The "Snick the Dog" posts continue on the new site. To read the past posts, scroll down. To read all the new posts about life with Snickers, Shiba Inu, click through.
A few of you know I’ve been working on a new website recently. Well… ta da! It’s here.
nycgadgetgirl.com isn’t going anywhere. I still plan to use this site for my freelancing. All the archives will remain online and I will probably blog occasional personal and geeky things here.
All the dog stuff is moving over to the new site though! Please visit Jenna & Snickers and let me know what you think by commenting on the first post.
OMG, these are the cutest squirrels you can imagine. Unfortunately Snickers thinks they look incredibly tasty. If I am not VERY careful he is going to break one of my fingers and/or get away from me when he sees one of these cuties dashing across the park.
Debbie clicked this photo with her phone when we were walking. Click through to see the next one!
My last few days in NYC were busy and stressful and difficult, but also amazing and illuminating. I spent several days feeling loved, appreciated and valued.
So, those were my last few days in NYC. They were filled with friends and love and good things and I’m very grateful for that.
PS I know I haven’t been blogging much since I moved. My life/world is just sooo different now and I miss my friends desperately. I will probably set up a new blog for inspiration. When the words return, I’ll blog. I promise.
At least that is how I am thinking of it. Let’s please not call it “leaving NYC.”
<sigh>
I moved here 21 years ago, still a teenager and totally in awe of everything around me. I made the mistake of leaving in 1991 and spent the next few years desperately trying to find my way home from SoCal and then MS. In 1995, I landed back in midtown Manhattan and swore I would never make the mistake of leaving again. Over the years, the city has become an inextricable part of who I am. Sometimes it feels like the city has woven itself into me. It’s not a "place." It is more of a being. NYC is a friend and it is home.
Although there are many things I love about NYC, it’s a tiring, expensive, and challenging place to be a single parent. As most of you probably know, Miss T went to Florida last summer to live with her dad. The choice was hers regarding whether to stay there for high school or come home. At first, she said she wanted to stay in Florida, but then she decided a few months ago that high school in Florida was not in her plans. Since then, I’ve been trying to figure out what to do about a bigger place to live and a decent place to enroll her in school. (She was in private school up until the year before she went to Florida. We tried one year of NYC public school and it was horrendous.) I really can’t afford to put her back in private school for four more years or to move to a neighborhood with a rocking public high school. (There are specialty public high schools, but the application and enrollment process takes a year and a half.)
What’s a single mom in the city to do? Read the rest of this entry »
hmmmm… How can there be a show with that name and it not be about Snickers???
And apropos to absolutely nothing, I just had to find an NYPD officer to haul the big, drunk guy off my front step so I could get inside with the dogs at the end of our walk. Best part was, he thanked ME for rescuing him from the drunk, belligerent suit who was talking his ear off.
For the last month, Snick and I have been visiting a small school for developmentally challenged children once a week. We visit three classrooms ranging in age from four to nine and each class has about 10 kids in it. Each visit is only about 20 minutes long. One class has invited us to the playground with them for the last two weeks, so our morning has been like this
9:00 to 9:20 – 7 to 9 year olds 9:30 to 9:50 – 5 & 6 year olds 10:00 to 10:15 – 4 year olds 10:30 to 11:00 – playground with the 5 & 6 year olds
I think Snickers has mixed emotions about his school visits so far. Parts of it are fun and other parts are really hard work. It’s been a great learning experience for both of us.
When we first started, a large percentage of the kids were nervous with Snickers and would only reach out tentatively to pet him. He figured that out pretty quickly and would become very still. The kids sit in a circle and take turns asking if they may pet him and then approach to pet him. Snickers can tell who is the most nervous and will lie down and turn his head away from them. (I’ve explained to all of them that in his doggie body language he’s trying his very best to tell them he is not a threat.) I’m amazed at how sensitive Shibas are to human emotions. I feel sort of bad for Snickers too though, because he loves kids and he wants to PLAY. I can tell he is working hard at being non-threatening and also that he is disappointed/sad that we’re not romping around having fun. I feel guilty about making him work so hard, but I think he trusts me enough to know there must be a reason for it.
With each visit, more kids become comfortable with him and we have progressed to things like letting them give him treats (which of course he loves). He’s even given a few high fives and KISSES on command to the most comfortable children. There are still a few that are very scared but he makes himself small and still and they have all at least approached and petted him now. One girl who was scared to get near him a month ago gave Snickers (and then me!) a HUG last week. It was awesome.
Last week, most of the students in the older class walked him around the roof. (They held his leash. I walked behind them holding a long line.) That was fun. I played a little squeaky toy fetch with him in the hallway – on his long line – between classes and that was lots of fun for him. The second class mostly still just pets him and talks. Snickers laid down in the middle of the circle this week while we talked. The third class was having an emotional melt down this week, so we didn’t do much. We’d done some team dog walking around the classroom the week before, but this week they were too worked up. Snick said hello to the ones that aren’t afraid of him and we left.
Between the last class and the playground time, we sit in the front lobby and chat with the receptionist. Snickers hops up on the bench next to me and sits so quietly. Everyone who walks by stops to pet him and tell him how beautiful and well behaved he is. He gets lots of extra treats and love from me.
Going to the playground the last two weeks has been the most fun, because Snick can stretch his legs and also only has to interact with the kids who are really comfortable with him. There are two boys in this class that really love him. One of the boys sticks with us the whole time at the playground – hugs and pets Snickers, talks to him, and has walked him around the playground (with my help of course). This class has asked us if we’ll “come and play” some during the summer term too and, of course, I said that we will!
We were planning to go this week (their last day) but their schedule for the day changed and we had to skip it. We’ll be going back for the summer session though, beginning July 11. Overall it has been a good experience. I’m so proud of Snickers for being so good at reading the kids – knowing which ones are scared and which ones are comfortable. They can’t fool him either. When they are only pretending to be brave, he knows and is very careful not to move too quickly.
If it is possible, I think I love him even more than I did before we started.
Something I did not know until last week… this is National Dog Bite Prevention Week. I received an email asking if I would blog about it and at first I thought "I’m not a dog trainer. What do I know about dog bite prevention?" Then I realized, it isn’t about training dogs so much as it is about training people and I do know a little about preventing dog bites!
First off, the statistics… according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention each year, 800,000 Americans seek medical attention for dog bites; half of these are children. Of those injured, 386,000 require treatment in an emergency department and about a dozen die. The rate of dog bite-related injuries is highest for children ages 5 to 9 years, and the rate decreases as children age. Almost two thirds of injuries among children ages four years and younger are to the head or neck region.
One thing I’ve learned for sure in this past year with NYC Shiba Rescue… most dogs bite because they were not raised, trained and socialized properly by the humans who were supposedly their caretakers. We’ve had a few tough cases that we’ve taken into NYCSR and we’ve rehabilitated each one of them.
Our first, and most serious, was Ella. Her name was Sheba when she arrived. She was less than a year old and had lived in the basement of her "home" for most of her short life after being purchased from a pet store as a Christmas gift for children. Ella had serious resource guarding issues and was also a fear biter. The worst part was that we couldn’t figure out her fear triggers, so training her was challenging. With the help of a great trainer and several amazing foster homes though, Ella learned SELF CONTROL and SELF CONFIDENCE and after about 8 months with NYCSR she was adopted out to a wonderful couple who have continued her training very successfully. You can read more about Ella here.
Our latest case, is my little foster dog Penny. She was surrendered to NYCSR because she was an ankle and foot biter, snapped at visitors in the home and pretty much tried to bite anyone if startled. Her owner was going to put her to sleep if we didn’t take her. When I met her, I saw PURE FEAR in her face… not aggression! She’s been living with Snick and me for about a month now. She learned very quickly that we will protect her from the scary world and she stopped trying to bite everyone. I’ve been introducing her slowly to the things she fears (really big dogs, men who move toward her quickly, things that roll on the sidewalk) and she makes HUGE improvements every day. Now there is one less biter in the world! You can read more about Penny here.
