O hai. You want to walk today?
Well, I don't.
Did someone forget to tell you that I'm a Shiba?
I always get my way.
Loves,
Shio
Shio vs. His Winter Coat
I had some "uh... DUH!" moments last week.
1. After visiting a Shiba breeder, she kept mentioning that Shio's fur was still thick and full. I then realized that we haven't brushed him out in a few weeks so I proceeded to do so the Monday after we met her. I brushed him for a good hour and as a result, raked out a ton of his undercoat. Then, at the height of my frustration, I called the groomer and asked her how much it would be just to comb out his winter coat. She said, "$20." That's dirt cheap. We immediately scheduled him in for a grooming sesh the next day. Uhhhh... DUH! Why didn't I think of this before?
2. After we picked him up from the groomer, the several weeks of protesting and refusing to walk during walks suddenly subsided. Which means that he was extremely hot and bothered by the extra weight he had been carrying around and the poor guy just didn't want to walk with his winter coat on. Uh... DUH! Why had I not realized this before?!
And there you have it. I'm a moron.
Shio @ 16 months
I actually had to sit here and count how many months old he is... which means that its just about time to stop calculating the months!
Let's see... updates from February until now...
- Allergies are back! We've determined that he has seasonal allergies, just like his human daddy. I have two sneezy and snotty men in my life. 
- Shio likes to grab his toys with his mouth and smush them into our legs as his way of beckoning us to play with him.
- Since I'm at home a lot more than Josh, Shio is actually very clingy towards me in the way that Shibas can be clingy. This means that he will become anxious and stared at the door I walked out of until I return or look for me after I walk away from him.
- We learned a couple of new tricks: "Play dead" and "beg".
- He is a bit afraid of dog runs/Shibas now. Since the incident in the Union Square dog run, he is much more hesitant about walking into a new dog park. During the last Shiba meetup, he was not as friendly has he used to be and even got into a fight with an intact male Shiba. I'm not sure if he's afraid of dog runs, Shibas, or both.
- He's been testing his limits. He keeps on trying to jump on the couch even though he knows that he's not allowed to. Of course, there's also the lay down protests during his daily walks.
- He will sleep til 10am. Yayyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!! We haven't had an accident since January. Yayyyyyyy!!!!
- We are shedding. And we don't stop. Ever.
That's about it. Happy 16 months Shio!
5 Inevitable Truths
...of Being a Dogowner
1. You will find random poop bags in your coat pockets.
2. There will be crumbs from doggy biscuits sitting in the deepest corners of your pockets.
3. No matter how much you clean, there will always be fur everywhere.
4. At some point, your dog will poop in the middle of the street while you are crossing and there will be an audience of cars lined up at the red light watching.
5. You point at the Shiba owner with a Shiba that doesn't walk and laugh, all the while being thankful that the schmuck isn't you.
Shio’s Hissy Fits Part III
As you can see, the beautiful weekend weather did not stop Shio from being fussy during his walks around Manhattan. In general, he did well as long as we were walking in the cool shadowy areas of the streets but that didn't stop him from throwing the occasional tantrum.
Since you all seem to be enjoying my misery... I mean pictures... here are a couple more!
Shio’s Hissy Fits
Can we say hellooooo terrible twos?
Lately, when Josh or I take Shio out for walks, he willingly goes in one of few directions:
1. If it is early in the a.m., he knows that the only reason why mommy wakes up so early is to take him to Central Park.
2. West towards the Hudson River to play.
3. North towards the dog run.
If we head East or South in the afternoon/evening, he starts throwing fits by laying down on his side and refusing to walk. We don't pick him up when he does this. Instead, we reach towards his belly to flip him over so we can continue walking but he has learned to roll on his back when we do this... which causes a scene for pedestrians passing by. Most women will "awwwwwwwwwww" as they walk by and give you puppy eyes as if it were oh-so-cute while men ask you if the dog is "okay."
As cute as it is, it's been frustrating. Shio is basically saying that if we are not taking him on a play date with his buds, he will throw a temper tantrum.
Arrrrrghhh!
