Bella is also not amused if I pick her up with her harness. Otherwise, she loves hers. One of these days, when Nola is back to her normal weight, I will get one for her.
Casey, with Bella and Nola, hanging out in the mountains of Virginia. I Wander, I Ride
Finally got Bootz harness! :( She froze/tense up for the first couple of hours. For the rest of the day she slowly adjusted. But mainly slept/rested. She didn't turn back to her normal playful self until I took off the harness. I swear this picture I took of her looked like she was praying to have me take off her harness. She stayed in that position for half an hour. Just staring at nothing....
I agree, the second picture of Bootz is hilarious! I mean, I thought the first was just priceless, then I saw the second. Pure gold. Poor Bootz. What a hard life she lives. LOL
Lol. Glad her picture is entertaining. Its been day two. She still freezes up. Ive tried praise and treats. No luck. Ive notice the harness makes her calm and "emo". She doesnt play with my other puppy...she doesnt play with her toys. Just sits/lays there. I've tried walks and she just stands there looking around but not wanting to move. Only time she acts normal is when she has to go to the restroom or during mealtimes. When i take her harness off, she does a shake, then back to her normal hyper playful self. anybody experience the same or have any tips?
Try slowly acclimating her to it instead of just putting it on and having her wear it. Show her the harness, give her a treat. Have her sniff it, treat. Put it over her head, treat, take it off, treat, do it over again several times. Next day, do it all again, then put it over her head and have her wear it for a minute, lots of treats, take it off, treats, do it again. Next next day do it all again and for a week or so until she is relatively okay with it just over her head, then put her leg through, lots of treats and maybe play with a toy or feed her. Progress until you can buckle it and she's fine with it. Might take a while though.
@Inu, lol my bf and I were thinking that. If anything we can keep it so itll be a thundershirt! The harness is loose on her. We only tighten it to fit when we tried to walk her.
@losech, i will keep that in mind and try that after her spay....which should be next week.
Yep I've experienced the exact sane thing with Shiro. When he sees me with the harness he runs. Nothing helps, no cookies, no toys, nothing. When it's on he freezes and will rub the wall when walking. Once outside however he doesn't care anymore. He'll walk, do his business and even chase the ball with the harness on. He'll still try to shake it off once in a while, but it's clear that it's not physically bothering him, just mentally.
Ratchet is only 5 months old. Always had a harness on when I adopted him at 7.5 weeks, walking him with a martingale did not work, but I’ll try again later, just started an obedience class this week. He’s chew through all his harnesses when left unsupervised but overall the Web Master does not seem to affect his behavior, play, pees, and walks just fine when we are out and about.
I just started using the Ruff Ware boots and he walks like a drunk with it on, I been trying to have him walk little by little with them on. I’m surprised he let me put them on and have not tried to sake or bite it off. I may have something to do with this sensory thing I saw earlier on this Forum where I was holding him in different position every day at 3 months of age, it also involved tickling his feet with a q-tip and having him stand on a cold towel. I’m not sure. Here are some pictures.
I got the boots mainly for entertainment / embarrassment. =) The pets supply store that ordered the Webmaster had other gear by Ruff Ware, and when I put the boots on his hind legs and saw how he was reacting to it I was sold. It was also raining that week so I thought it would be nice if he had shoes on, for those days. He stumbles around like a drunk when he had them on those 2 days, it’s hilarious, but I’m sure he’ll get used to it, and be back to his normal proud strutting self in no time.
If he does not like the boots and there is no real purpose for him wearing them (i.e. snow/ice or rough terrain), why subject him to that for your own amusement?
Casey, with Bella and Nola, hanging out in the mountains of Virginia. I Wander, I Ride
I was thinking about boots for Miso/Sake, but they would HATE them. It would be because of the ice melt that is used can really hurt their paws. But there hasn't been snow around lately which means no salt which means no boots!