Of course, the flip side of socializing and training dogs correctly is socializing and training humans correctly. Kids need to learn
A lot of kids are not raised around dogs or, even worse, are raised in neighborhoods where the only dogs they see have been trained to fight and/or protect. How can these children be raised with a respect for, and appreciation of, dogs? Is there a way to teach them that dogs are living beings who deserve to be treated with kindness? How can they know what wonderful companions well-trained dogs can be if they are never exposed to them? This is where a good humane education program can help.
Our school system, unfortunately, is asked to take up a lot of slack these days – teaching so many lessons that ideally would be taught by extended families and neighbors – and humane education is on the list. Snickers and I recently became a Delta Society Pet Partners team, specifically so we could get involved in humane education. When Snickers and I walk around midtown Manhattan, we get mixed reactions from children on the sidewalks. Most kids react appropriately – neutrally – and will ask if he is friendly if they want to pet him. Some are afraid of him and will freak out trying to avoid him. (This, of course, makes him notice them and try to check them out.) A few will simply reach out to touch him without any warning. I never let that slide. I immediately stop them, get on eye level with them, and explain that reaching for a strange dog can get them bitten. They usually jump back at that point and then I explain that SNICKERS is friendly and they can pet him if they approach him nicely, but that doesn’t mean ALL dogs are friendly. Then I ask "what if he weren’t so friendly and you reached out without asking and he BIT YOU?" That’s when their parents invariably chime in and agree with me. (Although, once, a woman got really upset with me when I started talking to her son, but it was only because she didn’t see that he had tried to grab Snickers as we walked by. When I told her why I stopped, she thanked me for being understanding and helped me talk to her son about asking permission and petting nice.)
As Pet Partners, Snick and I spend one morning per week visiting three separate classrooms. The students range in age from about 4 to 9 and they are following a curriculum created by the ASPCA. Last week was our second visit and their first lesson, entitled "May I Pet Your Dog." During our visit, the students took turns approaching us, asking politely if they could pet Snickers, and then approaching him gently. There were a few students who were especially afraid and Snickers laid down for them. When we go tomorrow, we’re going to review that lesson and then let the children interact more with him. As the lessons progress, they will get to groom him, feed him, walk him, and play with him. I think this kind of exposure to animals is incredibly important in avoiding both dog bites and animal abuse.
Susan Daffron, the founder of the National Association of Pet Rescue Professionals, has these great tips to help children avoid dog bites. Read the rest of this entry »
I learned what could have been a devastatingly difficult lesson this morning. Snick’s leash broke while we were out for our morning walk. He was running at the time (he does this weird “run away from it” thing after he poops) and the end hardware attached to his collar just POPPED out of the hardware piece sewn into the leash. You know the part where it swivels? Just popped right out! I guess the metal must have worn over time.
There are few things quite as frightening as seeing your heart dog running away from you on a midtown Manhattan sidewalk during the morning rush hour!
Luckily, I’ve done some training in case the leash ever broke or I dropped it. I keep him close to me and then suddenly release all but the end handle of the leash so it feels suddenly loose. Then I drop to the ground, call him, and give him big rewards for returning. I think that’s what brought him back to me this morning because shortly after it popped, he put the brakes on and turned back towards me, instead of continuing to run. He stopped to say hello to two pedestrians, who – even though I asked nicely and quite desperately for them to grab him – just looked at me, looked at him, and kept walking. Then I started calling him and he trotted back to me and started playing the “dancing just out of reach” game. I chose my moment carefully and managed to lunge for him and grab his collar. At most, he got about 50 feet from me and he never left the sidewalk, but I think my heartbeat and breathing completely stopped from the time the leash broke until the time I had my hands on him again. When I caught him, I just sat down on the sidewalk until I had recovered enough to stand up again.
I learned two things:
We have a new little foster dog, Penny. She makes the fourth confused Shiba girl that has moved in to Snick’s territory. (Counting? Secret, Shayna, Lola – who didn’t stay long – and now Penny.) I’ll write more about Penny in a day or two… the point is that watching Penny and Snick made me realize what a great host and teacher Snickers has become.
To add to that feeling of pride, when I opened the mailbox today, mine and Snick’s Delta Society Pet Partner IDs were in there! We are registered Pet Partners now. I’m excited because that means Snickers can go into the public schools. We’re one step closer to my goal of being involved in humane education.
Good boy Snickers.
Snick and I Got to Meet Janet Yesterday
Janet is in NYC for the weekend and stopped by our Shiba Meetup yesterday for her Shiba fix. I didn’t know she was coming, so when she introduced herself I was like "oh, hi" and then "wait! oh, hi!" I’ve known Janet online for a few years now, so it was cool to meet her in person.
Even My Dog is a Fire Sign
I’ve always thought it was interesting that almost all the significant people in my life are fire signs (as am I). My parents and my daughter are all Sagittarius. All three of the men I’ve been "serious" about in my life are Aries. I’m a Leo. I just happened to realize that Snickers is a Sagittarius too! That’s a little weird, eh?
And not just on the humans who do it.
When I speak with one of my partners in NYCSR in particular, the topic of our own dogs comes up a lot. We both have male Shibas that are at the centers of our canine universes. Or, at least, they WERE until we started NYCSR. These days, the rescue seems to be center of everything except the time I spend to earn a paycheck. It has taken over my social time, my SLEEP time, and, yes, my time with Snickers. I notice myself taking shorter and shorter walks with him, working longer hours at the office and at home, and sleeping later in the mornings when I should be walking him.
Yesterday another rescue person that I know was listing all the poor dogs that had been through her rescue in the last few weeks and then said
In all this, my Min Pin was neglected by me – not meaning to – and he died this Friday past… the 14th. Sometimes in rescue you neglect your babies without meaning to. I will never forgive myself… I never will…
Now, he didn’t die of neglect or abuse of course. Today she said
I am still crying and totally heartbroken. He was old, fragile, and very sweet. Had I not been so crazy busy I would have secluded him and given more gentle touch and love….
Now he’s gone and she’s full of sadness and regrets.
This morning I woke up late – again – showered, dressed and RUSHED Snickers through a quick walk. This one was even faster than usual because it was raining outside. When we got home, Snickers was very excited and I realized it was because we normally play in the apartment after our walk if it is raining. I was almost late for work already though and Snick had peed… I had to go. I change clothes, threw on my coat and gave Snick his "bye bye" treats. He was watching me the whole time, like "what are you doing?" As soon as I headed for the door, he started to whimper. When the door closed behind me, he started to howl. It only took a second for me to realize that I had disappointed him and that I’ve been doing that much too often lately.
Well, no more. The rescue can have my sleep time and it can have my social time, but it can not have my Snickers time any more!
cross-posted from NYCSR’s blog
OK, first off, I have to say that the sound of two Shibas merrily destroying roasted lamb bones is almost as soothing as a stable full of horses chomping on their feed.
Today is Shay’s birthday. She’s THREE today. My special birthday present to her is… a brand new, wonderful, forever home! The main reason we’ve had Shayna as long as we have is because I took her off the available list over the holidays while I contemplated adopting her myself. It was a TOUGH decision because Snick and I are very attached to her and she’s clearly attached to us too. I finally decided that I’m too busy at this point in my life to give two dogs all the attention and training they need though. Shayna is sooooo affectionate, too; she needs a lot of loving from her humans, so I decided to find her a home where she would be LAVISHED with all the affection she could possibly ask for.
We’ve received a lot of applications for Shayna and one really jumped out at me a few weeks ago. After getting through the approval process, they came over this past weekend and spent several hours getting to know her. She was a little overwhelmed by all the attention and kept checking in with me, but she was definitely warming up to them by the time they left. I love that they understand it will take time for her to adjust to a new home and they’ve been asking me all the right questions about how to help her with the transition.
