Funny, Strange, Amusing

• at a year and about month chibi has become much more mellow over the last few weeks
• at a year and about month chibi has become a frequent "pet me and rub my tummy" doggie
• walked into the family room and saw sumo on the rug laying flat on his belly (fatkid style), licking carpet (no comment)
• when we first get home, sumo's routine is to find his favorite stuffed bone, walk around the house for 10 minutes with it in his mouth, while trying to bark (and it's a very entertaining sight and sound)
• instead of trying to go inside his pen to get his chewy keys, sumo tried to shove his snout though the pen, when that didnt reach, he tried sticking his tongue out to "lick" it closer

And Sometimes, I Is Smart!!!

sumo held the pee again all day in his pen while we were at work (woohoo!)

BUT, I applied some logic this time around when letting him out (to try to prevent the excited pee leaking across the floor because he's so happy to see us and/or get out and see chibi)

• let chibi out first
• open back door
• take chibi outside and leave door open
• let sumo out
• sumo bolts to see chibi outside
• sumo goes to the side of the house and pees OUTSIDE!
• yea! i win!

(it's amazing the things that excite and impress me these days)

also a good night for "ringing the bell" to go outside. each time he had to pee/poop, he went to the back door, sat on the mat, jumped up at the bell on a string we have hanging from the door knob, and barked at someone to let him out.

(again, it's amazing the things that excite and impress me these days)

Rhetorical Training Question

ok, so i "get" the concept of positive training methods. i "get" that you treat the dog when you get the behavior you want. i also "get" that you correct the bad behavior, then treat, when the dog does the "right one".

this is related to the puppy habit of excited "nipping" (an especially difficult behavior in the white furball -- at least relative to what i remember from the red furball). sumo hasnt quite figured out, it's ok with chibi, it's NOT ok with people (and/or their clothes).

most training manuals state, that you correct and say "no", or "ouch!" and remove your hand and look away/ignore/don't give attention to the behavior. then "treat" the dog when they release or stop.

this is the strategy recommended for most other things/behaviors you want (and/or dont want).

here's my question: how do i always have a doggie treat with me at all times (because you never know when such behavior is going to happen)?

im not going to walk around with a trainers hip bag of goodies with me. the crackhead dogs will never leave me alone. i cant go "get" a treat when it happens, by that time, the usefulness of the "association between events" will be gone. yes, i know you put them in strategic areas (e.g. peep/poop times), and you also setup specific times to do training (duh!), but, correcting nipping is a connundrum :)

Bound to Happen

it had to happen, it was going to happen. murphy's law dictates, that it MUST happen

• decided to go to bed early to get some decent sleep for once (since the new plan is to walk chib's at 6am before work)
• in bed @ 10, chibi will not go to bed and keep banging on her kennel door, which keeps sumo from sleeping
• sumo decides (FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE WE'VE HAD HIM) to get up in the middle of the night at 3.30 AM to upchuck in his kennel (threads from the bathmat we didnt know he ate, fuzz from his tennis ball toy, and small bits of his green toy)
• he will NOT go back to sleep

net/net: we end up with LESS sleep than normal

Appreciate the Effort

ok, this is a 1/2 full, 1/2 empty kinda thing....

yesterday we had sumo home all day in his pen while we were at work (vs. days we get home from work early, etc.). he did really well*.

(*we dont leave pee pads in the pen anymore because they end up as highly abosrbant confetti by the time we get home, and become a sloppy mess if he did happen to use them (either before or after they were shredded)

• i get home, he hasnt peed all over the pen (GOOD THING)
• he sits at the door patiently after being reminded that we "sit" before we can get out of the pen (GOOD THING)
• i open the back door, to prep to get him outside as quickly as possible (GOOD THING)
• i let him out, he immedately slips out of my grip, bolts for chibi's pen, and is soo excited when he gets close, he leaves a stream of pee all along the floor in a trail (NOT GOOD THING)
• i pick him up, step around/over the pee trail, get him outside, where he finishes peeing (GOOD THING)

all in all, a good thing he held it, held as much as he could after getting too exicted and starting to pee...just need to work on, turn RIGHT when you exit the pen towards the door, vs. turn LEFT towards chibi :-)

Random Facts

alarm puppy

• our alarm clock is set to go off at 6AM every weekday morning
• our shiba inu puppy is set to go off at 5.45 AM every weekday morning
• he will pee when he first gets up and goes outside
• he will NOT poop (though he has to) when he first gets up, he must pee, come inside, rest for 5-10 minutes, then go outside and poop

most days, sumo is the right name, others...

