NatGeo Dogtown Book Winner

Using the random number generator at Random.org, the winner is commenter number five:
Anonymous said...
What a great resource for a Shiba owner! I know my 2 would benefit from mamma being better educated.
October 19, 2010 9:44:00 AM EDT
Congratulations Anonymous! Hm... I do wish you left a name, because "Congratulations Anonymous" just doesn't sound very congratulatory. Anyways, please email me at lokitheshiba@gmail.com to claim your winnings.

NatGeo Dogtown Book Giveaway!

Hi blog readers!

Guess what? The lovely folks at National Geographic have offered a copy of Dog Tips From DogTown: A Relationship Manual for You and Your Dog.

About the book from the publishers:
Following in the paw prints of the successful first DogTown book, companion to the hit show on the National Geographic Channel, Dog Tips from Dogtown is the pet owner's practical guide to building a healthy, happy relationship with a dog. Relying on the unparalleled expertise of the trainers at the Best Friends Animal Society, this manual shows, with step-by-step illustrations, how to apply the power of positive reinforcement to train a pet. From adoption tips to canine communication lessons and training strategies that make a regimen fun for everyone, Dog Tips from DogTown is a complete guide to the tried and true methods that work miracles every day at the Best Friends Animal Society.
In my opinion, it is a wonderful training book filled with practical training tips, a compassionate relationship-based training philosophy, and realistic expectations. And by realistic expectations, I mean that the book outlines things like how much money you should budget in order to care for a dog. I thought this was a nice addition that you don't see in other dog books, because many times people underestimate the cost of owning a dog. Anyways, the book covers a wide range of training issues from the basics to common problem areas.

Leave a comment if you want to participate in the giveaway. Entries must be entered by Tuesday, October 17, 2010, 5pm Eastern Time. I will pick a random winner on Wednesday.

Our fearless fly catcher

We were backing out of the parking spot when all of a sudden we see Juju in the rearview mirror. So we stop the car, and shout out, "What in the world are you doing?" Apparently she was catching a fly or something like that.


On Toys

Is that a baby toy or a dog toy? They all look so similar! Dog toys have squeakers. Baby toys have not just squeakers, but also rattles. Rattles seem like fun for dogs too. Some of the stuffed animal toys in our house are for dogs and others are for baby. Dogs have ball toys and baby also has ball-like toys. It’s so confusing, how can you tell the difference?

In our home, the dog toys remain the dogs’ toys and the baby’s toys remain the baby’s toys. They do NOT share toys. When Loki showed interest in the baby’s sheep cloth book, I only allowed him to sniff. I then removed the toy from Loki and put it in the crib. In general, the dogs’ toys are on the ground and the baby’s toys are stored in high places. Sometimes baby toys are on the floor, like when I put Baby on the floor mat to play, but I always pick them up afterwards. We haven't had any incidents yet of a dog picking up a baby toy.

I fully intend on maintaining the separation of toys as baby grows into toddler. So far, Baby hasn’t shown any interest in the dogs’ toys. But I plan on not allowing him to play with the dogs’ toys. The thought of him playing with dog toys is especially gross considering that everything that Baby plays with ends up in his mouth.

So far, we’re doing well. The dogs have their toys (and occasionally my flip-flop shoe). They show minimal interest in Baby’s toys. And Baby hasn’t shown any interest in the dogs’ toys. This whole issue has been a non-issue at our home mainly because we have very few toys. The dogs only have a handful of toys and Baby only has a handful of toys. We’ll see what happens as Baby grows in to Toddler. I know that I’ll be using the dogs as a threat to get our son to pick up his toys when he’s older: “If you don’t pick up your toys, Juju is going to chew it up.”

Winery with the dogs

Today was an extra special fun day with the dogs. They were all excited. Where were we going?

Here's Juju:


and Loki:

After a long car ride, we stopped at Grandale Farm for lunch. It was a beautiful day. Gorgeous weather. We ate outdoors and the pups were allowed on the other side of the deck, away from the dining area.

But Juju had other plans in mind. She couldn't understand why the humans were keeping her away from the food.

After lunch, we went to Breaux Vineyards. It was a dog friendly establishment and allowed our pups to join us inside while we had our wine tasting at the bar. We thought that it was really special that they were dog friendly, but then they told us that most of the vineyards around the area are dog friendly.


Juju decided to curl up between the bar and our legs.

But sitting by the bar wasn't for Loki. He wanted to sit in the middle of the room.


(Don't worry, we didn't let the pups eat any grapes. We know it's bad for dogs.)

We had a fabulous time and recommend both of these places.

Dirty Window


Of all our window panels, guess which ones are the dirtiest? The two bottom corner panels. Gee, I wonder why? Maybe, it's because both pups do this all the time.

Random Shiba Links

Look! There's a shiba modeling a costume of ... wait, what is it? A cave man on a flying shiba?

Anyways, I saw this on CuteOverload.
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