I understand being bitten can shake your resolve in dealing with certain breeds or dogs, but because an akita bit now all spitzes are questionable? Im sorry to hear that I just hope your new vet is more open minded.
Saya does great at the vet, but she had multiple visits as a pup mostly to weigh her and build positive experiences and the staff has always been calm and nice with her even when she was screaming from her shots.. He was calm.
I still really like this vet, is the hard part. It surprised me when she acted that way toward him. She's always been great with my dogs and my fosters, no matter their 'issues'. I was a little unsettled by how many times she asked me if I was SURE I wanted to keep him with how he was behaving and with consideration to his incident with the man on the street. I can understand her concern for me and for liability reasons, but it's obvious that no matter my experiences with her in the past, she just might not be the right vet for Takoda at this point in his life.
I still like her and I'd still recommend her to most people... but yeah, it was hard for me to take, emotionally. I'm getting very defensive of him. I think it'll be best to at least check out the vet that was recommended to me and maybe even a few others before making my final decision.
Ugh, that sucks. I like my vet, a lot, it's gonna suck when I move and have to find a new one (again). My vet takes the time to get to know my dogs before they do anything, and will take extra long time with Conker since he's so afraid of the building and everything inside it. They also let me stay with my dogs for stuff, no "back room procedures" which would just freak Conker out even more. One vet tried to do that and promptly returned with him in a very upset manner and demanded I help out. All the others have been rough, or jumped into his face "Look what a cute guy you are gushy gushy gushy!" And freaked him out bad.
I think the vet stuff will get better. I just need to look around more for the right fit for him. He's a sassy boy, the old vet just won't cut it for this Diva (with a capital D, of course).
There is something about shikoku that you just want to reach out and pinch their cheeks. Im guilty of doing that to Kaiju. Sometimes he looks so cute I just reach out and hold his cheek fur and massage it! He loves it. This pic makes me want to do it to Takoda.
@Crispy I am so sorry. I think you should change the thread title for assistance.
The leg kicking is marking his scent. Don't worry about that. It's natural.
I'm not seeing his behavior as being abnormal for Shikoku. It's unfortunate that he nipped someone. I've been bit by a Shikoku. They can just be really playfully rude but not necessarily aggressive. I don't know how to explain that and I adore the breed but its different and takes time to get used to.
My friend just adopted a Shikoku import a few months ago and she's having all the same concerns. You can read up about the breed but having one shows you how unique they are and others won't understand.
@ttddinh - I KNOW, right? I do it all the time to TK. He's too cute.
@tjbart17 - Thank you. I'll do that going forward. I didn't really think about it. I'm not really HUGELY worried about anything other than his teeth. The leg-kicking didn't really scare me - it was just a "huh, that's a weird thing you do, TK"
My coworkers have been doing a lot better with his "rude" behavior. They've begun to realize that he's not actually "aggressive" and that he just uses hid body language and "words" a lot more (dramatically) than other dogs do.
Maybe if I had him from a puppy, he'd be "better". Maybe not; I don't really know and I don't know how Monica socialized him while she had him (but I do know he went through a lot of training). Jessica was really helpful when I visited her, just by talking together. I like to think of myself as pretty dog-savvy, but this site has been invaluable in helping me prepare myself for TK.
And now the obligatory picture spam. At work, waiting for a treat: It seems like his nose leather is coming in black on top again! I've been excitedly watching it change over the last few weeks (like watching grass grow).
@Losech - awe! That means a lot with competition like studmuffin!Kaiju and Fate. Not to mention all the girly cuties. I do think the extra white gives him character. It's obviously an unfair advantage. Work it, TK!
It's a super nice day outside so hopefully I'll have a second to pop outside and take picturespam with the boys (if we're not too busy at work today).
@Crispy I've got to say too, he's really dang cute. I think I like how upright his ears are the most. And I've been reading this thread, and don't think I've commented before, so a late Congrats on the new guy!
