Jenna & Snickers Promote Humane Education and Responsible Dog Ownership
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 comes 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 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.
… 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. 🙂
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.
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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 a 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 a 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.
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