We have a whole mess of issues

[jazzy]

I brought my 3 month old Shiba Inu home last week. The first few days were perfect. He never had an accident and was very calm.

Well, now he's come out of his shell.

Especially late at night he gets into feisty moods. He likes to chew on my carpet, purse, clothing, computer wires, and even my arms when I'm wearing sleeves. He eats rocks obsessively (I blame this on teething, even though I bought him a hard rubber bone to replace the rocks).

In the past few days he's been having accidents. Sometimes he whines when he needs to go potty, other times he'll just stop mid tail-chasing to do it. Last time he had an accident, he had just gone an hour before (without eating or drinking in the meantime). I noticed just as he squated to poo, and he whined and howled when I said 'no' and reached for the leash.

Is this normal for a pup? I've never had a dog this young before. Any advice?

[lovedemdogs]

Yikes!
Definitely have a bunch going on.
For the potty training:
http://www.training-dogs.com/crate-training.html

chewing try:http://www.dogtraininghq.com/puppy/chewing.html

This should help

[mollywog]

Please don't take this the wrong way, but puppies don't train themselves!!! Your pup is still young and impressionable so with a bit of effort you could fix most of these problems in no time.

PLEASE take some time to research Housetraining, Crate Training, Leash Training, Nutrition, and any other gems of information you can gather about owning and training a puppy.

Don't let him get away with anything you wouldn't want a full-grown dog doing- ie jumping on you, sitting on your lap, climbing all over the furniture etc. The more you teach him now, the easier it will be in the long run.

Are you exercising the puppy? He is old enough to go for walks now. Walks, along with basic obedience commands will give him the stimulation that he is craving. Have LOTS of chew toys for him (more than just one- he may be fussy about what "texture" he likes to chew on!) Reward him with treats and praise for everything positive he does.

In a best case scenario, you should be taking him outside every 30 minutes AND always after he wakes up, after he eats, and after he has a big play. The less accidents in the house, the better. Every time he "goes" outside, praise him and have a little play time out there too.

Good luck, there is so much you can learn here at Pets.ca don't be afraid to ask any questions, there are a lot of helpful and knowledgable members here!

oh, and you should post pictures when you get a chance.... we loooovvveee pictures!!!

[CearaQC]

Sounds to me like the pup needs lots of exercise. Run and play will tire him out. A tired pup is a good pup. Some say that tail chasing is a sign of boredom also.

He may not be fully house broken until 6-8 months of age, but some dogs can achieve it earlier. My Sheeba was almost 7 months old before she got the idea that she shouldn't go pee in the house.

For chewing, every time you catch pup chewing on something inappropriate, replace it with the item that he is allowed to chew.

[jazzy]

Thanks everyone.

He really is a good boy until late at night. I work at night, so he spends those hours in his crate (yes, he is crate trained). When he gets out, he's so full of energy. I take him out for potty and a walk around the block hoping to burn off steam. But when we get back in is when the behavior issues start. It's always from 12-3a that he acts up.

[Lynne_B]

I'm assuming that if you work at night, you do some sleeping during the day. However, if all the exercise he's getting is a walk around the block plus playing inside, that is definitely not enough. Dogs have certain needs, and every dog is different. But those needs are - their bond with their human, physical stimulation, mental stimulation, and social stimulation. If one or more of those needs aren't met, then you will start to see bad behaviours coming out, destruction due to boredom, that sort of thing. When I say every dog is different, they have the same needs, but there are different ways to meet them. Some dogs have a need to fetch the ball, or play with other dogs, some like jogging with their owner, some like having a job to do. Good ways to mentally stimulate dogs are to play games to make them think, like hide and seek, training and teaching new commands, increasing their human vocabulary, teaching them to put their toys away. Then there are other ways like toys like Kongs with an appropriate treat in the middle for them to fish out, or a marrow bone for them to chew on. For exercise, you should make it a goal to have him exercised at least an hour every day. Try going to an offleash park for doggie socialization. Bring him to different places, sit outside a mall or coffeehouse and greet everyone going in and out to expose him to new people.

