Advice Learned the Hard Way
Thought this might be fun.
Tons of puppies incoming to forum members [ of all sorts of breeds! ]
So, how about you all share what you learned from your first dog &/or first nihon ken & pass on some advice to incoming nihon ken owners
Particularly, stuff learned from "experiencing" a dog &/or nihon ken for the first time, that you got to raise, take care of, love, etc. [ ie: stuff you can't learn from a book! ]
Thanks!
~
Tons of puppies incoming to forum members [ of all sorts of breeds! ]
So, how about you all share what you learned from your first dog &/or first nihon ken & pass on some advice to incoming nihon ken owners
Particularly, stuff learned from "experiencing" a dog &/or nihon ken for the first time, that you got to raise, take care of, love, etc. [ ie: stuff you can't learn from a book! ]
Thanks!
~
Comments
Advice: You have to be just as stubborn as your Shiba.
I would say that Kai's are very particular about being clean. At least mine is. He wouldn't go near dirty clothes!!
My piece of advice is a good puppy is a tired puppy. Make sure that you have him/her on a schedule. It helps with behavior management, and get them out playing and socializing with as many people and dogs as you can! It also makes them so tired that they don't have time to get into anything when left alone.
I do have to say though. I am very lucky. Koda has never chewed anything, pottied in the house, or done anything "bad". He just doesn't like some people sometimes. Can't blaim him. Neither do I.
You know Osy....I think you are ready for a pup. It's time to just jump in! You know exactly what to do. Heck you probably have had more advice on here than any of us had before getting our dogs.
Another thing a shiba will teach you is to push in the chair when leaving the dinning table, especially if you're getting up for a second and left food on the table. He also teaches that you shouldn't leave your dirty dish at the table when you are done.
---
haha I wouldn't say that Tara. I still feel like I know absolutely nothing, & sometimes it's hard to believe two years have gone by. I guess from here tho it's just waiting for the right pup
Best lessons: If you left it on the floor, you don't need it and it's mine (doesn't matter if it's a piece of paper or your new leather boots). If I can reach it, it's mine ( if you hanged your leather jacket somewhere where I can reach it, then OBVIOUSLY you don't need it anymore and I can grab it and carry it around with me - letting go once it was dragged through poop - it's stinky and you can have it back now). If it hangs on the walls, it's mine - obviously you don't need this wallpaper here and its colour doesn't match my coat, so I'll give you a hand and help you get rid of it.
Now, the mother hen advice: don't over exercise the pup and let him sleep as much as he wants - it's the best thing for his development but nobody pays real attention. When the pup is young and visitors come to see him, ask them not to pay too much attention to the dog, otherwise when he gets older they won't appreciate 80 pounds worth of dog hurled at them in a burst of joy. This kind of joy is very painful and feels like your liver and other vital parts are being moved out of place.
Start teaching the pup some basic manners and commands the moment he walks through the door. Never yell at him - it shows weakness on your part, never hit him, never ever punish a dog when he comes to you - even if you have been running after him and calling him for half an hour. Use time outs wisely. Don't overfeed and don't force your dog eat. The more attention you'll give your dog at meal time, the worst it can get (this is for picky eaters).
All of the research and books that I read did NOT prepare me for a dog that throws temper tantrums... Trying to leash train Bella was like trying to get a square peg into a round hole... It was incredibly frustrating and painful on my EARS!!! She was fine with a collar on and with the leash clipped to the collar... But when I took a step (not even putting ANY pressure on her collar or leash) she would just drop to the ground, roll around, and SCREAM. I am sure my neighbors thought I was killing her! But patience, persistence, and a LOT of positive reinforcement (i.e. tons and tons of treats) got us past it.
Needless to say, I was quite a bit more prepared for it when Nola came into my life...
I also have some positive advice that I learned the hard way...
No one had ever prepared me for the feeling I would get when I met my puppy for the first time. When the girl at the airport brought the crate to the pick up area, I was so excited to meet my little Bella. Especially after the hard time she had getting to me. When I opened the crate door, that little bundle of fuzz jumped out and just gave me a million kisses! It was love at first sight. I quickly collared and leashed her and picked her up to take her outside... I let her walk around for a minute, where she just sniffed and sniffed. When I walked over to a bench, she walked right up to me, put her paws on my knees and smiled. My heart was hers. I had never in my entire life been so entirely engulfed with emotion as I was at that first meeting. She had my heart from the first second. I was so not prepared to love this feisty little creature so entirely from the start.
And of course, I had a similar feeling with Nola, but I was prepared for it. Shibas are not like other dogs... They require ALL or nothing... And all is what they both got from me right from the start.
Keep trash can out of reach of the puppy they find the oddest thing to taste good also keep toilet paper out of the puppy's reach Bella loves to roll the toilet paper out.
Saya wasn't too much trouble, but she did love to chew on wood during her teething time luckily I never let her out of my sight so I was able to redirect her with a proper chew item.
Crate/Xpen/Dog proof room is your friend don't let the pup have free roam of the house till your sure he/she won't destroy it. My parent's learned the hard way.
They didn't want to get a crate our last boxer hated the crate due to not being slowly introduced to it, but I kept assuring them Bella would be fine with me training her for it. Few destroyed items and purses being snatched off of tables while we went to get groceries my mom agreed to get a crate after those incidents.
Be sure to take time to introduce the crate to your pup the right way.
I agree never get mad or yell at your pup/dog it does nothing, but make the pup/dog afraid of your or scared of yelling.
Work on biting and jumping may be cute as a puppy, but not so cute as an adult I don't even like Saya jumping on people she may weigh less than Bella, but still it's rude behavior to me.
Never leave expensive things where your pup can go get it Bella has chewed the TV remote and almost a cellphone luckily I caught her on time.
One more thing socialization be sure to enroll in a puppy kindergarten, obedience classes, and take the pup anywhere that allows dogs once you can.
1)crate your dogs- had Moto been crated at night, he would still be alive today.
2)Pay attention to shifts in your dog behavior.-In hindsight, Piglet showed signs of her brain tumor, months before she died.
What is yours is mine(but I allow you to use it).
When I first got Kaeda I got all suckered into a lot of the other things people mentioned above. I remember laughing at how cute it was, that she took my sock. Well to date, I have been able to correct everything except socks. She only takes socks when I step into the shower.
Make the dogs world small and as he or she grows slowly start opening up more of your house. That I followed from day one and I am really glad I did. Crate --> Crate + Kitchen ---> Living room ----> full house when I am here -or- living room and kitchen when I am not.
And yes, hide shoes, socks, and hats! My pups learned I didn't want them chewing my shoes, so they started on socks. Now that they know socks are a no go, they go after my hats.
Learn to read him and believe him.
Then act as his advocate and partner.
Try to think one step ahead of a NK, they are smarter then their owners.
And the most important (for me) and probably already metioned some where is learn to be patient with your NK.
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4072/4408870475_7005486bfb_m.jpg
(that was Bel when I first brought her home).
Crates and baby gates are saviors.
If you live in a place that is all fenced in, meaning you have to open your gate to get your car out, then make sure you don't let a stubborn Shiba out anytime near when you need to leave.
And I'd also echo the pay attention to shifts in behavior and really check into medical possibilities for behavioral issues.
And that dogs, especially puppies can become VERY creative =p.
That means so much to me.
Not an advice but more of lesson learned is: Read and research as much as you can, BUT keep an open mind at all time. If we follow all the stereotypes about Akitas, we wouldn't be enjoying the quality of life we have together. At the same time , if we don't know some of the nuisances of Akitas, we wouldn't be enjoying the quality of life we have together now.
Haha... so true.