Really? He does this howling bark thing EVERYTIME he see's him. Anytime we're in the living room and he walks in, bam....bark bark bark bark, pace pace pace, growl bark pace. He didn't do this when I first got him, it started like a month and a half ago. Before he would just hide under our tv stand when people would walk by or run upstairs to our room.
I mean he has to know his scent by now. He has eaten treats out of Randolphs hand many times no problem. Maybe its because when Ninja reacts to Randolphs presence, he laughs or makes fun of him? Randolph has never attempted to pet or touch Ninja, he just talks and kind of makes fun of him when he barks and growl at him (i think you can hear him a little bit in the video) And with Jeff, he has been living with me for about 6 months and Ninja doesn't bark at him, he'll growl when he walks by too close but not bark. Jeff is the one Ninja bit the other week.
What does Randolf do? Does he stare at Ninja? If Ninja were super aggressive, he'd charge in some way. Maybe not attack, but in some way show his 'Alpha-maleness' at some point in that video. I didn't really see that. Could be nervousness, but I've never experienced that, so I can't pick up on it.
Two things...The video's by themselves, don't really show aggressive behavior, IMHO. But when you explain the scenario or the other things, it points to fear aggression. One thing I have learned living with dogs, trust your gut. If you feel Ninja is aggressive. Than Ninja's aggressive. Know what I'm saying (I say that alot and in a NY mobster accent. It's a bad habit, I've recently picked up on)? I've read a bunch of your advice to Ryu and it's all completely sound advice, which tells me you have great dog instincts. Always trust that. It's just that what you've shown us isn't all too abnormal.
That said...the second thing is....we all here are used to Japanese dog behavior, which is great. Your first dog was Portia (correct?) and your experiences with Ninja was not normal behavior for Portia. The contention seems to be that the your descriptions of what's happening in your home is normal Japanese Dog Behavior. Fair. But what if it's not normal DOG behavior? What if we've found that common thread among our dogs that makes us think this dog behavior is acceptable? Are we doing 'justice' for these dogs, in that scenario. I dunno.
Well the first video of ninja being a bully, was just for fun. I don't really mind the way he plays with Portia, they don't seem to have a problem at all. Just thought it was funny how ninja stole her toy and she got super upset and didn't know what to do.
Randolph doesn't do anything, he talks, but not directly to Ninja. he doesn't stare at ninja. He kind of just ignores him so he stops barking/growling at him. (i told him to not look/touch/talk to ninja). So thats what he's been doing, he just talks/touches portia, because she loves him. If Randolph were to bend down and try to pet Ninja, im sure that he would react in a negative way to it.
I've had family dogs before Portia. My very first dog was a Golden Retreiver. Then we got a Mini Poodle/Shiba mix. Then we got a Jindo. Then we got a Chihuahua. Then a Maltese/Mix. Then a Pomeranian. And then Portia and Ninja. None of my other dogs ever had any problems before. Except the Jindo. The Jindo was VERY dog aggressive. She killed a dog before. Not in our presence, it was my sisters ex-boyfriend, bad introduction, no control.
In Cesar Milan shows, there are some where the owners say, well its because my dogs is part this breed and that breed is known for this problem. And he simply says, "Its not about the breed, its about leadership and calm assertive way of life" So I guess you can say each breed has their own special traits, but I don't know about behavior. I don't think certain dogs are born to do certain things and behave a certain way and can't live any other way but that certain way.
OHhhh. I thought you were trying to show the video as Ninja being aggressive. Ok.
What did you do with the Jindo? Poor other doggie.
I agree with your last sentence. From what I've read, Mika is a typical Akita, but you always hear breeders say they breed for tempearmant.
Going back to the video. Maybe it was just too short of a video, like you said you just caught the end. I'm looking forward to hearing what the behaviorist says...have you heard back?
To me Ninja is showing classic fear behavior - if you watch he ducks his head up and down as he passes back and forth. He continuously checks back in with you, as if to get direction or support - or maybe to judge your reaction.
Is Ninja more fearful of men?
Do you act more concerned when your roommate is in the room and Ninja too?
