Our 8 week old puppy Zuma has been both a bundle of joy and a rollercoaster of terror. We've had him for about 2 weeks now (it was a bit early to take him, but my gf and I had no idea) and have noticed some behaviors that we would like to correct. We've been doing extensive research and study in how to raise a Shiba and different training techniques but have been left with a Shiba that listens only 40% of the time.
He is an avid biter and is very vocal. We're hoping this is because he is so young and that he'll grow out of it. We're in the process of teaching him puppy zen and got through step 5 of it today. This was effective and we'll be continuing it tomorrow. Do most Shiba's show this type of behavior at a young age? Are there any other programs that we can try to prevent the biting?
On a side note not related to the biting, Zuma becomes very excited/eager/anxious in the mornings. After his usual 5-6 AM walk to relieve himself, he begins to get really crazy. He tries to wriggle his way out of our grasps and exhibits behavior as if he is possessed. We don't know if it is that he knows food is coming or if he simply has too much energy from being asleep for 5 or 6 hours. What is the best way to take care of your Shiba before you head off to work/school? Any suggestions?
That "only listening 40% of the time" could almost be considered a breed trait. Do not expect your Shiba to listen all the time every time without fail. They are intelligent independent dogs who will mull over your command before following, almost as if asking "Well, what's in it for me?" Plus, your pup is just 8 weeks old. That's a bit early to be expecting an amazingly well-behaved dog.
Biting is VERY common, almost all Shiba pups can be likened to alligators, I guess. bite bite bite for what seems like months. This is an incredibly common topic on the forum, use the Advanced Search feature above to look for some recent threads on it.
It's the morning, he just woke up and is full of energy, and he's a puppy, he'll be like that for a long time. Play a LOT, take him for walks, give him something to do. Shibas are energetic (and like I said before, intelligent) and will find something to do if you don't provide enough stimulation. This is usually in the form of "bad" behavior like remodeling your house.
Saya was very nippy as a puppy she'd bit pants legs, hands, hair if laying down or dig in hair! She doesn't do hair stuff anymore.
She got better as she grew older and training helped too.
Exercise helps both mental and physical. Cat flirt pole is Saya's favorite toy.
For feeding hand feed, use kong wobbler to feed, or that orange ball that puts out treats as it's rolled around so he has to work for food.
How is his training maybe work on sits, his name and come to feed him and then feed rest in bowl, or his kong.
Puppy kindergarten helped a lot with Saya's behavior with biting and she had fun roughing it up with the pups her favorite was a doberman pup named Duke he was so cute with her.
My morning routine with Yuki before heading out to work is I let her play with toys in the room I am in when getting ready in the morning (ie she is confined to the bedroom/bathroom when I get ready) then I take her on a 15-20 minute walk to the park. Then I followed the advice of freezing a kong with peanut butter or frozen yogurt with some kibble or treats to put in the dog run when we leave for work and this has been great. It has resolved her reluctance to get in the dog run/kennel and she loves it! She knows that as soon as we get in from the walk she immediately heads to the basement and will bark at me if I take too long getting her kong. It really burns off her energy in the morning.
As for the biting, puppy socialization classes (we did it twice a week) worked wonders! Her biting got so much better after she learned from the other dogs that biting hard is not so nice!
Expect the mouthy behavior for a little while. They love to play with their mouths and paws. I have to keep my shiba's nails trimmed or i'll have scratch webs all over me. You'll get used to it...hopefully.
Thank you all for the fun stories about your pups and the reassurance that the reason Zuma is biting and being bad is because he is so young. Every little bit of advice from you all is extremely appreciated and taken to heart. Zuma is constantly learning better behavior thanks to this advice. (He was very well behaved today)
We'll definitely check the forum's search button next time we post something. We're new to Shiba ownership and this forum and didn't realize that the redundancy of posts can get annoying. The post was meant to get some more ideas about how to take care of our Shiba through other owner's experiences. I would think that owners would like to reminisce about when their Shibas were pups.
@zuma12 - It is not necessarily about the repetitive posts getting redundant or annoying. However, it is about making information easily accessible to others who have the same problems. It is much easier to read one or two threads about the people who have the same problem than it is to read 20 threads about the same problem.
If you search the forum, there are TONS of threads about mouthy Shibas, as this is a common issue with not just Shiba puppies, but most puppies. Within those threads, there is a ton of advice, too. However, if you find that those threads do not answer your questions, feel free to pick which ever one is the most similar to your issue and add to it.
This way, when someone else comes along with the same problem, they can search and learn from others' experiences.
Casey, with Bella and Nola, hanging out in the mountains of Virginia. I Wander, I Ride
