The intro to my pack
Ok, so we have not been active on the forum before but I read it almost every day. I would like to thank everyone for the advice that is given; it helps to know we all go through the same things!
Now the introduction of my “pack”. My fiancé and I have two cats(Princess Sofia and Sir Linux) and now two shibas. The twins (cats) are two years old and love their new sisters…thank god! They were rescues, and still are a blessing to have.
We had done a lot or research on shibas, and wanted to adopt one but they were really hard to finding the state, and we kind of gave up on it; Deciding that a golden or a lab would be a better “fit” for a family life style. Why we thought that I have no idea!
So… moving on. Josh and I went out for our 3 year anniversary and ended up look at puppies at pet stores. We had planned on buying from a breeder but we wanted to handle golden’s and lab’s at multiple locations to see if they all typically behave the same way, well they are all puppies and all acted different. We still were not in love with the breeds when we came to a petland in Veira, they only had 7 to 10 dogs in the store and we every helpful, not trying to sell us a dog…very weird… we found a Shiba and asked if we could see her. She was amazing she knew how to sit and was very well behaved for a puppy. Shocked we asked to see her paper work and looked up the breeder on the computer at the store. Again being shocked that they would let us do that… and not really know what to look for but there were no bad reports on the breeder so we put the pup back and looked at a lab and a golden that were from a local breeders. But they did not hold a candle to the Shiba. We got her!
Ritoru is the most amazing dog I have ever had the pleasure to know.( I’m sure we would all say the same about our dogs). “toru” was a perfect fit into our family. We had no real problems with her other than normal puppy training. The cats came around within a couple of days and the rest is history. She has also been to “school” and is on her way to agility next.
Then came Tenshi, she came from the same petland we again looked up the breeder and put her back. Josh and I talked to over and then brought toru to meet her. They hit it off, playing for 5 minutes and then they cuddled as if they had always been together. My heart melted and the cream Shiba came home with me. Tenshi is hell on wheels and I love it. We have not come into any major problems the tear stains under her eyes and going away and she has an under bite but I don’t care. I have a family or pack however you want to put it. I love being momma when it time to go to bed all 6 of us on one bed.lol it enough to make me thankful for every moment I have with them.
Now the introduction of my “pack”. My fiancé and I have two cats(Princess Sofia and Sir Linux) and now two shibas. The twins (cats) are two years old and love their new sisters…thank god! They were rescues, and still are a blessing to have.
We had done a lot or research on shibas, and wanted to adopt one but they were really hard to finding the state, and we kind of gave up on it; Deciding that a golden or a lab would be a better “fit” for a family life style. Why we thought that I have no idea!
So… moving on. Josh and I went out for our 3 year anniversary and ended up look at puppies at pet stores. We had planned on buying from a breeder but we wanted to handle golden’s and lab’s at multiple locations to see if they all typically behave the same way, well they are all puppies and all acted different. We still were not in love with the breeds when we came to a petland in Veira, they only had 7 to 10 dogs in the store and we every helpful, not trying to sell us a dog…very weird… we found a Shiba and asked if we could see her. She was amazing she knew how to sit and was very well behaved for a puppy. Shocked we asked to see her paper work and looked up the breeder on the computer at the store. Again being shocked that they would let us do that… and not really know what to look for but there were no bad reports on the breeder so we put the pup back and looked at a lab and a golden that were from a local breeders. But they did not hold a candle to the Shiba. We got her!
Ritoru is the most amazing dog I have ever had the pleasure to know.( I’m sure we would all say the same about our dogs). “toru” was a perfect fit into our family. We had no real problems with her other than normal puppy training. The cats came around within a couple of days and the rest is history. She has also been to “school” and is on her way to agility next.
Then came Tenshi, she came from the same petland we again looked up the breeder and put her back. Josh and I talked to over and then brought toru to meet her. They hit it off, playing for 5 minutes and then they cuddled as if they had always been together. My heart melted and the cream Shiba came home with me. Tenshi is hell on wheels and I love it. We have not come into any major problems the tear stains under her eyes and going away and she has an under bite but I don’t care. I have a family or pack however you want to put it. I love being momma when it time to go to bed all 6 of us on one bed.lol it enough to make me thankful for every moment I have with them.
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Comments
Jesse
How old are your shibas? How long have you had them?
Cute pack you have there!
(My Ichiro will sleep/cuddle like that quite often, I love it!)
Don't worry about buying them at pet stores. I do think that most people on here would recommend going to a responsible breeder but at the same time would also recommend rescue. I don't promote mall pet stores, and you can get animals that have had issues, but at the same time what happens to these puppies when they are not adopted or purchased? To me, you rescued them.
I hope that you do not feel the need to defend your decision to purchase there and feel comfortable with all of us to continue sharing your wonderful story and life with your pack.
here is toru and her brother linux
I also have a petstore pup and a BYB pup. They are both healthy (YAY!), but there are a few things to be super aware of and ready to get checked out. Hips and Knees are HUGE. I would take them both when they are a year old to have their hips and knees checked for any signs of Hip Displaysia or Luxating Patella. I would then take them again at about 2.5 years once all the growth is done to check. This is a huge problem in puppy mill, backyard breeder dogs and you need to pro-active to make sure your dogs don't have any complications. Also yearly bloodwork and eye exams are important!
Good luck with your adorable Shibas and your kitties! Cant' wait to see more pictures of your pack!
Kristin
She is definitely not as healthy as my old dog (that was malnourished and beaten as a pup), as she has food and seasonal allergies, a potential knee problem that is already taking shape, and my gut feeling her eyes will be an issue down the road.. nor is she healthier than my cat that I found in the street...but she's super sweet, really smart and just plain cute
Would I have perferred to have the patience and wait to get one from a breeder? Sure...but I didn't and perhaps it was fate I walked into the petstore depressed that Shibas take so long at the breeders and saw our pup. I can't imagine what would have happend to her had we not gone and bought her. Tax write off probably (to put it nicely).
P.S.-Your pack is pretty cute
thank you all for your comments!
Oli will be a year old on the 30th of July.
I'm really glad that your two current pups have not suffered any effects as yet from their pet store days. I would however, caution you from actively seeking out a third Shiba from another pet store, or from anything but a reputable breeder or rescue. I really hope that isn't what you were intending, please correct me if I am wrong, then I apologize.
When you decide to get involved in rescue in some capacity and have any questions - post 'em!
Where are you located (state?) - there might be a shiba-specific rescue near you that needs you!
and to be clear about my maybe third shiba we are not planning to go through a pet store and i truly do think I'm bless for getting two healthy shiba's from a pet store. But I think we will be going toward the rescue programs I would love to be able to help. My dog's have given me so much that when i have a home i want to give back, and i don't have the illusion that it will be easy but if we won't fight for them who will?