Thursday, February 19, 2009

Another? NOT

We were scanning the local paper today. Found an ad for 2 sets of shiba puppies. 3 black and tan male puppies and another litter of 4 red ones. The 4 reds are from the same parents as Sumo dog.

For about one tenth of a fraction of a second, we were thinking about completing the set and picking up a black and tan, but...NOT!

Just When You Think It's Safe

Chibi decides to EAT another corner on our baseboards...Nothing like destroying the newly installed/painted baseboards from 2 yrs ago. She's 2 yrs old...She hasn't destroyed anything of consequence in a few months (other than some cardboard boxes...but I guess if we had left her, she would have eaten what was IN the boxes too).

[and in homage to the NBA trade deadline passing today]

Interesting observation with Chibi and Sumo around a new toy I bought. A huge rope ball (about the size of canteloupe). They both love it. Sumo had it the other night and wouldn't give it up. So Chibi watched him for about 10 minutes, then went over to the toy bin and pulled out their favorite bone. She dropped it right in front of him. Then waited to see if he'd leave the rope ball. No chance.

We just thought it was interesting. It was almost as if she was offering up a trade. Or at least tried to distract him.

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Photo Evidence

Ok, here's the photo evidence of sumo on the levy in utter fear! :-p

Harness, Sumo, Not as Dumb as We Think?

well, i got the harness home and took it out of the box. the dogs were their normal happy selves when they saw me get home.

chibi saw the harness and immedately became curious. she came over, sniffed it, stuck her nose all over it, pushed her head through the loops, even licked it for taste. sumo, on the other hand, immedately backed up and away from me and wouldnt come within a 6 foot radius of me.

not wanting to force anything, i just set the harness on the floor and did our normal greetings and petting, rubbing (only chibi was close at this time). i was waiting for sumo to come over and get his normal welcome. i waited about 5 mintues, and he still kept his radius. usually when i give chibi attention, within SECONDS, sumo is there sticking his whole body betwen chibi and i.

i finally gave in and grabbed some treats (his nemisis). chibi was happy now, she got attention and treats. sumo came within "i can get the treat" distance, but wouldnt let me pet him still. i needed to size the harness, so i put it on chibi as a test. she was fine, so i figured sumo would be close (since he's a bit smaller).

sumo wouldnt come any close, i just had to have him sit, then put it on him. he immedately tried "cleaning" it off on the floor, down the hall, on the couch. it was the shiba 500 all over the house (by himself).

the upside, after the first 2-3 times of pulling/bolting/running where he almost flipped himself over in a ball. he adjusted to the harness and the walks were fine! (so far) we got home, and i left the harness on him for another 30 minutes so that he would become more acclimated to it. it's hard to tell if he was more sad or ticked off at us as he sat/layed on the floor with his head down not moving.

oh well, it worked. the walk was pleasant!

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Oh Yah, Few Extra Tidbits


took the dogs back on a walk to the levy. chibi was fine (as usual), and sumo actually appeared to be ok for the first 5 minutes, until he looked to his left and saw the river (aka. EEEEEEEEEK! HUGE BODY OF WATER). 

he then spent the next 10 minutes crawling on his belly (newly clean from a shower) on the far right side of the levy trying to get down the hill back to safety.

HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY CHIBI! (2 years)

This is much better than last year (last year on her birthday, she decided to pee in the house) :-)

Reeling in a Sumo-Fish

ok, it's been over a year and sumo still wont "not pull" while walking. he honestly doesnt seem to mind choking himself with uncontrolled panting while on a leash. we've tried:
  • stop immedately when he starts pulling (no good)
  • immedately reverse direction when he starts pulling (no good)
  • treats when "not" pulling (works, until we run out of treats)
moving on to something new now...going to try a new harness. not the "gentle leader" (yet), we're going to try the gentle lead "harness"

cross your fingers!

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Apparently They Do Have Issues To Work On

we bought chibi and sumo a new chewbone (natural bone with some leftovers on it) from our local gourmet store (since i had to buy a new bag of food).

when i bought the bone, the girl behind the desk asked if i'd like 2 (since the store tracks the sales/owners/dogs) since i have 2 dogs. ive decided buying 2 is a bit of a waste. i used to buy 2 of every toy, but over time ive realized that even if the toys are identical, the dogs want what the other has and one toy goes unplayed with.

when i brought the new chewbone out we learned a few things:
  1. it smells...a lot
  2. the dogs REALLY liked it
  3. they were able to both share/chew on it at the same time
  4. once sumo had left the bone and tried to come back, chibi nearly ripped his head off and needed to be put in a timeout

the bone has been re-bagged (to help contain the fantastic aroma) and put away until we decide if the dogs will be able to share it or not. we havent seen such a "high value" toy/treat since sumo was a puppy. for the most part, they argue over toys, but nothing quite so aggresive.