Don't Bother Me, I'm Sleeping

Review of Hachi: A Dog's Tale

I finally got around to watching Hachi: A Dog's Tale this past weekend. It was full of cuteness. I loved the beginning when they used Shibas to depict the puppy stage. Yun wonders why they didn't use Akita puppies. If you've ever seen Akita puppies, then you know that they are super cute and adorable too!

There's not much of a plot to the movie. The story, which pretty much follows the original story, can be summed up in a few sentences. I wouldn't recommend this movie for the sake of watching a really good movie. But it's a good dog movie. There are so many cute moments that make your heart melt. And the movie will definitely make you cry.

I have some other random reactions to the movie, but they may reveal too much for those who haven't seen the movie yet. So you'll have to click to read more.

Sleeping Arrangements

With the arrival of baby, our sleeping arrangements have slightly changed, but our whole family still sleeps in the same room. The dogs now are back in their crates. The baby sleeps in the pack n' play with the bassinet attachment right next to our bed. And the two human adults sleep in the bed.

Crates are an enormously useful tool and I'm very glad that both of our dogs truly like their crates. Teach your dogs to love their crate. It's so useful. They are happy and out of the way. We started crating them about a month prior to the baby's arrival, so they didn't associate the change of being crated with the change of having a new baby. The dogs are happy and we don't have to worry about them approaching the baby when we are all sleeping. They are both accepting the baby very well, so I don't think that they would intentionally hurt the baby, but even a gentle, curious pawing could be harmful.

Random Shiba Links

Wow... another shiba as the Daily Puppy. I'm surprised by how many there are.

Inadvertent positive reinforcement

During my recovery period after having baby, I've been taking my meals in the nursery. Loki has quickly learned this fact. He now comes up along with my meals. Every now and then I give him a small table scrap, and so he's developing positive associations with the nursery. He's not particularly annoying when he begs for food. He just sits there, sort of like in the picture, and waits patiently for a morsel of food. He's gotten much less afraid of the baby and much more curious. He's started to sniff more around the baby, especially when the diaper is dirty. Sniffing and being curious are all good signs.

The mobile

One of the ways we tried to get Loki used the baby before he arrived was to play the mobile. When we first played the mobile, Loki was terrified of it and barked lots. So, we just kept playing it and playing it, day after day. Soon enough, he learned that it wasn't a threat to him. He no longer barks at it. I don't think he's quite at the stage of completely ignoring it, but soon enough, I'm sure he'll get there.

Jumping Up

A common problem dog owners have is that their dog jumps up on people. We trained Loki from a very early age not to jump up on anyone. There are many ways of training a dog not to jump up, but I'm going to share the method that we used.

Every time your dog jumps up on you, simply step forward into the dog. This will make the dog lose his balance and automatically put his paws back on the ground. Tell all your family members, friends, and visitors to step forward every time the dog jumps on on them. Your dog will learn that he accomplishes nothing by jumping up. You do not need to scold or verbally reprimand. Additionally, teach your dog what he is supposed to do instead. For instance, you can ask your dog to sit. After all four paws are on the ground, give the command to sit, and then offer attention and/or a treat. Consistency and patience are the key components in training. Don't expect an overnight change. Try it a couple weeks before you decide whether or not the method is working for you.