More IHasAHotDog Shiba Puppy Pics!

The Zen of Shiba Sleeping

Belle-chan is The Zen Master of Sleeping.

While her locations vary, the goal is always the same.

3 . . .


2 . . .


1 . . . z z z z . . .


There is little regard for where Belle-chan decides to doze.

She merely does.


The ultimate opportunistic moment. That Guy is Asleep. The blankets are warm. Stealth is key to sneaking into this spot undetected.


On top of, or underneath . . .


She always finds her spot.


I, of course, am the ever vigilant Shiba of Guarding.


Except when I am waiting for the MailMan and The Sunbeam strikes me down.

No One can Resist the Power of the Sunbeam.




I Am Shiba. I Sleep Therefore I Dream of Squirrels and Scoops of Ice Cream.

What Is It That Makes Us Special?

The Woman loves the slope of Our necks and ears. She finds that look to be artistic and elegant, and relates Us to looking like fine bred Arabian Horses.

That Guy likes the fact that We are active watch and guard dogs. He knows that the house is in good hands when He is away.

They both like that We love to walk and travel well. We do not embarrass them with bad manners.

Their friends love the fact that We are not "in their face" dogs. Yes, We bark when they arrive, and then We continue about our business unless We see a need for Us to become involved. Human conversation is boring unless it includes petting Us. This seldom happens while Humans are eating.



I Am Shiba. What Do You Like About Shibas?

Obedience Class, Day 1

"You have a breed of dog who is independent and uninterested in what you have to say. You have to become the most important thing in your dog's life for that moment to get her to listen to what you are asking."

That was what came out of the lesson regarding how That Guy and Belle-chan are going to learn how to work together.

In our class, the following was present:

1 Shiba who attempted to kill any dog that entered her personal space bubble
1 Golden Retriever who sniffed my butt
1 Weimaraner/ Vizula mix who figured out how to leap onto the table to grab the treats.
1 One Poodle mix who never stopped barking
1 Mixed breed who looks like an evil dog that lives down the road from us but is about 8 years younger

and of course, myself, who watches it all with the stoic calmness that all Shibas should bring to an public event.

The big issue with Belle-chan for the day was to help That Guy find ways of getting her through being distracted by the other dogs. She has to practice being focused on him (That Guy pointed out that none of the dogs were focused on their People but as was pointed back, yes, but their dogs are not attempting to take command of the entire room). The solution became a Greenie, which we let her chew for a few minutes, then took away, then allowed to chew again, rinse and repeat. Her attention was focused on that, and then JL when he was holding it.

So we need to buy the really HUGE ones in order to keep her occupied.

There were some interesting reminders for The Woman that came out from the class:

1. Don't repeatedly call your dogs name or give the same command. Say it once.

2. Reward immediately.

And it quickly became apparent that She sucks at remembering to use the clicker to mark out behaviors but we know what she wants anyway.

But most importantly, we are a breed that shall remain independent. You have to work to become the most important thing in our lives, not vice versa.



I Am Shiba. I Am The Calm Amidst The Storm.

The Hot Dog Party

This is Belle-chan and our youngest visitor to the party completely intrigued with the movie, "Toy Story."

Where was I?

Guarding the Hot Dogs!



I Am Shiba. Three For Me, One For You.

I Am Shiba. And I Approve This Message.

Master of the House

It has been rainy, gloomy weather nonstop for days here in the Northeast. So The People have been having their cocktail hour indoors, chatting around the kitchen table. The Woman keeps the doors and windows open as well as the fans on to help the air circulate because the humidity is often so high that her glasses fog up for no reason. Condensation is our friend for the next few months.

So we are all enjoying our luxury time of conversation, when I hear something suspicious. Very suspicious. I call attention to this, and Belle-chan immediately sounds the alarm, running to the front door. I follow. The noise is not a cool noise. The People move to the Front Door to see what we are barking at, but there is nothing.

As they turn around, The Woman points out that the Backyard Light has turned on (meaning that movement took place in the backyard).

Something is up.

Cocktail hour resumes, and about three minutes later, The Woman says to That Guy, "The Local Police Dog Team is moving through our backyard."

Red Alert. Shields Up. Set Phasers on Disintegrate.

So The People close up the Doors and look out the Windows to see what is happening. Police Officers are trambling through our shrubberies (must remember to sniff this out later!) and the Dog is in Hot Pursuit.

So about 30 minutes later, The Household decides that more beer is required and The Woman and I leave to go visit the local liquor people. As we walk toward the car, we see three Police officers walking back. One is completely out of breath. They explain it had been merely an exercise drill. The out of breath policeman says that he heard us as he went by (well, yes, of course, two Shibas in full alarm is not a sound to be ignored!). The Woman recognizes one of the police officers, greets him and . . .

then I see Him.

The Police Dog.

He is loose, holding the scent marker bag.

We lock eyes.

Now, here I need to digress. Recently, an email was sent from Alice, my trainer and soon to be Belle-chan's torturer:

Belle is more than likely still adjusting and I am sure Cortez may be very subtly bullying her. Cortez is an expert at using eye contact and posture to let other dogs know to clear the way for "the king." I have witnessed his amazing use of these almost invisible to the trained eye canine communications.

Did I mention that the Police Dog and I locked eyes?

We both stop. We both stare. And I am not going to back down. He is 10 feet from my yard and about 20 feet total from me. He Shall Not Pass.

For seconds, we stood there staring, and then the Police Man called the Dog to return. He did not. We continued to stare. The second call, he ran back to his Police Person.

Wimp.

The Woman calls me to the Car so that we can leave and I watch the Shepherd move down the road. As we drive past, I notice him peeing on a telephone post that Belle and I both mark.

My agenda for this morning? This situation will be rectified immediately with our morning constitutional.

But I will have you all note: the Police Dog Backed Down First. I Still Reign Supreme.




I Am Shiba. I Am K-9 007. Licensed to Kill.