• every now and again, i remember the scene from "The Jerk" when steve martin is trying to name his dog
• Don't call that dog "lifesaver;" call him "sh*thead."

eating and the inverse

• chibi has been eating a lot more the last week or so, not sure why.
• sumo and chibi have been (mostly) sticking to their own bowls for mealtime
• sumo took the biggest dump ever this morning (as big as chibi's)

other things on the "to do" list and "stuff that happened"...

• start walking sumo by himself a few times a week so that he can continue to learn "the correct way"
• neighbor around the corner has a puppy 2 weeks older than sumo, will have to keep an eye out to see if they want to use our puppies as socialization dogs (she mentioned, that her dog really needs it -- it appeared to be really shy)
• they are both equal opportunity pain the butts for each other -- equally sharing the crown for "STOP BUGGING ME OR ILL RIP YOUR HEAD OFF" for when the other is trying to rest

Random Updates

sumo's doing better with the house training, except for

1. when he gets really excited/distracted playing with chibi and just "forgets"
2. when we pull his "big boy" bed out and he gets lazy (or the cleaner apparently hasnt removed all the pee smell?)

we're still working on the excited "nipping" that he does, but that will come in time with continual focus and correction. i think it's more challenging for us this time around with 2 dogs than it was for chibi. she mostly only had us around, so she learned more quickly that this is not how we greet/relate to people. sumo, however, is playing with chibi a lot, and that is how they relate. he has to learn the difference between human and doggie time.

chibi is rounding back into her old self (as she comes out of heat, and no longer has to wear her diaper). their play sessions are more vocal, and they're back to moving the furniture all over during their shiba 500 sessions.

we're also starting sumo on his "mini-walk" training. so far so good. he's even getting used to his special kid harness :)

Naptime!

While mom is at home with sick munchkin (who has the flu, along with 20% of the other kids in the area), she captured this pic on her phone...

Latest and Greatest

Meh, Doing Better

quick hits:

• sumo is getting better at "pee" on command and waiting until we're outside
• when he has to poop really bad, he hits the bells to go outside, and barks at the door
• chibi is still being moody while she's in heat and wearing her "diaper", but it looks to be almost over
• definitely considering having our trainer come back for some specific 2 dog training tips (as well as some behavior observation to ensure we're allowing/monitoring the right type of doggie to doggie play and behavior)

should have some new pictures soon

THIS Should Be Interesting

sumo will be meeting other dogs tonight (yes, i know he met the cousin maltese last week, but that doesnt count, she doesnt act like a normal dog often)

nala - the happy golden retriever (she loves everybody)
harrison - the 3.5 month old chocolate lab (it's a lab, it loves everybody too)
tomo - chibi's brother (THIS should be the most interesting)

for those who arent familiar with the family tree, our friends bought chibi's brother (tomo). they have been seeing each other regularly since they have been pups, and have been dog baby sat together, etc. their get togethers usually look like doggie UFC or doggie thunderdome. they have a very aggressive play style (vs. chibi and nala for example who roll, wrestle, quietly, etc). chibi and tomo...well, they pretty much ignore any other dog and just start going at it, if the both of them are there.

so im thinking, either:

• sumo integrates himself with the rest of the doggies have before
• sumo is completely ignored by chibi/tomo (like everybody else)
• sumo is the "little brother" trying to tag along that just gets upset and ends up jumping on everybody until they're really annoyed and stomp him*

*if i had to bet, this would be where the money goes

One of "Those" Nights

upside:

great training session

• he's is mastering simple "sit" and "down"
• he finally understood what "shake" is
• he has started "speak" on command

downside:

CRACKHEAD pee pattern - go outside, chew rocks/leaves/seeds, no pee (repeat 5 times), walk inside, immedately pee on the floor

stubborn persistant habit of trying to chew on chibi when she's resting

had to be disciplined 5-6 times last night for above behavior, incl snapping at me a few times

[edit] tried to go on a super-mini walk just to get sumo out and about to burn some energy, do something new, etc. he wanted no part of "outside", much less going somewhere there. i had forgotten it took some time to get chibi "walking"

You Talking To ME!?!?!

