Greetings fellow Intenders. I have been busy for the past few weeks with my new puppy- named Yuki. Yuki is a shiba inu. You can click that link for some more info on this breed. I never even knew about them until the shiba inu puppy cam was all the rage on stumble and digg. Then after doing some research- it was undeniable this was the breed for me.
Admittedly, I am a big advocate of adopting dogs- since my past 6 dogs have all been rescues. But I had never had a pure breed, and never experienced purchasing a dog from a breeder- so in the spirit of new experience, my wife April, and I went for it. We picked her up from the airport, brought her home, made a youtube video, and then it was back to reality. We had a living breathing creature in our house that had no idea where she was, or how to handle her surroundings.
Dogs need boundaries. They are pack animals, so they either believe they are the leader, or they act as a follower. If they are anything but a follower to all humans, especially you- it can cause all kinds of problems in our human society. Biting, insecurity, aggression, peeing in the house, chasing prey in the middle of the road, and all kinds of cute displays of control- like incessantly licking your couch. 
We’re big fan of the dog whisperer, and our previous rescue, Toby the half golden / half australian shepard, was a wreck and a half when we got him due to an abusive past- so we were keen on the rehabilitation, but honestly, I had never trained a puppy from scratch!
The steps needed weren’t as obvious as I thought they’d be when we had our first thoughts of getting a new puppy. We weren’t at a complete loss, she was house trained in just a couple of weeks, and for a dog that never put a leash on before, she was doing very well. But there were elements of past relationships with past dogs that were missing for me.
Intention. If you ever have any doubt that such a force exist- get a dog. Dogs can read minds, and they feel and see your intentions. With my past dogs, if I wanted my dog to come to me, I would think of him coming to me, and he came. If I wanted him in the kitchen, I’d think it, and he’d enter. If it was cold outside, and I needed him to hurry up and go to the bathroom, I’d think it, and there he went! So the processes of teaching the dog hand signals, voice commands, etc seemed absurd to me. Can you believe I was so dependant on intention that I never bothered to learn the basics? Intention would be enough for the new puppy as well- but other elements of the relationship had to be built first- mainly trust and respect.
Dogs not only sense your intention and what you want (and if you are a good pack leader, they will act on it everytime), and they not only feel your emotion and how you feel, but they smell it too. So much of what I am having to teach my puppy now is how to let the world pass you buy in a calm state- no matter what the state of being some other dog or human or wild animal might be in. And she only knows what I know, since the city of Boulder is not her natural habitat. When I am outside with her, in a calm state- letting the buses, cars, bikes, skateboards, etc go by- she sits and does the same. If I am feeling stress about the circumstances and events of my life, and let something or someone annoy me or make me angry, then proceed to go out to walk the dog in that mindset- she is going to feed off of that energy and act very insecure.
Thank god for dogs. They keep us in line, when we let them.
Often, we won’t let go of stress for ourselves, but we will become a calm, confident leader for our dog- because we can’t stand to see their cute little faces in the same unbalanced state of mind we may have found ourselves in in the moment.
But alas, knowledge really gets you nowhere, it is its application that creates wisdom and experience. I knew I needed a tune up as a dog owner, so April and I went up into a ranch in the mountains 25 minutes behind our home, and found who I believe to be one of the best dog trainers in the country. And for the past 24 hours we have been practicing techniques based off of the knowledge above, and Yuki is noticeably happier, calmer, much more tired (because of all the mental stimulation), much more obedient, and is becoming a happy follower in this pack.
Shiba Inu’s are stubborn little creatures, so thankfully, she won’t let me not be a calm and assertive leader for a split second, and for that I am very grateful.
This is great. I really respect how intentional you are with Yuki. You will be a fantastic parent!
I am a bit jealous because I love those types of dogs, they are my absolute favorites. I have too much on my plate right now to handle a dog, so I'm glad to know how much work it is!
what a sweet, cute, heartwarming post!!! yuki is so lucky to have such a loving owner
This was a great post Dave!
I completely identify about being the calm leader that my dog, Chloe needs me to be despite what state of my mind I am in.
It is her cute little face that inspires positive energy as she looks up at me trying to extract messages from me, no matter what, I can always send her reassured message that we are secure and happy. And she relaxes and then so do I..
Thanks Dave ~ Enjoy your day! Kelly
Dearest dave!
Great, conscious, loving post!
Yes, indeed, you already area wonderful parent!
Isn't love wonderful? Aren't we blessed to share lives with our furry family members?
Pictures please!!!!!
XOXO
Lauren Simon
http://www.spiritoflivingwell.com
OKL- Thanks!
A- I hear ya. They do require a lot of time and attention. It is a shocking statistic, but only 2 in 10 dogs end up staying in their original home! Many are not so wise to know the time it takes to bring a dog into your 'pack'.
Thank you beautiful momentum. I feel honored to have this little beast living with me.
Kelly- Always great to connect with someone else who 'gets it', and truly respects mother nature. Thanks for the warm comment.
Lauren- Yes, indeed. Here are some pictures for you guys:
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=2173791&l=9…
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=2143582&l=0…
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=2143582&l=0…
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=2067488&l=3…
Most of them were taken with my iphone, hence a bit of blur.
I also have a youtube video which I linked to in my blog.
Thanks for the comments, everyone!
One more:
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=2076993&l=a…
Be glad the dog was healthy. I bought a pure bred dog once. After a few weeks we noticed it was acting weak. We took her to the vet and a few hundred dollars discovered the dog had a heart defect and their was nothing we could do. We had to put her down 2 months later. Since then we only get the unwanted dogs from the pound.
We never know the worth of water till the well is dry. Be glad when water pours out of your kitchen faucet each time you turn the handle.
Dave, We know what amazing creatures our dogs are and what an incredible bond you have with yours. They are our companions, confidants, teachers, fellow travelers. We are looking to capture and document that special relationship with your input to one simple question:
What Life Lessons have your dogs taught you?
Quotes and submissions are being compiled for publication, would you like to share your wonderful story "Lessons From My Teacher- Yuki the Shiba Inu" with this project? Barb
http://www.lifethroughdogs.com/Lessons_from_Dogs….