So, this Sunday I will be driving her to her forever family in NJ.
Happy Third Birthday Shayna. Snick and I will love you forever.
NYC Shiba Rescue, Inc. (NYCSR) is participating in Super Pet Expo this coming weekend. We will be there to help educate the public regarding purebred rescue in general and Shiba Inu rescue in particular. Education is an important part of our mission, so this event is a key step for us. In addition to educating consumers about breed rescue, we hope to also recruit new foster homes and raise funds for NYCSR!!!
If you will be – or can be – anywhere near Edison this weekend (Friday 4pm to 9pm, Saturday 10am to 8pm, Sunday 10am to 5pm), please stop by to say hello.
Super Pet Expo takes place in the NJ Convention & Exposition Center in Edison, NJ, and 20,000 people are expected to visit during the three day event. Visitors will be able to peruse 200+ exhibitors and will be inspired and educated by wildlife and pet presentations including: – Ultimate Air Dogs. Led by former Major League Baseball player Milt Wilcox and his dog Sparky. Dogs run at speeds in excess of 25 miles per hour leaping into a 30,000-gallon swimming pool. Prizes are awarded for distance and height. – Faith, The Biped Dog. Disabled since birth, Faith is a ‘You Tube’ favorite because of her amazing ability to walk on two legs. – Pony rides, alpacas and more!
Visit superpetexpo.com for directions and for all show details including a list of all entertainers and demonstrations.
Snickers and I will be there the whooooole time (egads!) and we hope to see lots and lots of you there too!
Well… I’ve decided not to keep her. As much as Snick and I love her, I can’t handle – or afford – another full time dog. Shayna isn’t getting the leash training or the attention that she needs. I realized my primary reason for wanting to keep her was to keep Snickers company and that just isn’t enough of a reason. If there was another human in the house to give Shayna the kind of loving she wants, I would find a way to make the money piece work, but there isn’t. When I have more time for another dog, then Snick and I will adopt a friend for him, but not right now. In the meantime, we will find Shayna an awesome home and we’ll foster every now and then (with sanity breaks for me in between).
Recall is tough with any dog – some breeds more than others – and, well, I think the Northern/Spitz-type breeds probably take the cake on this one. Ask most owners of a Shiba Inu what happens when they call their dog and they’ll tell you they get one of two looks from the little darling… either “F you. Try and catch me!” or “Why? What’s in it for me???”
This topic has come up 3 times in the past week. Once on a Shiba mailing list, once on the meetup message boards, and just now by email from a new reader of this blog. Since it is such a hot topic, I decided to post here about it also. Snicks recall is fairly good – exceptional for a Shiba really. Here are a few things that helped get it that way.
OK, so I have a dilemma now. I’ve been through the pre-adoption process with two different adopters for Shayna so far and they’ve both fallen apart at the last minute. The first had a family emergency and the second found out they are about to be uprooted by the military.
Of course, Snick and I have become more attached to Shay every day and vice versa. Most of you remember how upset Snick was after ~T~ and Secret moved out? Well, he’s loving having a buddy around every day again! A few mornings ago I was watching the two of them tear around the dog run so fast that both their tails were sticking out behind them and laughing at how much they enjoy each other. I started thinking maybe I should adopt her!
A couple nights ago, I took Shay to my friend lulu’s for a test run sleepover because it looks like I’ll still have her when Snick and I are supposed to be in Indianapolis for Christmas. lulu signed up as a temporary foster and said she’d keep Shay while I’m gone, so we were testing to see how lulu’s dog feels about that. lulu emailed me the next morning and said
She sat in front of the door for about an hour after you left. Then she curled up on the couch and went to sleep. she misses you and you can tell she doesn’t know why you left her here.
and then in reply to my reply a little while later
She wouldn’t sleep with me. I put her in the bed, but she got out. She slept on the couch. At the dog run, she sat at the fence and looked for you guys. I think it would be good if you adopted her. She’s very attached.
I keep bouncing the pros and cons around in my head and I just can’t figure out what the best decision would be. Please help me decide!
I think, if it were just about me and my own convenience, I wouldn’t do it. However, when I think of both Snickers and Shayna, I want to do it. Snick is very happy with a pal and Shay is obviously very happy living with us! Someone emailed me yesterday and said "Shayna was unhappy where she was and now she is happy and content. I would say go for it!!!" That makes sense. Yesterday I was leaning towards doing it. Today I am leaning towards not doing it. What do you guys think? At the very least, please vote. I’d love to see your comments or email on the subject also!
I have to show you these photos of Snick and Shay. They love each other!
Besides, you can’t go wrong with cute doggy pictures when you have nothing to blog about.
I was crating Shayna at night and whenever I wasn’t home until she and Snick got to know each other better (and stopped fighting). Friday night, I let her sleep outside the crate for the first time. After I went to bed, Snick joined me as usual and a few minutes later Shayna hopped up on the bed too. I thought Snick might chase her off, but he didn’t. She’s done well… she stays on the opposite side of the bed from Snick and he doesn’t seem to mind. I had to go out a couple times without them today so I left them alone in the apartment with her out of her crate and that went well too. So, tomorrow, I’ll leave her out all day when I go to work. I think they’re fine. I took her bed out of her crate and put it by Snick’s (because she was stealing his bed when she wasn’t crated), so now they’re happily curled up side-by-side in their beds!
Snickers and I have our first NYCSR foster dog! Shayna was surrendered by her owner because she didn’t like sharing her home with puppies. (Her owner had other dogs that had puppies recently.) Shayna was apparently very unhappy and needed a place to live where she felt more comfortable. She’s definitely comfortable living with me!
And, as my friend Judith said when she met her yesterday… “She’s certainly Shayna!” (Shayna means beautiful in Yiddish and she is, indeed, quite beautiful.)
Snickers and I pupsat a couple of our buddies – Benno & Lily – this weekend. Snickers and Lily are in LUV. I got a couple quick videos of them playing together tonight.
Having the three of them in the apartment all weekend has been great, although walking them all together is often challenging! There’s a very primitive feel to having 3 Shiba wandering around the place, even in midtown Manhattan!
I have joked for a long time that Snickers is the Shiba Ambassador to NYC because so many people stop me on the street to find out what kind of dog he is. I have talked to people from all over the world about Shiba Inus.
Snick took his ambassadorial duties to the next level a couple weeks ago by deigning to be fawned over by hundreds of people at the AKC’s Responsible Dog Ownership Day in Madison Square Park. He was an incredibly good and patient boy and I couldn’t have been more proud of him. I’m so lucky to be owned by such a great dog.
To read more about what a successful event this was, please visit NYC Shiba Rescue’s blog.
I’m telling you, Shibas know how to party and it involves a lot of running and a lot of eating. Canine Cocktail Pawty #2 had both and was therefore a big hit. The running is a given when you put a bunch of doggies together in the huge event space at Animal Haven and the doggie eats were DIVINE (according to the masses of dogs surrounding the table anyway) and were provided – as was this photo – by Culinary Crossing.
Stay tuned. Pawty #3 is already in the works for the fall!
One of my meetup members posted some new photos today from our last meetup and this was in them. Ahhhh…. that’s my beautiful boy.
The only times I have ever heard Snickers howl have been when I’ve left and gone out without him. He’s OK when I leave for work M-F mornings. He’s sort of OK when I leave at other times and T is here. BUT if I leave unexepectedly at any time that I would (should) be with him and T isn’t here to soothe him… he howls. He doesn’t bark, cry, whimper or scream. He howls. It’s pretty spooky because it sounds like a coyote is in the building, not my sweet little pup dog. It’s a long, low, forlorn wolf-like sound. So, why am I telling you this? Because I just ran across this:
We do know, however, that howling keeps packmates together, physically. Because wolves range over vast areas to find food, they are often separated from one another. Of all their calls, howling is the only one that works over great distances. Its low pitch and long duration are well suited for transmission in forest and across tundra, and unique features of each individual’s howl allow wolves to identify each other. Howling is a long distance contact and reunion call; separate a wolf from its pack, and very soon it will begin howling, and howling, and howling…
That makes me want to never, ever leave him again!
