The Shio Guide: Playing Fetch

/

Fetch has always been interesting with Shio. Sometimes he will bring the toy back, sometimes he gets the toy and plops down to play with it while you stand waiting for him to bring it back. Other times, he'll just stare at the toy after its been thrown and waits for you to get it. Here's the general Shio Guide to playing fetch:

  1. Allow person to take toy from you but not before some resistance and reluctance.
  2. Sit and wait for the person to throw it. Make sure you stare at the toy incessantly until it is thrown.
  3. Stand up when the person raises their arm to throw the toy. Keep staring.
  4. Continue to stare and stand if the person is trying to fake throw.
  5. Choose of the options below after the throw:
  • Stand and stare at the toy after its been thrown. See if the person will fetch it for you.
  • Run after the toy and grab it. Then plop down and play with it. Leave the person who is trying to play fetch with you hanging dry.
  • Run after the toy and grab it. Then run back but make sure that you are two feet away from them so the have to reach for the toy from your mouth. Then repeat steps 1-5.

Step 1. Grabbing the toy from ShioStep 2. Sit and wait for the throw

Step 3. Stand and wait for the throwStep 4. Continue to stare as you wait for the throw

[Pictures courtesy of KiMickey]

Shio @ BBQ

/

J and I hosted a BBQ yesterday with 30 of our closest friends and family. Overall, the BBQ was a great success and most of the food was finished by the end of the day. To keep my 10 year old niece entertained during the BBQ, we had her watch Shio. She was very good about not letting Shio do things he wasn't supposed to do and Shio was very good about dragging her around the whole party. By the end of the night, Shio was happy to be able to run around for hours and meet new friends and full from picking up scraps from the floor. My niece also managed to feed him a full tray of his favorite treat (broccoli) during this time, resulting in very green poop last night. View of the Highline Park

[Picture courtesy of KiMickey]

Shio and Children

/

I've always been a Nervous Nellie when it comes to having Shio around children. Some parents understand and have had dogs while others are very nervous around them. When Shio first came home with us, we only allowed him near kids who were not afraid of dogs (as long as their parent were okay with it.) Each time that he approached a child, we would have them give him a treat so he would think that they were living treat dispensers. During that time, Shio was very intrigued by these little creatures.

After exposing him to a number of kids, he started viewing them as little human playmates and took their shrieking and running as an invitation to play. He also learned that he should sit and stay children who want to pet him but were also afraid of him.

I'm proud to say that he behaved like a model canine while I was babysitting my friend's son! Little G loves "doggies" and was very comfortable around Shio. They played with each other's toys and tried to eat each other's snacks during their two hours together. Little G and Shio are the two cutest elements in the world combined to create an unstoppable force that makes everyone stop on the streets all say, "Aww..."