What?!? You talkin' to ME!?!?!?

Must See TV (Part the 2nd)

ok, it's official, i like seeing the dogs in the show, can't stand the judging (or the judges), or the overly fanatical breeding types.

tired of seeing the "poodle" style dogs win, it's the last bastion of old style, old school, old people elitie-ism (yes, i can make up words) that exist. i was happy, however, the beagle one. a mostly normal looking dog that an average person would own.

i propose "spike TV" has it's own dog show. "THE MAN DOG SHOW AWARDS!" maybe then, an akita or lab or goldie would win something. yes, i realize a shiba inu, falls under the "cute" breed classification, so not looking to get our dogs to win. but it mostly seems to me that some breeds are pre-disposed to be chosen more often (e.g. the NBA star treatment)

i did enjoy watching the AKC agility and obedience awards. to me, that is more about being a "sport" or at least had some objectivity to it. i wonder at what point a shiba inu would just decide (during an agility run), "im tired of this and im going to stop now". ive seen shiba's in agility classes/courses, it usually happens about 2/3rds of the way through a run.

Must See TV? I Think Not

watched the westminster dog show thing on tv last night (just to see the shiba's).

it still amazes me:

1. how much "stuff/work" the folks put into primping their dogs
2. how nice the dogs look
3. the judges and their process is amusing to me
4. how much our pups would NEVER be in that type of activity (even if they were eligible ;-))

Shiba Inu Judging

Interesting Weekend Highlights

let's see if we can summarize this weekends highlights

• everlasting treatball is a hit, perhaps too much of one. it required us to take it away from chibi/sumo after 10-15 minutes each time. one inevitably gets too close to the other's ball, and a "not so happy" moment occurs, requiring discipline on both dogs. however, they "are" getting better at respecting each other's space/toys, as well as the reaction when that space is not observed
• sumo was quickly adjusted to cha-chan and papi's house. ignored the small white fur ball's attempts at being "in charge", and then proceeded to find all the hidden treats, and then take a nap
• chibi in heat is not a fun thing/time
• sumo is a fountain of neverending pee. we brought back out the bed we bought for him (after laundering it, and putting it away for a week or s0). he proceeded to play with it, dig in it, put his toys in it, lay in it, then when we werent looking for 2 minutes, fill it full of pee like a mini-yard pool (after just going outside an peeing 20 minutes earlier). there is something about that bed, and him peeing. he hasnt had any accidents this weekend or even the few days before that. just that bed. maybe he doesnt like the color blue.
• sumo is officially a cuddler. hey may fill the role that chibi was supposed to be and cuddle with kiki at night on her bed (when he's old enough to be trusted on the bed). chibi will sleep next to you, but has a tendancy to move around after a while and prefers sleeping on the floor away from you (but in the same room or near you)
• not sure if it's a boy/girl thing, but sumo pees/poops fast and wants back inside asap (ala tomo-dog). chibi sniffs sniffs sniffs sniffs, etc.. then pees/poops
• not sure if we'll go back to formal "doggie puppy training" for sumo. we're waiting to see how we do using our BKM's from chibi, but there may be some 2 dog specifics we'll need help with

that's all for now...might think of more later

ps. for those of you who are in need of puppy (and/or doggie) training (or sitting/walking service), call www.caninecommands.com . tell them chibi/sumo sent you

Happy Birthday Chibi

Happy Birthday Chib-ster!

Then...

Now...

Everlasting treatball for Chibi (ok, and one for Sumo too) when I get home...

Sausage!

LMFAO...somehow..im pretty sure...this is what chibi/sumo are actually thinking...

Shhh...Good Day....

