(Part 2) Best products from r/shiba

One of my shibes is super picky too! Jerky type is her favorite but meat-based treats are her preference for sure; I've found anything with salmon she usually loves. She does not like peanut butter or anything "cheese" flavored. We get Barkbox and I usually reorder what she really likes so I know I always have some on hand. I usually break up bigger jerky-style ones to make them last longer since they're more on the expensive side. I'll link some of her faves below:

• True Chews - steak jerky, duck jerky
  
• Trader Joe's salmon strips ($3.99 here in FL I believe)
  
• Zuke's Training Treats - 6 flavors (I got this when I realized how picky she was, she liked 4/6 flavors)
  
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  She also loves string cheese. It's her #1 favorite thing in the world I think :) I sometimes get the cheap sliced meat and use that for treats on occasion if she needs to be persuaded into something or distracted! I hope this helps!!!

Hey there, fellow Shibe-Parent! What a gorgeous little pup! At her age, we found the most important thing is just making sure they go out frequently - at least once every 2-3 hours - and using positive reinforcement to help them to prefer doing it outside rather than in the crate. Make sure that you wait until she's done peeing when she does it outside, then give a treat and praise (we use "Good pee pees!" because we're silly like that).

In addition, there are these things you can buy from the pet store called Pee Posts, which basically smell like other dog's urine and encourage your pup to pee in a specific spot. There are a few on Amazon, but they have really low reviews (possibly because of the frustration of dealing with potty training, or how badly these posts smell!). Pee Post on Amazon

Finally, I'd recommend any tips from this video that Victoria Stillwell posted. She is a fantastic positive reinforcement trainer,
and our dog has responded almost immediately to her training techniques. here's a link to the video.

Best of luck! Our shiba is great at peeing, but she's particular about pooping far away from our yard - not sure if that's a Shiba thing or she's just a princess though. :D

edit: Oh yeah. Apparently shibas and pottying are a pretty common topic here.

Double on this post. We are planning on getting a Shiba Inu and without even having one, I could immediately point out the things that go wrong. My parents always had a dog so I'm familiar with basic training, but mostly me and my boyfriend just read about the breed and the training.

It's super important to know what you get into when buying a dog. Shibas are smart and will try to dominate you and respond VERY bad to aversive training techniques (eg the newspaper, crate for pubishment)

Books on the breed are not expensive, I recommend this one for general info http://www.amazon.com/Shiba-Inus-Complete-Owners-Manual/dp/0764147439 and this one for training http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1500844624/ref=pd_aw_sims_1?pi=SL500_SY115&simLd=1#

Also, check out this site for super good info on shiba training: http://shibashake.com/dog/shiba-inu-training-secrets

Please find a way to train him and don't bring him to a shelter. He's your dog and with training, your best and most loyal friend. Good luck! Let us know how it goes!

Shibas definitely don't respond to negative reinforcement. My shiba took a long time to stop peeing inside. Here is how I solved it.

1. Started to teach her to ring a bell. First I just started to teach her to ring the bell and giving her a treat when I said "TOUCH"
   
   
   
2. Everytime I took her outside, I had her touch the bell. Even if she didn't need to pee, I started to associate with ringing the bell to go outside. I praised her everytime she touched the bell.
   
   
   
3. She kept peeing in the same spots, so just like my cat when she was peeing, some HUGE cleaning needed to happen. I bought Nature's Miracle Advance Formula Urine and Stain remover. (I also have a small handheld steam vacuum). It was time to treat the stains.
   
   
   
4. Dog and cat urine glows in the dark. I bought a small blacklight and when it was night time. I turned off all the lights and with some masking tape I went through the house and taped off where the stains were. You will see none urine stains (pretty much anything with enzymes shows up) but i notice the urine has a bit more of a blue color to it. Sometimes I would treat the stain right then and there in the dark but other times waited to mark it all off and treated it in the light.
   
   
   
5. Drench the stain! Be sure to get outside the area a bit too. Don't completely flood it so that it will never dry, but really make sure it soaks through. I also used a hard brush and really digged it in there. Now let it sit overnight.
   
   
   
6. I used my steam vacuum to then start soaking up the cleaner. Another options is taking a glass of luke warm water and soaking the spot and taking a towel to dry the area. This process will need to repeat until you feel you soaked up all the cleaner.
   
   
   
7. Some old stains will need a 2nd or 3rd treatment. Repeat until you can no longer see the stain with the black light. If it isn't going away at all, then it isn't urine and probably a food spill or something else.
   
   
8. If you do catch her peeing in the house. Just say "NO" or whatever your "negative command" is and immediately take her outside and give her praise for being outside and especially if she pees again outside.
   
   The moment I deep cleaned the carpet and she could no longer smell it, she immediately used the bell and never peed in the house again.
   
   LONG STORY SHORT
   
9. Positive reinforcement. Praise when they pee outside!
   
   
10. Teach them to ring a bell or ask to go outside.
    
    
11. Really make sure the past urine stains are completely gone and they aren't still smelling them.
    
    
12. Immediately take her outside if she pees in the house so that she will start associating more that she needs to pee outside.
    
