Bathroom Door Left Open

Apparently someone in the house left the bathroom door open and the dog's thought it would be a good idea to eat the feminine hygiene products (not used). I thought we were past this stage!

Oh and yesterday we found a Wii game case chewed up as well (thankfully the game wasn't in the case).

Doggies Vet Visit

Had to take Chibi & Sumo to the vet on Thursday. They both have their crazy seasonal allergies so Chibi has managed to eat a hole in her fur near her tail and a few other patches on her body. Sumo is licking his paws raw. They both are a mess right now...between Chibi's bald spots and Sumo's red feet....both not attractive looks for either of them. Chibi is on an antibiotic for the "hot spots" she managed to get and they are both on Temaril...and anti-inflammatory medicine to stop the "itchies".

Here is a picture of them trying to figure out their escape from the dreaded vet's office...."oh no, not the thermometer!"

Running as Exercise..Maybe Not?

When we first got Chibi, I (Dad) was hoping that she would help me exercise more. I had to walk her every day (which is good exercise for both dogs and people). I was hoping to eventually start jogging/running with her (as my endurance got better).

When I finally was feeling ready to start jogging (Chibi was a little over a year old), she would always start sprinting at full speed (which was way too fast for me). She would dart ahead and get yanked back when she hit the end of the slack in the leash. My jogging pace was right in between her trotting and walking, but not quite running, etc.

Eventually, I gave up on the jogging. Then came Sumo dog. So we were walking 2 dogs now. Sumo still pulls at the leash until he chokes himself. We've tried corrective leash action, harness, harness that pinches the legs together, a backpack, and the face harness, but he still pulls sometimes.

I decided to start running again, which made Sumo happy. He doesn't pull anymore (his pace perfectly matches my stride) and runs right beside me. Chibi now lags behind and eventually slows down until I stop running (at which time she "sits" until I stop jogging). She's perfectly content now to walk and ONLY walk. I imagine, it looks a bit odd with white dog pulling in front, red dog lagging behind, with me in the middle.

The solution is to walk both dogs when I'm the only one home, OR when mom is available, she walks Chibi and I go for a run with Sumo. The first time was interesting, the first 10 minutes or so, Sumo would stop every 20 yards or so and look back to try and find Chibi. Once he even stopped and wouldn't keep going. He laid down and just faced home.

I'm not sure if Chibi is getting older, prefers a slower pace, or is just letting me know that she could run (because she used to) if she wanted to, but because I used to not let her, she's not letting ME run now. (I'm all but certain that's it :-p)

What is she doing?!

Oh no......where to sleep!?

Sumo's been sleeping in munchkin's room for awhile now......last night she was at a sleepover and poor Sumo was completely lost. He had no clue where to go to bed. He waited in the hall by her bedroom door so I opened it up and he went in. About 10 minutes later he was back by the door crying to be let out of her room.

We let him out and he came running into our room. Because the dogs will be going to the doggie sitter for a fews days, I had already broken down his kennel and put it in the garage...he looked a little frantic that his kennel wasn't where it was supposed to be. So we called him up on the bed and he made his little nest and went to sleep.

Only thing.......................he woke up around 3 am to clean his butt and lick his feet! I kept trying to nudge him to stop but he kept going. I finally fell back asleep and awoke to a yellow mark on my new white comforter...........it's not pee, so it must be from his licking his paws/butt ALL NIGHT LONG!

Note to self....next time muchkin is at a sleepover...make sure Sumo's kennel is set-up. No more sleeping/licking paws/cleaning butt on the bed!

Princess Sumo

Ok, so we have documented that when it's cold, windy, and/or rainy, Sumo will not go outside and pee and/or poop. He's held it for over a day at times. The first day of over 100 degree weather this week, and now we've discovered he also will not poop/pee when it's too HOT outside.

Both Chibi and Sumo prefer to sit by the window in the air conditioning all day. (not that I don't either) :-)

Sumo's Allergies Are Back

Poor Sumo is on Benadryl and we've started using ointment for his eyes. Poor guys feet are red from him cleaning them and his eyes are horrible. He's managed to itch them raw. He just lays on the couch all day looking doped up from the Benadryl. (I will post pictures soon)

2 Shiba's For Sale!

Got home last night after running errands and as I was putting things away in the hall bathroom I noticed our bedroom door open. We don't allow the dogs in our bedroom unless we are in there so I went to peak inside. As I push the door open.....I notice white "fluff" all over the bed! I walk closer and see the following...(note this picture was taken after the "fluff" was picked up by my husband). Notice the lovely HOLE in the middle of my expensive comforter! Here's Chibi & Sumo ........."Mom, what are you doing?" We're pretty sure that Chibi (the red one) was the one who pulled the stuffing out.......but Sumo helped as well (later found a piece of stuffing stuck to his nail).

I thought we were over "stupid" dog things!

Sumo The Guard Dog!

