I agree lack of appetite isn't good or normal. Well for an intact male it can be depends on what is in his environment. never had intact male, but that is from what I read.
Saya loves her food she self regulates well, but I do notice some shiba being picky, but who knows maybe it is owners fault or could be due to bad breeding. shiba are common in mills.
I'm not too experienced with other breeds. just seem like with shiba they can be picky sometimes.
Bella my parent's boxer was notorious for getting into random crap it was annoying.
We had keep sponges elsewhere as she found way to get them. Luckily the sponge she ate was in tiny pieces so it passed through.
She's eaten toilet paper and tissues before. Luckily she didn't get into plastic. worst thing was the sponges luckily she grew out of the sponge thing. the toilet paper she leaves it alone if it's on roll, but if she finds in trash from blowing nose she goes for it. We switched all bathroom trash cans to lid kind to stop her craziness.
For while as young dog we had keep purse, bags, and books out of reach.
Bella was a crazy boxer. She outgrew her crazy habits eventually. We just tried keep things out of reach and didn't leave food on counter. Plus give her a good run and couple walks a day.
Thanks all for your support and advice! I super appreciate them!
I need some advice again! So Yezo started doing this "holding" thing on Hana. He stands over her, and holds her neck. I'm not sure how hard he's doing it, but he's got a really really strong bite, so I think it's pretty firm, but he'll just "hold" her and stand there, and she's got her head low and to the side kind of, or her head will be slightly lowered and they'll both just stand there for a bit. Why is he being such a bully to her!? It's not even during play. He'll sometimes just walk up to her and hold her. FOR NO REASON! I tell him to stop, and he'll stop, but I want him to learn that it's not cool to do something like that at all. I feel like I should start spraying water at him or something. Once he's into something, it's almost as if he hears and sees nothing else. I'm curious to see how he'd be as a hunter.. probably really good right? I don't know. I'm just a little frustrated at his nipping, biting and holding. (nipping us in excitement, biting and holding hana in play)
We probably are not the ones to ask, Brad knows Yezo best.
Taking a guess though, i’d say he is being a bit of a punk, basically as you have already sensed. At some point a female may not tolerate this, being compliant only goes so far. Also, if he detects she is going into season he probably will be worse. I would give a time out and provide her some breathing room away if you don’t already. Rotate the dogs with training in-between if you are not already doing so.
Some thoughts….
Water spritz may work but the thing is you don’t want Hana to be subjected to spritzing if she is already the subject of his hazing. Have you been able to start any behavior modification with Yezo, seriously teaching an “out”, “enough”, “drop”, “leave it” or “gentle” (whatever word you choose)? You have to be no nonsense firm about being consistent with him backing off and rewarding for doing so with redirection.
A lot of dogs will have hard wired drive over the thinking brain, so you have to really be on top of the signals before he starts to get into the zone of no return.
About being a good hunter, it depends on what you want and how he uses his mouth. That 2nd part often has to be taught. Part of being a hunting team is the dog listening and being able to communicate back to you rather than just doing what he wants and being an insufferable goon. To make an analogy, being a mobster and a good hunter are two different things, although a few skills may overlap.
@staticnfuzz You're right! Brad probably knows best, but I thought I'd post here anyway and maybe Brad can pitch in with others.
Hana does come to me for rescue when she's had enough, and I put her up on a side table where she has her own little bed beside my work station.
Yeah~ that's what I'm afraid of! I don't want to spritz Hana... I have the nozzle ready at soft/firm so I have some control of aim, but I haven't used it yet just in case there's a better method. Yezo knows "drop it" and "leave it" so far. He KNOWS it... but will he obey it!? That's a matter of how much he wants whatever's in his mouth vs what I might give him as a reward. Sometimes it's a battle of the wills. We stare each other down and challenge our wills. He stares at me defiantly, ready to dart away as soon as he senses that I will take a step forward towards him, and I growl my "drop it" command meaning I mean business. It's a work in progress... but the dog is super stubborn and has his own evil plans.