    
13. Be patient!
    
    Here is a few links to the things i used. http://www.natures-miracle.com/products/pet-odor-stain-removers/advanced-stain-and-odor-remover-best-pet-stain-carpet-cleaner.aspx
    
    http://www.amazon.com/Ultra-Light-UV-Blacklight-Flashlight/dp/B004S6JFWQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1406313347&sr=8-1&keywords=black+light

If you use the search bar on the right and search new puppy, puppy list, shopping list, you'll find a lot of good stuff. Here's one old post with a list here's another and a super detailed list in the comments.

In response to those lists, I second the no need for puppy pee pads (shibas potty train quickly but do get something to remove the scent if they do pee in the house, nature's secret etc.).

I would add a toothbrush and toothpaste to that list. Get them used to the toothbrush early on even though they'll lose those puppy teeth eventually. Ditto getting them used to the harness.

We never had a play pen and didn't miss one.

I also recommend shopping on amazon for pretty much anything (petco etc. are always far more expensive but we do go to them occasionally with our shiba as a fun outing or to grab a last minute toy or treat).

Start with small bags of treats and not the giant ones in case your pup doesn't like them and since they'll be eating fewer and they might go stale before you finish them. We try to opt for the highest quality ingredients/most natural food and treats which is totally affordable if you hit amazon.

Specific items: Kong zoom groom brush (gentle but works well), midwest life stages crate (grows with dog, durable), traditional kong, kong wobbler (later added a kong genius as well), whatever random stuffed toys you like (still haven't found something that can survive more than a few days with our shiba) for food we used this wellness puppy food which includes salmon and have since graduated to their adult food alternated with costco's salmon dog food.

You'll definitely need something for them to chew (and chew, and chew), ours had some nylabone chew toys but was never interested in them. Loved bully sticks and rawhide though, just be sure again to check the ingredients, you want american unbleached rolls and not the sheets made of lots of little pieces.

Lol I keep seeing your posts! I saw "Riley" and I thought, hey I know that name.

Just wanted to drop a comment and say Kiba is about 17 lbs now. He got weighed at his lime disease shot a week ago so he's probably another pound by now.

He also eats about 2 cups a day, but I find that he'll graze and come back to his bowl when he's hungry again. He'll often eat the whole thing in one sitting, but not always. A few days ago I haphazardly spilled the bag into the bowl and didn't know it wasn't enough until he started pawing at the food bag. I gave him the rest of his lunch (sorry Kiba!) and he ate it and left the food bag alone.

Shibas tend to be good about eating their fill and leaving what's left. If you want to give him a little extra and see if he eats it, I can't see a problem with that.

Overfeeding dogs as puppies is a little like overfeeding kids. A bit of extra weight isn't that big of a problem, as long as they are growing into their weight and not staying plump as they become an adolescent. A good rule of thumb is paying attention to their waistline from top-down. So standing over him, does he have a defined waist? His body should curve in and then out again when you reach his hips. Fatter puppies are sort of hot dog shaped, and underfed dogs either have visible ribs or, in flyffy dogs, ribs you can feel individually when you run your hand over them.

Since he's a puppy, giving him a little bit more food, I think, is okay. As long as he's getting his walks and playtime, He'll grow into his weight as he reaches a year.

Also, want to feed him, stimulate him, and get him some playtime all at the same time? Kiba gets one of his meals in this every day (mostly at night when im too busy to play with him): https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003ARUKU0/ref=twister_B06XCNJCMG?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

The 3-incher is about the size of a tennis ball. Kiba can pick it up in his mouth and throw it at me when it's empty and needs more :)

Looks like you have a good list going, remember to update your pups microchip with your address and get him/her a tag with your details.

We got a 36 inch crate and it's plenty big for our boy (he's around 30 pounds).

Puppia harness is a great starter harness, it's soft and doesn't have a bunch of metal jingling pieces which our puppy HATED on his harness our breeder gave us.

Kibble, check out dog food advisor for reviews and ratings of foods content, we were using grain free salmon and sweet potato from chicken soup for the soul, it's decently priced and well rated I can't find it anywhere atm so we're switching him back to their normal kibble.

Salmon Oil is a lifesaver in the winter, our pup gets terribly dry skin and extremely itchy without it.

Start out with a puppy kong, they sell kong fillers that are cheese and peanut butter flavored, our puppy was pretty picky at first and only ate the cheese one, didn't like frozen kongs either.

I'd start with a Basic Collar here's a Dog Tag Silencer and a Break-away collar for outdoors or dog park. A dog was choked unconscious at our park so I typically just keep our guys ID tags on his harness and don't use a collar, but if you do I definitely recommend a break-away if you are primarily using a harness with it.

Items we found useful: Bed Liner, Crate Fence, Kong, Stainless Steel Bowls (highly reccomend US made do not buy any made in China for health reasons), Zippy Paws Hide and Seek toys, Potty/accident cleaner, Potty Bells, Anti-chew Bitter Apple spray, 50 ft Leash, Retractable Leash, Soft stop Leash extender, Car Seat Belt, Car Booster Seat, Gentle Shampoo, Comb, Travel Water Bottle, Flirt Pole, Special Treats, Chew Stick, Greenies

Sorry for the HUGE list lol, feel free to ask any questions!