We didn't get out. There was just too much stuff to be done. TK had a rough day, on top of it all, between London picking on him when it got to be dinner time and a new dog in camp latching onto his back leg. All his fur saved him, though. Good thing he didn't blow his coat like the rest of the dogs earlier this month. Tired TK lounging in the office with me. He's a little sore, but mostly just emotionally butthurt.
@Araks@WrylyBrindle@Saya Thank you. It probably doesn't hurt his case that I picspam him so much.
Takoda has a lot of names now. They include (but certainly are not limited to) "Taka", "Taki", "Taco", "Koda", "TK", "TKO", "Tyson", "Takawaka", "Takawaka Ding Dong", "Punk", and "Brat". All of his friends usually earn the nickname "Coyote Bait".
TK did really well with focusing on commands through distractions when we were practicing in the courtyard today. I'm pretty impressed with his "stay".
It's probably bad that his "I'm distracted mom, wait a sec" faces are the ones I like capturing the most. Despite people leaving their houses and birds landing in the yard, he stayed right there until I released him and he came right to me when I asked.
I'm hoping he stays this way and doesn't decide to start wandering once he feels comfortable. I would really like to go hiking with him and I like to have my dogs off-lead when I do... I'm wondering if summer is a realistic goal.
Aww, him sitting there on that rug is so cute! Conker was able to go off-leash reliably much faster than I thought. I never tried it while i was in Missouri since I lived in the middle of a city (I used a long-line instead), but within 5 months of moving back to Oregon he was hiking off-leash just like he does today.
@Crispy Congratulations! He's such a good looking Shikoku! Sounds like you landed yourself a great dog Super jealous that you can bring him to work with you too. I'm happy for London to have a mature playmate to have around too!
@Edgewood That's such an awesome video! I really miss my Shiba's vocalizations (the snarling) and I'm just imagining having another NK in a few years to be Ren's play buddy. She loved to roughhouse with my sister's dog and I'm sure there'd be plenty of great NK yelling going on haha. Too funny how they both just stop and shake it off at the same time
So we're going to take TK to see a behaviorist. I need a little help with his reactions. He is progressing slowly, but his management is becoming increasingly difficult and he will snap at people who offer him their hand and despite my many warnings and attempts to manage, it's becoming so I cannot even walk him without fear of someone being stupid. I feel going to someone who is more educated than I am and can give an unbiased outside opinion/training plan is the smartest move.
I had someone come around a corner at work when I was going to my office (I guess a coworkers took a client into my office to show them around) and offer TK their hand for sniffing. He nipped and drew blood on a finger before I could react. Normally, I've become so paranoid I check around corners and look through doors before I let him through... but this was someplace that I feel safe and secure - no one is usually in my office!
I then found out that when I left him for daycare on Monday when I had to take a 10 hour trip to New York and back... that he'd broken skin on one of my coworkers. They hadn't told me because this particular coworker really cares for TK and they've been friendly in the past, but these two incidents plus his prior butt-nip have made my confidence in my training plan collapse a little.
I don't want to get TK into any trouble and I certainly don't want anyone to get hurt. We've gotten a basket muzzle to warm him up to and walk him on until I can get to a behaviorist and see what they have to offer. I'm currently researching local/semi-local behaviorists. I would drive to the ends of the earth to find him a good one and one I felt comfortable with, but it looks like we have a lot of options in the New England area that look pretty good on the surface.
If anyone semi-local has any experience with behaviorists they like... would you let me know? I just think this issue is too close to me to be able to deal/work with him effectively without someone else's help.
Additionally, I don't know how to proceed outside of the behaviorist. I don't know if I should let his previous owner know and his breeder know or if these are issues that I don't need to involve them in.
My little co-pilot. Otherwise, he's been doing great. He's a perfect addition to our family in every other area. I don't expect him to every "enjoy" strangers. He's just not that type of dog. I just don't want him to hurt people and I would like if he avoided or ignored instead of snapping at whatever "offensive" limb is closest to him without me constantly having to be up his butt about it.