Maui behaves exactly the way Ninja does in this video but it is towards me, and only happened when I am doing something that he associates with thunder storms (like crawling under my desk to unplug something - in ATL when a storm would come I would always unplug my PC so Maui associates that action w/ something he is fearful of).
Well... I have to go to bed because I am getting up at 6am to drive to LA - remind me of this post when we I see you and I can elaborate more.
First of Cesar is not right about everything, you really have to move past that. He has some good advice, but his style doesn't always work, and most other trainers out there don't really like him because they feel his methods shut dogs down, not actually address root issues in problems.
Different breeds DO react differently to different things. Shibas have been bred for specific things that are very different from say a Golden Retriever. Shibas are suppoused to be aloof, they are supposued to be cautious/suspicious. They aren't supposued to maul you with kisses, that is something NEW that is being bred into Shibas.
To me that video showed that Ninja is slightly fearful and cautious around people that he does not know or fully trust yet. That's pretty normal.
On a side note, Portia walking around with her toy, wagging her tail just begging someone to play with her/pay attention to her, was pretty funny.
That is my Sasha EXACTLY! She does that every time we have someone come into our home. She is dreadfully fearful. My mom has been here for almost a week and was growling and dodging her. She hunches whenever she gets close to my mom. Dave and Brad can attest to Sasha's fear, which is more of men. It is very important for you to not react. I know that I have learned to not dread possible issues because Sasha can sense it. The egging Ninja on is NOT good. The growing back at him by someone that is not "his" pack not good. We bah when are dogs are doing unacceptable behavior. Low growl to correct them, but that is from the alpha, you. We use this to put Sasha in line when she is reactive. Ninja is trying to protect, keep things in line and trying to take control.
Heh am I the only one who watched the video of Ninja and the roommate and was just dieing to see what the human was doing?
Where was the praise when Ninja walked past him not acting fearful or growling? Where was the human helping him by not "teasing him" or working with a loose body posture? I am seeing fearful behavior in Ninja when it comes to this particular person and no one is really helping him build his confidence in the matter.
I'll keep my fingers crossed that one of those behaviorists calls you back soon.
Brandon - I do agree with you that Cesar is not always right about everything. But there are a lot of things I do agree with him about. Im sorry, I think i worded myself wrong in my previous post. I know that certain dogs are bred to do certain things, but I don't believe that just because they were bred to do something, that if they don't do that thing, they will not be able to adjust to a different style of living. Does that make better sense?
Rachael - I know, i think its sooo cute! Like she's supposed to have this gigantic tail she's trying to wag, but she only has a stub so her whole body wags. When Ninja reacts like that, I usually correct him with a "AH AH" and re-direct his attention to me and ill have him do a trick and praise him for that in the presence of the stranger. I know, it sucks about Randolph making fun of him, but I've already told him many times as well as everyone else just to ignore him, don't look, don't try to touch, don't talk to him. But some people just dont' understand dogs behavior like others and think its funny or cute, when its not.
One of the behaviorists actually got back to me YAY! He charges 175.00 per visit. He didn't really mention anything from my long email to him other than that he needs to see it for himself (which is a given) and would be more than happy to work with my shiba! He said that he gets booked pretty fast, so im waiting on him to respond to me with an available date that works for both of us.
Here is another video, that took 12 hours to upload lol. This is a video I am posting just for fun, nothing to do with ninja's behavior. But I finally caught them on tape playing pretty rough, before everytime I got the camera out, it seems as if they knew, and would play more nice. Its a bit long though, I think its 5 minutes. I was watching LOST at the same time too, so I kind of lost track of time.
You're so lucky. Keigo is crazy loud when he's playing with Mika. I'll post a video. Drives us nuts cuz our space is so open with 14' ceilings and a total of bout 40' x 50'.
I love the couch portion. Where Portia's kicking her legs. CUTE.
Romi, Be sure to ask the behaviorists for the names of several referrals that you might contact. If he/she is reluctant to give you the names ask him/her to have them (referrals) e-mail you so that you could find out a litle about the behaviorist's technique and anything else that you might want to know. If he/she is charging $175 per visit, then he/she should be very willing to share his client list. Does this make sense?
