He is a MUCH better dog on the leash now and understands that when we grab the big lead he gets to run and play and when we grab the short lead he needs to stay close.  The better he does on the short lead means more long lead time.

The snow is still here.  It's kinda odd for me seeing snow outside every time I look out the window since I grew up in Phoenix Arizona and snow doesn't exist there.  For Conker it seems like he's known about snow for his whole 5 1/2month life.  He loves the snow so much, it's kinda sad to bring him back inside.

What happens when you dog gets something stuck to their foot?

This happens.

Fetch

Conker enjoys his bully stick.  He has several but this one is his favorite.

I am seeing more and more that Conker's favorite game is fetch.  He loves to play fetch.  He gets so focused on the ball while playing it's hilarious.  He will get really riled up if I squeak it and will sometimes run off before I throw it but I call him back, make him sit then wait before I throw it.  This is helping him learn how to control himself when he sees something he really wants, and also helps him learn that he sits and waits patiently before he gets to do something fun.

Funny Picture

This was actually taken yesterday but since no good pictures have appeared it'll have to do.  Chest rubs are one of Conker's favorite things, and if you do it right you can get this type of reaction out of him.

It was "snowing" earlier today.  Not enough that you'd notice if you were driving or in a hurry but if you stood still you could see the occasional snowflake blow by.  It was kinda neat, but seeing as the high for today is 34 with no actual snowfall predicted, I don't think there's going to be much to have fun with.

It's raining, so there goes the possibility of a walk.

And I'm not the one who decides this.  Conker will sometimes flat-out refuse to go outside if it's raining.  Rain is just not his thing, but it does come in handy when I'm not in the mood for his ignoring-me-and-sniffing-that behaviors when we go out for potty runs.  He goes out, does his business then comes right back in.

Having a dog that absolutely LOVES people is a great thing, for most people.  My Mom's Border Collie/Lab mixes are a perfect example of this.  Though they may bark/growl/howl and sound like they are going to take your head off when you walk onto their property, once you get up to them they are nothing but love and kisses and will do anything for a scratch or treat.  Simply pointing without saying anything will get them to go wherever you want.  This is great if they get loose and will go up to most people who call them.  You can also tell them to go home and they will.  We accidentally left one of the side gates open one day and they got out.  A police officer spotted them, rolled down his window and yelled "Go home!"  and they did.  He followed them to our house, saw my bewildered Mom outside and asked if they were hers.  You'd think he was going to give her a lecture on how she should properly contain the dogs but was instead impressed, saying that they were the only dogs who actually went home when he told them to.  Most loose dogs would just blindy run away or ignore him instead of going home.

Something that my choices of breeds are all known for.  Conker has only slipped his collar twice.  I now use a harness, and thankfully those both times he didn't realize he was loose or I may not have him right now.  We are very good about keeping him away from the door when we go in/out without him or if someone comes over.  He may learn that the door is a no-go area if he isn't called but being a Shiba, if he spots something outside he wants he'll go get it no matter what we say.

The temperaments and aloofness of my favorite breeds is something that I really do like.  Again, it's nice to have an incredibly social and outgoing dog but I like the thought of one who would bark and growl in a defensive way rather than playful if I were on a walk at night, or if someone came into my apartment without invitation.  On the post about the Shikoku article, a few Kai Ken owners were saying how they like owning Kai's because most people don't find them as cute as Shibas.  This would be nice, especially since Conker doesn't like strangers looking at, talking to or touching him.  When I first got Conker I wasn't quite sure what to think when people would walk up and bend over to pet him without invitation since I was used to my Mom's happy-go-lucky people lovers. 
But most people would ask to pet him first and since I figured he'd let them, I'd say yes.  Conker would run to the end of his leash and somehow get trapped by the people who insisted on petting him.  Now I refuse to let anyone touch him unless they work at the treat store or are a relative/good friend of some sort.  Even then, it takes many treats, complete silence and lack of "noticing" him to get him to go up to someone once they have seen him.  If they haven't he'll walk up to them and sniff their shoes until they notice then he's off hiding behind my legs.

