Behavior
We are the proud parents of a naughty 9 month old Shiba, Coda, and it's becoming exhausting! He has chewed a hole in the wall, chewed all the baseboards, tried to eat car keys... he's even digested our deck. Sometimes he doesn't chew, but instead digs holes in the yard. He is usually our precious baby by day, and a tricky, manipulator at night.
Mr. Smarty also loves to dodge us when we take out the leash (although he loves to go out on walks, in the car, etc.) He'll follow us around the house... but if you approach him first he blows you off. Generally, he no longer comes when we call.
Help! We take him on two long walks a day and hes had obedience training. I know lots of this is Shiba-like behavior, but any advice?
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Comments
Hi Linda! Welcome to the forum.
Ok... Jen and I spoke about this and our first two opinions are not what you are going to want to hear... but first....
Sounds like Coda is going through the final Shiba adolescence, which is the worst. Maui was destructive too, we curved that a bit by giving him bones to chew on and kongs - anything that will keep his mind active; because that is probably the issue, he may be bored. Daycare is another good option - you are pretty close to "Best Friends Pet Resort" - right? They have a good program, and Coda seems to do well with other dogs. That would also provide some good socialization - it can get kinda $$$ tho.
Ok - but this was our first 2 thoughts -
1.) Give him more walks, if he is exhausted he will not be destructive [easier said than done - right?].
2.) Get another Shiba, a girl!
(I told you, you would not want to hear our first thoughts - this coming from someone with 4 dogs - lol)
Coda played REALLY well with Hilo too - he could always come over for a little playtime. :c) Jen is here with the dogs most days.
For all of you that don't know the inside scoop... Coda and fam. go to the same meet up group as Rachael and us. Coda is Huku's birth brother! Huku is the puppy we were puppy sitting the other week. Small Shiba world!
Thanks Brad and Jen (and Rachel). Coda loves playing with other dogs(really loved Hilo) and I think getting a sister for him would be great, but I'm afraid it will never happen especially until Coda settles down a little! I'm sure you're right about increasing the walks, especially at night. We give him tons of stuff to chew on and play with, which works only temporarily.
We are near Best Friends and boarded him there with daycare this summer, but have not tried the daycare only option.
It's good to know though that these won't all be lifelong bad habits. Right? HA! So when does the Shiba mellow into post-adolescence? 1 year? 2 years?
Much of my furniture is ruined from Moto's first six months with us. He sometimes still chews when he is frustrated with us ( we stop him from overloving some of our cats). He has chilled dramatically though.
*It looks like once we receive our contract, Jay and I will be putting ourselves on Katja or Peggy's waiting list for Moto's shikoku sister. So sometime next year I will hopefully be able to let everyone know what that did for him.*
Other than that, if an extra walk seems like too much I take Moto to the dog run EARLY in the morning. There are fewer dogs there so it is less overwhelming and he can get some good running done. It gets him on the right foot and makes the rest of his day easier for all of us.
I would say after a year you will see a big difference, and after 2 years you will have a dog that is a little closer to a "normal" dog's energy level at 1 year. Don't panic, it will pass - I think boy Shibas can be a bit more of a handful too... You probably only have 3 more months or so.
You may want to try Best Friend's daycare - it really helped Ahi, and Stephen has taken Huku to a different daycare and seen similar results.
Ahi is a very high energy pup, and when she was kicked out of daycare we forced ourselves to give her at least 3 walks a day (at least 3 miles). We saw a major difference - she seems a lot more happy and calmer when in the house. It's very hard to fit it into your schedule, but once you do you will benefit from it too.
Hi Linda! Welcome!
My 2 cents: Don't chase him. If he bolts, put down the leash and walk away. Don't make it a game for him. Also, he's going through adolescence, so I'd reestablish who's who in the pecking order of your house. The best way I've found to do this is the NILIF method (Nothing in life is free). Make him sit or down before going out, getting fed, and here and there during playtime and for attention/affection.
We all want well behaved dogs, but it's been my own observation with myself and others that we don't praise our dogs for doing exactly what we want. Example: you're sitting and watching TV. Your dog is laying there quietly. PRAISE HIM! Yep, praise him for being quiet! Clickers work well for this - I'll click and toss a treat, saying "Good boy!" At first, the dog is rather confused. "What did I do to get that?" But pretty soon, they figure it out.