Ask Jessica for RI behaviorists @jessicarabbit --I know she has someone she loves!
If you can get to Franklin, Mass- see Emma Parsons- her site is creativecanine.com I think, the training center she has class in is MasterPeacedog.com in Franklin- she uses clicker training to help reactive dogs. Very good!
VETERINARY Behaviorists: If you go to Tufts, in Grafton Mass, you can see Dr Nick Dodman, but be prepared for him to put him in a headcollar and suggest pharmaceuticals. In Connecticut is Dr Alice Moon-Fanelli- I like her a lot. But I dont know that you need a VETERINARY behaviorist yet.
@wrylybrindle - I was actually going to go down to MasterPeace today! Emma is a mile from where I work and I've heard great things about her. Thank you very much for the suggestions. I want to talk to... basically everyone available to me before I make my decision.
I know there's someone in East Greenwich, but I need to talk to him before I can get a good feel on him.
Sage and I worked with Emma several years ago. She's good. We took the Reactive Dog 1 class, and it set us on the right path. Emma understands and she knows her stuff! Good luck!
Sorry to hear about this, but I'm glad you have good behavioralists nearby to help!
Have his thyroid levels checked too. My GSD did a lot of this kind of nipping when his thyroid function was low. Can't hurt to rule out a physical problem.
Thank you, everyone. I emailed my mentor and got some really great advice and she's helping me through things while I look for someone who will be a good fit for me and Takoda.
In the meantime, we still have fun together. I just have to be very guarded when people are around or might be around.
I really liked this shot of him. It kind of reminded me of the old photos posted a while back. Every time I abuse instagram, I always think of some comedian... "it's good to see we have new technology to make our pictures look like they were taken with old, crappy technology".
Comments
I hope you find a better vet.
Saya does great at the vet, but she had multiple visits as a pup mostly to weigh her and build positive experiences and the staff has always been calm and nice with her even when she was screaming from her shots.. He was calm.
I still like her and I'd still recommend her to most people... but yeah, it was hard for me to take, emotionally. I'm getting very defensive of him. I think it'll be best to at least check out the vet that was recommended to me and maybe even a few others before making my final decision.
Thank you, guys.
One vet tried to do that and promptly returned with him in a very upset manner and demanded I help out. All the others have been rough, or jumped into his face "Look what a cute guy you are gushy gushy gushy!" And freaked him out bad.
@brada1878 - Thank you!
Here, have more spam. Everyone needs dogspam and I need less drama.
The leg kicking is marking his scent. Don't worry about that. It's natural.
I'm not seeing his behavior as being abnormal for Shikoku. It's unfortunate that he nipped someone. I've been bit by a Shikoku. They can just be really playfully rude but not necessarily aggressive. I don't know how to explain that and I adore the breed but its different and takes time to get used to.
My friend just adopted a Shikoku import a few months ago and she's having all the same concerns. You can read up about the breed but having one shows you how unique they are and others won't understand.
@tjbart17 - Thank you.
My coworkers have been doing a lot better with his "rude" behavior. They've begun to realize that he's not actually "aggressive" and that he just uses hid body language and "words" a lot more (dramatically) than other dogs do.
Maybe if I had him from a puppy, he'd be "better". Maybe not; I don't really know and I don't know how Monica socialized him while she had him (but I do know he went through a lot of training). Jessica was really helpful when I visited her, just by talking together. I like to think of myself as pretty dog-savvy, but this site has been invaluable in helping me prepare myself for TK.
And now the obligatory picture spam. At work, waiting for a treat:
It seems like his nose leather is coming in black on top again! I've been excitedly watching it change over the last few weeks (like watching grass grow).
It's a super nice day outside so hopefully I'll have a second to pop outside and take picturespam with the boys (if we're not too busy at work today).
Tired TK lounging in the office with me. He's a little sore, but mostly just emotionally butthurt.
@Araks @WrylyBrindle @Saya
Thank you.
