Shio's Teenage Angst

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Teenage angst. That what we call Shio's little fits. However, he's been acting up and out more so now than usual. We chalk it up to the move but only time will tell.

Most of his acts of defiance fall into these categories:

- Barking in circles at people outside and inside the dog run

- Possessiveness over holes dug in the dog run

- Going into barking fits when he hears other dogs anxiously barking

- Fights arisen by he and another dog each asserting themselves as top dog

- Issues with people walking in and out of our new home (as he always had while in our old home)

For the most part, we've been able to pin point the sources of his frustration and catch the warning signs before his anxiety gets the best of him. He has adjusted well to the new home itself but he's still a skeptic when it comes to everything outside.

We'll need to take baby steps.

In the meantime, if anyone has helpful advice for assisting dogs in adjusting to new homes we're all ears!

Re-Training Shio

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We never used to worry about Shio running out the front door into the street. Was it because we're bad dog owners? Nope. It's because he would have to run out the front door, down the hallway, wait for the elevator, ride the elevator to the lobby, run out the building's front door and then get to the street. In case you're wondering, yes, potty training was very difficult! Now that we moved and have a front door that leads to the street we are very careful about teaching Shio sit-stay before charging out the door. In this new place, we also gained an unfenced back yard. This would've been a dream if we had an area dedicated for Shio to run around in but we've been training him not to run out when the door is open to the back because it's not fenced. He's not allowed to run out for squirrels, birds or even a toy that accidentally rolls out the door.

We  have neighbors that live upstairs and often here them walking around their hardwood floors. Shio is slowly adjusting to the sounds although he does have his freak out moments where he goes into a barking fit if he hears our neighbor's door slam shut. Every once in a while, he can hear voices upstairs and has been on edge about that.

We also have the mail man, UPS/USPS/FedEx package deliveries that come through our front door. We had the luxury of a doorman accepting all of this for us previously but now we're on our own. So far, Shio hates all of them.

On the up side, we've made a new Shiba 8 month old friend name Boozer from the dog run. They play and fight like brothers! They also dig like Shibas and have created many ditches in the dog run in their attempts to get back to save their friends in Japan.