Try games that engage him mentally. 'Find' is an excellent one. Place a favorite toy or treat in sight. Tell them to find and praise, "Good find!" when they find it. Then, up the ante, placing item in ever increasing harder locations.
If your dog doesn't like this game, try a Buster cube.
Adolescence. Gotta love it. LOL! Keep up the good work, and keep a sense of humor.
I dont know which was the most helpful for Niko. The second dog we got was a rescue and about 2 years old. She is very mellow and lets Niko get away with murder. I couldnt say if a puppy would help mellow out Coda or make the problem worse. We got the 2nd dog when Niko was still a pill and it made the most amazing difference. She has only calmed down more and more since then. She now CUDDLES!!!!!! I NEVER thought we would get to that point. Niko helped pick out her sister (we found a dog and brought Niko to meet her to make sure they meshed well).
Niko pretty much dominated the little dogs and got reprimanded for playing too rough. They didnt really listen to us that she was ok with the big dogs (we all know shiba is a big dog in a little body). We have taken her to a few daycares with different experiences but over all good socialization is a very positive thing.
I didnt think Niko could mellow out anymore and then she hit 2 (last week) and again more transformation. I know as soon as I say this I am going to find something she has destroyed and I will eat my words....
Remember...It is always fun to take pics and share for good laughs!!
It's hard to stay annoyed for too long! You just look at that face and watch his antics and you have to be at least a little impressed. Early on we were so dilligent with the training, but now we're way too free with the treats and then there's all the attention he ends up getting from negative behavior. I think we do need to reestablish who's in charge.
Do you think the same will work with my two teenage sons?
Spent a couple hours at the dog park today and he was so great and happy with all the pups...
Linda,
Yes Kiera is 6 months old. She just got spayed 2 weeks ago and just recently lost her baby teeth so I know this is common. The only bad thing is we are going to be selling our house and now before we do that we have to fix the holes in the carpet that are about the size of a quarter or so and then the holes in the wall, im just glad my father in law is a very good fixeruper and said that he can fix them so we dont have to go get new carpet. Im hoping that the next house that we get, which will be much bigger, will have hardwood floors so she wont be able to put holes in those. I make sure she has plenty of bones and toys for her to chew on but she gets bored. She hasnt touched the furniture yet though, thank god, so im crossing my fingers that she doesnt because I can handle fixing the carpet and wall--lol.
Did I mention Moto crushed my glasses? His new thing is since he knows we won't let him chew when we are awake he waits until we are asleep and picks one thing a night to destroy. Last night it was a lip balm that I then had to brush out of his teeth. UGH. I am reorganizing my entire house this weekend to make EVERYTHING out of reach for him.
And yes he is too cute to stay mad at for long it's true. Even if I can barely see what I'm typing right now.
Please don't get me started on cat poop. My cat had the runs yesterday.
Jessica,
Wow that is funny and sounds just like Kiera. She too waits for us to go to bed than everynight she has to find something new and exciting. I am trying to take her on runs around the block before bed so she is too tired too play. Some nights she sleeps on the bed with us through the whole night, and others, well she does shiba 500's and the infamous "shiba whine" while she plays with Kenji. I have to constantly keep a watch on the cat litter, where she knows she doesnt belong, but tries to eat the kitty poo when im not watching, or if I do catch her she runs away and around in circles with it in her mouth. Ughh I hope she gets over it soon! I would much rather give her a dog treat than that. LOL.
I will say it has made us extra diligent about keeping a clean litter box.
We tried super long walks before bed. They seemed to actually wind him up. we tried shorter walks before bed. That seemed to keep him mellow. But I think what happens is, my younger cats are very mischevious at around 2am. It wakes him up and he gets bored. I am now going to just try to keep all temptation out of reach.
Time to 100% shiba proof the homestead.
If Moto is destroying things at night, why don't you just crate him at night? Fear of crates?
Nemo sleeps in his crate every night and most likely will always sleep in his crate at night. It keeps him from getting into trouble and gives the cat some time to be free to run around without a dog possibly chasing.