*knocks on wood*

it was a good day yesterday. no unauthorized peeing/pooping in the house, and only a minor flare up of the "here, let me chew on you" events. i keep forgetting how sharp the puppy teeth are. you'd think it would be the other way around, puppy teeth dull, adult teeth razor sharp, but NOOOOOOOOOOOOO :p

sumo still has a nasty tendancy (as did chibi as a puppy), to nip at your fingers, toes, jeans, sweatshirt, etc. and be very persistent about it. he's a little more immunted to the squirt bottle than chibi, but is also more responsive to verbal cues to stop, so i guess it's a wash. we had to go through the domination exercise a couple times last evening (and it sounded like a battle -- but really wasnt that bad), and once this morning.

i think he's getting the hint.

he's also getting more coordinated and stronger each day. we found him standing on the TOP of the couch this morning when we came out for breakfast.

also started taking both dogs out to pee/poop at the same time, the thought process being, sumo will learn to do what chibi does.

we also started adding cookies to the poop/pee praise outside. dont know if that's helping too, but he definitely knows to sit when he comes inside the house after poop/peeing right by the cookie jar.

Side Effects and Regression

Chibi had reached the point where she would ring the bell at the back door to go pee and poop (only). She had grown past the age where she would use the bell to go outside and just endlessly sniff around the side yard. Since Sumo has started getting better and using the outside for his bathroom, her "go out and sniff endlessly" behavior has returned. I guess it's to be expected, but still counting the days until she grows beyond it again.

Sumo has also discovered the joy of "leaf sniffing and chewing". Chibi did this right from the get go, but he didn't start until a couple days ago. His trips outside USED to be either, pee/poop and bolt back inside, or just bolt back inside ("i dont need to pee/poop dad, lemme back inside!") Now his trips outside include the mandatory, sniff every dead leaf on the ground, pick it up, chew it, spit it out, repeat.

As a side note, Sumo did a little better yesterday. Only one accident. I saw it coming, tried to get to him in time, but didnt quite get there to take him outside. He still doesnt show consistent behavior to go "to the door" like Chibi did, but at least we're getting better at monitoring his patterns and timings. He does have a "fake out" move that is hard to sort out. He acts like he's about to lay down, then sometimes he just stops about 1/8" off the ground and pees...the other times, he just keeps going and lays down. THAT move is the tricky one to figure out. When we try to take him outside when he's actually "laying down", we get the "WTF!?!?!" look from him.

Also starting to notice the dogs are getting more acclimated to each other. They don't HAVE to mess with the other one every waking second of the day or when the other one begins to rest. They play, they argue, they rest (and leave each other alone).

Sumo has also figured out how to "pull" the baby gate door open, so we have to semi latch it. And thanks to Sumo, I noticed that Chibi has no idea that once her pen door is closed (and not latched), she can push it back open. I can put her in the pen, just push the door to the closed position, and she wont try to open it again. (unlike Sumo who knows how to open/close doors in both directions)

i do have a favorite new picture:

New Photo Link Added

added a section for puppy/doggies links on the right...

kristy just posted the first batch of photos

First Round Of Sumo Photos (with some Chibi of course)

Selective Memory

ok, im pretty certain it wasnt this much work and chibi wasnt this much of a handful, but kristy says otherwise.

looking back (without the benefit of recording history like this blog), i guess it may have been. i do remember chibi doing a lot of:

• nipping at us when we pet her (when she was playing)
• chewing on fingers/toes/clothes
• yapping/yelling at us when we correct her

most times when he sees us, or sumo has been playing with us, or being pet...he has a tendancy to bite (not BITE, but more like puppy chewing bite mouthing), and we've been having to correct and correct and correct (repeat). in hindsight, i do remember having to do some more structured and firm corrections with chibi (beyond the "OUCH!" and pull the hands back and say "NO!").

he is quite fiesty (as i remember chibi was too) and firey (yelling at us when we do correct)...lots of work again, but it will all be worth it in the end.

im thinking this time around may be more challenging because he has a doggie buddy to play with and that's their normal method of play/communication. it will probably require some additional discipline and vigilance on our part.

other things we need to continue to do:

• continue to NOT use the name to correct the dog when we catch him doing something wrong (even though both dogs react when we do)
• remember, white dog = sumo, red dog = chibi (ok, that's mostly me)

frustration of the day yesterday: 6 trips outside to poop for sumo (with no results) over the course of 3 hours (knowing he HAD to poop -- shiba owners can tell from the poop butt look), finally had to take chibi out to pee, walk back inside, and fuzzy crackhead white dog had deposited a full load on the floor (when he had just refused to poop 5 minutes earlier outside)

need to find a day and some time to see if we can get sumo to meet harrison (the 3 month old lab puppy), it would be good for him to meet other non-UFC play style dogs. probably should see if we can get him together with nala (the goldie) too...she's always been really patient/good with the crackhead shiba twins (chibi and tomo).

