Shiba Scream

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I thought I'd follow up with my previous post by talking a little more about the Shiba scream. <Begin>

You've read about the scream because you are a diligent pet owner to be and did your research on Shibas before you picked yours up. But how to you know when you've heard it live from your very own puppy's mouth?

Is it that sound? What about that other sound? What about this one?

Let me tell you, when you hear it, you'll know.

That's all I have to say about the Shiba scream.

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Drama!!!

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This morning, I took Shio to the dog run next to the Museum of Natural History for a quickie play and was pleasantly surprised when I saw that there were only two chocolate labs (one puppy and one adult) frolicking in the big area. I thought, "Score!!! Now Shio can run and play as he pleases!" Shio went in and sniffed around. Then he marked a few things. Then proceeded to run with the chocolate lab puppy. The lab puppy was about 50 lbs and a very goofy little girl. They chased each other around and ran... and ran... and ran. At which point I thought, "Score!!! Now Shio will be extremely tired by the time we get home!"

Their little game of tag was working well with Shio being "it" all the way up until the silly lab ran him over like a two ton bulldozer to which Shio cried for mercy and held up his front right paw. He cried... and cried... and cried while sitting still and holding up his limp paw. My Shiba owning friends that are reading this blog know that by cry, I mean SHIBA SCREAM. Under any other circumstances, I would say that he wailed like a banshee but I'm not sure that a banshee's wailing could compare to the infamous Shiba screams.

I ran over and checked his paw for anything that may have gotten stuck in between his paws. Nothing. Stretched  his paw out and to the side. Nothing. Pushed on the paw as if to apply downward pressure. Nothing. I let him go and called him over to me and he gimped over with his tail hanging down. Something.

I kept him in the dog run for another 5 minutes and he limped around for a little bit before bringing him home. We walked around our neighborhood before returning upstairs to our apartment and saw a friendly puppy who wanted to play. Shio felt a bit better by that point so he started playing back and hopping around as to antagonize the puppy. Waitaminute, hopping around?! There was nothing wrong with his paw or his leg! What a little drama queen!!!

Though I don't doubt that the initial shock of the tumble combined with awkwardly positioned paw during the fall made him scared enough to scream, I can not believe he screamed like that without a serious injury! I'm feeling very blessed that it wasn't anything serious but I'm so so so surprised. We haven't heard that scream for a year and thought he had grown out of it. Now, I sure hope he's not growing back into it!

Currently, he's resting from his overly dramatic morning:

Top 3 Favorite Shiba Training Tips

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Upon getting a Shiba, we've received a ton of great and not so great advice from people. Here's our Top 3 Great Advice:

1. Get a martingale collar for your Shiba. Shio has the fat neck and little skull syndrome. Just like a greyhound. When we had a regular collar for him, he would slip out whenever he decided that he didn't want to walk and freedom is dangerous for a little Shiba if he runs away from you!

2. Never let him run out the front door without your consent. We are lucky when it comes to the fear of Shio running out the door because we live in an apartment building. The furthest that he will be able to run is into the hallway. However, J and I have a friend who used to have a Shiba and lived in a gorgeous house in San Fran. One day, his Shiba ran out the front door and was hit by a moving vehicle. Motivated by this story, we trained Shio to never run out our front door when we open it unless he is invited to come out with us.

3. Work on your recall command from day one. If there is only one command that any dog should know, it's his recall. Not that ours is perfect, but we worked on our recall for months and months when Shio was a puppy. We've tried several different techniques and will continue to work on it. What has worked the best for us so far is calling his name and giving him one super delicious treat that he only receives when he comes to us when called. Then we also work on the squeaky toy recall which has saved us many times... the only drawback to that is that we have to remember to bring a loud squeaky toy whenever we go out. We always always always make sure to make it a fun and happy experience for him to come to us when we shout his name. I used to make the mistake of saying his name when he was doing something wrong but no more of that! Only awesome things will be associated with the word "Shio!!!".

Shio's Current Favorite Toy

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It's amazing that J and I will spend good money on toys that we think Shio will love but the ones he loves are the cheapest toys in his toy box.

He currently loves the Petco toy that I bought for him as a compulsive, last minute buy. It is a plush sheep squeaky ball that I bought for a couple of bucks but it's actually really nicely designed.

As you may already know, Shio absolutely adores all his squeaky toys, especially if it is a squeaky ball. This toy not only squeaks when you deflate it, but it also squeaks as it is reinflates itself. The rubber ball on the inside keeps the toy intact from his destructive self while keeping the plushness of a soft toy with the fleecy outside. It is also incredibly adorable. I love the smile on the sheep's face as I chuck the ball for Shio to fetch.

Overall a great buy. We will have to wait and see how long it will keep his interest for.