I'm Adopting a Shiba :D
Hi,
I'm pretty new to this forum, and I'm going to be getting my first Shiba here pretty soon. I'll be rescuing her, she's 8 years old and is pretty-well behaved for a Shiba. I've been doing as much research as I possibly can, which is why I have a few questions for you guys.
1. She'll be staying indoors mostly, but I was thinking of buying an excersise pen, or something of the like that. Suggestions?
2. I've heard a few bad things about having same sex dogs in the same house, I have a 6 year old cocker who is very relaxed. We had a female mix for about 3 weeks awhile ago and they never had a problem, so should I be concerned about the Shiba and my cocker?
3. As far as leashes are concerned...Regular or a Harness?
-That's all I can think of right now, any help is greatly appreciated. I know no matter how much knowledge I have beforehand that I'm going to have a handfull, but I'm determined to give her a great life.
I'm pretty new to this forum, and I'm going to be getting my first Shiba here pretty soon. I'll be rescuing her, she's 8 years old and is pretty-well behaved for a Shiba. I've been doing as much research as I possibly can, which is why I have a few questions for you guys.
1. She'll be staying indoors mostly, but I was thinking of buying an excersise pen, or something of the like that. Suggestions?
2. I've heard a few bad things about having same sex dogs in the same house, I have a 6 year old cocker who is very relaxed. We had a female mix for about 3 weeks awhile ago and they never had a problem, so should I be concerned about the Shiba and my cocker?
3. As far as leashes are concerned...Regular or a Harness?
-That's all I can think of right now, any help is greatly appreciated. I know no matter how much knowledge I have beforehand that I'm going to have a handfull, but I'm determined to give her a great life.
Comments
Here are my answers to your questions...
1. Are you asking about getting an exercise pen for indoors to keep her in while you are out instead of using a crate? Or will this pen be outside? Well, either way - exercise pens are a great place to keep a dog if you aren't around or if you need to keep them separated for a while. A few members use exercise pens indoors for a place to keep our pups when we are not home or for time outs or just to keep them enclosed somewhere for a while. Brad (forum owner) built this first...and then I liked it so much - I made one and recently I got another one. Here is the link - if you decide you want to make one too! http://www.nihonken.org/forum/comments.php?DiscussionID=787&page=1#Item_8
2. It seems that male/female pairs do well together. Some people have had issues with same sex dogs in the same household. I think it really depends on the temperments of the dogs. Have you taken your cocker to meet the shiba and see their reactions together? I would highly recommend doing this. Although your cocker may be cool with another female in her house - the new Shiba may be the one with the issues. If you can get an introduction in with the 2 dogs before you bring her home, that would be best. You will be able to tell if the Shiba or your Cocker has a problem or not. You can also read up this article about introducing new dogs and living in a multi-dog household for more information. Here is the link: http://www.nihonken.org/forum/comments.php?DiscussionID=826&page=1#Item_7
3. Shiba's are pretty good at slipping their heads out of regular neck collars - so a lot of people get harnesses. Although - some dogs don't like the feeling of harnesses and will freeze up and refuse to walk with it on. It really depends what the dog is comfortable with. If she doesn't like the harness, you can slowly introduce it to her and make the harness seem like a great thing. Lots of treats and positive reinforcement will help make her think the harness = good things.
Hope that helps! And Congrats!
1. we use pens, actually I would recommend it to any new shiba adoptee b/c the shibas tend to get overwhelmed with your daily routine, which is unknown to them and scarey, so having a pen in a common area - like a living room - helps them adjust to what sounds and sights happen in your home on a daily basis. Also with your cocker, it will provide a safe and effective way for them to be seperated while getting aquainted with one another. The link that Romi gave you is an awesome project and makes a great pen, I did something similar in our home with a pen.
2. I have two females and a male shiba. Our male is iffy with males in his territory but our two females get along very very well. It really all depends on the dog - it is possible to coexist though! But don't let their initial introduction outside of the home be any real indication if they get on OK - inside the house, your cocker might change her mind!! But since they are both older adult dogs, I hope that contributes to a chilled out co existance!
If you do a correct, slow introduction, you will probably get great results in the long run.
3. We use harnesses for walking and martingale (no slip, controlled choke) collars for bathroom in the yard time.
Especially with adopting an older shiba - she might have some trust issues at first and be quite skittish, and try to pull out of the harness or collar, so perhaps getting a no slip collar or good fitting harness will be a lifesaver for you both until she is definitely comfortable with you all.
BEST of luck! I can't wait to see pictures of her! I'm so happy for you!
The advice above is great…..we have used the x-pen as seen in the link that Romi provided. It is a great tool to keep dogs separate as one works out integrations between animals. Its always good to have a safe place to keep the peace when you can not supervise.
Congratulations on your adoption! Send pictures when you get them : )
Snf