Oh, good idea Dorothy. I was just so happy that one of them got back to me, i didn't even think about that. I was going to try to find someone local who can do an in-home session and see if Ninja progresses from it, If not, I was planning to contact your behaviorist and drive down to have a little meet and get together and see what she suggests. Thanks for that! I will email her right now and see if she can give me any referrals. If she doesn't, do i take that as a bad sign?
So, something very interesting happened. You all know my roommate Randolph, the one in the video I posted ealier. Well, John was on a walk with Portia and Ninja and I came out about 20 minutes later. And I saw them coming back. I also saw my other neighbor walking his dachshund (who is a crazy barker). John came back and said Ninja had no problem with Ernie (the neighbor) when greeting him. So I was like, wow thats awesome. And then Randolph came out because he was leaving and we were standing on the sidewalk by his car. Well he came out and said "Hmm...I wonder if Ninja will like me more outside of his house" so he put his hand down and Ninja came up sniffed and then LICKED his hand!!!
So...maybe Ninja just has problems with other people in his home? Because inside the house, Ninja won't even walk up to Randolph and if they do get close, he starts growling and barking.
But he still doesn't like other dogs. By the house or not.
Also, the behaviorist i was interested finally emailed me back about referrals after 4 days. She says she uses a different method for each dog, because its a different case each time. She did refer 1 person to me, but that was it.
That's great Romi! It seems like Ninja is really doing well. You and Jon are to be congratulated.
As for the behaviorist, thanks for the update. I was wondering how things were going earlier today. I would be skeptical at this point. If they are slow in responding to inquiries now, what will happen if you come to rely on them for advice and they don't respond? I would also be cautious about the lack of references. If they really do use a different approach on every dog, then they should provide more references so you can verify they have had success with more than one approach.
That is interesting, Maui does the same thing - he will freak out about a t-storm but then we take him outside and he is fine. I think it is "Flight or Fight" - they feel trapped in a house so they fight.
Well, I just got back from a walk. I saw my neighbor, the one who owns the dachshund. She was getting out of her car when we walked by, so I stopped to chat with her. She put her hand down and Ninja went up like he was going to sniff her and then bit her. Not like an aggressive break the skin bite, but more like a playful bite? But he wasn't being playful. It didn't hurt her at all, it kind of shocked me, but she didn't even say anything. Portia went over to give some love and she was petting her and then Ninja went up to where her hand was petting portia and started nipping at her hand on portia. Again, it seemed like how dogs play bite, but he wasn't playing. After she stood up, he growled and moved away. And she said "Wow, look at his hair standing up on his back!" and then I said, "I know im sorry, he usually stays away from people or growls, but i've never seen this reaction from him before." And she said "Well, Molly has started doing that with some animals and people now too, she hasn't nipped but she growls and barks at them a lot now. He was probably being protective over his sister" Well, she wasn't hurt at all, and didn't seem to be freaked out or angry, I apologized but she was like "don't worry about it at all".
I don't really know what to think right now. It didn't appear that he was being aggressive, his bites seemed playful, but the hair on his back was standing up.
It's tough to say from your description, but that could be a dominance thing. If he bit and didn't apply too much pressure it sounds like he could have been correcting her....trying to tell her that he wasn't happy with what she was doing. Is Ninja like that when Portia isn't around? I'm wondering if he feels the need to protect her and therefore tries to control the situation by giving corrections to people he doesn't trust. It fits, to some degree, with some of his other insecure behaviors.
Hmm, good point Dave. I never thought of that. They are actually always togehter, walked together, sleep together, left at home together, rarely ever seperated. The only time they are separated is when I have to take one to the vet. For example, when Ninja went in to get his blood tested before the neuter, he did great. And the day of the neuter, he also did great. So maybe it is a protection thing. I think they are very attached with eachother. When I brought Ninja home from the neuter, I opened the door, she just stood still...Ninja walked in and she got EXTREMELY EXCITED. Even when I was taking Ninja to work with me, when we would come home, she would wait to see Ninja before getting excited. I haven't left Ninja at home while taking Portia out yet, so I don't know what his reaction would be. I think for tonights walk, I will walk them seperately and see their reactions.
Well, the behaviorist gave me 1 referral. I tried calling that referral twice, and left a message twice. No response. At this point, Im over that behaviorist. So im asking more people and looking around for another one. The others still haven't responded. Gosh, Orange County behaviorist are horrible at communication!