Help Snick and me Make a Difference
On May 6, 2007, we are participating in The American Cancer Society’s Dogswalk Against Cancer. As participants in this event we can help make a difference in the lives of our friends, families, co-workers, neighbors, and of course… dogs!
Funds raised support the lifesaving work of the American Cancer Society and ten percent of the net proceeds will go to the Donaldson-Atwood Cancer Clinic of the Animal Medical Center.
Snickers and I are dedicating our walk to two individuals – one human and one canine:
Please join us in our contribution to eradicating human and animal cancers by making a donation. Simply click here to sponsor us!
Thanks!
One of the Shiba meetup members took this picture of Snickers on Saturday. It is a perfect example of him in his watchful referee/boss/mayor mode.
For now, that is all. (Unfortunately, I’m too busy to do the blog justice these days.)
Today was a Shiba Day. Snick and I went out this morning and he had a good romp at the dog run and then he sat on the bench with me while I had my coffee. We went to his favorite pet store so he could shop. After a few short hours at home, we headed to a Shiba Meetup at the dog run in Chelsea.
The meetups are almost always a blast, but they’ve become a lot more fun for me in the past few months as I’ve really gotten to know some of the other group members and their dogs. It was gorgeous out today and the dogs had a great time. Snickers got everyone riled up shortly after we got there and then he settled in to survey the crowd from his favorite hilltop perch. Several people commented on "king of the mountain" and "pack leader"" demeanor at the meetups, which I find amusing because one of the guys at our regular dog run calls him the Mayor. He has that attitude everywhere.
I was talking with several people during the course of the meetup about how the meetup group, and then the rescue group, got started and, of course, I blame it all on Snickers. He tells me to do these things for him, so I do. We decided he has some sort of telepathic abilities that he uses for the good of Shibas everywhere. A friend confirmed the mind control theory when she said she had just seen her dog – who tends to be pretty scrappy, especially with other male dogs – happily relinquish a tennis ball to Snick and then back away. Something is up with that!
Snick and I enjoyed a newly finished piece of the Hudson River Park, before stopping at our regular dog run on the way home. We had dinner with Miss ~T~ and Secret, took a nice long nap together and then, of course, we went for another walk! After all the activity, I guess I was too tired to resist the Shiba Mind Control, because Snickers talked me into starting a team for the NYC Shiba Inus to walk in the 2007 Dogswalk for Cancer. Speaking of which, click right on over to mine and Snick’s Dogswalk page and make a little donation to sponsor us if you can.
Edited 04/15/07 3:15pm to add video from the meetup. (I love that a couple members in the group do these videos… too fun!)
I’ve been busy. OK? Just busy, that’s all. Here’s a quick recap of what I’ve been up to since my pre-cocktail pawty post.
And that’s just the stuff I can remember off the top of my head!
So, yesterday I spent the day out in New Jersey (AUGH, THE HORROR) at the Shiba Specialty. I got to meet some great Shiba people and was able to love on some awesome Shibas. I learned so much sitting ringside with Kathi Melton of Bali Hai Kennels, watching the 42 Shibas that were entered. I must have been asking her the dumbest questions… I’ve never even BEEN to a dog show before, but she was great.
When I got home last night, Snickers was soooo happy to see me. He even forgave me for cheating on him with all those other Shibas. But then, with all my new found Shiba knowledge, I looked him in the eyes and I said to my darling dog "Snickers, my dear… your ears are too big!" Luckily, he doesn’t expect me to be Cindy Crawford and I don’t expect him to have a perfect rusty black coat (he’s a little too blue black) or tiny teddy bear ears! He adores me with all my faults and I adore him with his teeny tiny little faults!
Today, I spent the day at Westminster. I met a few more people and kissed some more dogs. It was absolutely great. I have to say thanks to Kathi, Valerie, and Alex for putting up with my non-expert-Shiba-ness for the two days. I had a great time hanging out with you guys (and Miss ~T~, Snick, and Secret enjoyed meeting you too)!
Miss ~T~ has a bean bag in her room. She got it from my folks for Christmas about five years ago. It’s gotten a lot of use -double as much for the 3 years that we’ve had Snickers. The zipper is broken, enough beans have somehow disappeared for it to be about 2/3 it’s original size, the cover is looking sort of worn… you get the idea.
So, a week or so ago, we briefly discussed the idea of getting rid of it. It takes up a lot of room and she doesn’t really use it anymore because she’s always at her computer or playing her guitar. Snickers used to play in it a lot, but not so much. A day or two after T and I had this conversation, she walked into her room and saw this… click for the cuteness.
I guess that ends that discussion.
I know, I know, I only posted twice in December. Well, my knee is almost healed, the holidays are over, and I caught up on about half of my past due work this long weekend. I logged into Bloglines today to find over 400 posts that needed reading though (eek), so I’m not QUITE caught up on everything yet. As soon as I can stop to breathe, I promise that I will post.
My sister took lots of great photos (including the one above of Snick) while we were all together for the holidays. I will post the ones of the pups soon.
He’s all grown up and he’s my "heart dog."
I never would have guessed that the silly, squiggly, mouthy puppy we brought home back in January 2003 would grow up into such a confident, wonderful adult. He is so self-assured and so loving. He’s reserved with most folks outside the pack, but he turns into such a silly boy when he is greeting one of his favored few (human or canine). There is just so much to love about this guy, I could blog about him for years (and probably will) without covering it all.
Happy Birthday Snickers. I love you.
Snick’s Canine Good Citizen certificate came today. He’s a certified good dog. (Secret, on the other hand is a CDB – canine dumb blonde – but we love her anyway.) Just for fun, here’s a silly picture of Snickers at the dog run a few weeks ago. He had just yawned, I think.
I was thinking today about a couple of my favorite Snickers moments that ended up as blog posts. They were:
One of these days when I’m not so busy, I’ll go back to blogging about stuff other than just Snickers. Really.
I’m writing a silly post because I’ve been very emotional about Snickers the last few days. I’ve realized he’s really my “heart dog” (a phrase I found ridiculous until recently, btw) and I can’t bear the thought of what I’ll do without him when eventually leaves me. Tonight, a friend sent an email to Shiba-L about finding out her elderly male Shiba has an enlarged liver and spleen – possibly cancerous – and I’ve been teary and sniffly ever since.
So, on to the silliness… this weekend my NYC Shiba Inu Meetup group wore their bandanas for the first time. They were custom made for us by Barb at bandanamania and they ROCK. If you need pet bandanas for any group or occasion – or even just for a single dog – she is the woman to talk to.
Snickers passed his Canine Good Citizen test today. Yay Snickers!!! We went to the My Dog Loves Central Park Country Fair with our NYC Shiba Inu Meetup group today. He was scheduled to take the CGC test on October 24th but they were doing testing in the park and I thought “what the heck! we’ll take it and fail and know what we need to work on.” So we did, and HE PASSED!!!
The one part I thought he might not pass was the “supervised separation” where I have to leave him alone with the evaluator for THREE MINUTES. Yikes! We have a hand signal for “be right back” though, so I told him to sit (so I’d have his attention, but didn’t tell him to stay) and then I told him I’d be right back and walked off where he couldn’t see me. I think I was fretting more than he was for that 3 minutes. The evaluator said he whimpered when I left but not loudly and he didn’t get anxious or pull on the leash or anything, so he passed.
If you want you can see the ten components of the Canine Good Citizen test on the AKC’s website.
Oh, I have to cancel our appointment for the 24th. Hee hee!
