In Time, Im SURE It Will Be Fine

Lately, sumo's been the super-mega crackhead dog. I wish we had written down (or blogged :p) chibi's experiences growing up, so I have a reference point as to when the exact 'crackheadedness' began with her, or if it was nearly this bad.

The last week or so:

1. he's started not wanting to go to bed at night and just being a general pain in the @ss when everybody else has been trying to sleep (we've tried more exercise, keeping him awake in the early evenings, etc.)
2. he's decided that chewing on his toys and teething aids arent enough. our windowsills look delicious (i DO remember that chibi thought drywall, coffee table corners, and baseboards were good for teething at times)
3. the shiba 500, has been the shiba 1000 for him lately
4. what dog DOESNT like to go on a walk? and would rather just lounge on his bed all day (while not annoying the co-habitating red-shiba inu)
5. being a general pain in the @ss to chibi (which, we have to admit, is fun to watch)
6. volume and frequency of sound of chibi (even at her non-talkative best) is about a 2, sumo is about a 9.8

last night as we stood in the kitchen watching chibi relaxing quietly on the couch (while crackdog sumo was barking at full volume at her, trying to chew on her foot and get her to play), we wondered. if chibi had been more like this 6 months ago, would we have felt it necessary to get a 2nd dog to keep her company? by now, she'd have run of the house, she'd be able to be left out of her pen while we're gone, and it would be easier to take her out (vs. 2 dogs). im sure he'll be fine in a few months...*sigh*

quick note, we were at a basketball tournament this weekend and saw another shiba inu sitting quietly on one of the bleachers. it was tiny (relative to chibi), but very relaxed and well behaved. it was a 4 yr old female at about 12 pounds. she was more fluffy and soft than both our dogs. she didnt appear to have the firmer/stiffer outer coat. it would be nice to have a shiba about that sized, however, it did dance on the "too small and cute for me to walk everyday and be seen with a doggie that small" side of the fence. hehehehehe

New Photo's

New Strategy "may" Be Working

ok, we tried not letting sumo "nap" in the evening after 8.30pm AND we added another blanket to his kennel (it has been cooler the last couple days) AND we also went back to covering his kennel with another blanket when he goes to bed.

he slept through the night again.

since we actually changed 3 variables, we'll dont know if any of the strategies were solely responsible, or the combination of the 3 (or merely an abberation). we'll keep trying it tonight and see.

WT $_)#!$)&!)@_#:$^<>?

Let's hope this is an abberation this week. Sumo has become the biggest little pain in the BUTT this week. Perhaps he's staring his version of terrible 2's or maybe his adolescence, but GEEZUS.

The last 2 days, he's been whining/crying every night in his kennel at bedtime. When he finally falls asleep, he wakes up again at 3ish AM, and starts all over. Last night, we finally had to let him out on the bed before he would shut up.

THEN, he walked around the bed (on our heads occasionally) for about 10-15 minutes before going back to sleep under the covers. An hour later, he woke up and walked around on our heads again, then jumped down off the bed, tunneled around underneath, then decided it was a good idea to start waking Chibi up in her pen.

*sigh* anybody want to buy a white/cream shiba inu??? :-p

Eating Behavior

Sumo has started doing the "grab a kibble or 2 or 3 and walk away to eat it" behavior. The more I see it with a couple dogs around, I'm thinking it comes from wanting to make sure they eat a little food and not get it taken away by the other dogs that may be around (e.g. find the common feeding source of the pack, then grab some and taste it without being bugged).

We've started feeding Chibi and Sumo about 10 ft away from each other (vs. side by side like we were before). Seems that Chibi will not eat when Sumo is that close. Even now though, Chibi waits until Sumo is done eating, goes away to do something else, THEN she'll start eating her food.

Also noticed, they BOTH do the "lick every area around my mouth for 10 minutes after I'm done eating" behavior. Kinda fun to watch :)

Doggies Getting Older

Quick post updates:

We went to SF this weekend for the Cherry Blossom Festival in Japantown. Had a good time, saw a bunch of "city-ites" walking their doggies. Surprisingly we only saw ONE shiba inu at the Japanese festival. However, it was a cream/white colored one named "Mochi" who was 11 months old. We now have an idea what Sumo will look like in a few months.

*picture from mom's camera phone, so not the clearest thing

While we were in SF for the weekend, the doggies got to stay at home with Auntie/Uncle. They did ok (except sumo who cried all night). Apparently, they didnt eat much either.

Running low on doggie food, so we're switching back to the original flavor of lamb/rice from chicken/rice. They enjoyed both, but we're thinking some variety is always good. AND chibi is getting her first bactch of "ADULT" doggie food (at 14 months, so it's about time).

Latest and Greatest

*knocking on wood*
sumo has been sleeping through the nights and not requesting his usual 3AM pee break! he's actually reluctant and 1/2 asleep in the morning when we get up to give the doggies their morning walk.

the doggies also both finally got their "matching collars". up until now, sumo's neck/head have been too small. we still walk him with the harness, but the collar at it's smallest setting would have just popped right off. since their heads are more narrow than their necks, we had to get the slip style: http://www.silverfoot.com/store.php?crn=228&PHPSESSID=c7bc3de89eefd38ecffa1dd96e4ce7c6

we've started noticing that chibi has a difficult time relaxing around the house unless everybody is at home. when one or more of the family is gone, she paces more, will sit at the top of the couch looking at the door, waits at the hall entrance by the garage, and has frequent reqests to go outside in the back to look for us.

Ok, Dad's Back

ok, dad's been slackin...im back from the cold/flu/tireness/laziness from the last week or so. if you havent noticed, mom's started posting (in dad's absence).

summary of things that i can remember:

• sometime in the last week or so, sumo's gotten tall enough to actually eat from the elevated feeder without having to 'climb' up onto it
• his nippping/biting when excited has started to get a little better as he's getting older

mom has pretty much summed up everything else so far.

Dogs...

Here's a recent picture of Sumo. It's surprising how much he loves to cuddle with everyone. He loves wrapping himself him blankets and passing out. Chibi is the complete opposite...she's very independent and wants nothing to do with being in/under a blanket.

Sumo is also

still trying to adjust to the harness. I swear its his kryptonite. He can be in high speed shiba 500 mode and as soon as you put the harness on he starts with the fake limp. The reason I say fake limp is because he changes which leg he will use that moment to limp with. We were worried that maybe the harness was too tight but it's not the case. He's just our "special" boy.