Takoda has a lot of names now. They include (but certainly are not limited to)
"Taka", "Taki", "Taco", "Koda", "TK", "TKO", "Tyson", "Takawaka", "Takawaka Ding Dong", "Punk", and "Brat". All of his friends usually earn the nickname "Coyote Bait".
I'm pretty impressed with his "stay".
spamspamspam :x
It's probably bad that his "I'm distracted mom, wait a sec" faces are the ones I like capturing the most. Despite people leaving their houses and birds landing in the yard, he stayed right there until I released him and he came right to me when I asked.
I'm hoping he stays this way and doesn't decide to start wandering once he feels comfortable. I would really like to go hiking with him and I like to have my dogs off-lead when I do... I'm wondering if summer is a realistic goal.
Conker was able to go off-leash reliably much faster than I thought. I never tried it while i was in Missouri since I lived in the middle of a city (I used a long-line instead), but within 5 months of moving back to Oregon he was hiking off-leash just like he does today.
@Edgewood That's such an awesome video! I really miss my Shiba's vocalizations (the snarling) and I'm just imagining having another NK in a few years to be Ren's play buddy. She loved to roughhouse with my sister's dog and I'm sure there'd be plenty of great NK yelling going on haha. Too funny how they both just stop and shake it off at the same time
I had someone come around a corner at work when I was going to my office (I guess a coworkers took a client into my office to show them around) and offer TK their hand for sniffing. He nipped and drew blood on a finger before I could react. Normally, I've become so paranoid I check around corners and look through doors before I let him through... but this was someplace that I feel safe and secure - no one is usually in my office!
I then found out that when I left him for daycare on Monday when I had to take a 10 hour trip to New York and back... that he'd broken skin on one of my coworkers. They hadn't told me because this particular coworker really cares for TK and they've been friendly in the past, but these two incidents plus his prior butt-nip have made my confidence in my training plan collapse a little.
I don't want to get TK into any trouble and I certainly don't want anyone to get hurt. We've gotten a basket muzzle to warm him up to and walk him on until I can get to a behaviorist and see what they have to offer. I'm currently researching local/semi-local behaviorists. I would drive to the ends of the earth to find him a good one and one I felt comfortable with, but it looks like we have a lot of options in the New England area that look pretty good on the surface.
If anyone semi-local has any experience with behaviorists they like... would you let me know? I just think this issue is too close to me to be able to deal/work with him effectively without someone else's help.
Additionally, I don't know how to proceed outside of the behaviorist. I don't know if I should let his previous owner know and his breeder know or if these are issues that I don't need to involve them in.
My little co-pilot.
Otherwise, he's been doing great. He's a perfect addition to our family in every other area. I don't expect him to every "enjoy" strangers. He's just not that type of dog. I just don't want him to hurt people and I would like if he avoided or ignored instead of snapping at whatever "offensive" limb is closest to him without me constantly having to be up his butt about it.
If you can get to Franklin, Mass- see Emma Parsons- her site is creativecanine.com I think, the training center she has class in is MasterPeacedog.com in Franklin- she uses clicker training to help reactive dogs. Very good!
VETERINARY Behaviorists: If you go to Tufts, in Grafton Mass, you can see Dr Nick Dodman, but be prepared for him to put him in a headcollar and suggest pharmaceuticals. In Connecticut is Dr Alice Moon-Fanelli- I like her a lot. But I dont know that you need a VETERINARY behaviorist yet.
I know there's someone in East Greenwich, but I need to talk to him before I can get a good feel on him.
Have his thyroid levels checked too. My GSD did a lot of this kind of nipping when his thyroid function was low. Can't hurt to rule out a physical problem.
Good luck!
I emailed my mentor and got some really great advice and she's helping me through things while I look for someone who will be a good fit for me and Takoda.
In the meantime, we still have fun together. I just have to be very guarded when people are around or might be around.
I really liked this shot of him. It kind of reminded me of the old photos posted a while back. Every time I abuse instagram, I always think of some comedian... "it's good to see we have new technology to make our pictures look like they were taken with old, crappy technology".