Brandon: Great shots of Nemo throughout and love the Christmas shots!
I somehow missed a few months of this thread and was catching up on your trials with the vets office visits. Sorry to hijack your thread, and it won't have any helpful hints but wanted to share this story with you: Our previous dog, Joe, had many fears, most of them associated with loud noise (fireworks, gunshots, thunder, etc.), but it seemed his fear of the vet was very strong and was something he never got over in the 11-12 years we had him. Somehow my husband, Steve would coax, cajole, perhaps carry him (he was a 75+ dog) into the office and got it all to work, though! One day when Joe was about 10-11 years old he greeted the "mail-lady" at our mailbox. She thought he was lost, and surprise, surprise -- he hopped into her mail truck with very little coaxing. For some odd reason his tag on his collar had the vet's address and phone number instead of ours. So she proceeded to "deliver" him to the vet office. When she got there Joe would not leave the mail truck and two-three people from the vets office had to coax, cajole, perhaps carry him into the office. When they affirmed through his collar and medical records who he was, they then called my husband. While surprised, he was relieved that there were no injuries, etc. and found Joe enjoying special treats and being doted on by the staff, but of course he immediately headed for the door to go home upon seeing Steve! We did call our brother-in-law, the vet in Oregon, to see whether he had ever had a dog delivered by the US Postal Service! And all the gracious doting treatment did nothing to change his attitude about the vets office! (As I said, no help here... we are grateful that Josephine seems to love the vets office and all the attention by the staff, and doesn't even mind the needles or any of the other indignities!)
Last night the weather was decent so Nemo and I went out to the dog park, he really needed the opportunity to run and run and run. Right along the fence line of part of the dog park is a cross country skiing trail, that usually is not used at night. However last night I spotted a far off light, and the way it was moving I knew the guy was on skis. Nemo was running way ahead of me and spotted the guy, he went nuts. He was giving this guy his deepest, meanest, nastiest bark. I wonder if the guy got spooked. He did turn his head to look into the dog area, I don't know if he thought Nemo was by himself, or if he was just trying to figure out what was chasing him down.
So if you are ever out in the dog park late at night, and someone goes cross country skiing along the fence line, expect your dog to kind of go crazy.
Today is the fourth anniversary of Nemo's adoption. This last year was a pretty good one for Nemo. He made a few new friends and didn't have any major medical issues, for which we are really thankful.
I wont make a long and sappy post like I did last year, you can just go back to page one and read that if you need to, it all still applies.
I had planned to take a new picture of Nemo and I together for this post, but I just haven't had the time to do that. Maybe I'll get one taken this weekend as it is supposed to be pretty nice out.
We didn't really plan anything special for this day because well, Nemo has no idea. However he did get a new cow bone this weekend and has a leash and collar set on the way, so he will be looking very stylish in the upcoming year.
Fantastic Brandon! I remember your Nemo birthday/anniversary post from a year ago like it was yesterday. My how time flies. Congrats on a great and healthy year together!!!!!
Where did the leash and collar set come from? More Yellow Snow gear?
Happy A. day!....so what are some milestones? Have you worked through some issues that you thought you never would have?
Just curious to see how far you have come
Patrice - The big issue with Nemo has always been his sever lack of socialization by his previous owners. We can't know for sure if he was ever physically abused, but he was clearly not raised around people who knew what to do with a puppy. He and his brother were both picked up by animal control on a few occasions, so no one was looking out for them, then one time they picked up only Nemo, and not Turi. Then they moved out of their house and left Nemo there on a screened in porch. So his mental well being was probably not high on their list of important things.
When we first adopted Nemo he would sit in a corner and just shake anytime someone new came over. Usually he would run to the end of the kitchen, cower, and just shake. We signed up for a lot of obedience classes so that we had a scheduled outing to a safe place at least once a week. It was four weeks into obedience before he could really do anything but constantly be on watch of everything, while he sat and shook. Eventually he started to look forward to going to class and would Shiba scream (the happy one) on the way there, and he loved our instructor and her homemade liver treats after awhile too. That was probably his first big step to being ok with someone other than my wife and I.
Slowly over the past few years we have added people and places to his acceptable list. He loves to go to the houses of his grandparents and even some of our friends. We are close with his brothers adoptive family, and he fits in like a pea in a pod over there, loves the adults and the kids. When we have people over now he does not hide and shake but is an alarm dog! He barks and lets us know someone is there, and if they step towards him, he runs under the bed, for he is not a guard dog. Once everyone is settled into their seats he will come out into the living room and sit by me, taking treats and doing tricks. Some people he will jump on the couch by for petting. Nemo really likes it when we have people over for dinner, he goes under the table and sniffs everyone, and gets very close to them, checking them out. He is a lot braver than he used to be.
Nemo will never be the dog that is excited to meet a new person, but slowly he can learn to tolerate people, and then become their friend. He knows a lot of obedience commands and all of that now too, he used to be able to do a 5 minute down stay at class, even with strangers walking around, but the big thing has been slowly working on his ability to be around new people. It's a lifetime project with him.