Some of them are a bit fuzzy because we were mostly avoiding using the flash. We figure she’d been through enough yesterday without getting flashed in the face too!
Click to embiggen*
*I’ve totally stolen the word embiggen from Lachlan and plan to use it every chance I get.
Snickers knew something was up when we left the apartment. He could smell Secret’s kennel in the hallway. He walked so nice with me to Bryant Park, looking up at me at every intersection to make sure I saw how good he was being. When we got to the park, I spotted ~T~ and pointed her out to Snick who made a FAST BEELINE for her across the park. He was most concerned with giving her kisses, but then he wanted to check out Secret. Secret was still a little dazed and confused and mostly ignored Snickers except to shy away from him a couple times. He decided that was no fun and hopped up next to me on a park bench. As soon as T and Secret walked off though, we were on our way after them. He didn’t let them out of his sight!
After a few minutes of wandering the park together, we decided to walk the few blocks west to the dog run. Luckily, Sundays are relatively quiet in my neighborhood, so the sidewalks weren’t too loud or crowded. Both dogs were wonderful on the walk and I gave T some advice on how to navigate the streets, people, traffic, etc. with a dog.
When we got to the run, it was empty, which was probably a good thing. Both dogs dashed in happily off leash. Secret sort of wandered and sniffed and explored a bit. Snickers mostly sat by me. Secret came over and sniffed at him a few times, but now it was his turn to ignore HER. After about a half hour, we put them back on leash and headed home.
When we got to the apartment, Snickers was VERY EXCITED that Secret was coming in. As soon as we got inside, he tried to get her to play, but she wasn’t interested. For the next few hours, she mostly napped in a corner of T’s room while Snickers napped by my feet. We fed them dinner and Secret ate most of hers and then we all went back to the dog run. Secret seemed much more confident about her surroundings this time around and she and Snick even did a little mutual sniffing while they were at the dog run.
One thing we have to work on… Secret can’t manage all the stairs up and down to our apartment. The stairs are ceramic tile, so they’re a little slippery for dogs that aren’t used to them. I’m sure she’ll adjust. She’s slipping and sliding all over the apartment floor right now too… she can’t seem to figure out how to walk on the hardwood. She’ll be ok until something startles her or Snicks bumps her on his way by and then she’s like a little cartoon doggie suddenly running and getting nowhere.
After we got back home, T and Secret went to bed. Secret’s crate is right by T’s bed and Secret went right into it for the night. I didn’t hear a peep out of their room until I woke them up this morning. Snickers seemed totally OK with her being there. He followed his normal routine… stayed by me till I went to bed and then went and slept in T’s room for awhile and then came and got on the bed with me for the rest of the night. He stayed with me till I woke up this morning, like usual. He didn’t seem overly concerned or curious about Secret being in T’s room.
More later… waiting for T to email the pictures to me!
What a day! When I woke up this morning it was raining. What could be worse on a day that I needed to introduce two water-hating Shibas to each other on neutral territory?!?! Snick and I didn’t even go out until about 11:30, but luckily the sun came out shortly after we went out. I told ~T~ to “wish really hard and maybe we’ll have a sunny afternoon for the dogs.”
Secret’s flight was supposed to land at 1:50, so we left home at 12:40 to catch the 12:50 NY Airport Service bus (which is only $12 to LGA)!!! When we got to PABT though, they said the bus left at 12:40, not 12:50! Grrrr. Anyway, the next bus was at 1:10 and we were on it, happily emailing and IM’ing away on our Sidekicks on the way to the airport. Luckily, when we got there, it turned out that it was an easy 3 minute walk from where we got off the bus to Delta Cargo. BUT, they said her flight had been delayed and she wouldn’t be available until around 3pm. Back to the terminal we went for OVERPRICED (but yummy) pizza and cheesecake (just T) and coffee (just me). We wandered back to Delta Cargo around 2:50 and they said she’d landed, but it would be a bit before we got her. We finally got her at about 3:25. T went to where she was and took her out of her crate while I finished the paperwork to claim her. She seemed more than a bit shell shocked at first – she was wobbly and had this glazed look to her. When we called her name, she just stared past us. T fell instantly in love with her though.
Pet Chauffeur was there to take us home (first time I’ve used them because of the cost, but so glad I did for this situation). The driver was so, so, so nice. He loaded the crate in the van while T walked Secret for a minute. Then we got on our way with Secret in T’s lap. The ride home was completely stress free. The driver dropped me and the kennel at the apartment and swung back around to Bryant Park to drop off T & Secret. I took the kennel upstairs, grabbed Snick, and off we went for the introduction.
You’ll have to check back tomorrow for the rest of the story – and pictures. I’m off to bed now!
If you could see my to do list… we’ll you would likely cry with sympathy.
Saturday morning, I made three lists: mine, ~T~’s and ours. T even added a few things to hers after I finished. It was a very aggressive collection of to do items, but I must say that T and I did some SERIOUS damage to those lists this weekend. I also did a few things that I’d forgotten to write down. What did not happen however was work for any paying clients. I had a bunch that coulda/shoulda been done too. <sigh> There just isn’t enough time in a weekend to do everything that needs to be done. Is that what weekends are supposed to be about?
I also haven’t had time to blog, but here are a few notes:
That’s it. Got a little more work to do and then I’m off to bed. G’night!
EDIT, EDIT! News Flash! (sort of)… 11:51 PM: I just checked Urban Hund’s website and the new pictures are up and (this is the news) I don’t hate the picture of me and Snick! LOL. Check it out. (From the home page, click into the fall collection and wait for the third slide.) Pretty cute.
A few days ago, I referred to a photographer, but gave no detail. Well, the detail is that Snickers got to be a model for a day (unpaid, just for fun) for Urban Hund’s Fall 2006 Collection.
The photographer, Kent Henderson, emailed me a few days ago to say that a picture of Snickers made it into the catalog! hee hee! I don’t know if Snick will be on Urban Hund’s website too, but if so, I’ll link to it when the fall collection goes online. In the meantime, click the pic to the left to see my six favorites from the shoot.
The best part was that we got to keep one of the collar & leash combos and it is really, REALLY nice stuff!
Note: Edited October 24, 2008, to remove link to photo gallery that no longer exists.
A few weeks ago, Snickers had his first sleep over. He goes to the dog run, he has playdates, he goes to doggie daycare, but this was new. His friend, Bean, spent a whole weekend with us! (Bean’s companions – Beth & Jeff – had to go out of town. We were dogsitting.)
Snickers and Bean met when they were puppies and they have been fast friends ever since. Bean used to live in our neighborhood, but he moved to Brooklyn, so now we have to coordinate visits. They get so excited to see each other. They had SUCH a good time that weekend. They were both completely exhausted when it was over. We spent a lot of time outdoors and at the dog runs. We also met up with a photographer (more on that later) who took these nice pics of the boys.
Bean and Snick even signed up for their first Agility class together, which started tonight, but unfortunately Bean had to drop out. He had a problem with his back about 6 months ago and he’s started limping again when he gets too tired. Class tonight was FUN, but it would have been so much better with our friends Beth and Bean.
Snickers doesn’t know yet. ~T~ and I have a secret… actually, we’re getting a Secret. A dog named Secret!
She is a six year old, red Shiba Inu. She been living temporarily, as a foster dog, with the breeder that owns and shows Snick’s brother in North Carolina since January of this year. She needs a forever home and we’re it. We haven’t set a ship date yet. (More on that later.) In the meantime, here are two pictures of our soon to be family addition!
PS There’s still work to be done on the blog, but it is nitpicky functional stuff. The format is done. I know a few of you commented on it already. What do the rest of you think? I based on on the look of the old blog, but updated it with some round corners and a little bit different layout and some neat plugins.
I just realized that Snick’s diet has changed again since I last posted it, so I thought I’d post an update. (I’m amazed at how many people come to my blog after googling “what to feed a Shiba Inu.”)
