Nice to meet you all. I am Takumi.
Hi to all. I am an owner of Shiba inu called Takumi. I just got him a month ago. He is 6 month old and a very playful boy. I've never owned a dog before in my life, so I have so many questions that I would like to ask. Hope this forum would help Takmi to be the best shiba inu in town (lol). Here is the latest pic of Takumi.
Miami, FL
Miami, FL
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Comments
Takumi is precious.
Takumi is very cute.
I would definitely encourage you to explore the threads. There is a wealth of information on here. But be warned, prolonged exposure to this forum can lead to the ownership of many dogs.
Takumi is very cute!!! Im sure you will learn ALL you need to know about Shiba Inu's on this forum! There are many active and experienced owners here. Don't be shy to ask questions!
You've certainly come to the right place! You have found quite an informative group of people here.
Takumi is very cute, and very happy looking!
You picked one hell of a breed to start out with! lol! [a Shiba was my first dog too]
edit - not true, I had a poodle growing up, but my parents took care of her.
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As JessiccaRabit indicated, I do have another dog already....well it's not mine, tho. She is a welsh corgi dog who one of my friends owns. The owner is out of countyr for a while and I am taking care of her now. She came to my house before I knew Takumi well enough and Takumi knew me well enough :-( They seem to get along, playing each other, but one concern is Takumi sometimes bites her hard, especially over the food. Someone told me shiba inu is know for biting others, including people. Is that true? I don't want Takumi to be an unfriendly dog.....
You'll find loads of good advice here and helpful tips that will make your experience more pleasant and easy, hopefully.
Takumi is probably trying to assume dominance in the relationship with your visitor, especially over the food. You'll have to calmly, but assertively show him that you are in charge in your house and that behaviour won't be tolerated. Don't let him get away with it just because he is the cute puppy that he is and he's young. They start learning at a very early age, and they are very quick to understand every inch of space you give them to test you. A badly taught Shiba, as any other breed or mix, can develop unwanted behaviours if their owners let them do whatever they want. Redirect his attention, after correcting him, to a toy or something of the sort.You might want to start him in a training program. And you should probably feed them separately to avoid fights over food.
It can be quite overwhelming, especially at first, but it's a very rewarding experience.
If the dog that is bitten reacts calmly, I would guess its probably just a correction and not an actual bite. In either case, if it makes you uncomfortable then you should try to stop the behavior. Next time it happens, give a verbal correction and remove him from the situation. He'll learn quickly that biting or correcting or whatever he does has the opposite effect from what he intended.
Does Takumi growl or anything before he bites? He might just be mouthy with people. Try to pay close attention to when he gets mouthy with people. Is it when people first arrive? Is it when people try to pet/touch him? Is it out of nowhere for no reason? My Shiba gets mouthy with us when he is very excited, usually when we come home from being out. Otherwise he is never mouthy.
They do play each other often, but the one I am talking about is obviously different kind of playing, well I don't think the word ''playing'' is not the right word. The corgi does yelp, but she has never drawn blood and never been a scar on her, so I can say it's never been too serious. Fortunately Takumi has never been aggressive to people at all. I will be very careful when I feed them and will correct him every time I see him behave bad. I have to let him leran that is not what he is supposed to do. He's been learning 'sit' and 'down' very quickly lately, so he must be smart enough to know what I want him to be.
Thank you, leoberger, dlouisroberts and Romi!!
Anyway welcome to the forums, you will find a lot of support here.
By the way, the owner of corgi dog told me to feed her some veggies such as carrots, romaine lettuce and cucumbers. Looking at her eating, Takumi started eating those veggies, too. Are those vegitables healthy to dogs too as they are to human beings?
And thank you for the comment, tsukitsune.
I agree with you. Takumi gets too excited when I feed him with dog food or treats to teach him some commands like sit or down. Vegitables seem to be working great. Only concern I have is that my roommate gives him too much vegitables ,since I told him not to give him too much food or treats. By the way, what does your username 'tsukitsune' mean? I know 'kitsune' mean fox in Japanese, tho.
I think the raw vegetation is very good for the dog - just stay away from onions and garlic. You will know when you exceed the veg by his bowel movements. Are they solid or runny?
Also fruit is good for the dog, stick with apples, berries, bananas, and seedless watermelon. Too much fruit may upset your dog's digestive system as well.
Foods to avoid: http://www.aspca.org/site/PageServer?pagename=pro_apcc_poisonsafe
tsuki and kitsune....they are very nice names!!
Also thanks for the info about the foods to avoid. I always wanted to know about this. Someone told me you never feed chocolates to dogs, and that was the only thing I know not to give them. The info you gave is very helpful to me!!
Takumi's poops are solid, especially since I started to give him vegitables. They are not too hard, either.
And you are welcome! I started to have an interest in home made food and treats since all those pet food recalls and did a lot of research on what is good to feed and what to avoid and how much of these are good and bad and daily nutrition needs and found out a great deal with still so much to learn! I've actually been working with a holistic nutritionist/practitioner for a home based diet and supplement plan for my rescues. Its amazing how much there is to learn!
Takumi says it means 'skillful' or 'artisan' according to google.. is Takumi skillful??