7 month old shiba

Comments

• Darwin67

  March 2009 edited November -1

  Do you use chew toys (i.e. kong w/ treats, etc.)?? Also, the w/ teething (which is huge at this time) have you tried fozen wash cloths, or the chew toys you can freeze??
• starry

  March 2009 edited November -1

  and here he is outside
• starry

  March 2009 edited November -1

  frozen washcloths i should try that,
  frozen chewtoys don't work, he ends up licking them to death but doesn't actually chew on them
  i have a ton of rawhides
  how do you know when all their teeth are out, when i look at his mouth i feel like he already lost all his puppy teeth
  here is a pic of his room
• Ryu

  March 2009 edited November -1

  Roxy is 7 months and is FULL ENERGY. She doesn't chew much but we occupy her with tons of nylabones and filled kongs. Does he chew when you're out of the house? Have you taken him to puppy classes? When Ryu was 7 months, we had to do several mini training sessions a day just to keep his mind occupied. He grew out of the chewing around 9 months but still likes to steal things he shouldn't have. That's a Shiba for ya.
• sunyata

  March 2009 edited November -1

  Nola is a little older at 9 months, but she still likes to chomp on things that we accidentally leave around. (Clothes that my husband leave lying on the floor are her favourite chew toys!) The best way to prevent this, is to obviously not leave clothes lying around... but, well... ugh.
  
  Do you leave Toki out of his crate when you are unable to keep an eye on him? That may help with the chewing the wood work and digging up the carpet.
  
  Also, I agree with Pam... Keeping a Shiba's mind occupied is a GREAT thing. We play 'hide and seek' with ours usually once a day. It gives them a great mental workout, plus it helps them to retain the sit, stay, and come commands. Also, teaching your pup the 'take it' command and giving each of his toys a name is a great game. Tell him to 'take the yellow ball' and having him actually pick it up is a great accomplishment. It really stimulates their minds!
  
  And if all else fails... a tired Shiba is a happy Shiba... Step up his walks. At about 7 months both Bella and Nola started to get a bit restless on walks. They needed more activity. So we started to run a bit, zig zag, take on hills, etc. Just go at it gradually so his endurance builds up. It really has helped with their restlessness on walks and with their restlessness in the house.
  
  Best of luck, and I hope some of what we have said helps!
• shimaurashibalover92

  March 2009 edited November -1

  cute shiba, nice too know what I have to look forward to.
• Bodhi Shiba

  March 2009 edited November -1

  You have a beautiful shiba. quick ? How much does toki weigh? My Bodhi is 5 months old, just took him to the vet for final shots. The vet said he was about done growing at 18 Lbs but he seems so skinny compared to toki.
• starry

  March 2009 edited November -1

  toki's last weight when he was 5 1/2 months was 14 lbs...
  how tall is bodhi?
  i met another 2 year old shiba and toki was practically half her height, I hope he isn't finished growing cause he is pretty short.
• tobyshiba

  March 2009 edited November -1

  Aww, he is so beautiful.
  Just one thing to mention. Be really careful with putting weight into the backpack before your Shiba puppy is fully grown. Toby has been packing since he was 6 months old, but I only started putting water, toys, food and other things in his pack very recently ( since he is 14 months now, and is pretty much done growing, and now he carries pounds with no problems at all ).
  
  Also, Toby is now 14 months old, and he still chews. He actually stopped for a while, and then started chewing the wooden chairs again.
• starry

  March 2009 edited November -1

  wow really, thanks for the tip...I think I'll stop the pack for a bit then...what problems happen if i put weight in it when they are too young?
  and is it right that you're only suppose to put 10% of the dog's weight in the pack?
  aww chewing again...is it cause of anxiety or boredom?
  I have to bitter lime all the walls a couple times a week to keep toki from doing more damage
• CrimsonO2

  March 2009 edited November -1

  Also, I believe that dogs having access to their toys 100% of the time can actually lead to them getting quite bored with the toys:), there's no "new" smell to it and frankly no challenge to it because the toys are there 24/7. Have you tried hiding a few of them and rotating them out of his room once in a while?
  
  Jesse
• lindsayt

  March 2009 edited November -1

  It's a good idea to let him carry the pack, but not recommended to carry heay weight on dogs that are not finished growing. I think they are able to carry up to 10% of their total weight safetly after 1 year, but can develop back issues and joint problems if too much weight is draped across their backs (however tempting it is to tire the little demon out ;) You don't want him walking around like a sway back mare later on.
• Calia

  March 2009 edited November -1

  I've found that having a toy bin helps keep the toys fresh, as they dig through it and take out what interests them at the moment. Every night I put the toys away, and each day they take out different toys than the day before. Tom feels that our dogs are spoiling us, especially Tetsu, since they haven't chewed on anything that wasn't theirs or in their crate.
  
  Bodhi Shiba- Just to jump in a little, Tetsu was about 14lbs at 5 months, stopped gaining weight for the longest time, then sprouted to 18lbs at about 7 months and hasn't changed since. I find height to more of a concern as to whether they will be the "right" size, as they stop getting taller before they stop gaining weight.
• rockinhlabs

  March 2009 edited November -1

  I have to agree with Calia. Having a toy bin/bucket really helps. My Skippy is 9 months old and has absolutely no interest in chewing anything but his toys. He helps me put away the toys at night into the bucket then when he gets out the next morning after doing his duty, the bucket is placed where he can choose what to play with. He gets 1 or 2 toys to be in the kennel with him when I am absent from the house during the day (his kennel is an extra large wire kennel). When I come home, he usually picks something new from the bucket to play with IF he so desires. At night, we clean up. I've left him alone for a few hours at a time in the house with no problems. They really like their alone time. Make sure Toki has enough exercise and rotate his toys. He'll get to understand that these are what he is supposed to play with, nothing else. Skippy lost all of his puppy teeth by the time he was 6 months old.
• takumi2

  March 2009 edited November -1

  I LOVE Toki's custom decorating room!! lol
  My Takumi is 15months old. He chewed everything in the house until he was about 1 year old. Every time I came home, something new had beed destroyed.... He doesn't do it much anymore and I MISS IT!! lol
• starry

  March 2009 edited November -1

  thanks for all the good tips, i really like the toy rotating idea and this way I can justify buying more toys. I can't seem to get him interested in taking his toys from me so teaching him the names is hard. I would like him to learn how to put things away instead of always taking out.
  He is really a cute dog, sometimes I think I should get another puppy so he can have a dog to relate to...or maybe cause puppies are so cute...anyone else feel the same way?