My First Shiba

anticipation of a bark

they say in order to truly relax, you must not be worried that something will un-nerve you.  that’s why it’s a good idea to take the phone off the hook before you meditate.  anticipating an interruption can be more distracting than the interruption itself.

well, thanks to kenji, i was grabbed out of the delightful grip of some deep meditation.  i was about 15 minutes in when i heard a barking breakdown.  since Mr. K is often a whimperer not a barker, and i was nice and calm, it took about 20 seconds for me to realize that my dog was going nuts two rooms down from where i sat.  never left unattended, kenji was with my wife.  (who was sleeping, so i guess that’s about the same as being unattended, so strike that last statement from the record).

so why the commotion?

while kenji napped i treated myself to a nice cup of tea - which i left on the coffee table after i was finished.  god forbid we move anything around in the house without kenji’s approval first.  upon waking, Mr. K had the tea mug in his line of sight and the rest is history.

being jarred from a relaxed state - when you look forward to it all day - totally sucks.  and now the next time i try to decompress, i’ll be anticipating a bark.  lucky me.

looks like Mr. K just increased his crate time.

the invisible owner

kenji loves new people.  i tell myself not to take it personally, but when a ‘stranger’ walks through the door, and the little guy can’t contain himself, i feel like chopped liver.  i feel like saying, ‘hey, remember me?  the guy who pays the vet bills?’

i’m jealous of the greeting others get.  i get the standard…

sniff, sniff, bite, bite, grab toy, PLAY.

boring!  if anyone should get the mega-warm welcome, it’s THIS guy.  ;-)

paw, paw and more paw

i was so happy when kenji mastered the ‘paw’ command.  always a crowd pleaser, he entertaing children and adults alike.  but somewhere over the past week he has decided to game the system.  rather than go through the entire drill “sit, up, sit, paw” - he has decided to cut right to PAW. no matter what i ask of him, i’m getting the paw first.

KENJI, SIT = Paw
KENJI, UP = Paw
KENJI, STAY = Paw
KENJI, PAW = Paw

i look forward to the challenge of un-teaching the paw command.  whoever said dog ownership is a roller coaster ride, was definitely not kidding.

are you barking at ME?

i went home for my usual lunchtime puppy walk and Mr. K was out of sorts.  he kept sniffing the air in the kitchen and letting out a little bark.  distracted, he barely touched his lunch.

when it was time to return to his crate, he was paralyzed by fear in my presence.

hey buddy, it’s me!  the guy who spent good money on you.  the one who loves you, cares for you, feeds you, takes you outside, etc.

what nerve!

the halloween attack

poor kid.  his dad encouraged him to pet kenji (despite my warning that he’s a teething puppy who still needs some serious socialization).  the end result, the little kid (dressed as superman), leaves hysterically crying and i get bitten on the nose.

the small superhero was petting an over-excited puppy and ended up getting a paw to the eye.  while not the best behavior, i can give the puppy a pass.  i apologized profusely to the understanding dad.  “it comes with the territory,” he said.  though i’m willing to bet his wife was not so sympathetic when he arrived home.

what really pissed me off was the way kenji reacted when i told him no and picked him up.  he turned to me and in a mean-spirited way, nipped at my nose.  there was no blood but it did hurt.  we silently returned home and he was put into his crate.

he knew he was in trouble.

PRIORITY #1: I need to find an available puppy kindergarten this week.