All I Want For Christmas…
... is a puppy that will not be a total Shiba and run to me when I call him. *sigh*
Shio @ Daycare
Since it's been cold outside here in NYC, I've decided that I could drop Shio off in doggy daycare to run around for a few hours instead of suffering in the cold at the dog run for an hour every morning.
From the moment that we walked in, he seemed pretty happy about being there.
We checked in and he went into the little doggy play area (where I saw a friend of his from our apartment building). I thought he would be happy there. In the picture below, you can see the top of his head as he entered the room.
He seemed hesitant and scared. There were so many pups mulling around and sniffing him. I would've been terrified as well!
Next step was to walk him into the rest of the room. He did so but stayed by the wall for protection. He typically does that when he is not confident in a new area.
Seeing that he was adjusting to his new environment in the way that I knew he would, I left the daycare and peered through the front window to see if he moved away from the wall at all. He didn't.
It broke my little heart to see him leaning against the wall and staring out the window. I left the daycare even though I wanted to sit there and watch him. Three hours later, I went back to the daycare to pick him out. This is what I saw:
My poor little bubba perched on the window staring out. He noticed me looking at him right away and became very excited. I was incredibly sad to see that he did not enjoy or play with any of the other doggies. The attendants at the daycare said he played "a little". I knew that he would behave this way because it was a new environment for him and he IS a Shiba and will be shy when introduced to a new place.
Would I bring him back there? Probably.
He'll warm up to the place... eventually.
Shio @ Central Park
This week, a few friends (furry and non-furry) and I have been taking advantage of off-lead mornings at Central Park. Picture 3 adults, 2 large dogs and 2 medium dogs piled into a 4 door Honda. Quite a hilarious sight to see if you are on the road heading North at 7:30am commuting to work.
I've worked with Shio for the past 3 months in training him to come to when when called by always rewarding him with liver treats or squeaky balls. It's worked well in the dog run and around Chelsea piers, but not enough for me to feel confident enough to let him roam the streets and know that he'll run back whenever I call. Didn't help that everysingleShibablog known to the internet seriously discourages Shibas from being off-lead. Had it not been for my friends, I would never reach there point where I would ever let him run free. They convinced me to let him be free and assured that with Shio's pack mentality, he will always stick near us and the dogs.
I thought, "Well, okay. Here goes nothing. Worse comes to worse, we'll just get another really freakin' adorable Shiba pup." (I kid!)
Morning 1:
Shio is super Shiba excited and starts pulling so hard on the leash in Central Park that I'm really scared that he's going to run off never to be seen again. I finally let him run free and he proves that he can stick with the pack but doesn't listen when I call him to come back to me. I even wandered off in search for a restroom without him and he didn't even notice my absence. Not cool. But overall, he was well behaved and performed better than expected.
Morning 2:
Shio is super Shiba excited and starts pulling so hard on the leash in Central Park that I'm really scared that he's going to run off never to be seen again. I have a feeling this is going to happen every morning we travel up to CP. The pack migrates over to the Great Lawn and Shio runs free. This time, he acknowledges when I call him and comes running over each time. Success!
Unfortunately, it's getting colder and colder each day and we are finding creative ways to stay warm while allowing our dogs to run free.
Here are some videos!
Puppyyyy…
Feeling pretty sad about Shio moving on to adulthood. In 2 weeks, he'll be at his first birthday. Lately, I've been feeling pretty sad as the mum of our precious fur-baby and calling him "puppy" all the time.
"Puppy - sit."
"Come here puppy."
"Puppy, no!"
"Pupppyyyyyyy..."
*sniffles* I guess he had to grow up some day. Can't believe this day is coming so soon.
Struggling Shio
Shio still doesn't realize how fat he's getting. Here he is struggling to get out from underneath our friend's couch.
(Shio is 27.5 lbs now. What a MASSIVE Shiba!)