Yamabushi no Benkei
Greetings all,
Not going to lie.. it has been difficult trying to take pictures of little Ben. Feels like hes in constant motion from being too excited. Hes definitely a bundle of energy so far. If your face is anywhere near his, hes going to find a way to lick it!
He was a little frightened when we first picked him up at the airport but he warmed up quickly.
Since then, Benkei has settled in really nicely. Very comfortable around my family and our other dogs. Slept through the night in his crate without making a peep nor did he have any accidents. Shows no signs nervousness or anxiety unless we leave him in a room by himself. Then he starts screaming for dear life. That should go away as we build confidence together.
My Shiba Inu (Kelly, 5yr) has been quite the bully. But that hasn't really deterred Benkei much because he constantly follows her around and tries to cuddle with her. Shes plays too rough for him when we're outdoors so he tends to just couch down when shes doing the Shiba 500. Kelly does a good job backing off and keeping her distance whenever Benkei yelps, so that is a good sign so far.
As always, any tips on integration or training would be much appreciated.
A couple of photos + video:
Not going to lie.. it has been difficult trying to take pictures of little Ben. Feels like hes in constant motion from being too excited. Hes definitely a bundle of energy so far. If your face is anywhere near his, hes going to find a way to lick it!
He was a little frightened when we first picked him up at the airport but he warmed up quickly.
Since then, Benkei has settled in really nicely. Very comfortable around my family and our other dogs. Slept through the night in his crate without making a peep nor did he have any accidents. Shows no signs nervousness or anxiety unless we leave him in a room by himself. Then he starts screaming for dear life. That should go away as we build confidence together.
My Shiba Inu (Kelly, 5yr) has been quite the bully. But that hasn't really deterred Benkei much because he constantly follows her around and tries to cuddle with her. Shes plays too rough for him when we're outdoors so he tends to just couch down when shes doing the Shiba 500. Kelly does a good job backing off and keeping her distance whenever Benkei yelps, so that is a good sign so far.
As always, any tips on integration or training would be much appreciated.
A couple of photos + video:
Comments
Anyway, congrats ten million more times and i can't wait to hear more about him! Puppy play dates maybe in the future too? If not we'll at least get to see you at the next SoCal meetup. Where do you live again (i forget if it was OC or SD)?
I will definitely keep this thread updated
And, awesome that you have a shiba/kai ken too!! They seem to be doing better during playtime. Kelly knows when to stop when charging at him at full speed (originally he was scared by this and would yelp even if she was just running by him). He would also stop trying to play with her if shes sprinting back and and forth. This morning he actively reinserted himself instead of just stopping and laying down.
Saya my shiba loves to play like that too.
Simply put, Benkei has been a big bundle of joy. He is incredibly affectionate and is always happy. He basically won my Shiba over in a matter of days from continuously licking her in the face.
Some fun stories:
- Didn't have any accidents the first 5 days. I thought it was a miracle! Unfortunately, he did end up having 4 accidents over the next 2 days haha. Since then, I think he may have had a few more accidents but this is largely a non issue. He is also very good with peepads.. I wonder if Brad and Jen trained him on peepads already
-He is VERY food motivated. Totally reminds me of Kelly as a little puppy, older puppy, early adulthood, and well.. basically all the time.
-As hes gotten more confident around Kelly, he will actually be the one who will instigate most of the rough play. Actually reminiscent of the way Kelly used to initiate rough play with my roommates Husky and pitbull.
A couple of issues:
Benkei bonded closely with the family members at our house + one of my sisters friends who came along when we picked him up. He did show some hesitance towards another one of my aunts who came to visit and a few others that he considers a stranger. This isn't always the case, as he is friendly toward the majority of people. We've had multiple dinner parties with 5-15 people for the holidays and he does very well with everyone.
My aunt has a female cocker spaniel. I actually didn't want the dog anywhere near Benkei. But family was going to be coming in and out due to the holidays. Her dog is basically held by hand the majority of the day and has extreme anxiety and fear issues. She also isn't very receptive to criticism. Not surprisingly, the cocker spaniel (while being held) reacted aggressively towards Benkei which caused him to shy away. This is something I will do a better job avoiding. I usually keep Kelly away from the cocker spaniel too because they have a tendency to fight.
Some pictures/videos:
As for the issue, we try and try, but it's just not possible to completely control every situation. I'm sure he's over it by now.
Nice work with him.
Snf