Shiba's are known to be pretty stubborn, so I would also get in touch with groups of people that own Shibas so you can get to know the breed a bit better. They are also very smart, so I just want to stress how important the mental stimulation is. For teething - wet an old washcloth, twist it, throw it in a ziplock then in the freezer. Cheap, easy, and great for teething.

[shibamom]

My Shiba Inu is now 6 months old, here's my advice.

Originally Posted by jazzy

I brought my 3 month old Shiba Inu home last week. The first few days were perfect. He never had an accident and was very calm.

Shiba Inu's are generally housebroken at 8 weeks if they are crate trained, with few accidents. They are very clean dogs, probably one of the easiest to housebreak.

Originally Posted by jazzy

Especially late at night he gets into feisty moods. He likes to chew on my carpet, purse, clothing, computer wires, and even my arms when I'm wearing sleeves. He eats rocks obsessively (I blame this on teething, even though I bought him a hard rubber bone to replace the rocks).

A couple of things here.

1. Puppy chewing - normal. Keep that stuff up off the floor & away from him. I always do, although I left my cell phone laying around the other day and it was chomped to bits.

2. "The Shiba 500". Shibas chew and become destructive if they are not exercised. They are one of the highest energy breeds - same as a Jack Russell Terrier. Mine spends at least 1 hour of hard play at the dog park plus another 1-2 hours of walking. Per day!

Originally Posted by jazzy

In the past few days he's been having accidents. Sometimes he whines when he needs to go potty, other times he'll just stop mid tail-chasing to do it. Last time he had an accident, he had just gone an hour before (without eating or drinking in the meantime). I noticed just as he squated to poo, and he whined and howled when I said 'no' and reached for the leash.

Although Shibas are generally very clean, pups still have accidents. Simba had a few accidents after a month of being clean. I wouldn't worry too much unless it becomes chronic.

Originally Posted by jazzy

Is this normal for a pup? I've never had a dog this young before. Any advice?

Normal!

I would highly suggest bringing him to the dog park on a daily basis. It sounds like your Shiba does not get enough exercise (they require much more than an average dog) and Shiba's can get aggressive if not socialized propery (moreso than other breeds!). People are often shocked at how social and friendly our Shiba is, because it is not so typical of the breed.

I don't think the chewing is due to teething. Teething Shibas seem to be more quiet and withdrawn - the furious chewing is likely boredom. Honestly - our Shiba pup was needier than a newborn baby. He is worth every moment - but I have owned many other breeds (Great Dane, Terriers, Shar-Pei) and none of those varied breeds had the needs that my Shiba does.

[jazzy]

Oh, I wish I could go to the dog park. He can't go until he's had his rabies shot, and the vet won't do it until he is 10 lbs. His next round of vaccinations is set for Aug 9th, so hopefully we can do it then. In the meantime, we go on two half-hour long walks per day. I've been taking him down to a high traffic ped area so he can be exposed to people. I also play with him every afternoon.

He's only had one accident, but that's probably because I didn't realize it had been 3 hours and decided to take a shower. Silly me.

Thank you shibamom for your advice.

[MIA]

Find some tennis courts where you can let him rip, that will help. I miss having shibas around, what a hoot.

[shibamom]

Originally Posted by jazzy

Oh, I wish I could go to the dog park. He can't go until he's had his rabies shot, and the vet won't do it until he is 10 lbs. His next round of vaccinations is set for Aug 9th, so hopefully we can do it then. In the meantime, we go on two half-hour long walks per day. I've been taking him down to a high traffic ped area so he can be exposed to people. I also play with him every afternoon.

He's only had one accident, but that's probably because I didn't realize it had been 3 hours and decided to take a shower. Silly me.

Thank you shibamom for your advice.

Wow, you have a small Shiba! Mine was about 17lbs at 3 months, but he's 31lbs at 6 months now (he's a big boy!). Lots of people exposure is good, and local parks are good.

Oh, Simba's last accident was when I was in the shower too! Sounds like your Shiba is normal and doing fine Two 30 minute walks is pretty good for his age, once he hits 4 months he will start being able to "last longer" and will require more energy, hopefully he is big enough to go to the park then!