Sumo has been sleeping in munchkin's room from time to time lately. Last night he woke her up with warning barks (which was more him being scared of something in the dark). When we got to her room, we found that her backpack had fallen off the beanbag chair and he was warning it to stay away.

Well, we think he was warning it/us. A few minutes after we turned the lights back off and put him back in there, he was crying to get out and away from the scary backpack. :-p

I Guess I'm Just Lazy

We have taught Chibi and Sumo what we though were "many" tricks. The Shiba Inu isn't un-trainable, but also it's reputation is that it's not as easy as many other breeds.

We have done many of the basics, sit, stay, lay down, come (which works when they feel like it), roll-over (which only Chibi will do), shake, high-five, around, speak (which only Sumo will do), and weave.

Apparently, there are many that we have left out :-p

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPjblqE3xHk&feature=player_embedded

That Time of Sumo Year Again...

Sumo's allergies are back.

We've been trying to manage them with benadryl, but either we caught it too late, or it's just a bad year. We had to take him into the vet last week. His eyes were getting red and puffy (beyond the normal eye watering red), and his paws were starting to get a bit sketchy also.

He's been on a steriod for the last week and his eyes look TONS better. His paws are back to mostly normal. Only a few more days left and he should be back to normal. The dosage is 2 a day for 4 days, 1 a day for 4 days, 1 every other day until gone (4 more times).

Funny though, with all the steriods, he's not any more buffed out ;)

Talking In His Sleep

I always wondered what dogs dream about. I still do, but at least now I know they DO talk in their sleep sometimes. The last couple nights, I can hear Sumo in his crate. He's definitely asleep, but making "squeaking" sounds. Sounds much like a rubber duckie being squeezed :)

3 Times Tougher.......I think not!

The new toy grandma bought for doggies stated "3x tougher"..........not the case when 2 Shiba Inu's are involved. First Chibi (right) ate the spots off & then decided to rip it's insides out.

Chibi Shedding

After petting Chibi for a little.......I realized she is starting to shed.....AGAIN! We looked over at her a few seconds later and saw the fur on her nose.

Rule of No Dog's on Couch....not going well! (Mom's fault)

Bedtime

Sumo is a big boy now. He's allowed to sleep in munchkin's room every night on the bed. He actually is ready to head down the hallway anytime after 9 and immediately claims his curl up into a ball spot on the blue blankie.

We've tried to give Chibi bed privileges in our room, but she doesn't seem to like or want them. She'll stay on the bed as long as we're awake, or one of us is not in the bed (she usually curls up on one of our pillows). The minute we start to go to bed, she jumps off the bed and gets back into her crate. Oh wells!

Things I Wonder...

If Chibi did have puppies, odds are we probably would have ended up with 7 shiba inu's in the house. I'm pretty sure we wouldn't have been able to give any of them away :)

You always understand that the same breed, is supposed to look alike, and act alike (mostly) and move alike. Watching shiba cam and momma doggie, reminds me so much of Chibi (yes, I'm sure she would have been a great momma dog), and the cream puppies remind me of Sumo when we picked him up as a pup :-p

Ahhhhh POOP!

Ok, spoke too soon.

Sumo has been so averse to peeing/pooping outside and holding it, I guess it was bound to happen. He pooped in his bed (again). He hasn't done that since he was less than a year old. But his unwillingness to poop when he's let outside in the rain is stronger than the common sense to not poop in the house! :-p

Return of Shiba Cam

http://www.ustream.tv/sfshiba

New Camera Lens + Doggies

New tests/samples with an ultra-wide angle lens!

Grown Up Doggies Who Hate Water/Cold

Ok, the good news is, the doggies are no longer required to stay in their exercise pens when we leave the house. There is finally some free space in the family room again! We're pretty sure they sleep, sit and lay on the couch while we're gone (since they're not allowed on the furniture when we're at home).

Sumo is a big boy dog now. He's allowed to sleep in munchkin's bedroom at night outside of his crate (on the bed). Chibi still prefers her crate. She'll jump up on our bed and rest for a while at night, but eventually jumps back off and crawls into her crate (and we do still close the crate door once she's inside).

Neither dog pee's or poop's when it's wet, raining, windy and storming outside. The average time between pee's this week for Sumo is between 12-24 hours (yes, he went 1 full day without peeing or pooping).

Attempt to Keep Updated

In the midst of youth competitive soccer, scouts, basketball league, etc...something was neglected (the blog) :-p

Dogs are fine, they went to their first grooming session for nail clipping, ear hair removal, paw fur cleanup, bath, etc. They both came back puffy and clean.

The big news is the removal of the doggie pens while we're not at home. While they are still blocked off from some areas of the house, they are no longer confined to their pens! (which makes them happy, and our family room look less like a dog kennel!)

Sumo has turned into a cat this Winter (e.g. sleeps all day in a ball on the top of the couch or under a blanket or curled up next to us), Chibi is still Chibi :-p