But im still trying to work on him myself and be more assertive. Im trying to not let me feelings get in the way and get nervous. Its hard for me though, I just get worried so easily. Also, according to Dorothy, she thinks Ninja's behavior at the Shiba Event was very good. Brad also said that Ninja's behavior was not so bad for a Shiba. It really helped actually having people who know more about the breed see his reactions to things in person. So some things I found out are a pretty normal trait for Shiba's. So that was a relief. But I still get worried in certain situations. But im working on it!
I think it will be interesting to see how Ninja reacts when you take Portia away. If my suspicion is correct, he may get upset. It'll be different if you are taking him away and leaving Portia behind in the safety of your house. Let us know how it goes tonight.
As for the behaviorist, I think moving on is the right thing to do. That sounds pretty shady, especially if the reference doesn't even respond.
We all get worried in certain situations. The important thing to remember is that its ok to be worried, but you need to save it for later. First and foremost, you need to keep control of the situation. After it is over, then you can react and be worried. I know, easier said than done, but you can do it!
As Dave pointed out, the hackles up is a sign of dominance. I have a video of them playing, but it's really dark. Anytime Mika and Keigo play, her hackles go up and she mounts him. I'll try to get a better video and post it for you.
I really think it's worth trying to get a hold of Cesar Milan. You're only 30 minutes away. It's worth a shot if you can't get anyone to call you back.
Hackles up can be a sign of arousal too, lots of dogs show their hackles when they are excited in a non-aggressive, non-dominant way. It really depends on the situation.
As for what Ninja was actually doing, I have no idea what Ninja was doing in your description above.
I did get a response from the behaviorist in ATL that helped us, this is what she said:
"The best resource to find a 'good' behaviorist is the Animal Behavior Society (ABS). They have a list of Certified Applied Animal Behaviorists in the US. There are not that many considering, but it is worth contacting the ones near to you or your friend and asking them to recommend someone in the area."
That wasn't so bad IMO. He did pretty well, but it was clear he was confused and uncomfortable. Does he act like that when you leave and they both stay?
That's the same reaction Mika or Keigo would have when they're separated. Keigo especially, he can't go anywhere without his sister. And what Brad said is true, but do you think Ninja was aroused seeing your neighbor? What I can't help but notice is that we keep going back to territorial and/or fearful.
Regarding the bite...are you certain he wasn't just being mouthy? Keigo is very mouthy and so was Mika when she was younger. Neither of them bite down at all, they just slobber on people's hands. Lovely, no?
Comments
Really? He does this howling bark thing EVERYTIME he see's him. Anytime we're in the living room and he walks in, bam....bark bark bark bark, pace pace pace, growl bark pace. He didn't do this when I first got him, it started like a month and a half ago. Before he would just hide under our tv stand when people would walk by or run upstairs to our room.
I mean he has to know his scent by now. He has eaten treats out of Randolphs hand many times no problem. Maybe its because when Ninja reacts to Randolphs presence, he laughs or makes fun of him? Randolph has never attempted to pet or touch Ninja, he just talks and kind of makes fun of him when he barks and growl at him (i think you can hear him a little bit in the video) And with Jeff, he has been living with me for about 6 months and Ninja doesn't bark at him, he'll growl when he walks by too close but not bark. Jeff is the one Ninja bit the other week.
What does Randolf do? Does he stare at Ninja? If Ninja were super aggressive, he'd charge in some way. Maybe not attack, but in some way show his 'Alpha-maleness' at some point in that video. I didn't really see that. Could be nervousness, but I've never experienced that, so I can't pick up on it.
Two things...The video's by themselves, don't really show aggressive behavior, IMHO. But when you explain the scenario or the other things, it points to fear aggression. One thing I have learned living with dogs, trust your gut. If you feel Ninja is aggressive. Than Ninja's aggressive. Know what I'm saying (I say that alot and in a NY mobster accent. It's a bad habit, I've recently picked up on)? I've read a bunch of your advice to Ryu and it's all completely sound advice, which tells me you have great dog instincts. Always trust that. It's just that what you've shown us isn't all too abnormal.
