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.


Monday, March 29, 2010

The Worm Walk

As reported by Sami.

Well, our walks are continuing, weather permitting.  For the most part it has been warm enough, but we've been getting some rain.  I wouldn't say I hate getting my feet wet, I just don't like to slop around in the mud or stand in driving rain.  When the weather is bad, I get my business done fast and I'm ready to go in.  Miko on the other hand, just hates going out in the bad weather and Mom says she would rather stand out in the rain looking as wet and pathetic as possible than get her business done.  And, when we come in, we have to stand on the towels for a few minutes to absorb the water in our paws so we don't track mud all over the house.

Well, we got more rain yesterday and luckily it quit over night and we were able to go for our morning walk.  When Mom gets home, she takes me outside as I'm on medicine that makes me drink more water.  Miko, if she knows we are going for a walk, she would rather wait until after we eat to go potty.  So, Mom takes me outside, then feeds us breakfast and gives us our medicine and then we get our harnesses on for our walk.

We always go the back way so we can go out in the park area and sniff around.  We follow the scents of animals that have come this way and also check out all the trees and sign posts.  The park is still pretty flooded from all the rain we've been getting, so it will probably be some time before we can fully investigate the park.  So, we just check things out from the side of the road.  I don't notice, but Mom has been avoiding stepping on something out in the street.  We finally make it down to the main park area and Miko finally decides to get her business done.

So, we are heading back home and now there are houses on both sides of the street so we have to stay in the street now.  Our Mom doesn't believe in letting us go in someone elses yard.  But don't worry, our neighborhood is very quiet and not too many cars go down the streets.  That is when I see it.  A big worm in the middle of the street.  Mom must not have seen me checking it out and I can't help myself and I roll around on the worm.  Okay, she gets disgusted and pulls me off the worm, but wait, there is another one and then another one, they are everywhere!  Now she is having problems keeping me off the worms, saying it's like walking through a land mine.  She's trying hard to avoid the worms, but I manage to roll around on a couple more before we get home.

We finally get in the house and Miko must have been feeling pretty good since she got her business done and she started it, the Shiba 500.  She turns into a mad dog and starts barking at me and getting into the play stance.  Then she charges at me and we jump up at each other with teeth flashing and making all kinds of noise.  The Moms are laughing at us.  We chase each other in and out of the kitchen and the dining room and Miko starts digging on the area rug in the dining room and then grabs it like shes going to do the table clothe trick.  We charge each other again with teeth flashing and pretty soon, it's all over and we are out of energy and ready for our morning nap.  Got to recharge for our afternoon walk!

Two is more fun then one.

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

The little boy Shiba

Last weekend was busy. About once a month, my daughter and a friend of hers go get a massage from her friends Aunt. Well, early last week, Leslie calls Evanita and says she has to cancel her appointment. I hear Evanita say, well, I will have to cancel mine too as Mom has to sleep. I told her, I see no reason why I can’t take you as I don’t work that night. Well, her appointment isn’t until 1pm and that is usually around the time that I start getting really tired. I work 3rd shift. So, I now need to find something to do to keep myself awake while she gets her massage.

That is when I remember that this pet store in town recently reopened, the only one in town that sells puppies. I want to go on record that I do not believe in buying a puppy from a pet store. If you want to read about puppies from pet stores, you can go here.


http://www.canismajor.com/dog/petstor.html


But, that doesn’t mean I can’t look at them. The thing I get a kick out of is this designer dog thing. Back in my days, they called them mutts. Now they give them fancy names and charge lots of money for them. Most of them I can tell what the dogs are by the name. For instance, a Labradoodle is a cross between a Labrador and a Poodle. A Chi-winnie is a cross between a Chihuahua and a dachshund. That was a new one to me this time. Then there was one I couldn’t figure out, an Ori-Pei. Okay, I figured out the Pei part as a Shar-Pei, but what was the Ori part? I finally had to break down and ask, it was a Pug/Shar-Pei mix. It sure was a cute puppy, but I’ve seen pictures of them grownup and they just don’t appeal to me.

So, we are walking along, looking at all the puppies. The place is not busy and the employees are coming over to see Sami and Miko. They are getting some attention while I’m looking at the puppies. Besides the designer dogs, they did have some purebred dogs. They had a few English Bulldogs that were adorable. They also had an Australian Cattle Dog that was interesting. It was just laying there and when we got close, he sprang into action. Startled me and the girls. They also had one of my other favorite dogs, the Pembroke Welsh Corgi. When I see them, they look like Shibas with big ears and tiny legs. LOL

We walk a little further and then we see it, a Black and Tan Shiba all curled up in a corner sleeping. So cute, too bad it was asleep. Flash forward to the next day.