For the history of how we got here and some general things I learned, see this post. Here is the current recipe:
Serving Instructions for Snickers? Food
*I just bought Wellness Weight Management Super Mix instead, but by the time it arrived and I opened it, he really didn’t need it. He’s slim and trim and looking good!
I guess I forget – because he has such a big personality and heart – but just now I turned the corner into my room and saw Snick sleeping (and shedding) on the corner of my bed and thought “Gee, he’s really quite small.” So, I went over and gave him hugs and snuggles and kisses just for being so cute and wonderful. Of course, that woke him up and put an end to my leisurely afternoon (because now he wants to eat, play, walk, something.)
~T~ is in town for the week between visiting her grandparents most of the summer and going to visit her dad for a couple weeks, so I took today and tomorrow off work to hang with her. We’d just come home this afternoon after manicures and pedicures and I was checking my email before dashing out to see The Devil Wears Prada. Mostly routine stuff in my inbox: email from a client scheduling some computer work, email from Shiba-L, newsletter from UrbanHound. Interesting newsletter title: “The 10 top reasons why New York City is great (for dogs).” Let’s read that. Click. It opens. I start reading…
Dear urbanhounders, Outsiders believe that anyone with a dog in New York City must be crazy. But we know better. And so we dedicate this issue to the top 10 things that make New York City great (for dogs): 10. The boom in local Meetup groups for breed enthusiasts; 9. Blogs like NYCityPets and NYCgadgetgirl’s Snick the Dog that chronicle a dog’s life in the Big Apple; 8. Hound-friendly stores…
Outsiders believe that anyone with a dog in New York City must be crazy. But we know better. And so we dedicate this issue to the top 10 things that make New York City great (for dogs):
10. The boom in local Meetup groups for breed enthusiasts;
9. Blogs like NYCityPets and NYCgadgetgirl’s Snick the Dog that chronicle a dog’s life in the Big Apple;
8. Hound-friendly stores…
Wait a second! Snick the Dog?!?!?! Cool!!!
When I picked Snick up from doggie daycare this evening I said “Snick! Guess what? You’re famous!” He looked up at me and said “Neat. Wazzat? Can I go smell that pile of garbage over there? Please?”
So, there you go. Snick had his 15 minutes of fame and, like a true blue New Yorker, he blew it off and got on with what needed to be done. Good dog!
PS to UrbanHound – I’ve been visiting UrbanHound for almost three years now and I’m flattered by the link. Thanks!
The evening of the May 24th – Snickers was acting weird at the dog run – breathing fast, staying right next to me. He was stung by a bee at the run last summer and flies made him nervous after that (till it got cold and they went away), but this was a bit extreme.
The morning of the 25th – We were at the dog run and he started looking all around like something was after him and then he started to shiver and shake and whimper and cry. I also noticed him pawing at the sides of his mouth and realized he’s been doing that more and more for the past few weeks. I took a close look and noticed that his bottom lip on both sides of his mouth is red and inflamed. The right side looked like he’d scratched some flesh away.
The evening of the 25th – Around 5pm, T called from home and said he was freaking out, crying and shaking and looking all around. I went home and he was so intent on whatever he was imagining that I couldn’t even get his attention. Eventually he calmed down and I took him for a walk. He acted weird again at the run after our walk and we went home.
The morning of the 26th – He was sleeping more soundly than I’ve ever seen him sleep. He didn’t wake up when I petted him or even when I moved his head with my hand. His ear finally twitched a bit when I said his name (rather desperately, I’m sure, as I thought at that point that he might have curled up and died during the night).
Saturday, the 27th – Snicks went to the vet. She did a full exam and drew blood and the tech went with me to walk him outside and get a pee sample. She prescribed Clavamox (antibiotic) for his lips, along with Chlorhexadine solution to clean his lips with once a day. She also prescribed Tramadol, which is a mild sedative and pain killer. He acts freaky sometimes with sedatives, but she said this is mild and also if there is something bothering him the pain killer part will help also.
Her initial ideas were: – Focal seizures, – Internal discomfort of an unknown source, – Thyroid problems, or, simply – FEAR.
Tuesday evening the 30th – After a long discussion with the vet Tuesday evening, I am treating Snickers’ issues as fear-based, not physical. All his test results came back normal. There is still the possibility that it could be focal seizures, but the vet and I both think from the timing of the incidents that he is having panic attacks.
I treated his infected, chapped lips (from drooling, then scratching) and they’ve slowly gotten better. We only stay at the dog run briefly now. If he starts to stress out about the flies (or imagined flies), we go for a walk instead. If he freaks out at home, I give him the Tramadol. I’ve only had to do that twice. I’m going to order Rescue Remedy to use instead.
It’s going to be a long summer…
I talk to so many people since I got Snickers. (Mostly because tourists are more likely to ask someone with a dog for directions, but also kids that want to know if they can “pet the puppy” and even the random Shiba owner or enthusiast that we run into.)
Tonight, as Snick sat in one of his favorite people watching spots, I had a conversation with a nice Japanese lady. She came over to say hello to Snick. She was familiar with Shibas, but when I asked if she’d ever had one, it turned out that she has a Labrador Retriever in Japan. I thought it was sort of nifty that she has a dog from North America in Asia and I have a dog from Asia in North America.
That’s all… I know I’ve been MIA for a couple weeks, but I’ve really had so much going on. I’ll be back. I promise.
Some of you can tune out… I know I blog about Snick a lot. However, I noticed I’m getting a lot of visitors that have searched for things like “what can shiba inus eat” and “feeding a shiba.”
I’ve spent a LOT of time formulating the right diet for Snickers so I think I should share what I’ve learned about feeding a Shiba Inu. I posted his diet once a few months ago, but it has changed again since then. First, here’s the actual recipe: This recipe will feed Snick for 3 to 4 days, depending on his current level of exercise and number of treats received.
Serving Instructions for Snickers’ Food
*Snick receives lamb jerky treats on a regular basis. This is why the protein ratio on his food seems low and also why lamb is the last protein choice for his meals.
Now, here are some random things that I learned along the way.
If that doesn’t satisfy the curiosity of anyone searching for diet info, I don’t know what will!
will be long enough for Snickers to be in our lives.
I just thought it was really weird. That’s all.
Tonight, Snickers got to do something only country dogs usually get to do. He trotted proudly home with a prize held carefully between his teeth.
He didn’t exactly hunt this down and kill it, but he certainly proved himself to be capable of procurring dinner.
We were outside for our bedtime walk. As we were walking north on 8th Ave we started to pass two ladies carrying identical shopping bags. These weren’t just any shopping bags though; they each had a big picture of a DOG on the side. As Snick came along the lady in front, he slowed down and looked at her bag. Then he slowed down some more until the 2nd lady came up beside him and he looked her bag. Sped up to 1st lady. Sniffed bag. Slowed down to 2nd lady. Sniffed. Sped up to 1st lady and nudged. Of course, by this time they had slowed down and were going “oh, how cute! he’s looking at them!” The next thing I knew, Snicks must have sent out some subliminal messages, because one of them was searching around in her doggie bag for something.
I almost protested but it was so cute, I had to let it play out. She handed him a BONE (which I later learned was a Pedigree Dentabone). He put it down on the sidewalk to check it out and the ladies walked on. He then picked it up and practically DRAGGED me several blocks home, carrying it all the way. We passed the ladies on the way; as we went by, I heard “oh, look, he’s carrying it!”
So, to make a long story at least marginally shorter, we got to our building, I took off his leash and he trotted up to the fifth floor, bone in mouth and proceeded to immediately polish off half of it.
I didn’t get a chance to say thank you to the nice doggie bag toting ladies, but I wish I had. They created a memorable moment for me and made Snick VERY happy.