That said...the second thing is....we all here are used to Japanese dog behavior, which is great. Your first dog was Portia (correct?) and your experiences with Ninja was not normal behavior for Portia. The contention seems to be that the your descriptions of what's happening in your home is normal Japanese Dog Behavior. Fair. But what if it's not normal DOG behavior? What if we've found that common thread among our dogs that makes us think this dog behavior is acceptable? Are we doing 'justice' for these dogs, in that scenario. I dunno.
Well the first video of ninja being a bully, was just for fun. I don't really mind the way he plays with Portia, they don't seem to have a problem at all. Just thought it was funny how ninja stole her toy and she got super upset and didn't know what to do.
Randolph doesn't do anything, he talks, but not directly to Ninja. he doesn't stare at ninja. He kind of just ignores him so he stops barking/growling at him. (i told him to not look/touch/talk to ninja). So thats what he's been doing, he just talks/touches portia, because she loves him. If Randolph were to bend down and try to pet Ninja, im sure that he would react in a negative way to it.
I've had family dogs before Portia. My very first dog was a Golden Retreiver. Then we got a Mini Poodle/Shiba mix. Then we got a Jindo. Then we got a Chihuahua. Then a Maltese/Mix. Then a Pomeranian. And then Portia and Ninja. None of my other dogs ever had any problems before. Except the Jindo. The Jindo was VERY dog aggressive. She killed a dog before. Not in our presence, it was my sisters ex-boyfriend, bad introduction, no control.
In Cesar Milan shows, there are some where the owners say, well its because my dogs is part this breed and that breed is known for this problem. And he simply says, "Its not about the breed, its about leadership and calm assertive way of life" So I guess you can say each breed has their own special traits, but I don't know about behavior. I don't think certain dogs are born to do certain things and behave a certain way and can't live any other way but that certain way.
OHhhh. I thought you were trying to show the video as Ninja being aggressive. Ok.
What did you do with the Jindo? Poor other doggie.
I agree with your last sentence. From what I've read, Mika is a typical Akita, but you always hear breeders say they breed for tempearmant.
Going back to the video. Maybe it was just too short of a video, like you said you just caught the end. I'm looking forward to hearing what the behaviorist says...have you heard back?
To me Ninja is showing classic fear behavior - if you watch he ducks his head up and down as he passes back and forth. He continuously checks back in with you, as if to get direction or support - or maybe to judge your reaction.
Is Ninja more fearful of men?
Do you act more concerned when your roommate is in the room and Ninja too?
Maui behaves exactly the way Ninja does in this video but it is towards me, and only happened when I am doing something that he associates with thunder storms (like crawling under my desk to unplug something - in ATL when a storm would come I would always unplug my PC so Maui associates that action w/ something he is fearful of).
Well... I have to go to bed because I am getting up at 6am to drive to LA - remind me of this post when we I see you and I can elaborate more.
First of Cesar is not right about everything, you really have to move past that. He has some good advice, but his style doesn't always work, and most other trainers out there don't really like him because they feel his methods shut dogs down, not actually address root issues in problems.
Different breeds DO react differently to different things. Shibas have been bred for specific things that are very different from say a Golden Retriever. Shibas are suppoused to be aloof, they are supposued to be cautious/suspicious. They aren't supposued to maul you with kisses, that is something NEW that is being bred into Shibas.
To me that video showed that Ninja is slightly fearful and cautious around people that he does not know or fully trust yet. That's pretty normal.
On a side note, Portia walking around with her toy, wagging her tail just begging someone to play with her/pay attention to her, was pretty funny.
Heh am I the only one who watched the video of Ninja and the roommate and was just dieing to see what the human was doing?
Where was the praise when Ninja walked past him not acting fearful or growling? Where was the human helping him by not "teasing him" or working with a loose body posture? I am seeing fearful behavior in Ninja when it comes to this particular person and no one is really helping him build his confidence in the matter.
I'll keep my fingers crossed that one of those behaviorists calls you back soon.
-Sarah
Brandon - I do agree with you that Cesar is not always right about everything. But there are a lot of things I do agree with him about. Im sorry, I think i worded myself wrong in my previous post. I know that certain dogs are bred to do certain things, but I don't believe that just because they were bred to do something, that if they don't do that thing, they will not be able to adjust to a different style of living. Does that make better sense?