Evanita’s Dad usually comes over on Saturday to spend some time with her. They were watching something in her room while I was making something to eat. After we ate we were going to watch a movie. I just happen to casually mention the Shiba puppy and now Evanita and her Dad want to go see it. So, we decided to go before we watch the movie.

We always take the girls to the pet store with us, so we put their harnesses on and their bandanas and off we go. We arrive at the store and this one guy that was working there the day before sees me and asks, are you here to get the Shiba puppy? No, we just came to see it. Then he offers to bring it out and I told Evanita I would hold the girls while she and her Dad go into the cubicle to play with the puppy. A couple of the employees ask if we want to see how our dogs would react to the puppy. Well, I already know how they are going to react. A couple years earlier they had a Black and Tan Shiba and it was all over the girls and in their faces and it totally freaked them out!

So, Evanita and her Dad are now playing with the boy Shiba and one of the employees gives them a knotted rag and they play tug-of-war with him and he is just so full of energy, I mean really rowdy! Evanita tries to pick him up and he wants nothing to do with that. He starts thrashing around and clocks her right in the chin. Dazed look on her face, she decides to put him back down. LOL She tries a little bit later and the same response. This is the best picture we were able to get of her and the Shiba




So, after they had been playing with him for about 15 minutes, her Dad decides to pick him up and surprisingly, he doesn’t seem to mind and you could see this big smile creep onto her Dad’s face. He was really liking this puppy and I’m pretty sure the thought of taking this puppy home was starting to enter his mind. We quickly remind him that in no way is his house puppy proof and he really isn’t in the position right now to be taking care of and raising a puppy, especially this rowdy little Shiba boy.




While all this is going on, this one guy that worked there was acting like he knew everything about the Japanese dogs. He told me that the Shiba was not the smallest of the Japanese breeds, the smallest was the Ainu Inu. Say what? I told him that if there was a dog called the Ainu Inu and it was smaller then the Shiba then someone must have recently bred such a dog because every book and just everything in general that I’ve read about the Japanese dogs is that the Shiba is the smallest and the Akita is the largest with 4 other dogs in between.

So, he decides to prove me wrong and looks it up on the internet and sure enough, there is a Ainu Inu, only it’s actually called the Ainu-Ken or Hokkaido Inu. So, I ask him to show me how much this dog weighs. And imagine this, it clearly states that the weight for this dog is between 40 to 70 pounds! Well, I think he was a little embarrassed that he was wrong. The Shiba is the smallest and this Ainu-Ken or Hokkaido Inu is one of the dogs that is between the Shiba and the Akita.

Now, here is the funny part. We decide to see how the girls react to the puppy. I told Evanita to put the puppy on the seat so he doesn't jump on the girls. So, she holds the puppy in her lap while we open the door and I take the girls in. I no sooner had the door shut and this tiny puppy starts doing the Shiba Scream. LOL I tell you, the whole store went quiet and the whole store was looking at us and I’m sure they thought we were torturing that poor thing or trying to kill it. LOL It was so loud and Sami and Miko were panicking and wanted out of there NOW!!! LOL So, I open the door back up and they fly out of there and immediately the puppy stops. I still think we were under suspicion of doing something to that poor puppy, it really was that loud. Of course I try to tell people that that was the Shiba Scream, but not knowing the breed, they have no idea what I’m talking about. We have only heard it ourselves a few times when Sami and Miko were pups. One day we put them in their crates and Sami was mouthing on her crate and got her jaw stuck. It really is hard to believe how much noise can come out of such a small puppy!

At any rate, I really hope that the person who takes this puppy home knows what they are in for because that little guy is really going to be a handful.


Two is more fun then one.

Saturday, March 13, 2010

The Walkies have returned!

As reported by Sami and Miko


The Mom’s have said that since the warm weather seems to have returned, we can now go on our daily walks. One in the morning and one in the evening as weather permits. At the mere sound of the word “walk”, we both turn our heads, did we really hear that? Then we hear the magic word again and now we are excited.

Our harnesses are put on and we are ready. The back road on our walk has houses on one side and a nice park area with grass and trees on the other. We see all kinds of wildlife that for some reason we are not allowed to chase. This week we have seen many squirrels and birds. We also saw our friend Julia, a Jack Russell Terrier. Not very friendly we’re afraid. Last year she nipped Sami on the nose. We get to see lots of other dogs and stop occasionally to get some attention from the people in the neighborhood.

