[chunhamujuk]

Good morning everyone,

I have a question regarding to my new shiba inu puppy. He is about 8 and half weeks old and was with a breeder who didn't socialize him at all.

Once he came to my house, he was scared and wouldn't move anywhere. After the first day, he was a little bit better and playing/biting stuff around the living room (I thought I was making progress).

Since this week was the Labor day weekend, I went to visit my parents with the puppy. As I expected, he was shy in the beginning. As a day past, he is better in the house; however, there are few problems that I have no clue what to do. My parents have a big backyard with a fence. Since he is already housebroken, I thought it would be fine to let him go outside in the backyard. Once he went outside to play, he wouldn't stop whining to go outside. In addition, if he goes outside, it's so hard to bring him back inside (I literally have to bribe/catch him) and he runs around constantly. Lastly, he gets scared of all of my family members.

I know there is something that I am doing wrong and maybe I am expecting too much from him.

I'm sorry to begin my first post with questions but since I am a first dog owner, I have no clue what to do!

Thank you for reading!

[cigwyllt]

Sounds like a perfectly normal, cheeky pup to me LOL! You know of course that he left his mother far too soon? But if he was so unsocialised it may have been a mixed blessing.

I think the problems you have described are quite separate - on the one hand he is shy and nervous and needs to learn to trust people. On the other he is quite independent and would rather be outside running around than being with you and your family, the rest of his pack.

It sounds like you are actually doing quite well with the trust issues. Allow him to make friends at his own speed and you will probably find that he is quite accepting. I have a shy dog (nothing wrong with his breeder or his early upbringing) who really does not like new situations/people and will bark and grumble aggressively. But he is really a very sweet little dog who, given time and if ignored, will come round within an hour or so and relax. It may just be that your pup needs time to warm up and, especially as you are aware of his personality you can give him time to discover that people are fun, not scary.

The running outside and not coming in when you call would worry me more if he was my dog. At his young age most pups worry more about losing their owners than exploring - that's why it is good to let them off lead as soon as possible when it is safe to do so, to take advantage of their worry! (That sounds cruel but it isn't meant to be ) What is your routine like at home? Do you have a safe outdoor area for him to play or is he still confined to the house? Does he know his name? If not that is the first place to start. While you are sitting quietly speak his name and reward him for looking at you. Then after a few days when you are satisfied that he knows his name start adding the recall command - *Name* come! or here! or whatever you want to call - keep a really light happy tone in your voice. You want to be the most exciting thing around.

When you are satisfied that he will come when you call him in the house you can start to work on him outside. If the area is large then use a long line. Don't let him off elsewhere unless you are confident of his behaviour in your home environment.

If you are certain that he can come to no harm in your parents' yard then that would be a great place to work with him. Call him back, reward him, then let him go again. Let him know that coming to you is the best thing ever and, no matter how frustrated you are with him, never ever let him see you are cross when you are trying to get him to come back :-)

[chunhamujuk]

Thanks for the reply!

I don't really have a routine right now since I'm not at home. But this is my routine at parents.

1. Puppy wakes up around 6 am and gets taken out by one of my parents to pee or do 2nd (He doesn't like my treat... I bought 5 different types so far.. haha he is picky).
2. I wake up shortly after to watch him running outside (he runs to me and greets me but after that he wants to stay outside... Side Note: I have been getting 4 hours of sleep because of puppy to make sure he is ok).
3. I bring him back somehow and feeds him (usually eat half of what I give him).
4. He whines and goes around my family to see if anyone takes him out.
5. Whole family ignores him and eventually, he gives up and go back to his cage and sleep for an hour or two.
6. Once he wakes him up, I take him out WITH leash this time (Doesn't really help).
7. He repeats 4 and 5.
8. I feed him again at afternoon and he does 4 and 5.
9. repeats 7 and 8 except it's dinner time.

I'm not sure what I need to do... Puppy plays with me when I have toy and move it around the floor. He will be going back to my house which is a apartment with less space to play.

I think he knows his name but he wouldn't accept the treat! He would rather eat the food.... I'm not sure what to give him...

Oh as a last thing, he comes if I call him when we are outside. Just that comes near me and thinking that I would be playing.

Ahh... I'm getting discouraged... I shouldn't be but yikes haha.

Thanks again!

[cigwyllt]

Sounds to me like you are doing really well. Forget about what you want to accomplish for the moment, look at what you've done: You've taken a shy, nervous puppy and given him a good home. He has learnt to trust people and to communicate not just with you but with all your family, he has learnt that he does not get his own way by whining and flashing his cute puppy face at everyone and he has learnt to settle himself down in his crate. Believe me - you are WAAAAAAY ahead of the training that a lot of people would have done by now.

Can you put aside a time when he can have a really good, long play in the garden. Give him an hour or so when he can just run and explore and then for half an hour or so practise calling him back to you, if he doesn't want a treat (I've got one who loves food indoors but has no interest in treats at all when she is out playing)make a biiiiiig fuss, lots of high pitched praise and scratches under his neck (let him get used to you playing with his collar) so that he has no idea when you will be putting his leash on to take him back indoors.

[reeskujo]

You need to also take into consideration the puppy's personality as far as his breed id concerned...The Shiba Inu is a close cousin of the Akita with much of the same temperament only in a smaller size...

