The Misanthropic Shiba

Archive for January, 2010

Nicholas, you are… ridiculous! website is back up again!

We had a disturbing incident today at the dog park.  Tierce loves jumping up on the benches and until an hour ago, I didn’t have a problem with this.

Unfortunately, this time, he jumped up and got his leg stuck between the slats.  This picture isn’t a great example because this bench has slats close together, but some of the benches have slats further apart.

I was watching Tierce play halfway across the field, but didn’t see when he leaped up onto the bench.  I and everyone else heard him, though, when he jumped down and  his right hind leg fell through the slats.

For a horrible moment, I was running towards him, screaming, “TIERCE!  TIERCE!  TIERCE!  TIERCE!”  Like all Shibas can, when the need arises, he screamed like a piercing train whistle and about five people ran to save him.

I must say now that I’m very proud of my little boy, because despite having his leg wrenched, he did not bite or try to bite anyone who picked him up or held him or fed him treats (as one gentlemen did – Tierce gobbled down the treat and went back to screaming).  He was a very good boy.

I called Mischa to drive us home, because I didn’t want to carry Tierce all the way there, nor did I want to make him walk/hop home.  Once he got home, he was able to weight bear, so we’re not rushing him to the vet right away, but he’s not going running or for long walks for a few weeks.  He’s sleeping on the couch right now, a very demoralized Shiba.

I’d like to approach the City about having the benches covered at my own expense, but I’m not sure if this will be allowed.  Perhaps a letter?  I’m not sure; I’ll have to look into it some more.  Tierce shouldn’t necessarily have been on the benches, but he’s not the only dog that jumps up there and perhaps this will keep things a little safer.

Isn’t this cute?  I found this on http://shibazuke.tumblr.com/

Can you make your Shiba smarter?  A study on human intelligence makes me think that you might be able to increase the capacity of what’s between those pointy ears.  The American Psychological Association published findings that indicate intelligence is as much a function of one’s belief in oneself as it is the capacity to learn, reason, understand and come to conclusions.  If humans can change their capacity for learning by simply believing that they are capable, imagine what they can do by simply viewing their dogs as capable of learning more and more?

People often go up to the owners of dogs who do lots of tricks or are exceptionally obedient and say, “My dog would never do that/could never do that.”  And they are right, but not for the reason they think.  They think that their dog is stupid or deliberately obtuse and incapable of learning.  And therefore, the dog IS stupid and incapable of learning, because the owner has created an environment where the dog will always fail.

Contrast this with an owner who believes that their dog is capable of learning, is smart and will pick things up easily.  This owner is going to try harder to teach the dog, will get less frustrated with the dog and will expect more from the dog.  I would venture to say that this owner will also be more positive with the dog, because the owner is expecting to praise the dog for something well done rather than preparing to punish the dog for something done badly.

I am not a big fan of Stanley Coren’s ideas on the intelligence of dogs.  I don’t think that obedience alone indicates intelligence, nor does problem solving in the service of human ends.  Intelligence is the capacity to learn and retain information and to make decisions based on that information.

Have you ever met or heard of an intelligent kid who was bored to tears with school, therefore did not learn anything?  Intelligence does not make dogs easier to train; on the contrary, I think that it can make them harder.  This is not to say that “naturally” obedient breeds are stupid or even less intelligent than Shibas – just that training a Shiba or any smart dog can be more challenging since the owner needs more ingenuity to actually keep the dog’s attention and make learning a rewarding activity for *that particular* dog.

Still thinking about Shassi.

I am a point ‘n click game fan and one of the games I went to happened to be on a site that had, I noticed, some cute Shiba branding. The site is called http://dorubako.jp and I have no clue what it’s all about, except that it has a little Shiba as one of its mascots.

I have no clue what this is saying.  It looks like a game site, but I can’t be sure.  Hell, I don’t know if it’s advertising anything safe or legal.  But the graphics are cute.  Give them your money.