Brandon you and Nemo are doing great. Keep up the great work with him. Im sure Nemo appreciates everything you have done for him. Plus his is a stunning model for all those pictures! (BY THE WAY...WHERE IS THE NEMO SPAM?!?!?!)
Brandon thanks for telling us about your progress with him. I really think you have done terrific work and made it such a positive outcome. It's wonderful that he can visit his brother from time to time too!
I second Calia.....to many more wonderful years to come!
Snf
Happy 4th Anniversary, Brandon and Nemo! Time flies when you're having fun with a doggie! It's beautiful weather here in MN today, so perhaps it is by you too, and a good day for taking pictures, or you will get the one day thaw tomorrow!
Can't wait to see the new collar, and pics of Nemo!
Thanks everyone. Yes it's a balmy 37 out. We just took a walk that was almost an hour long, Nemo was happy to run through the snow that has softened up a bit. Now he is laying by his Mom who is taking a nap.
Comments
I somehow missed a few months of this thread and was catching up on your trials with the vets office visits. Sorry to hijack your thread, and it won't have any helpful hints but wanted to share this story with you: Our previous dog, Joe, had many fears, most of them associated with loud noise (fireworks, gunshots, thunder, etc.), but it seemed his fear of the vet was very strong and was something he never got over in the 11-12 years we had him. Somehow my husband, Steve would coax, cajole, perhaps carry him (he was a 75+ dog) into the office and got it all to work, though! One day when Joe was about 10-11 years old he greeted the "mail-lady" at our mailbox. She thought he was lost, and surprise, surprise -- he hopped into her mail truck with very little coaxing. For some odd reason his tag on his collar had the vet's address and phone number instead of ours. So she proceeded to "deliver" him to the vet office. When she got there Joe would not leave the mail truck and two-three people from the vets office had to coax, cajole, perhaps carry him into the office. When they affirmed through his collar and medical records who he was, they then called my husband. While surprised, he was relieved that there were no injuries, etc. and found Joe enjoying special treats and being doted on by the staff, but of course he immediately headed for the door to go home upon seeing Steve! We did call our brother-in-law, the vet in Oregon, to see whether he had ever had a dog delivered by the US Postal Service! And all the gracious doting treatment did nothing to change his attitude about the vets office! (As I said, no help here... we are grateful that Josephine seems to love the vets office and all the attention by the staff, and doesn't even mind the needles or any of the other indignities!)
So if you are ever out in the dog park late at night, and someone goes cross country skiing along the fence line, expect your dog to kind of go crazy.
I wont make a long and sappy post like I did last year, you can just go back to page one and read that if you need to, it all still applies.
I had planned to take a new picture of Nemo and I together for this post, but I just haven't had the time to do that. Maybe I'll get one taken this weekend as it is supposed to be pretty nice out.
We didn't really plan anything special for this day because well, Nemo has no idea. However he did get a new cow bone this weekend and has a leash and collar set on the way, so he will be looking very stylish in the upcoming year.
He's going to look even better with the new collar and leash!
Where did the leash and collar set come from? More Yellow Snow gear?
The leash and collar set is a custom order from Bark and Giggle.
Just curious to see how far you have come
Snf
When we first adopted Nemo he would sit in a corner and just shake anytime someone new came over. Usually he would run to the end of the kitchen, cower, and just shake. We signed up for a lot of obedience classes so that we had a scheduled outing to a safe place at least once a week. It was four weeks into obedience before he could really do anything but constantly be on watch of everything, while he sat and shook. Eventually he started to look forward to going to class and would Shiba scream (the happy one) on the way there, and he loved our instructor and her homemade liver treats after awhile too. That was probably his first big step to being ok with someone other than my wife and I.
Slowly over the past few years we have added people and places to his acceptable list. He loves to go to the houses of his grandparents and even some of our friends. We are close with his brothers adoptive family, and he fits in like a pea in a pod over there, loves the adults and the kids. When we have people over now he does not hide and shake but is an alarm dog! He barks and lets us know someone is there, and if they step towards him, he runs under the bed, for he is not a guard dog. Once everyone is settled into their seats he will come out into the living room and sit by me, taking treats and doing tricks. Some people he will jump on the couch by for petting. Nemo really likes it when we have people over for dinner, he goes under the table and sniffs everyone, and gets very close to them, checking them out. He is a lot braver than he used to be.
Nemo will never be the dog that is excited to meet a new person, but slowly he can learn to tolerate people, and then become their friend. He knows a lot of obedience commands and all of that now too, he used to be able to do a 5 minute down stay at class, even with strangers walking around, but the big thing has been slowly working on his ability to be around new people. It's a lifetime project with him.
Congrats on 4 years and many more to come.
Happy fourth anniversary, and here's to many more to come
So excited to see Nemo in his "manly" collar
I second Calia.....to many more wonderful years to come!
Snf
----
Brandon - you have done such an amazing job with Nemo and are such a great role model for all dog owners! Keep up the awesome work!
Can't wait to see the new collar, and pics of Nemo!