Rachael - I know, i think its sooo cute! Like she's supposed to have this gigantic tail she's trying to wag, but she only has a stub so her whole body wags. When Ninja reacts like that, I usually correct him with a "AH AH" and re-direct his attention to me and ill have him do a trick and praise him for that in the presence of the stranger. I know, it sucks about Randolph making fun of him, but I've already told him many times as well as everyone else just to ignore him, don't look, don't try to touch, don't talk to him. But some people just dont' understand dogs behavior like others and think its funny or cute, when its not.
One of the behaviorists actually got back to me YAY! He charges 175.00 per visit. He didn't really mention anything from my long email to him other than that he needs to see it for himself (which is a given) and would be more than happy to work with my shiba! He said that he gets booked pretty fast, so im waiting on him to respond to me with an available date that works for both of us.
Here is another video, that took 12 hours to upload lol. This is a video I am posting just for fun, nothing to do with ninja's behavior. But I finally caught them on tape playing pretty rough, before everytime I got the camera out, it seems as if they knew, and would play more nice. Its a bit long though, I think its 5 minutes. I was watching LOST at the same time too, so I kind of lost track of time.
You're so lucky. Keigo is crazy loud when he's playing with Mika. I'll post a video. Drives us nuts cuz our space is so open with 14' ceilings and a total of bout 40' x 50'.
I love the couch portion. Where Portia's kicking her legs. CUTE.
Romi, Be sure to ask the behaviorists for the names of several referrals that you might contact. If he/she is reluctant to give you the names ask him/her to have them (referrals) e-mail you so that you could find out a litle about the behaviorist's technique and anything else that you might want to know. If he/she is charging $175 per visit, then he/she should be very willing to share his client list. Does this make sense?
So, something very interesting happened. You all know my roommate Randolph, the one in the video I posted ealier. Well, John was on a walk with Portia and Ninja and I came out about 20 minutes later. And I saw them coming back. I also saw my other neighbor walking his dachshund (who is a crazy barker). John came back and said Ninja had no problem with Ernie (the neighbor) when greeting him. So I was like, wow thats awesome. And then Randolph came out because he was leaving and we were standing on the sidewalk by his car. Well he came out and said "Hmm...I wonder if Ninja will like me more outside of his house" so he put his hand down and Ninja came up sniffed and then LICKED his hand!!!
So...maybe Ninja just has problems with other people in his home? Because inside the house, Ninja won't even walk up to Randolph and if they do get close, he starts growling and barking.
But he still doesn't like other dogs. By the house or not.
Also, the behaviorist i was interested finally emailed me back about referrals after 4 days. She says she uses a different method for each dog, because its a different case each time. She did refer 1 person to me, but that was it.
That's great Romi! It seems like Ninja is really doing well. You and Jon are to be congratulated.
As for the behaviorist, thanks for the update. I was wondering how things were going earlier today. I would be skeptical at this point. If they are slow in responding to inquiries now, what will happen if you come to rely on them for advice and they don't respond? I would also be cautious about the lack of references. If they really do use a different approach on every dog, then they should provide more references so you can verify they have had success with more than one approach.
Well, I just got back from a walk. I saw my neighbor, the one who owns the dachshund. She was getting out of her car when we walked by, so I stopped to chat with her. She put her hand down and Ninja went up like he was going to sniff her and then bit her. Not like an aggressive break the skin bite, but more like a playful bite? But he wasn't being playful. It didn't hurt her at all, it kind of shocked me, but she didn't even say anything. Portia went over to give some love and she was petting her and then Ninja went up to where her hand was petting portia and started nipping at her hand on portia. Again, it seemed like how dogs play bite, but he wasn't playing. After she stood up, he growled and moved away. And she said "Wow, look at his hair standing up on his back!" and then I said, "I know im sorry, he usually stays away from people or growls, but i've never seen this reaction from him before." And she said "Well, Molly has started doing that with some animals and people now too, she hasn't nipped but she growls and barks at them a lot now. He was probably being protective over his sister" Well, she wasn't hurt at all, and didn't seem to be freaked out or angry, I apologized but she was like "don't worry about it at all".
