A General Update

First, pictures. We just took them this morning and they're just the cutest thing---like most pictures of Zim.

So, first thing we'll talk about is potty-training. Zim has been doing fantastic. He hasn't had an accident since the last time I posted that he had one, which means that we are one day short of a month accident free. I think he's actually potty-trained. Finally. God, I really sometimes thought we'd never do it but we're finally there. I'm so proud of the whole family---me, Fathead and, of course, my wonderful little Zim.

In other news, Zim had his 6-month check-up at the vet this past Friday and I'm really overall not happy with how it went and Fathead and I have decided we need to make some changes in light of it.

First, Zim has developed a fear of the vet. We were hoping that stuffing hot dogs and cheese into him would help but it only did so much. It kept him calm right up until he got onto the table, but even with those tasty treats on offer, getting up on the table still definitely freaked him out, even though he'd been calm (well, probably more expectant since he knew we had good treats) up until then. Then the poking and prodding happened and the most I could get him to do was lick a treat. Then they needed to put stuff in his eyes. He was fine for the first drop, but for the second he knew what was happening and he growled. It was then that things went to shit and that I really wish that Fathead and I had made better decisions.

First, they suggested a muzzle. I was not entirely comfortable with this, but I do think it was necessary for the eye drops. Even after a fair amount of conditioning, it's not his favorite thing when I clear his eyes. Having a stranger put cold drops in his eyes when he was at the scary vet was going to get someone bitten. 

What I didn't like, though, was when they suggested that we leave and they take him in back. We agreed and I really think it was the wrong decision. The entire time we were away, all I could think about was my baby and I immediate felt like I'd been a terrible parent for agreeing to let them take him back when I wasn't really comfortable with the suggestion in the first place. When they have him out of my sight I have no idea what's being done to him and I know he's past his threshold already because he wont take the very rare and absolute best treats ever of hot dog bits. I was scared they would traumatize and ruin my dog.

They didn't, but Fathead and I talked about it and we're going to proceed differently moving forward. 

First, we're going to try going into the vet whenever we go into PetSmart and do some counter-conditioning with him. They said that as long as we ask the receptionist we can even take him into the exam room to try and get him okay with being on the table.

Second, we're not going to let them take him in back again. Anything they can do to our dog they can do in front of us. It was an uncomfortable experience and we're not having it again.

Third, despite what it sounds like the vet wanted to do, he will not be muzzled regularly for visits. Yes, if he growls (or if we already know from experience that he will), he will get muzzled but only then and only for the purpose of whatever he's growling for. Zim is a sweet dog who loves everyone and his first reaction to something he doesn't like is to get away, not get aggressive. He's not generally aggressive at the vet, even if he is very scared (and he is). He doesn't need a muzzle 95% of the time that he's at the vet and I refuse to have my dog muzzled unnecessarily.

Lastly, we're going to watch when we schedule our vet visits. We've decided to make sure they're all with Dr. Pavlovsky, who Zim has never had a problem with and who we like a lot. Unlike the vet who was there at this last visit, Dr. Pavlovsky has never asked that Zim be taken in back even though he did once growl when someone tried to force his mouth open. Basically, I think we're going to have an easier time going with our plan of no muzzling unless necessary and no being taken in back. I also think he's less eager to push unnecessary tests which is an unrelated bonus. Honestly, if he were to open up his own private practice while we were still in Champaign, we would follow him to his new practice. I'd been thinking earlier that we should be trying to make sure we only see Dr. Pavlovsky and this latest vet visit has solidified it.

And now, to end this post on a happier note, Zim has gotten huge---by which I mean he has apparently grown 2.1 lbs in the past month, because he weighed in at 16.4 lbs at the vet. I was absolutely amazed. I mean, I suppose he has been looking a lot less tiny next to the other dogs at the dog park but I had no idea he'd grown so much. Honestly, since he'd been static at about 14.3ish lbs for the last 2 months before this visit I'd figured he'd probably stopped growing. I mean, I figured he might get another growth spurt around nine months, but I honestly didn't really think he would. Well, he's 2 days from nine months old and here he's grown 2 lbs. I mean, he's still a slight, skinny little thing but he's definitely bigger.

Zim's First Off-Leash Experience

This was entirely an accident. I really don't know how it happened but somehow when I went to unhook Zim's harness from the car and hook his leash to it, I missed. So he hops out of the car with the leash clip lying on top of him rather than attached to him.

At first we didn't notice. Zim stuck close to Fathead, who had the leash in hand. Then I saw that the leash was just hanging and Zim was totally free. I told Fathead, who tried to grab the dog to leash him. Zim skittered away, seemingly thinking, "what the Hell is this?"Having evaded Fathead's reach, he begins his calm stroll straight to the front door. We follow him, calmly, and as he's just reaching the door, Fathead grabs his harness and leashes him. I then come and unlock the door.

So, really, Zim did surprisingly well with this. Mind you, no rabbits came skittering by and Zim was tired from his day at doggy daycare and probably just wanted to go take a nap, but still, he was very well behaved. I'm glad that was the case. It makes me a little bit less scared of him getting lose.

Mind you, that's only a little. His recall is still selective and he's still very much a dog who will choose to run up to another dog or chase a squirrel rather than come when called. This does not mean that Zim will become an off-leash dog.

Zim Playing Cards

Realized I never posted these and they're just too cute not to post.

