Introducing Jack! (Updated 8/19/13 - New Photos!)
I went to Akashima kennels on Memorial Day weekend to pick up little Jack. I've had him for about two weeks but have had my hands so full that I've had very little time to do internet things and post pictures. He's currently taking a big snooze, so I'd figured I'd post some spam real quick:
Puppy City at Akashima
Mr. Orange and Mr. White
Kuma taking a wiz (that's the only time he was still enough to photograph)
Finally home and out on the town
First encounter with proud papa
babe magnets
Friends
nap time
more nap time
getting tangled in the hammock
Things we've been doing:
Going to BBQs and enjoying the great weather we've been having
working on getting used to a leash
puppy socials
Puppy Kindergarten (starts tomorrow!)
making friends with my friend's adult dogs
making friends with my cat (work in progress)
exploring some fun places in the car
learning to like the crate
Going out to dog friendly restaurants and coffee shops
taking short walks
Awesome things about Jack:
He basically came potty trained - he's had one accident and it was totally my fault
He seems pretty food/toy/praise motivated
he sleeps through the night (thank you, God)
he seems to really like people of all sorts who approach him slowly
he's really easy to handle
responds well to brief timeouts when he chews or gets too rowdy when playing
loves the car - no pukoku
plays really well with other dogs and puppies
Things that have been a challenge:
Lunging at the cat
Barking in the house
barrier frustration
whining in his crate
All in all things have been going really well. I live in Portland, OR, which is probably one of the most dog friendly cities in the states, so I can bring him pretty much anywhere, including work. That helps a lot. I did a lot of research and felt really prepared when I brought Jack home, but now that I'm in it, it's been really hard! I've felt really overwhelmed at times, but the rewards are worth it. I also have a lot of friends who have raised puppies recently and have been really supportive, which has been huge.
Anyway, enjoy the photos. I look forward to sharing my experiences as he grows up and learning more from you folks. I've said it before, but this forum has already been a huge help to me.
Puppy City at Akashima
Mr. Orange and Mr. White
Kuma taking a wiz (that's the only time he was still enough to photograph)
Finally home and out on the town
First encounter with proud papa
babe magnets
Friends
nap time
more nap time
getting tangled in the hammock
Things we've been doing:
Going to BBQs and enjoying the great weather we've been having
working on getting used to a leash
puppy socials
Puppy Kindergarten (starts tomorrow!)
making friends with my friend's adult dogs
making friends with my cat (work in progress)
exploring some fun places in the car
learning to like the crate
Going out to dog friendly restaurants and coffee shops
taking short walks
Awesome things about Jack:
He basically came potty trained - he's had one accident and it was totally my fault
He seems pretty food/toy/praise motivated
he sleeps through the night (thank you, God)
he seems to really like people of all sorts who approach him slowly
he's really easy to handle
responds well to brief timeouts when he chews or gets too rowdy when playing
loves the car - no pukoku
plays really well with other dogs and puppies
Things that have been a challenge:
Lunging at the cat
Barking in the house
barrier frustration
whining in his crate
All in all things have been going really well. I live in Portland, OR, which is probably one of the most dog friendly cities in the states, so I can bring him pretty much anywhere, including work. That helps a lot. I did a lot of research and felt really prepared when I brought Jack home, but now that I'm in it, it's been really hard! I've felt really overwhelmed at times, but the rewards are worth it. I also have a lot of friends who have raised puppies recently and have been really supportive, which has been huge.
Anyway, enjoy the photos. I look forward to sharing my experiences as he grows up and learning more from you folks. I've said it before, but this forum has already been a huge help to me.
Comments
Crate whining will die down with age.
In regards to your pros and cons, very typical given what I know of shikoku.
For the cat, just keep reinforcing "no" that cat chasing isn't a good option. He will get it eventually. Especially once he is more than a few months old (eg, 3-4 mo vs 2 mos old). The barking in the house, barrier frustration, and whining in the crate will probably not change a lot. My male is 5 and still has some of those issues. My females are actually much easier and have less of those 3 issues.
All 3 of mine are super easy to train, like to learn, are smart. So I think what you have found so far will continue to be the case.
PS - I own a half sibling (Sachiko out of Kimi and by Katja's Kuma - who was taking the whiz) and I co-own Shogun, so I am interested in seeing your boy develop!
My goal for this week is to work really consistently on doing our homework from class in a quiet place with no distractions and then to build up distractions slowly after that. I think I’ve been a little too gung ho about just throwing him out in the yard or taking him on walks and doing our training stuff where there’s more fun stuff to look at and smell than me. Also I need to chill. I have trouble remembering he’s just a baby and it’s going to be a slow process.
@Brada1878 – you have Shikoku with a CGC, right? I’m interested in how you made that happen…was it clear early on that she was capable of more advanced obedience work? Or did you just work really hard at it?
How about fetch? Does anyone have Shikoku who can retrieve? How did you go about teaching him/her?
You didn't ask me, but I can reply anyway! Shikoku can be very good at competitive obedience and very good in obedience class. A CGC is actually the lowest level of obedience, what I am talking about is CD, CDX type of work. You just have to be consistent and work on their impulse control. There are a lot of threads on ideas on how to do that (and what you mentioned above is a good start, practice at home and teach him to focus). And he is only 10 weeks old or so.
I can take my 3 shikoku to a very busy obedience class/training group, and mine are actually some of the best dogs in the class (they run a competition at the end of class, and we often win prizes with them). I have scored a 196 (out of 200) with my male, a very high score. And sometimes I do tandem pairs too.
So, just keep working with him. Slowly increase the distractions at home and practice all the commands a lot at home (5 min 3-4 times a day).
Just a thought. Even my 4 month old shikoku from Japan (who grew up in a kennel and knew little English) picked up and did well in class after just 3 weeks in the US. Just be consistent, and practice.
keep up the spam
Great info! Thanks so much. We've been practicing and I can already see improvement. I saw a video (yours maybe?) of some Shikoku doing some impressive obedience work and it gave me hope. We had a great "walk" this morning where we ran a few feet and then did 'sit' to get his treat. For the first time it really seemed like he was enjoying being out and about even though he had to have the leash on. It was super cute.
I'll try to post a video of him doing his tricks sometime soon.
Thanks again!
http://www.sue-eh.ca/page24/page23/
http://www.sue-eh.ca/page24/page26/page10/
If this is the video you saw, then yes, it is my dog Kuma at 11 months old. My other female is even more motivated to work hard than Kuma is (and is better too than he is). The puppy is still learning.
We're still working on playing nice with others and not being a weirdo around strangers. Also he's started to turn into a little bit of a leg humper, so we're trying to curb that a bit.
Alright, here's the spam:
Still little and sleepy all the time
Doing a little aquatic experimentation. This was much gentler than it looks. We were only dipping his little toes in.
Finally convinced him to take a dip
Nap time with owl toy
Attack mode
Cuddle bug
This was clearly an accident. But it happened, so I definitely took a picture before removing the bag.
Being pretty good at the office
For some reason he loves to crawl under the couch and pretend like he's stuck when he's not. I don't get it, but it's funny.
At the park complaining about having to go back home
Because, of course, they get a good reward(s) at the end with food and pets and love.
I didn't have the same luck with water haha
I'm guessing sky's a little bigger? he's 29.3