I don't really know what to think right now. It didn't appear that he was being aggressive, his bites seemed playful, but the hair on his back was standing up.
It's tough to say from your description, but that could be a dominance thing. If he bit and didn't apply too much pressure it sounds like he could have been correcting her....trying to tell her that he wasn't happy with what she was doing. Is Ninja like that when Portia isn't around? I'm wondering if he feels the need to protect her and therefore tries to control the situation by giving corrections to people he doesn't trust. It fits, to some degree, with some of his other insecure behaviors.
BTW, whats going on with the behaviorist?
Hmm, good point Dave. I never thought of that. They are actually always togehter, walked together, sleep together, left at home together, rarely ever seperated. The only time they are separated is when I have to take one to the vet. For example, when Ninja went in to get his blood tested before the neuter, he did great. And the day of the neuter, he also did great. So maybe it is a protection thing. I think they are very attached with eachother. When I brought Ninja home from the neuter, I opened the door, she just stood still...Ninja walked in and she got EXTREMELY EXCITED. Even when I was taking Ninja to work with me, when we would come home, she would wait to see Ninja before getting excited. I haven't left Ninja at home while taking Portia out yet, so I don't know what his reaction would be. I think for tonights walk, I will walk them seperately and see their reactions.
Well, the behaviorist gave me 1 referral. I tried calling that referral twice, and left a message twice. No response. At this point, Im over that behaviorist. So im asking more people and looking around for another one. The others still haven't responded. Gosh, Orange County behaviorist are horrible at communication!
But im still trying to work on him myself and be more assertive. Im trying to not let me feelings get in the way and get nervous. Its hard for me though, I just get worried so easily. Also, according to Dorothy, she thinks Ninja's behavior at the Shiba Event was very good. Brad also said that Ninja's behavior was not so bad for a Shiba. It really helped actually having people who know more about the breed see his reactions to things in person. So some things I found out are a pretty normal trait for Shiba's. So that was a relief. But I still get worried in certain situations. But im working on it!
I think it will be interesting to see how Ninja reacts when you take Portia away. If my suspicion is correct, he may get upset. It'll be different if you are taking him away and leaving Portia behind in the safety of your house. Let us know how it goes tonight.
As for the behaviorist, I think moving on is the right thing to do. That sounds pretty shady, especially if the reference doesn't even respond.
We all get worried in certain situations. The important thing to remember is that its ok to be worried, but you need to save it for later. First and foremost, you need to keep control of the situation. After it is over, then you can react and be worried. I know, easier said than done, but you can do it!
As Dave pointed out, the hackles up is a sign of dominance. I have a video of them playing, but it's really dark. Anytime Mika and Keigo play, her hackles go up and she mounts him. I'll try to get a better video and post it for you.
I really think it's worth trying to get a hold of Cesar Milan. You're only 30 minutes away. It's worth a shot if you can't get anyone to call you back.
Hackles up can be a sign of arousal too, lots of dogs show their hackles when they are excited in a non-aggressive, non-dominant way. It really depends on the situation.
As for what Ninja was actually doing, I have no idea what Ninja was doing in your description above.
I did get a response from the behaviorist in ATL that helped us, this is what she said:
"The best resource to find a 'good' behaviorist is the Animal Behavior Society (ABS). They have a list of Certified Applied Animal Behaviorists in the US. There are not that many considering, but it is worth contacting the ones near to you or your friend and asking them to recommend someone in the area."
I think this is their website: http://www.animalbehavior.org/
OK, John video taped Ninja's reaction once I took Portia away from him.
That wasn't so bad IMO. He did pretty well, but it was clear he was confused and uncomfortable. Does he act like that when you leave and they both stay?
That's the same reaction Mika or Keigo would have when they're separated. Keigo especially, he can't go anywhere without his sister. And what Brad said is true, but do you think Ninja was aroused seeing your neighbor? What I can't help but notice is that we keep going back to territorial and/or fearful.
Regarding the bite...are you certain he wasn't just being mouthy? Keigo is very mouthy and so was Mika when she was younger. Neither of them bite down at all, they just slobber on people's hands. Lovely, no?