AUGH! NYC is COVERED in snow and it’s WONDERFUL!!! Snick and I spent almost two hours outside this morning running around and diving through snow drifts. We finally made it to the dog run and there were other dogs there and Snick had SO MUCH FUN running around playing chase in the snow. He’s a snow dog at heart. He looked so proud and regal when he would stop and stand and look around. Thing is, I didn’t take my camera because it is just too big. ~T~ met up with us about halfway through, but she didn’t have HER camera either because she lost her charger and the battery’s dead. I must get some pictures of Snick in the snow. I must must must!
Shibas? Evil? Never!
Um, well… maybe! Talk about evil eyes!
(These were taken back in October when Snick’s buddy Toshi was over to play again. No Shibas were actually harmed during this playdate.)
OK, I know I should be sleeping now, but I’m goofing around with the blog instead. What’s it to you? Sheesh!
This was just a few days ago. This is clearly Snickers’ favorite toy. I just HAD to share this. He was furiously playing with his hedgehog one day and then basically just collapsed into a nap with it.
And here is Snickers enjoying the brand new conference room at my job last Friday. (I guess this is proof that he’s a good boy. The company just completely renovated and remodeled the entire office space and no one hesitated to let the S Dog continue coming in on Fridays.)
I am so impressed with my good dog. After reading Bones Would Rain from the Sky and then reading some other training booklets by the same author, I have been working on teaching Snickers more self control. He’s at work with me today and it is lunchtime. One of my co-workers (who IS a dog person) won’t tolerate Snick being in his office while he eats lunch. Each time I call Snick away, he will check in and then run back over there. Today, I called Snick to me and put him in a down stay right next to my desk. He stayed there for 10 minutes without budging. (Then I released him, because I didn’t want to push my luck and ask for more than he’s capable of quite yet.)
What a good boy!!!
I know my Shiba readers will understand. He’s not spoiled. He’s just, um, well loved.
First, this is Snick enjoying the king size Sheraton Sweet Sleeper Bed while we were away for the holidays.
Second, this is the recipe for Snick’s food. I’m not exactly sure what it says about me that the ONLY time I cook is when I prepare Snick’s food.
Snick just walked out of the bathroom with a piece of tissue stuck to one paw. I swear, I am not making this up.
aka How To Stop Traffic in NYC
Snick and I just went for a long bedtime walk. We walked and walked and walked. He rounded the corner onto a street he walks on almost every day. There was still some snow there. He started sniffing around and checking it out. All the sudden he started to run back the other way. Then he abruptly stopped, sat, lifted a paw, and started to SCREAM.
Have you ever heard the Shiba Scream? No? Well, if you live in my neighborhood and you thought you just heard a dog get hit by a car, that was Snickers. With cold salt in his paw apparently.
I knelt down and held him. And he screamed. I put my hand around his paw. And he screamed. I started to gently rub it to see if I could get whatever was in there LOOSE. And he screamed. Less. Finally he whimpered and then he stopped.
Meanwhile a group of pedestrians stopped in their tracks across the avenue. People stared out of two cars stopped at the intersection. A lady walked over and asked if he was ok and then said she’d thought I was beating him (from the sound) until she saw I was holding him. A Con Ed crew stopped working and a woman on the fifth floor of the building across the street opened her window and was calling out something about “dog” and “hurt” and “?”.
And, yes, I had to carry him most of the way home.
lt is a beautiful morning here in NYC and I am combining several enjoyable activities, I am
This is all made possible by my Palm T|X, because now I can be online at the dog run! Yay!!!
And now, for one of Snick’s favorite weekend activities, we’re off to the local pet store!
So, I’m off tomorrow (Wednesday) on a roadtrip with ~T~ and Snick to visit my sister and her two dogs in Indianapolis. My parents will be there from down south and I’m sure a merry time will be had by all. Of course, I’ll have both my laptop AND my Palm with me, but I will probably be too busy to blog. Before I go, I leave you with the following:
PS This apparently isn’t working right in IE, so if you’re using Bill Gates’ crap, I’m sorry, but I’m just too tired to figure out why you can’t see the inside of my card!
Inu means “dog” in Japanese. I’ve known that for years. Akita Inu, Shiba Inu, etc. What I didn’t know until my mini me and I started researching breeds was that an obsolete meaning of Shiba in Japanese is “small.”
When I mentioned to a friend of mine last summer that Shiba Inu means Small Dog, she found it quite funny that when someone asks me “what kind of dog is that?” my answer is “he’s a small dog.”
Now, whenever I answer the question, a strange “Who’s On First”-type script plays in my head, especially if the person asking is Japanese.
Well Meaning Stranger: What kind of dog is he? Me: He’s a small dog. WMS: He’s not so small! Me: No, he’s not. He’s actually a little larger than the small dog standard. He’s 27 pounds. WMS: There’s a small dog standard? Me: Of course. He’s a pure bred small dog. WMS: Oh! What breed of small dog is he? Me: He’s a small dog.
Or, something like that anyway.
I still haven’t caught up on my work. I seem to have the developer’s version of writer’s block. Which sucks. A lot. <sigh>
Anyway, I just had to catch up on reading a few of my favorite blogs today. I am not going to let myself post (this doesn’t count!), so in the meantime, here is a picture of Snickers politely reminding me moments ago that I can’t go to bed until I cook his next few days worth of food.
I think he may have meant “can we go for another walk before bed tonight?” but it did, indeed, remind me to cook his food. He’ll just have to wait till tomorrow morning for that next walk. (Don’t worry, he spent 1 1/2 hours at the dog run a few hours ago.)
Spoiled dog.
If we were still sans dog, this list would look like this…
I think I’m better off with the dog. Although I’m sure similar lists (say, about house cleaning or free time) might seem to slant the other way.
Today is Snick Dog’s Birthday! He’s TWO.
My dog – Snick the Dog – He knows the days of the week. I don’t mean that I think he knows the names of the days, but he knows the pattern of the week and he keeps track. He knows that for 4 days I go to work and leave him home, for 1 day he goes to work with me, and then for 2 days I generally stay home and hang out with him.
On normal Friday mornings, when we leave the dog run, he trots purposefully past the turn to our apartment and heads towards my office. I have always attributed his certainty of our destination to the fact that I take my laptop/backpack to the run with me on Fridays and that’s his cue that he’s going with me. However, when I was on jury duty a few weeks back, I did NOT have my backpack with me when we left the run on Friday and as I turned towards the apartment to take him home, he pulled toward the office! I told him “no, we’re going home. this way,” and he looked up at me like “nnooooo…. I go with you on Fridays!”
I convinced myself afterwards that it was probably my imagination. Or a coincidence. Nope. Nada. I was wrong about that. This morning he did it again.
We had clients coming in to the office today, so I had to leave him home. Walking home from the run today, when we got to the corner and I turned for home, he started PULLING and trying to drag me east towards work! We went upstairs and as I was changing into my work clothes and preparing to leave, he didn’t lie down and wait for his “goodbye treats” like normal. He kept watching me expectantly, like I was going to realize I had my days mixed up, grab his leash and take him back out with me! He knew today was the day he goes to work.
The good news though is that my mini me came home from a four day school trip today and he was there to greet her. I bet he was ssoooo excited to see her!
Lunch Break Blogging: It is almost 2:00 PM and I have spent my entire day so far working on one friggin computer that suddenly decided to stop booting up. I’ve had a VP in Investment Banking computerless all day and it looks like I’m going to have to reformat c:\. <sigh> I’m running some last ditch effort diagnostics right now while I eat a hamburger for lunch.
I am catching up on a little blog-reading while I eat and test and this post about Dakota (a Shiba puppy in Pennsylvania) reminded me of Snickers protecting me from the boogieman on Halloween.