Conker HATES it when people bend over near him (excluding Fred and I).  Squatting down, or better yet, sitting or even laying down are his preferred methods of meeting someone, and most people on the street aren't willing to do that.  I have met a few "anti social" dogs and haven't have a problem with not being able to pet or play with them.  I met one lady who had a young Siberian Husky who was worse than Conker when it came to people.  She asked me if I could help her with the dog and gave me a few treats.  I didn't look at the Husky, talk to him or even let him know I knew he existed.  I simply sat down and placed a treat far enough away from me yet close enough that he knew the treat was associated with me but didn't have to get pet or come too close to get it.  20 minutes later the Husky was taking treats from my hand.  The next time I saw him (which was about 3 months later) he was still reserved with strangers but would readily take a treat in exchange for a short chest scratch.  The lady was glad she'd met me and helped her with the Husky.  She had other willing people do the same thing I had and the Husky turned out to be a nice but still somewhat shy dog.

If only I could find some willing people around here to help me with Conker.

Re-learning to walk on a leash.

Conker is looking more like an adult every day.  After a session of play and running around the apartment like mad and also, for the first time, jumping on the bed, Conker seemed to have gained more weight.  I may not have noticed until then, but I'm convinced he's at least a good 5 pounds heavier than when we got him. (12 pounds 11 ounces.) He is also acting better, for the most part. 
He seems to have given up on barking at us when we are eating.  His silence gets him a small nibble of whatever dinner may have been.  (Provided it's dog-safe.)
Conker gets a small spoonful of plain yogurt once or twice a day and his stinky farts have almost completely vanished.  He eats faster and more when there's yogurt involved so I watch to be sure he doesn't eat too quickly.

Today after a fail-walk where Conker did nothing but running around, chasing his tail and biting the leash I tried something different.  Whenever he did something I didn't want to happen on a walk I'd stop dead and completly ignore him.  He continued to be a moron for 20 minutes before he calmed down and sat on the sidewalk.  5 feet later he was at it again and we went nowhere for another 20 minutes.  It must have looked quite odd for the people driving by to see my little Shiba Inu going at it with the leash around my legs while I acted as if nothing was happening.  We made several more stops, each one progressively shorter than the last and finally made it to the treat store.  He wouldn't take a treat from the employee's hand, probably because there were several other people in the store but he was more curious than last time and sniffed at everyone when they ignored him.
I bought his food and a few treats then we headed home.  We only made a few more short stop-and-wait-until-he-sits-then-continue maneuvers before we were back at home working on targeting and waiting.

Thanksgiving trip to Chicago

Much to my surprise, the trip we took to Chicago last Wednesday through Friday went really well!  As we were packing the truck for our departure, Conker alerted us that is was time to use the grass outside.  Little did he know that it was pouring like mad outside and he didn't like it one bit.  That was the quickest potty run I'd ever seen him do.  We have now figured out that Conker isn't very fond of rain.

Conker was amazing for the drive.  He almost instantly fell asleep and stayed that way for most of the trip, excluding rest breaks, bumps in the road and the stop we made to visit the guys at Napbirt.  The temperature hovered around 32 degrees with constant rain the entire drive, meaning that the road was a tad slippery.  The front of the truck was covered with ice.  There was nearly an inch of ice around the antenna and the driver's side wiper was frozen straight so we had to stop and break the ice so it would work.  Despite the weather, we made it to Chicago unscathed.

Fred (boyfriend) found out that upon our arrival to his Aunt's house that no one was home so we had to wait for someone to get back before we introduced Conker to Riley, the resident dog of the house.  Riley is nearing 11 years old and is a big, fluffy white mutt of some sort.

The introduction went well and Conker loved having another dog around.  He was still quite shy and wouldn't come up to the relatives when they were trying to get him to at first but he was soon fine being around them and even began to lick their hands while sitting on the couch with me.  He was still a bit shy when everyone was moving around and would only go up to them if they offered him treats.  Conker would follow Riley around whenever he was on the ground and would try to play with him.  Riley would get a bit annoyed when Conker would constantly pester him to play so I'd step in and tell Conker to leave Riley alone for a bit.  Conker didn't like me getting between him and the other dog but understood after a short while.

Riley always has food available but with Conker in the house his food had to be moved.  Since his food was gone Riley was more hungry than usual and waited patiently for scraps of turkey to fall to the floor.  Conker on the other hand wasn't allowed to receive free gifts of turkey and only got a few scraps after everyone was done eating.  He enjoyed those few tasty bits and thankfully didn't begin to bark for more.