Interesting Weekend

let's see if i can remember everything that happened this weekend....

i watched both dogs saturday afternoon....mostly an uneventful afternoon/evening (other than learning about smoking ribs in the dead of winter when it's raining and windy -- note to bbq fans, the outside temp gauge of the smoker will read lower than the internal temp of the smoker, so if you dont want your ribs dry or over cooked, adjust accordingly).

sumo still doesnt have the "go outside to do business" thing totally figured out. maybe we were spoiled with chibi, but this one loves to pee IN the house (and usually on the big mega dog bed we have)....we've tried to get the pee smell out, but maybe the odor remover isnt working? we're chalking it up to the rain, cold, wind. when it's sunny and warm, he has no problem when we take him outside, when it's nasty, he just runs inside, waits a few seconds, then pees/dumps on the pad or on the dog bed.

like this morning, he went out, peed (great). came back in, ate breakfast, had more water (great). we knew he would have to poop, took him outside again, no action, no poop, no joy...ok fine, come back inside....turn the head for a minute or 2...POOP on the floor.

just dont get it. though he did do fine sunday...all pees/poops were on the pad or outside.

on another topic, met our friend's new chocolate lab puppy (12 weeks old) at the superbowl party. that dog is going to be HUGE. very easy going personality, playful...a lot like sumo, but definitely more easy going. chibi's brother tomo (our friend who was hosting the party owns him) had fun playing (aka. trying to punk) with the lab. he'd better enjoy it while he can. the lab is already 10 pounds heavier, and it's only going to get worse.

Poop Strike! Poop Strike!

ok, so we're not sure if it's:

1. sumo hates the new harness and is so distracted he cant pee/poop (pretty sure THAT's not it)


2. sumo hates inclement weather (especially when it's 40 degrees, windy, with rain) to pee/poop


3. sumo is a crackhead


4. sumo is completely distracted by chibi and doesnt want to be outside at all away from his play buddy

ok, im voting for #2 (no pun intended). we spent hours outside yesterday with him waiting for him to peep/poop when we KNEW he had to (for those of you that have shiba dogs, you know when their butts tell you 'i need to poop and pee soon'). over the span of 3 hours we took him out 4-5 times...stood out there in the windy cold rain...nothing. in fact, he constantly dashed back towards the door trying to get back in.

when he finally DID pee/poop, it was on the pee pad (which IS a good thing, i have to keep remembering this) and after we brought him inside for 20 minutes. amusing side note, he peed, mom changed the pee pad, he waited 2 mintues, went over to the new one, and then dumped.

noticed this morning, chibi wasnt really happy to have sumo bugging her (or her food) while she was eating...she hasnt shown any food aggression to this point, nor am i convinced it was actual aggression (there was no biting, no growling, no hair standing up, no barking), it was more a "get the hell away from me dummy, im trying to eat!" type behavior. i think she was really hungry, and having a puppy constantly trying to jump on your head can be annoying.

note to other dog owners: dont ever play "catch the light" with your dog using a laser pointer, or flashlight....it always seemed cruel to me that they cant actually ever "catch" anything, they spend an additional hour "looking" for it, then you run the possibility of your dog chasing any flashy light source. i say this after watching chibi try to attack/scrape/bite our wall when she saw a reflection of sunlight out of her stainless steel water bowl. (for the record, i told mom NOT to ever play that game with the puppy!)

on the "upside", sumo appears to have gotten "sit" down. still working on "down" and "off", but he does get that he gets nothing, unless he's sitting. amusing part of the evening is training time with sumo. chibi does each command as she watches sumo try to learn with a "dad, give ME the treat...HELLO! LOOK OVER HERE! gimme the snack, im doing something cool over here!"

also still making sure we hold sumo each night to ensure he's comfy with and enjoys having people hold/pet him. easiest way to get him to pass out, pick him up, hold him like a baby on his back, and stroke his ears...within 30 seconds...out cold!

(couldnt get a pic of the best pose, he was sleeping with is mouth open)