@sunyata Lighten up pal. FYI I live at the base of the Rocky Mountains. There is a resort town called Big Bear 20 miles away with a lake, hikes, and skiing (snow!). There are a lot hiking trails at the base of the mountain from light to advance. Besides, it’s easier to get him use to this stuff when he’s a pup then when he’s an adult.
@knnwang - I apologize if my comment came off as rude, but honestly, you made it seem like the only reason you bought them was because he did not like them in the store and it amused you. I was curious to know why you would subject your dog to that for no reason.
However, if you plan to hike in an area that may have potential hazards, such as sharp rocks or ice, then that is different. But re-read your post above and you might realize why I made the comment I did.
Casey, with Bella and Nola, hanging out in the mountains of Virginia. I Wander, I Ride
@sunyata lol, true I just thinking about how his initial Shiba reaction when after introducing the shoes. I am surprised he stayed calm enough for me put the boots on in the store (without any treats and he didn't even try to mouth my hand or do that Shiba Owl,Owl,Owl scream.) Took him about a 2 days to get use to walking with them on but he's good now, tail curled and all. This breed is definitely something =) I like it. Keeps me on my toes, and I’m starting to adopt his Shiba ways =P.
@knnwang I live in Colorado and we go backcountry in snow and ice. I see alot of owners using those boots to protect the paws from the harshness of the elements. And during the summer if we are on 14ner summits, long hikes. Some folks just use the boot for the back paws.
@knnwang Ratchet reminds me so much of Niko. Niko walks as if he has boots on when it's raining/has puddles on the ground. Hes like a cat hates his paws wet. Mind you on a calm day hell skip right in the river or oceans water but, he looks just like Ratchet with his boots on. Same look of body movement. When we go to Canada I don't know for sure what I'll have on him judging by how both of us arent use to snow.
I'm a little bit torn right now. I want to get a webmaster for Kenshin, only thing is I'm not sure about the size, he is around 23 inches around his girth, and that puts him in between the xs, and s. I heard the straps get lose so I was thinking the xs would be secure, but I'm not sure if it would be too tight. He's about 17 inches tall, and 30 pounds.
I have Penny in the xs and INU in the small. The manufacturer suggests for in between use the smaller size. I agree. The xs is snugger on Penny than the small on INU. Just to confuse you more the new model comes out April 1 with some improvements but I have not seen it yet. They have dropped the black color and added gray, Probably, the discontinued model will be marked down by online retailers.
Just thought i would ask if anybody had a picture of there shiba with the new grey color? Just curious to see how it would look. Since hiro is getting close to his full size i think it might be time to get him one of these for the many hikes and dog park visits. Also with a little off topic does anyone use the ruffler roamer leash? Preferably for jogging? Wondering how much control it gives you since it seems like it would give a little too much leeway in situations where you need him close to you.
I don't have the new one, but a member of the Nihon Ken forum who has a Shikoku does.
The Roamer leash has a handle at the last foot of the leash next to the clip. It's like a built-in traffic lead if you need to keep the dog really close for some reason. It can extend to something like 10 feet, so I guess you wouldn't really have very much actual leash control unless you can grab the handle.
I use the roamer for both my Shiba. It adjusts to fit a 42" waist which reduces the overall length of the leash by the waist size. I do not use this feature but as long as your dog is not an excessive puller it should be fine (the bungee feature helps to mitigate the shock). One word of caution though. The clip on the leash can become detached. Its happened a few times when my guys have rough housed. I replaced the clip with a climbing grade screwgate locking carabiner. No more problem.
playing rough
full extension
Another similar running leash is the Park & Trail Running Belt. I would still change out the clip for a sturdier carabiner.
@Losech oh yea i did see that thread, chocho i believe right? For some reason it didn't register that this was the newer version as well as the fact that it was grey, probably admiring the dog a little too much. @Inu thanks!
I got the new charcoal one for....well, for one of the Shibas to wear now, and the Kai pup to wear when he is a big boy. (Right now he's wearing an xs ruff wear stow-n-go halter which works pretty well).