There were a few times when Conker was having too much fun running around the house ignoring us but he was generally a good puppy.  He LOVED the backyard and sometimes wouldn't potty out there and had to be taken to the front.  He was only allowed to run around off-leash in the yard a few times since there were a couple questionable holes in the fence.

It was quite cold in Chicago so I made Fred take Conker out most of the time.  When the temperature is 20 something but it feels like 9, there's not much that will make me go outside.  Conker on the other hand seemed to love the freezing weather and got bored while inside.

The trip overall was quite fun.  We are hoping that Riley and Fred's relatives helped Conker get over a bit of his people shyness.  He seemed to like the trip as well, even the boring 5+ hour drives.

Introduction.

Hello from St. Louis! Or, 30 miles west of St. Louis. Close enough in my book. This blog is about Conker, the nearly 5 month old Shiba Inu my boyfriend and I adopted from a shelter 3 1/2 weeks ago.

I'd done quite a bit of research on the Shiba Inu before we agreed to get one and thought he was going to be a complete hassle to train.  Not so.  Conker has surprised me in how easy he's been to train so far.  He sits, waits, lays down and comes almost every time we ask him to (provided the proper treats are on hand of course) and is pretty easy to walk.  He learned fast what he is and isn't allowed to chew on or play with, a feat that took my Mom's Border Collie/Labrador Retriever mixes nearly a year to accomplish.  He is pretty good around the apartment as well.  He likes to fetch any of his toys (again, something my Mom's dogs still struggle with) and is getting better with the "Drop It" command every day.  He isn't allowed in the bathroom and doesn't quite understand that yet but he'll get it eventually.
When we first got him we had to take him out every 10-20 minutes to be sure he wasn't going to "do his business" in the apartment.  There were a few accidents but after that he began to understand that you only do those things outside and pretty much house trained himself.  I guess being a Shiba, who are naturally clean, helped quite a bit on that one.

This all makes the Shiba Inu sound like a breeze, doesn't it?  Well, he is a Shiba after all, and no dog is perfect.  Sometimes he goes bonkers, spinning, barking and running around while on a walk and is almost impossible to calm down.  He is fond of trying to get onto things he isn't supposed to (couch, bed).  Conker also has this obnoxious habit of barking at us and running around if he thinks we aren't paying enough attention to him. 
We keep a harness on him most of the time with a drag lead so he is easier to catch when he misbehaves, but he is quite fast and we don't always succeed.  When this happens he thinks it's a game and runs around even more.  He will also decide his food isn't good enough and bark at us to give him ours.  Another thing that no dog should think is appropriate.  We are trying to correct this behavior by ignoring him until he is quiet and calm, then he gets praise and a treat. If that doesn't work we put him in the baby-gated kitchen with no toys or anything fun (a Time Out)  for 1-5 minutes, then we take him out again.  If he continues to misbehave, he is put in for fifteen minutes.  He usually gets it the second time.

 
Going on walks is very important for Conker.  It gets him the exercise he needs and also helps wear him out so he is calmer and less obnoxious in the apartment. But that's not the only thing walks do for him.  They expose him to many different sights, sounds and smells, all things that every dog needs to experience to help them become a balanced and sociable dog.  Thanks to the walks and proper timing of treats, he isn't afraid of cars, trucks, motorcycles (if he sees them first) airplanes and other dogs.  He still hasn't gone to a dog park but he is good with polite leashed dogs.  The ones who jump on him or bark and snarl aren't so high up on his list of fun things so we ask people first about their dogs before Conker meets them.

People on the other hand are a different story.  Conker warmed up to me almost instantly when I brought him home.  It took him about a day to warm up to my boyfriend but strangers are a different story.  He is very people shy, something that is difficult to deal with since he's such a cute little dog.  Some of the time I am not able to stop people from trying to pet him, something he doesn't want them to do, and only makes everything worse.
We are working on this by walking to the local natural pet food store, buying a few of his favorite treats then sitting outisde of the bookstore.  Every time a person walks by, Conker gets a bit of treat.  The employees of the food store are also helping him get used to people by giving him treats when we stop in.

Tomorrow we are off to Chicago for Thanksgiving.  Conker is going to meet some family members as well as their dog Riley.  If all goes well Conker will be one step further in becoming a calmer and more balanced dog.