Welcome to Shiba...What?

I chose that name because that was probably the first thing I said when I heard about the breed. And, I get that quite often when I have the girls out and they meet new people. Most people have never heard of the breed, although we do occasionally run into someone who actually knows what they are! I do know one thing and that is Shiba owners love to see other Shibas and read about other Shibas. I recently came across I Am Shiba and within a few days, read the whole blog. Many times I found myself laughing so hard I was on the verge of tears. LOL While not every dog is the same, there are enough similarities. Through this blog, I would love to share how I came to have these two beautiful girls, what we have been though and what we are up to. Occasionally even the girls will add their input, they can be very opinionated you know.


Sunday, February 28, 2010

Snow, snow, go away…….

Well, it looks like winter may be losing it’s grip. While we are still getting days in the 30’s with a chance of snow flurries, over the next couple days it’s supposed to get warmer. At the end of 10 days, it’s supposed to be 46 degrees! Not exactly shorts weather, but I’ll take it!

I’m not much of a cold weather person. Before I got the girls, I only went outside to go to the store or work. So, I really didn’t get used to the cold weather. Since we don’t have a fenced in yard, I have to go out several times a day with the girls. I think it helps me get more acclimated to the weather. Plus, the girls love the snow so much, it has actually helped me enjoy the snow more.

The first big snow of the year is always fun. When I open the door and they see what is outside, they get really excited! Miko loves to attack anything sticking out of the snow and Sami just loves to plunge her whole head into it. I’m sure they will miss all the snow, I will not. LOL

Here is a video I took a few days ago of Evanita and the girls out in the snow. Towards the end of the video you will see a little squabble. For you Shiba owners, you know exactly what they are doing. To the untrained eye, it looks like they are fighting, but this is merely play. They love to wrestle with each other. There is a lot of noise and teeth flashing that goes with it. Usually it only lasts for a few seconds, but sometimes if they are feeling really energetic, it can last for a few minutes, usually in association with the Shiba 500.

Two is more fun then one.

Friday, February 26, 2010

Character Analysis - Miyako



Miko is our little Black and Tan Shiba and her name means Beautiful March Child. She is almost the complete opposite of Sami. She is super sweet and I sometimes call her Mini Miko or Charmin because she is huggable and squeezable soft. LOL She pretty much stays out of trouble. That is not to say Sami can’t convince of something otherwise. LOL If they are both into something, you can just about guess that Sami was the one that started it.


Miko does not have an active roll as guard dog, but if Sami is really riled up, she will join in. Just the other night, half the power in our house went out and we had to call the power company out. Well, this just about put Sami over the edge. At one point, both dogs went charging into the dark kitchen and when we went in there, we could see flashes of light out there. We opened the back door and here this guy was walking around the backyard looking for a bad spot in our line. Both the girls sounded like they just wanted to eat him up! LOL

I will say though that when I walk Miko alone, she will act as my protector. One time while I think Sami was in the emergency hospital in Indy, I decided to take Miko for a walk around the block. We have this old man that lives just around the corner that likes to take walks by the park area. Well, I don’t think she liked the way he was walking and she started howling at him and doing this foot shuffle thing. Not sure what that is all about, but I’m guessing it’s along the same lines as a cats hair standing up. I guess it makes them look bigger and badder. LOL

Miko is our little athletic girl. She was the one that jumped over the baby gate at just 2 months old. Not climbed, but merely sailed over the gate. So, we had to put a second gate up to prevent escapes. She was also the first one to run up the stairs. In doing that, she discovered that that was where the cat food was. So, it gave her more motivation to jump the gate and run upstairs and eat as much cat food as she could before one of us retrieved her. LOL

I think she has springs in her legs. When Evanita’s Dad comes to visit, she is at the gate jumping up. She jumps so high that she can see over the two gates. So far she hasn’t tried to get over the two gates.

She gets really excited when she sees someone she knows, but can be very shy around people she doesn’t know. When we take them to PetSmart, Sami is right up there soaking up any attention she can get while Miko keeps her distance. We are helping her get over this by taking treats in that we give people to give her. She is doing much better now, but does the best when the stranger gets down on her level and allows her to come up to them.

Don’t forget, Two is more fun then one.

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Character Analysis - Masami



First I want to tell you a little bit about each of the girls. I will start with Sami as she is the Alpha. Yes, she is the boss and she lets Miko know that. A lot of people don’t understand a female dog humping another dog. This is just her way of showing dominance, nothing else. And, while I know this is the natural order of things, I do try to keep this at a minimum. I try to discourage it. One thing I will say about this is that you should never let a dog hump you. That is the dogs way of telling you he or she is the boss. When they do that, you have to get that situation under control ASAP! But, Sami does take care of Miko. She cleans her face and mostly her ears. Sami has this thing about ears and she will even clean our cat Calista’s ears if she sits still for it.

Sami may look so sweet and innocent here and don’t get me wrong, she is a very good girl. But, she has a mischievous side to her. She can be the trouble maker. I hear it was that way from the start. When they were first introduced to food, Sami wasn’t satisfied with just sitting or standing next to the bowl, she had to be IN the bowl. Sami was the one that just loved to pull Evanita’s hoodie strings. And worse, she liked to sneak up from behind and pull her long hair.

She is the one that will get into my pots and pans, my Tupperware and my towel drawer. She is the reason why some of my cabinet doors now have child locks on them. I can't leave anything close to the edge of the counter or she will get it.

She is my little protector and watchdog. She lets me know if she hears a noise outside whether it be the mailperson, a loud vehicle or the neighbors making noise. I’ll ask her, did you hear that? What was that? You can see the intense look on her face. When she goes into full alert, the hair down the middle of her back, which is darker, stands up and it looks like she has this Mohawk thing going on and she looks quite fierce. LOL And, when she gets really riled up, it may take her some time before she will settle down.

She does love attention and loves to go to their favorite store, PetSmart. She loves to meet new people. She just soaks all that in. And, when she sees someone she knows well, she will just lick them to death. I swear there are times that she is on the verge of hyperventilation she is so excited.

Before I forget, Masami is Japanese for Grace and Beauty. Not sure about the grace part, she can be a klutz at time. The last tidbit of information I would like to share at this time is that she is an ice-oholic. She is addicted to eating ice and at this time of the year, ice chunks or snow chunks. I recently read that eating ice can be a sign of an iron deficiency, so I just had her checked out and everything is perfectly fine. So, I guess she just loves to eat ice. I’m just glad I have an old refrigerator as she scratches on the door until I go out to get her some. LOL

And remember, Two is more fun then one.