Hahahah and yes. I said he might be a good hunter superficially based on his biting, tenacity, and drive, but realize to be ACTUALLY a good hunter, he'll need specific training. And I love your analogy! He IS a mobster! tsk... what a punk... thieving mobster punk...
Goro has his moment every now and then where he's a punk to ChoCho. Jeff either puts him in his crate for 10 seconds with the room door closed or redirects him and ChoCho with trick time. That seems to distract him a bit and give Cho a break from the hormonal monster.
We should make shirts that says "Brad knows best!" LOL
@hinata23 hahaha i know right! that would be perfect!
------
Also just uploaded this vid of today's snowfall. It was a little depressing after such a long winter, and yesterday was really warm I didn't need to wear my parka.. but I'm happy the dogs love it.
Near the end, you can see Yezo running around with a long black thing. That's the roll of poop bag he stole from my pocket.
Also, they were really going at it, and it seems whenever I start to make videos, that's when they decide it's a good time to take breaks. :S
Such a cute video….haha… he is so full of himself…. just love it… : ) Doesn't help they are so dag on cute. At some point he’s gotta settle a bit, maybe around 5 yrs (lol)
I like the trick training idea that Hinata suggested. Snf
When Saigo was 6-8 months old, he started being somewhat of a punk (bullying smaller dogs, humping) and we quashed that behaviour fast. We'd leash him, or put him in time out and gave him tons of stern "no's!". We're not sure if it was a phase but we didn't want him thinking that that sort of play or behaviour was okay. He's a good boy now
Here's a vid of Yezo and Hana playing today. When Yezo is outside, he doesn't really play much with Hana. Most of the play is initiated by Hana. She gets him to chase her and stuff. Yezo would rather smell and explore. Hana does a lot of running and galloping and exploring too, but she also likes to play. (Inside the house, the play is initiated by Yezo)
This is one type of talking Yezo does. He has lots of different "talking" voices. He's quite vocal this one. This one is when he wants something from Hana. Whether it's her attention, or something she has like a treat or a toy she's stolen from him. He pressures her and talks at her.
Meitou wants your snow. He loves snow. He'd love to play with Hana and Yezo, too.
Love Yezo's talking. Meitou can be vocal sometimes. I love all the sounds the Hokkaido make. So cute. And very different from the BC that is super quiet.
@whobitme hahahah yyyeahh.. he loves chewing on that shoe.. and I let him because it's one of those things he loves and it doesn't get destroyed. He's destroyed a few slippers already, but this one is lasting. Kinda embarrassing. Hahah. This is one of his cuter vocals! Some of his vocals are NOT cute! It can be occasionally funny, but he's persistent so he won't stop until he gets what he wants, and that can get annoying real fast. Hahha! AND THE DUDE CAN PROJECT!!! Like, he THROWS his voice out. It can get VERY loud sometimes. THAT's not fun at all. hahahah.
@mdokic they're such a pair!! I love how "connected" they are when we go out hiking. They don't necessarily stick to each other, but they draw each other's attention and follow each other's direction. It's really interesting to see!
@losech Haha last time he was weighed, he was maybe 25 lbs? Still growing though! Yeah Yezo seems quite wide compared to Katana and even Meitou. If you actually feel him though, he's quite skinny. You can feel his spine and ribs are pretty prominent. He eats well and gets plenty of treats throughout the day, but he's still quite thin, but probably cause he's still growing. His coat makes him seem bigger but also his skeletal frame is pretty wide. I imagine he'll get beefier as he matures!
@whobitme Hana and Yezo are well!! He's got some of his fur back from blowing his coat so he doesn't look/feel as naked anymore. Also he's very muscular. He's like a compact furry ball of muscle.
He and Hana get along very well. They LOVE to chase each other in our yard, and they follow each other when we hike. He adores her.
He's also gotten to be more dog aggressive recently. When I take him on walks and he sees a smaller dog, he'll crouch to the ground and sort of "freeze" like he's waiting to prey on it. He sometimes does this to Hana in play, but when he does it to other dogs, it's definitely different. He also sizes up dogs bigger than him (male or female, it seems like he doesn't like dogs bigger than him) - gets right in their face and stares them down (this is super scary). He also started growling at other (mostly male) dogs that get in his face (mostly younger dogs with no manners and lots of energy). He doesn't get aggressive with dogs that are older and less energetic than him, but I can see him assert his "manliness".