We were walking home from the dog run around 10:00′ish. 39th St was pretty empty and these three (probably teenagers) guys in costume were coming towards us, yelling at each other, throwing things, goofing off, doing the things people do when they feel safe behind masks. Snickers was immediately wary of them when he saw them coming. One of them realized it and came up to us on the sidewalk. He was wearing all black and a Scream mask. Snickers stopped and crouched into an attack posture and all his hackles went up. The guy made a growling noise at Snickers who then burst into warning barks – roo roo roo, roo roo, roo roo roo. I couldn’t help but laugh at my fierce little dog protecting me from the Hobgoblin on the street.
Seriously though, Shibas bond VERY strongly with their owners and I can imagine Snickers doing just about anything if he thought I was in danger. He gets into the occasional fight at the dog run (when he thinks another dog has stepped out of line) and he’s a determined little thing, all muscle and teeth. Someone told me once he was like a wolverine. I hope I never have to find out if he’d defend me against a person, but I bet he would.
It’s raining today, so Snick has his buddy Toshi over to play. Watching them race maniacally around my apartment reminded me that I never posted pictures from the last time Toshi came over. So… with no further ado, my favorite pair of Double Trouble Shibas.
OK, this is a quick post from work (BAD ME), but I just could NOT help myself.
Snick come to work with me almost every Friday. Since half the office was out for Rosh Hashana today, he got to come for an extra day this week! I keep a fleece mat in my desk and unroll it for him when he’s here. He’s so cute snuggled up napping under my desk, that I had to take his picture. (Although, I only had my phone to take it with, so isn’t very good.)
I will never leave Snick behind. Never.
Dogs found shot in two schools in St. Bernard Parish
I couldn’t help myself. This is one of Snick’s puppy pictures that the breeder sent us when he was just a teeny baby.
And THIS was a week or two after we brought him home.
T and I have periodically discussed and updated our evacuation plan over the years, so when we got Snickers in January 2004, he became part of the plan. (Darn, I keep meaning to buy a doggie backpack for him; I should do that right now.)
Anyway… we’ve always known most shelters won’t allow dogs and we’d have to sleep outside if we were hiking away from NYC towards the midwest (where my sister lives). After reading about Snowball (the poodle that wasn’t allowed to get on the bus out of New Orleans with her boy), T and I talked about it again. We’ve agreed that the only way in hell we will ever let Snick get separated from us during an emergency is if it is truly a matter of life-or-death.
Even then, I think I’d be hard pressed to remember I’m not allowed to sacrifice my life to save him. I know, I know, he’s "just a dog," but he’s also a big part of our little family. Truly, the only way I’d leave him behind is if I couldn’t save T otherwise. Her safety and well-being always come before everything else.
… a FAT SHIBA???
All the expert advice you read about Shibas will say that they are very smart, but very stubborn, hard to train, and never completely reliable.
Well, Snick is pretty well trained for a Shiba and he can be as stubborn as me. But he’s also fat. Why? Because Shiba Inus are extremely food driven. Someone asked me months and months ago "Isn’t it cheating if you have treats in your pockets all the time?" I said "If he slips his leash, I call him away from running into the street and he comes, does it matter that he came because I have treats in my pocket?" Seriously. Think about that for a minute.
Snick got fat almost immediately after he was neutered (14 months of age). I thought it was just a combination of the hormone change and his lower activity level from growing up. Well, it was – somewhat. I put him on a diet and cut his treats in half (half size, not half as often). He lost weight and looked great. Just recently though, he started getting fat again and it dawned on me… T and I are in the process of teaching him a new command! (New command, more treats, more weight. DUH!)
This weekend, I met a Shiba and her owner in my neighborhood (unusual, really – I know most the dogs in my ‘hood already) and the first thing her owner asked me was "is he really treat motivated?" I said "YES, can’t you TELL?" LOL
So, to summarize, Snick’s very well trained for a Shiba. And it SHOWS.
I think I’ll try to see how many pairs of cute Shibas I can find online. I actually found this adorable pair about a month ago and have been enjoying Sumi’s mom’s blog ever since.
Since it was so BRUTALLY hot when Snick and I went out this morning, he decided to spend the rest of his day like this…
Everyone asks why I didn’t kick the guy back. I HAD TO CHECK ON SNICKERS. By the time I knew he was OK (perfectly fine, just a bit befuddled), the jerk was almost a block away.
Besides, all that really mattered to me was taking Snick home and giving him lots of extra snuggly love.
Who goes to someone else’s city and kicks their dog??? Apparently, American tourists do. Read the rest of this entry »
Shibas are such regal little dogs and they usually have nice, exotic sounding names. One of Snick’s Shiba friends is named Toshi and another is named Kaleo. People (well, adults at least) look at me a little sideways when they ask his name and I tell them "Snickers."
But what can I do? T and a committee of her friends picked his name. I suppose I had veto power, but who can veto the name an 10 year old picks for her first puppy?!?
His registered name is actually Kawakirei BNT Sweet ‘N Nutty. Of course, I’m not really sure if that’s better or worse.
Here’s his brother. He’s handsome too, isn’t he?
I was at Snickers’ girlfriend’s apartment early this afternoon saying (to her owner, not to her) how much work I need to get done this weekend and as I was saying it I realized that my entire weekend so far has been about the dog… doing stuff for and with the dog.
Yesterday, Snick and I left home at 10:30 AM. We ran errands, we went to the dog run, we went to the pet store, we dropped stuff off at home, and then we went to Brooklyn to see his best friend. Yes, his best friend Bean lives in Brooklyn now. Beth, Jeff, and Bean moved out of our neighborhood about a month ago. Bean and Snickers were SO EXCITED to see each other yesterday. I should have taken my camera. I was extremely jealous of how HUGE their apartment is. People in Brooklyn have a lot of space! We went to Fort Greene Park and hung out under a big shade tree. When Snick and I got back to Hell’s Kitchen, we went back to the dog run and then we were finally home around 7:30 PM.
Today, we went to the dog run and then to his girlfriend’s apartment. This afternoon, we’re walking to the dog park at Chelsea Piers with Snick’s friend Toshi (another black and tan Shiba; I’ll take pictures). Then tonight at 8:30 his potential new dog walker is coming by to visit!
This dog has a more active social life than I do. (Maybe I should do something about that.)
It’s not like I have nothing else to say or talk about. I have a fairly interesting life… at least I think maybe I do. The dog has a way of getting me involved with people I wouldn’t otherwise know or spend time with it. It has turned out to be an GREAT side effect of having him.
A few weeks ago, a group of friends took 7 of our dogs to Echo Lake Park in NJ and spent the afternoon hanging out and letting the dogs play. We took a potluck picnic lunch, which was amazing and generally just had a good time.
These pics were taken by my friend lulu, with her Palm.
OK, my DOG has play dates. My daughter didn’t go on play dates… well, not until she was old enough to arrange them herself! I’m not sure how this happened; Snickers and his doggie pals are obviously colluding to influence our behavior. And they say Shibas aren’t social!
The picture on the left is Snickers and his girlfriend Ill Nana. The one on the right is him and his best buddies, Bean. Bean’s mom Beth took that one.
Snickers is the best little dog. This first picture is from a couple months ago. I just remembered it and had to post it. He jumps up on the cushions and watches the cars and people on the avenue below our apartment. When he was smaller, he thought they were something small to be chased and eaten. (I think, from the way he barked.) Now he seems to understand that he’s looking at the same place he goes when we go downstairs and walk outside.
This one was today. That’s my daughter he’s curled up against. She has a loft bed, so he sleeps with me at night. When she crashed on the floor cushions for an afternoon nap, it didn’t take him long to realize this was his chance to snuggle up next to her!
The photo that started it all. This past Saturday, I went to Bryant Park to take some pictures for a website I was working on (Bryant Park Capital). My daughter and her puppy, Snickers, went with me and I ended up with this great picture of him! At some point that day, I decided I wasn’t a half-bad photographer and today I decided I need somewhere to post pictures. So, there you go… now you know why this blog is here.