Come to think of it, the little Shiba below looks a lot like a picture I have up on my Tierce for Baron blog (long story – I’m campaigning for Tierce to become the figurehead for my SCA group).

Remember Bella?  They still haven’t found her, but as far as I can tell, they are still looking.  There is information about the trial up on the Bella page.

It still boggles my mind that part of the problem with prosecuting this piece of shit is that “from the standpoint of felony liability, the DA had to prove Animal Control had clearly made the defendant aware he had an aggressive dog, or prove it had bitten before.  Regardless of what had happened in the previous attacks, Animal Control was not able to show they had clearly educated the defendant about the aggressive potential of his dog, even after 3 aggressive dog calls. “

If you decide to get a dog, I believe that by the very action of bringing a dog into your life, you are accepting the responsibility to educate yourself about your dog, it’s potential for damage and what you need to do to control it.  If this “man” can’t be expected to know that his dog is aggressive and uncontrolled, then why isn’t he in diapers and a playpen with all the other people who can’t be expected to take responsibility for their actions?

Bella’s owners, Steve and Terri Belsley and their new rescue dog, Sammy, live in San Jose, but this is an issue that should unite responsible dog owners everywhere.  I realize that judges have to operate within the law, but the point is that the law should never protect someone from being punished for not doing their duty by their dog.

What can we do about this?  Off the top of my head, I can think of a few things: Take an active role in dog ownership in your community.  Attend city meetings that concern dog owners and keep lobbying for stronger laws against irresponsible dog ownership.  Support laws that focus on the owners, not the breed or type of dog involved – we cannot afford to have the finger pointing in any other direction other than the people who choose to own dogs and not care for them as they should be cared for.

Is there anything I’m missing?  What else can we do or have done to protect ourselves and our dogs from malicious people who use their dogs as weapons?

The Shiba inu puppy cam litter now have successors for 2010!

Click here to go to the live Shiba inu puppy cam

Proud Kika is the mother of 5 pups. While I shudder at the thought of the Shiba becoming the new “in” breed, I really have to give the couple who own Kika snaps for encouraging responsible puppy buying and Shiba ownership. They have made the Shiba Inu Puppy Cam into a vehicle to encourage donations to Shiba Rescue, so if you need a calendar, head on over to Cafepress.com to buy the 2010 Shiba Inu Puppy Cam Calendar.

Currently, the official website, SFShiba.com, is not showing pics of the new pups, but I’m sure that in ensuing weeks, new information will be popping up.

Link:

This is the best Shiba video ever.

Me:  Are we there yet?

Mischa:  Yup, get out.

Me:  I love our new car, but that paint the former owner used to spruce up the interior is making me ill.

Mischa:  It’s just a few more minutes.  We’ll stop off at my sister’s and then go to the hospital to visit Mom.

Tierce:  Hey, this place sounds familiar.

Me:  Sounds good.  Hey are we going to have dinner together tonight or should I pick up something at the hospital restaurant?

Mischa:  I think we’re fending for ourselves tonight.   I’m saving my Scotch egg for a snack if we end up staying with Mom for a while.

Tierce:  Don’t forget the dog.  I haven’t had anything to eat today!  I could be starving!

Me:  What’s a Scotch egg?  Was that one of those dumpling-looking things at MacLean’s Specialty Foods?

Mischa:  Yeah, it’s a hardboiled egg wrapped in sausage and rolled in breadcrumbs.  It’s really good.

Tierce:  I’ll say; it smells awesome!

Mischa:  Well, here we are.

Tierce:  Yay!

Me:  There ya go.

Tierce:  That smell… I remember being here.  I remember that smell!  I MUST HAVE IT!

Me:  Okay, and the computer can go here for now… and let’s see… I should take Tierce for a walk.

Mischa:  Well how about you do that and I’ll drive my niece to her job.

Me:  Great, see ya…  Tierce?

Me:  Tierce?

Me:  TIERCE!