This spike in aggression may have to do something with Hana being in heat (?), or possibly because he's sexually maturing, because he wasn't this bad before. He would at least greet other dogs (albeit a little rude, but at least it was civil) Either way, I'm taking him to a special class that deals with dog-aggressive dogs. He's also started being very stubborn about a lot of things. Ignores me when we hike, food isn't as valuable as it used to be - takes his time to do something I ask him to, unless Hana is around. I hope this is part of his adolescent rebellious stage, and will pass eventually.
Overall tho, he's a very good boy. He takes his meals in his crate and doesn't scream when we leave him in there (but we let him have free reign of the house when we're home including bedtime). He knows he's not allowed to scavenge from Hana's leftovers. He's slowly learning to not bark/scream constantly at strangers in our yard (the landlords do yard work). He's learning to get along with our vacuum cleaner, but sometimes he feels like it invades his personal space and he lets us know - LOUDLY. He's learning to "play dead" and "weave" (between my legs - for fun). He's marked indoors ONCE so far on my husband's dressy sweaters. They're hung low on the ground so it was an easy target. Jun wasn't too happy about that. Also, while Hana is terrified of fireworks/loud sounds, Yezo isn't phased. I like that he's a pretty sturdy guy around loud/strange noises. He can calmly walk by loud cars, construction sites and be outside when there are fireworks going on - yesterday was Victoria Day). The ONLY things he really doesn't get along with are other dogs, the car, and strangers who don't talk to him on our property. (He likes friendly strangers - our friends who greet him with friendly voices.)
ALSO - we saw 2 deers yesterday on our hike, and he REALLY wanted to chase them down. Thank GOD I had him on leash at the time.
Playing in our yard.
Here's how smart he is. He's learned that when he has something I don't want him to, I'll "pay" him for it (the drop-it command), so now he brings me stuff he knows he shouldn't have, shows it to me, and expects payment. AND he will ONLY drop it when I actually have something to pay for it. If I don't, he'll run away with whatever's in his mouth.
@mapletwinkie haha ohhh I wish! Most likely I'll be avoiding places where there will be lots of dogs for a while. Hana wouldn't be able to cope with the stress and Yezo would probably want to eat (or get eaten by) all the other dogs.
I'm sorry to hear about the dog reactivity. I totally understand as Meitou has been dog reactive out walking (but fine in other situations) for a few months now. We've been taking classes, and we just got into one that will start up in June that is a class specifically for reactive dogs where we take them out to walk in neighborhoods (the bane of Meitou's reactivity, lol). But there are dogs is meets that he seems to love (especially a black lab in a local pet supply store) and he just wants to make out with their faces (and lick their ears, and feet, and privates, sigh).
You should post video of his play dead and weave tricks. Those sound super cute!
I'm glad he and Hana are getting along so well. They're so cute together.
Comments
I agree lack of appetite isn't good or normal. Well for an intact male it can be depends on what is in his environment. never had intact male, but that is from what I read.
Saya loves her food she self regulates well, but I do notice some shiba being picky, but who knows maybe it is owners fault or could be due to bad breeding. shiba are common in mills.
I'm not too experienced with other breeds. just seem like with shiba they can be picky sometimes.
Bella my parent's boxer was notorious for getting into random crap it was annoying.
We had keep sponges elsewhere as she found way to get them. Luckily the sponge she ate was in tiny pieces so it passed through.
She's eaten toilet paper and tissues before. Luckily she didn't get into plastic. worst thing was the sponges luckily she grew out of the sponge thing. the toilet paper she leaves it alone if it's on roll, but if she finds in trash from blowing nose she goes for it. We switched all bathroom trash cans to lid kind to stop her craziness.
For while as young dog we had keep purse, bags, and books out of reach.
Bella was a crazy boxer. She outgrew her crazy habits eventually. We just tried keep things out of reach and didn't leave food on counter. Plus give her a good run and couple walks a day.
I need some advice again!