By nature they are very independent and willful and when it comes to stranger the can range anywhere from not interested to aggressive...You're doing well to make sure he gets socialized but don't worry if he doesn't take quickly to strangers as it's a normal trait for his breed...The most important thing to do is to make sure that he know you are in charge and it's tough with a puppy and even tougher with one who is independent...I've had Akita's all of my adult life and puppy hood as I'm going through now with Seigi can be very trying because these breeds constantly try to get in top dog position so it's important to put them in their place....

Because of their natural tendency towards independence and willfulness they are always a work in progress...Even as adults I would make my Akita's go through their entire training routine at least once every 2 weeks.....This helped to keep them more reliable with obeying commands as well as reminding them that I'm in charge...

It sounds like you're on the right track you just have to have a lot of patience because it'll take some time..

[chunhamujuk]

Update:

Thanks for the replies everyone! The puppy seems to be doing a little better than before. He had his first encounter with another puppy today who is 4 months old. He was a little hesitant at first, but still sniffed him a bit. However, he became shy and hid behind me. The older puppy really was great and wanted to bring him out of shell. He wasn't really playful though. Is this normal behavior? Sorry for the dumb questions! Just a newbie at this.

Thanks again!

[Lunareclipse]

Some dogs are more playful than others. Buster will play with anything that moves, or looks like going to move, or moved an hour ago, etc... But my two girls don't like to play and they have never liked to play. Some dogs won't play very much until they hit their teenage years and then they are just one big furry ball of energy.

[cigwyllt]

The OP made no mention of any growling or aggression. Not every issue that arises in a dog's life is caused by dominance. It is not possible to make every introduction in a dog's life after a structured walk.

[chunhamujuk]

Thanks for everyone's replies!

Updates:
He follows me wherever I go most of the time. He only feels really comfortable around me and my girlfriend. He growls and barks a little when we play, does this need to be corrected? I see improvement in his shyness with my family members. I am thinking about leaving him at my parents' house so he can bond more with them? Do you all think this is a good idea or is it too soon? We have only had him for one week. I don't want to reverse all the progress he has made by leaving him there for a week. I will be visiting them while he's there once or twice. Lastly, he digs in his cage while he's getting punished for bad behavior? Is this normal? How can I correct this? Thanks for all the input!

[Yogi]

The crate should never be used as a punishment. This totally takes away from using it for proper use.

[chunhamujuk]

Hey guys,
I have another quick question. I learned that when the puppy misbehaves, you are supposed to flip him on his back and hold him down until he calms down and become submissive. I have tried this a couple times with my puppy, but when I have him flipped over, he whines, tries to bite, screams, and squirms for a good minute. He doesn't seem to give up! I finally flip him over and let him be. What am I doing wrong? Is it normal for him to be that crazy while flipped over? I know its a dominance issue. Please help.

Thanks

[Yogi]

The alpha roll is somewhat of a common technique designed to imitate that of an adult pack leader whether dam or sire's action when disciplining a pup that is out of line. Personally I have never found it to actually work due to the results you are seeing. Granted though, some of my pups that I kept are still treated this way by their mothers and they can do it but when I try, just does not work.

[lange]

Hello chunhamujuk. I wouldn't leave your pup at your parents. I think a secure & consistent environment with you is more ideal. The first few weeks with a new pup should be focused on getting him used to it's new home, routine, socializing & bonding with his main family. You can have your parents come by to visit & take him with you when you go there, like you did before.

IMO, when the puppy misbehaves you shouldn't be doing an alpha roll. You should be redirecting your pup to do what it's supposed to do then rewarding it when it does what you want.

As for using the Alpha role, some people like using it to make the dog submit authority to the person. Some people think it's too aggressive. Some people claim it works...Like Yogi said, dogs are much better at applying it than we are. It's doesn't come naturally for us so I think we tend to mess up when we try doing it. I've also heard that if you do the alpha roll and don't follow through with it you just lost. lol So what is the point?

You can establish yourself as alpha in so many different ways to a dog. You just need to be consistent.
* You always walk in or out of the door first
* Reward when they do as you ask
* You lead on a walk
* You eat first
* Have them sit & wait nicely (as patiently as can be with a little pup) before giving them their food, play, letting them out, throwing the ball, whatever you can think of..The point is things happen when you want, not vice versa
* Basic dog training/obedience

Since your new to puppies, have you picked up some good dog books? Here's some I'd suggest:
Before and After Getting Your Puppy: The Positive Approach to Raising a Happy, Healthy, and Well-Behaved Dog
Dr. Ian Dunbar (just take his "deadline/milestones" with a grain of salt, don't get too hung up on his rigidity)

The Power of Positive Dog Training by: Pat Miller

[angiesample]

For my dog i have discovered that putting her on her back is the best way to discipline her. My dog is extremely in tuned to me and has a high drive to want to be perfect. Yelling at her was just to much.. she would literally shut down and shake. I used a "naughty mat" for a while but she just doesnt need to be punished that badly. The best thing for my dog is put her on her back . She instantly knows she did something wrong but it doesnt stress her out or devastate her as much as the other approaches. I guess every techniques works different on different dogs but this technique has been as incredible tool in my household.

[iplaywind]

Sometimes I am busy on writing, my dog come to ask me to play with him, then I am boring and only could give him more dog food and let him eat on his table, of course I have to supply Authority dog food as usual.