Tierce:  CHASECHASECHASEKILLKILLKILL

Hamster that has been forgotten up until 3 seconds ago:  PANICPANICPANIC

Me:  OH MY GOD.

Tierce:  CHASEKILLCHASEKILLCHASEKILL

Me:  HOW DID YOU GET THAT CAGE OFF THE DESK?!

Tierce:  Kinda busy now.

Me:  NO!  NO!  NO!  LEAVE IT!  NEVER TOUCH IT AGAIN!

Tierce:  Well if you wanted first dibs, you totally should have let me know before.  I’m sorry; you can kill and eat it if you want…. Bitch.

Me:  Never touch this hamster!  Never look at it!  Never think of it!  LEST YOU DIE!

Tierce:  Okay, okay… look, I’m being submissive.  I won’t muscle in on your territory… it’s cool…

Me:  LOOK WHAT YOU DID TO THE FLOOR!

Tierce:  Dude, seriously, you’re getting way too freaked out.  I TOLD you it was okay.  Go ahead… kill and eat it; I’m cool with it being yours okay?  I mean, it would be awesome if you gave me a piece, but-

Me:  NO ONE IS KILLING OR EATING THIS HAMSTER.

Hamster:  Can I just go back into my cage and we can pretend this never happened?

Tierce:  I don’t know, you’re rather *unforgettable*.

Hamster:  AAAAAHHH!

Me:  YOU ARE NOT KILLING OR EATING THIS HAMSTER!

Tierce:  Killjoy.  Are you people, like, squirrels or something?  Do you save these things for the winter?

Me:  I am cleaning this up and putting the hamster back in the cage.  You are going to lie there and think over your bad behaviour.

Tierce:  Not getting the cage open in time before you came downstairs?

Mischa:  Hi, what happened here?

Me:  Tierce tried to kill the hamster.

Mischa:  Tierce!  BAD DOG!

Tierce:  Everyone’s making a fuss.

Mischa:  Is it okay?

Hamster:  Would you be?

Me:  It seems okay; I can only hope it won’t die in the next week or so or we’ll be in for it.

Mischa:  Here’s the vacuum.

Tierce:  My ancient enemy!

Me:  You stay right there!

Tierce:  You know what?  I don’t even care anymore if it tries to take over the world.  You’re both completely insane.

Me:  Okay, we’re done.

Mischa:  You know, I think we should bring him with us.  He can stay in the car while we visit Mom; it’s evening and it won’t be hot or anything.

Me:  Yeah, I agree.

Tierce:  Damn.  Heyyy, how are ya doing.

Hamster:  Suddenly less well.

Me:  TIERCE!  GET AWAY FROM THE HAMSTER!

Mischa:  BAD DOG!

Tierce:  Jeez, fine… although I bet you spoilsports aren’t even going to eat the damn thing.  The least you could do is feed me.  I’m starving.

Me:  Definitely bringing the dog with us.

Tierce:  Dammit, I wanted to stay there!  I bet the kitchen is full of good stuff I can find in the corners.  And I’m sure I could learn to open the door to the downstairs if I try hard enough.

Mischa:  Fucking dog.

Me:  I know.  What a little shit.

Mischa:  I guess that’s what they’re bred for, though.

Me:  Yeah.  What gets me, though, is the fact that we’ve never let him chase things or kill things and the second he sees a rabbit or a hamster, he’s like a great white shark homing in on a chum slick.

Mischa:  No kidding.  Well, here we are.  Tierce, you be a good boy!  Well, as much as you’re able to.

Me:  You be a good puppy!

Tierce:  Yeah, yeah, yeah.

***

Me:  Well, we’re back.  Tierce!  Get in the back seat!

Tierce:  Fine.

Mischa:  What’s this paper bag on the front seat?

Me:  What paper bag?

Mischa:  Oh you fucking little shit.

Tierce:  What?

Me:  What?

Mischa:  That little bastard ate my Scotch egg!