So Yezo started doing this "holding" thing on Hana. He stands over her, and holds her neck. I'm not sure how hard he's doing it, but he's got a really really strong bite, so I think it's pretty firm, but he'll just "hold" her and stand there, and she's got her head low and to the side kind of, or her head will be slightly lowered and they'll both just stand there for a bit. Why is he being such a bully to her!? It's not even during play. He'll sometimes just walk up to her and hold her. FOR NO REASON! I tell him to stop, and he'll stop, but I want him to learn that it's not cool to do something like that at all. I feel like I should start spraying water at him or something. Once he's into something, it's almost as if he hears and sees nothing else. I'm curious to see how he'd be as a hunter.. probably really good right? I don't know. I'm just a little frustrated at his nipping, biting and holding. (nipping us in excitement, biting and holding hana in play)
Taking a guess though, i’d say he is being a bit of a punk, basically as you have already sensed. At some point a female may not tolerate this, being compliant only goes so far. Also, if he detects she is going into season he probably will be worse. I would give a time out and provide her some breathing room away if you don’t already. Rotate the dogs with training in-between if you are not already doing so.
Some thoughts….
Water spritz may work but the thing is you don’t want Hana to be subjected to spritzing if she is already the subject of his hazing. Have you been able to start any behavior modification with Yezo, seriously teaching an “out”, “enough”, “drop”, “leave it” or “gentle” (whatever word you choose)? You have to be no nonsense firm about being consistent with him backing off and rewarding for doing so with redirection.
A lot of dogs will have hard wired drive over the thinking brain, so you have to really be on top of the signals before he starts to get into the zone of no return.
About being a good hunter, it depends on what you want and how he uses his mouth. That 2nd part often has to be taught. Part of being a hunting team is the dog listening and being able to communicate back to you rather than just doing what he wants and being an insufferable goon. To make an analogy, being a mobster and a good hunter are two different things, although a few skills may overlap.
Kudos to you for wanting to address it : )
Snf
Hana does come to me for rescue when she's had enough, and I put her up on a side table where she has her own little bed beside my work station.
Yeah~ that's what I'm afraid of! I don't want to spritz Hana... I have the nozzle ready at soft/firm so I have some control of aim, but I haven't used it yet just in case there's a better method. Yezo knows "drop it" and "leave it" so far. He KNOWS it... but will he obey it!? That's a matter of how much he wants whatever's in his mouth vs what I might give him as a reward. Sometimes it's a battle of the wills. We stare each other down and challenge our wills. He stares at me defiantly, ready to dart away as soon as he senses that I will take a step forward towards him, and I growl my "drop it" command meaning I mean business. It's a work in progress... but the dog is super stubborn and has his own evil plans.
Hahahah and yes. I said he might be a good hunter superficially based on his biting, tenacity, and drive, but realize to be ACTUALLY a good hunter, he'll need specific training. And I love your analogy! He IS a mobster! tsk... what a punk... thieving mobster punk...
Thanks for the input!
We should make shirts that says "Brad knows best!" LOL
------
Also just uploaded this vid of today's snowfall. It was a little depressing after such a long winter, and yesterday was really warm I didn't need to wear my parka.. but I'm happy the dogs love it.
Near the end, you can see Yezo running around with a long black thing. That's the roll of poop bag he stole from my pocket.
Also, they were really going at it, and it seems whenever I start to make videos, that's when they decide it's a good time to take breaks. :S
I like the trick training idea that Hinata suggested.
Snf
Nola steals the roll of poop bags, too... She always seems so proud of herself. :-/
Here's a vid of Yezo and Hana playing today. When Yezo is outside, he doesn't really play much with Hana. Most of the play is initiated by Hana. She gets him to chase her and stuff. Yezo would rather smell and explore. Hana does a lot of running and galloping and exploring too, but she also likes to play. (Inside the house, the play is initiated by Yezo)
This is one type of talking Yezo does. He has lots of different "talking" voices. He's quite vocal this one. This one is when he wants something from Hana. Whether it's her attention, or something she has like a treat or a toy she's stolen from him. He pressures her and talks at her.