We saw a guy riding a bicycle. He said, Nice looking dogs! Okay, he didn’t know what we were, but he recognized the fact that we were nice looking.

We also had a squirrel tease us. It ran only a couple feet up a pole and went on the other side and peaked at us. So, Mom took us closer and we chased him around the pole a few times and then he jumped off the pole and ran across the street. We would have been all over him if it hadn’t been for the leashes.

One interesting thing we discovered on our walks this week are two different kinds of balls. The first one we found has all kinds of spikes on it. One of the Mom’s kicked one and Miko attacked it. Then I got one. Not sure I like it that well. It seems fun to play with, but has these spikes on them that makes them hard to chew. Did I mention that they have spikes on them? So, I just pawed around at it and played with it and was careful not to get stuck by it, I’m pretty sure I mentioned that they have spikes on them.

The second ball is about the same size, but much smoother. Easier to grab and play around with. We did find out the drawback of these smoother balls. If you play too hard with them, they have this tendency to fall apart. Kind of fuzzy inside, and don’t taste all that great. When the ball falls apart, it’s just best to find a new one.




We haven’t been able to explore the whole park yet as the ground is really mushy right now from all the snow that melted. Hopefully it will dry out soon so we can go down by the creek. At least we are able to make it to a couple different trees. Hey, us girls like to check things out also!

Today and tomorrow it’s supposed to rain, so our walks have been cancelled, but hopefully it will clear up tomorrow night and we will get to go on our scheduled walk Monday morning when Mom gets off work.

Two is more fun then one.

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Dr. "MOM"

Why is it that when one pet has to go to the vet, at least one of the other pets has to go also? Does the saying, "Comes in Three's" also apply to this? The last few weeks have been expensive vet wise.

First it was Sami, she is on Prednisone and has to have blood work done every 6 months to make sure it isn't causing other problems. Everything turned out great!

Then it was Beaus turn. He started getting this black crusty stuff on his chin and I was wondering if it was related to the Eosinophilic Granuloma that he gets. The vet says no, it's chin acne. So, he gets a antibiotic shot and some antiseptic wipes.

Then it's Sami's turn again. Monday when we went for a walk, she kept squatting to pee and most times there was hardly a dribble coming out. I suspected a UTI and took in a urine specimen. Sure enough she did and was started on antibiotics.

Then it was Beaus turn again. The chin thing is not going away so made an appointment with a different vet at the clinic we go to and he thinks it is still the Eosinophilic Granuloma that I thought it was and so he got a steroid shot. Now we wait to see if that goes away.

Since it was so nice out the last few days, we have been opening the windows in the house and letting some fresh air in. Calista loves to lay in the windowsill or in the box on my daughters headboard to her bed and watch the squirrels outside. Well, she comes walking out of Evanita's room and her one eye was almost swelled shut! Now what?! So, I'm thinking I would probably have to schedule her an appointment when I took Beau in this afternoon, but by this morning it was looking much better and tonight it looks almost gone. So, I will just keep an eye on that for a few days.

So, right now I'm just hoping that everyone gets better and we have no more vet visits for the next couple months.

Two is more fun then one, sometimes. LOL

Sunday, March 7, 2010

Birthday #3!

Today we finally celebrated the girlies birthday with a cake. The cake was made out of one can of Sami's Venison and Potato and decorated with biscuits and kibble. I think they knew what was coming up as soon as I opened the can! After I formed the cake and put the decorations on, I let them lick my hands off. Kind of like licking on the beaters. LOL Then I put the candle on.

This year we decided to do a video instead of taking pictures. Here it is, enjoy!

Two is more fun then one.


Monday, March 1, 2010

Happy Birthday Sami and Miko!

Today the girlies are 3 years old! It's hard to believe we have had them for that long. We were going to do something for them this last weekend, but my weekend was short since I was going from 2nd shift to 3rd. I had to make sure I got some sleep on Sunday. So, we will probably do something for them Friday and Saturday. I would like to share some photos from their previous birthdays.

Right before Birthday #1, Sami was diagnosed with Inflamatory Bowl disease and was put on a special diet. So, the cake is made out of 2 cans of her food decorated with kibble. Of course Miko thought this was a very special treat!






Well, when Birthday #2 came, they both got rather excited because they knew what the cake was all about!



For the second year, the cake was made out of 1 can of food decorated with kibble and treats.



They are patiently waiting for me to tell them to dig in.



They start out slow.....



And then Miko really starts digging in.




Almost finished.....





Cleaning up the last few morsels....




This weekend they will get another cake and will probably go to their favorite store, PetSmart!

Two is more fun then one.