Keeping Puppy Safe In the Car

So, I was bopping around the internet trying to figure out if there is an even better way of keeping puppy from coughing when he decides to pull on his leash since he has a delicate throat (possibly the result of collapsing trachea but the vet says that since he shows no other symptoms and he's otherwise really healthy, not to worry about it for now), and I ended up finding this:

http://centerforpetsafety.org/research/

It's the test results for a number of car harnesses, all of which fail catestrophically---and I'm pretty sure Zim's harness was tested. The company, Kurgo, claims that they've done some more tests on their products and their's should not fail, but I'm honestly not so sure given that it really does look to me like their product was one that was tested and failed. It's not that I'm questioning their dedication to make a safe product---I think they are really trying to make one---but I think it's like the link I posted above states, there are no standards. Even though manufacturers try, it's really hard for them to make something that's actually safe because there are no standards for them to use to make sure they're safe. They have to make them up.

So now the question is, what do we do to keep puppy safe in the car? He's really well behaved in the car, so making sure he's tied down so he doesn't bother us isn't the issue. The issue is that I don't want my dog killed in a wreck. I want something that keeps him safe. I just don't know what that is anymore.

Why My Puppy is Perfect

So I've definitely written a lot on this blog about Zim's problems, which he certainly has. That said, despite the fact that he's got separation anxiety and still isn't 100% potty-trained, I still think he's perfect. Why? Because he's the perfect dog for me. Sure, it's a pain not to be able to go out without putting him in daycare and it's really frustrating to have a dog that seems to be impossible to get over that last potty-training hump but that stuff's not what really matters. What matters is whether he's the dog I wanted---and he is.

Reason Why My Puppy is Perfect 1: He loves me. Yes, this is probably part of the reason why he got separation anxiety but it's impossible to wish it were any different. He adores me. He gets so excited when I get home and he's happy to cuddle with me if I ask him to. If I pick him up or sit on the floor to go pet him he'll start licking my hands like crazy. Having a pet that loves you is really the reason to get one in my opinion so the fact that he's so devoted makes Zim really perfect.

Reason Why My Puppy is Perfect 2: He loves everyone. He's a really friendly dog and there's not an aggressive bone in his body now that we've gotten through his resource guarding. This is such an important thing in a dog, I feel. The one thing that I really feel an animal cannot be is aggressive to human beings and Zim, far from being aggressive, wants to greet and lick everyone of all races, genders and ages.

Reason Why My Puppy is Perfect 3: He's cute as a button. You've seen him on here. How could anyone not love that little face (which he gets so very many compliments on).

Reason Why My Puppy is Perfect 4: He's funny. He does the most hilarious things---like what's featured in the glove video I recently posted. He's hours and hours of entertainment. The fact that they have such funny antics is part of the reason I wanted a Shiba Inu and Zim has definitely delivered.

Reason Why My Puppy is Perfect 5: He's confident. Yes, he has his anxieties (like crates and being home alone) and his fears (the groomer, the vet) but he's basically a very confident pup. He's been that way since we met him at four weeks old. He likes going to new places and seeing new things. Better yet, he bounces back from bad experiences very nicely. Most things don't leave an impression on him, but even if they do counterconditioning with food works very nicely on him. We've gotten him over at least one fear that way and we're hoping that the magic of hot dogs will get him back to being okay with the vet too (and by the vet, we mean the exam part, the actual veterinarian himself Zim likes).

So, yeah, I think my puppy is perfect. I know that may not exactly make sense, to say your pup has problems but they're perfect anyway, but it's true. He's perfect.

Some Long Overdue Zim Cuteness

And a video too! Zim managed to pull the glove in this video through the X-Pen fence and he was being so damn cute about it that we let him keep playing with it (the glove only cost a buck or two anyway). And I managed to get a video of this cuteness to share with the world.

Broken Record Time---More Potty-Training Woes

So, as I've written about before, despite the fact that Shibas are supposed to be easy to potty-train dogs, with some even coming home basically potty-trained, Zim has been anything but. We've never been able to go more than two or three weeks without an accident and the fact that he has separation anxiety has made it even harder to figure out exactly what's going on---is he deficating because he doesn't like it when I'm not there with him or did he just not get an opportunity to poop outside? Either way, at 8 months old, he's still only about 90% potty-trained and he may even be regressing on his pooping.

Part of the problem is, of course, that we've not been able to interrupt him for simply months now. Picking him up no longer works and tonight when he had an accident and I finally kept my wits about me enough to try clapping loudly, that  didn't work either. I suppose next thing to try is a shaker can, but frankly I dispair of that working as well.

Really, I just don't entirely know why it is that he pees in the house. It's not a UTI, we've checked, and I don't think it's infrequent chances to go to the bathroom. When he had his accident a few minutes ago, he'd been on a walk not that long before. Instead he just quickly walked up to the baby gate and then peed. Now, I'll admit, in retrospect I realize this was a signal, but frankly he pulls that whenever he wants to go out for any reason and I'm sick of being at his beck and call for Zim-wants-to-have-fun-outside-time. That said, if I make him really insist, sometimes he pees in my house (and I'm not entirely certain he even signals before every accident, I'm just pretty sure he did this time).

Everyone keeps telling me he'll get there eventually, it just needs consistency and to keep a close eye on him. Well, been doing that and here we are. How the hell do you stop a dog who refuses to be interrupted from peeing from peeing in your house so you can redirect him outside? I really, honestly, have no idea. Like I said, we'll keep trying things but . . . well, first we have to think to use them, then we have to see if they actually work.

Honestly, sometimes I really do get tempted to see if I can teach him to use potty-pads because I feel like I'm banging my head into the wall and doing something that doesn't work for either of us. The problem is, of course, that we didn't start that way, and I worry about confusing him by refusing to take him outside and trying to retrain him or something. Maybe we should just try getting some potty-pads and only using them when he does have these infrequent accidents? Maybe that would be enough to teach him without confusing him? I really don't know.

Mostly, I just think I'm bad at this potty-training thing.