Shio Home Alone

/

While out in Long Island, we left Shio tied to a piano bench in the house alone so that we could go run some errands (and Ting needed to go to Tanger Outlets...). We thought the piano bench was heavy enough, and that given Shio had been running around in the yard for a while, he would just fall sleep anyway. Boy, were we wrong...

Upon our return, we found him loose in the house! He was very excited to see us -- and gave us the "OHMYGODYOUDIDN'TABANDONME!" dance.

Ting searched the house for damage (refer back to Freedom for Shio post), and much to our surprise, there was no trace of wreckage!

Today, we left him alone in the apartment (purposely) for the first time, and he did just fine.

Shio sure is growing up...!

Shio in Long Island

/

Yesterday we took Shio to his "grandparents'" place in Long Island, where he got to run around in the yard. Whenever we see him run around like this, we realize how much easier raising Shio would be with a house and a lawn...

Shio traveling in his bag

Shio playing fetch

Shio running around with his ball

Taking a break

P.S. I recently purchased the Nikon D5000, and I have been playing with it. So far, I am very happy with it, and the ability to capture video has given me a new medium to explore...

The Downside of Training

/

Ting and I have very different training philosophies. I think training should only be done to the extent the skills taught benefit Shio in real life situations; I am not into tricks. Ting, on the other hand, is an obsessive trainer (and that is why she rightly should take almost all credit for Shio's good behavior) -- she will try to teach Shio as much as possible.

"Target" (Jump)

Recently, Ting started to teach Shio how to jump on command. When she told me she was going to do this, I immediately said: "Well that doesn't really count as a life skill now, does it?" My sly remark was ignored and she trained Shio to jump on command pretty much in 2 days.

Shio is now jumping up and down and on people way more often than he used to -- so much that Ting is completely annoyed with him.

Potty Bell

Shio has always been pretty good about telling us he needed to go outside for potty break. He would go to the door and scratch at it to let us know he needed to go. We decided to buy him a bell that sits on the floor so that he can press it and let us know he needed to go out vs. having to scratch the door. Being a smart Shiba, Shio mastered the art of ringing the bell in ~2 days as well.

Shio now rings the bell whenever he is bored, knowing we would take him outside -- even if only for a quick walk around the block, driving both Ting and me crazy.

Such is life with a smart Shiba...