Am I the only one who crates all night? I wouldn't even think of letting a Shiba under 4 or 5 years old stay out all night. Also Nemo graduated into the entire house in a series of steps for when we are not home. Started in his crate only, then gated into the kitchen, and then a bedroom, finaly the entire apartment.
The crate is your friend.
My husband made the same suggestion.
He is crated during the day when we are at work. And he has a walker come and spend a couple hours with him in the middle of the day. I am a little afraid of it seeming like punishment. And I always want his crate to be his safe space. Not to mention I just feel like that would be too much.
If shiba proofing the house doesn't work, that may be the next step.
On the selfish side, I really like when he comes up to sleep with us.
Jessica I agree with you on that one. I just dont have the heart to put Kiera or Kenji in their cages. They are cooped up all day and I want them to be able to stay active and move around, just not chew holes in the walls!Overall, A happy shiba, makes happy parents!
I don't want this to sound as awful as it will but...
two of my cats (Argyle and Jasmine) are over 13 years old and very very fat (they were fat when I rescued them, they just won't lose weight!). As much as it breaks my heart I think my time left with them is probably pretty short. Argyle has had a few seizures, and Jasmine is just slowing down. We spend a lot of time at the vet.
That being said, they are the ones that are most annoyed by Moto. He so desperately wants to be their friend and they want nothing to do with him.
*Brad- he does to them, exactly what Hilo does to Kaia*
They sleep on the bed. He is a little afraid of them. I think it is likely that when the big cats aren't there to be mad at him for trying to sleep with us, he may be a bit easier to deal with in the pm.
We crated Maui and Kaia at night till they where 2 - now they are out 100% of the time with no issues. Rarely will Maui chew on something. We crate Ahi and Hilo at night tho - and will do so till they are 2ish.
I would bet that Moto would do better out during the day than at night - if you are not in the house he will just sleep waiting for you. If you are in the house he will not sleep and cause issues at night. I installed a camera in the kitchen of our condo where we kept Maui and Kaia during the day when they were young. They just laid there and did nothing, but if we left them in there at night Kaia would chew on the cabinets - I think it was because she knew where in the other room and had anxiety about it.
I used to think it was to much when I had him in there while I was at work, and at night, but he survived, no worse for the wear.
When he was younger, I feared that outside of his crate at night he would be destroying stuff that I forgot to put away. He loves plastic things and didn't ever want to wake up to him being injured by battery acid or with a stomach full of plastic. Now I just like that he can't get the cats.
Nemo love his crate, peanut butter filled kongs and lots of treats when a long way in that. His crate also has a dog bed made out of a tempurpedic mattress topper, so he isn't slumming in there. The crate is also much bigger than it needs to be so he can stretch out if he needs to.
Brad is right.
Nemo doesn't do anything when we are gone during the day. He sleeps on or under the bed all day. Everyday I come home to a sleepy eyed dog stumbling out of the bedroom and then stretching.
I have Moto in a "too big" crate too.
I think the changing seasons is making him a little wonky too.
All the dogs at the dog park this morning were crazy.
Ok...I have missed out on way too much today! Dam my job!
Niko and Sasha were always crated at night and during the day. Until just recently we now let them sleep out during the night. This consists of the bathroom and bedroom doors being closed for now and sleeping on the floor (they are bed hogs). We wish we could keep them out during the day but we have our house up for sale and Niko would attack people with kisses trying to jump to their face and Sasha would poop everywhere if someone came in without us here (and with us here...LOL). Niko just turned 2 a week ago and before now I would never leave her out all night. She was a monster also but I so easily forget it all because she is AMAZING now! I still dont trust her wandering at night because she is naturally curious. Before bed time she of course does the shiba 500 and gets Sasha to chase her. This also gives kitty a chance to wander without being harrassed. Our goal is once we move to have them free wandering once they get used to the new place. We finally have sasha potty trained after 6 months!! Gotta love foster homes that dont provide all they need to to the dogs...nother topic. I agree that 2 years and a trustworthy dog is a good combo for a crate fee living. Dont feel bad, once they adjust it is how they live.