just thought you all should know that little fact!
luv,
snickers
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hi folks, snickers here!
this weekend i did get to meet another PAWESOME black and tan shiba inu. (she iz my new girlfriend. ssshhhhh) her name iz emmie and she iz walking all the way across the country and back with her human, troy yocum. sometimes she rides in the truck but she haz walked 2,300 miles on her own four paws!!!
here iz a pikture of emmie and me when we first met and a couple piktures of us walking together.
while we were hanging out together, emmie told me that she haz a Sekrit Mishun! i promised her that i would help let peeples know about it so we can all help her be successful. so, go here to learn about emmie’s mishun. if you can afford even just a little donashun to help, my mom sez it iz a very good place to spend your donashun dollars!
luv and shiba kisses,
snickers
To learn more about Troy and Emmie’s hike across America, check out Troy’s site, DrumHike.com.
Also see:
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My mom is a Peke person. She’s about as crazy about Pekingese as I am about Shiba Inu (and that’s a lot crazy).
After having Pekes her entire life, she decided in the late 80s that she didn’t want another dog. I then surprised her with a puppy a couple years later. (Bad, bad, bad, but I had my dad’s permission.) Mother was REALLY mad at me for, oh, maybe 30 seconds… the length of time between her realizing I had a PUPPY carrier and seeing her new puppy’s face. 
For the next 14 years, "Poco Tempesta" and my mom adored each other unconditionally. When Poco passed away five years ago, we (the family) all agreed that no one would be surprising Mother with any more puppies. Two years after that, Mignon (who had moved in with my parents after my grandmother went into a nursing home) passed away and my folks’ house was void of dogs. Of course, Snickers and Secret go over there fairly frequently to keep the fur count at acceptable household levels, but it just isn’t the same.
"Kudzu's" shelter photo
Then last Tuesday, my dad says “I think your mother is going to get a dog today.”
WHAT? How did THAT happen?
Unbeknownst to any of us, Mother had been cruising petfinder.com periodically. Last Monday, a sweet little neglected Pekingese boy showed up in a shelter in Oxford, MS. I think it was love at first sight for my mom. Tuesday afternoon, we drove to the shelter to meet little “Kudzu.” The shelter told us that he and five other small dogs had been left tied outside their former (closed) facility. All the way there, my mom was worried about whether getting another dog was the right thing to do, whether he’d be healthy, whether he’d be friendly, and pretty much everything else she could think of to worry about. Once she saw him though… she didn’t want to leave without him! He had been terribly matted, so they’d chopped off all his matted fur and he had the messiest “puppy cut” I’d ever seen. His nails were super long, his eyes were cloudy and his teeth were covered with tartar. At one point, she asked a shelter worker whether she could bring him back if he turned out to have any deadly serious health problems. I thought to myself “She wouldn’t do that,” but I didn’t say anything.
The shelter was about to close, so she left her adoption application and we drove all the way back home. She was already making plans for taking him to the vet, buying him new things, picking out a good food. Oh, and she’d already decided to name him ChuChu! 
The next afternoon, she IM’d me that her application had been approved and off we went, back to the Oxford Lafayette Humane Society to pick up little ChuChu.
Thursday, ChuChu went to the vet. The vet agreed with me that ChuChu has “crazy looking eyes” and confirmed that he is most likely blind. Blood and urine were collected for tests. Rabies shot was given. Testicles were confirmed to not exist. ChuChu was pretty much a good boy. Friday, the vet called and said that, unfortunately, the blood work indicates that ChuChu is in Stage Two Renal Failure. Mother bought some Science Diet k/d and I started the process of gathering research for her to read on care and nutrition for dogs with failing kidneys. Taking him back to the shelter was, of course, never an option.
ChuChu in his new home.
Welcome to the family, ChuChu!
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I was quoted in this blog post, Snick tweeted about it and I’m testing a new way to add tweets to my blog. So, there you go.
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I’m always a bit dismayed when people give up on integrating a new dog into their home after just a few days. It is UNREAL the number of people I have spoken to who think (1) that they can tell if their dog would be happy living with another dog based on an initial meeting and (2) that it is hopeless if the dogs fight in the beginning.
Secret, Snickers and Sophie waiting for treats together
Actually, Snickers has fought with every new dog that has come into our home, other than Secret. He and Shayna (my favorite foster dog EVER) fought like crazy at first but ended up madly in love with each other after a few months. Sure, some dogs will get along right away, and they might even live together well right away, but that’s the exception, not the rule. The good news is that you don’t have to have any special skills – other than patience – to successfully integrate another dog into your family!
It’s all about baby steps. You don’t throw new dogs together in a house, feed them together, give them access to each other 24/7, and expect them to get along perfectly. You crate the new dog when you’re sleeping and when you’re not home. You gate off parts of your home, so they can spend time apart. You feed them where they can see each other from a safe distance, but not get to each other. You gradually increase the time they spend together. You gradually decrease the distance between them at key times.
Three weeks ago, I couldn’t eat with all three dogs on the same side of the baby gates. Food + close proximity = dog fight. Now, however, all three dogs will sit side-by-side waiting for bites while I eat. I still don’t leave them alone together when I’m not home, but I’m perfectly willing to let them roam the house and yard together all day when I AM home – whether I am actually watching them or not. They still fight sometimes, but not often and not as wildly as they did before.
Remember, traveling the path to peace in the pack requires patience and baby steps.
Sorry about the blurry pic. I was trying to hold their attention with treats in one hand and take the photo with the other hand!
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I took all three dogs to the vet today. Sophie’s checkup went well. She gave the vet tech kisses and she wasn’t anxious about anything, even when they microchipped her with that huge needle! The vet says she’s very healthy and in great shape.
He’s not too concerned with the “fly biting” behavior. Since she is so young and it seems to be triggered by anxiety, he thinks there’s a good possibility that it isn’t neurological and it may just go away. I’ve seen some improvement this week, which could be because she’s more used to living with us or because I’ve almost finished switching her from her kibble to our good food, or both. He suggested keeping a log of when she does it so we can determine if there are any specific triggers. The important thing was that he wasn’t really concerned.
Sophie and Snick had a great romp together today before we went to the vet. They started playing in the house and then went tearing out the back door and ran Shiba 500s all over the back yard. It was awesome fun to watch. I want her to go to a home with another dog, so she has someone to play with.
Last night she snuggled with me on the couch. She is like a stuffed puppy when it comes to snuggle time. She definitely needs an owner who will let her on the furniture for snuggle time!
If you’re interested in adopting Sophie, please submit an adoption application! I would prefer to adopt her out locally (or semi-locally) but I will happily drive her to the right home.
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