Meitou wants your snow. He loves snow. He'd love to play with Hana and Yezo, too.
Love Yezo's talking. Meitou can be vocal sometimes. I love all the sounds the Hokkaido make. So cute. And very different from the BC that is super quiet.
This is one of his cuter vocals! Some of his vocals are NOT cute! It can be occasionally funny, but he's persistent so he won't stop until he gets what he wants, and that can get annoying real fast. Hahha! AND THE DUDE CAN PROJECT!!! Like, he THROWS his voice out. It can get VERY loud sometimes. THAT's not fun at all. hahahah.
@mdokic they're such a pair!! I love how "connected" they are when we go out hiking. They don't necessarily stick to each other, but they draw each other's attention and follow each other's direction. It's really interesting to see!
@losech Haha last time he was weighed, he was maybe 25 lbs? Still growing though! Yeah Yezo seems quite wide compared to Katana and even Meitou. If you actually feel him though, he's quite skinny. You can feel his spine and ribs are pretty prominent. He eats well and gets plenty of treats throughout the day, but he's still quite thin, but probably cause he's still growing. His coat makes him seem bigger but also his skeletal frame is pretty wide. I imagine he'll get beefier as he matures!
He and Hana get along very well. They LOVE to chase each other in our yard, and they follow each other when we hike. He adores her.
He's also gotten to be more dog aggressive recently. When I take him on walks and he sees a smaller dog, he'll crouch to the ground and sort of "freeze" like he's waiting to prey on it. He sometimes does this to Hana in play, but when he does it to other dogs, it's definitely different. He also sizes up dogs bigger than him (male or female, it seems like he doesn't like dogs bigger than him) - gets right in their face and stares them down (this is super scary). He also started growling at other (mostly male) dogs that get in his face (mostly younger dogs with no manners and lots of energy). He doesn't get aggressive with dogs that are older and less energetic than him, but I can see him assert his "manliness".
This spike in aggression may have to do something with Hana being in heat (?), or possibly because he's sexually maturing, because he wasn't this bad before. He would at least greet other dogs (albeit a little rude, but at least it was civil) Either way, I'm taking him to a special class that deals with dog-aggressive dogs. He's also started being very stubborn about a lot of things. Ignores me when we hike, food isn't as valuable as it used to be - takes his time to do something I ask him to, unless Hana is around. I hope this is part of his adolescent rebellious stage, and will pass eventually.
Overall tho, he's a very good boy. He takes his meals in his crate and doesn't scream when we leave him in there (but we let him have free reign of the house when we're home including bedtime). He knows he's not allowed to scavenge from Hana's leftovers. He's slowly learning to not bark/scream constantly at strangers in our yard (the landlords do yard work). He's learning to get along with our vacuum cleaner, but sometimes he feels like it invades his personal space and he lets us know - LOUDLY. He's learning to "play dead" and "weave" (between my legs - for fun). He's marked indoors ONCE so far on my husband's dressy sweaters. They're hung low on the ground so it was an easy target. Jun wasn't too happy about that.
Also, while Hana is terrified of fireworks/loud sounds, Yezo isn't phased. I like that he's a pretty sturdy guy around loud/strange noises. He can calmly walk by loud cars, construction sites and be outside when there are fireworks going on - yesterday was Victoria Day). The ONLY things he really doesn't get along with are other dogs, the car, and strangers who don't talk to him on our property. (He likes friendly strangers - our friends who greet him with friendly voices.)
ALSO - we saw 2 deers yesterday on our hike, and he REALLY wanted to chase them down. Thank GOD I had him on leash at the time.
Playing in our yard.
Here's how smart he is. He's learned that when he has something I don't want him to, I'll "pay" him for it (the drop-it command), so now he brings me stuff he knows he shouldn't have, shows it to me, and expects payment. AND he will ONLY drop it when I actually have something to pay for it. If I don't, he'll run away with whatever's in his mouth.
@thegela, are you planning on taking Hana and Yezo to Woofstock? I'm probably gonna go on Sat, probably in the afternoon.
You should post video of his play dead and weave tricks. Those sound super cute!
I'm glad he and Hana are getting along so well. They're so cute together.