3 Crucial Tips to Successfully Recall a Shiba Inu
- Yu Shan Chen
- Apr 10, 2022
- 10 min read
For Novice Dog Owners
I can still recall the warning: do not get a Shiba Inu if you are a first time dog owner. But I know myself too well. The more someone tells me what not to do, the more I want to do it. Challenge? Bring it on! Would I say my journey with Jupiter has been challenging? I have no idea. Because I have never owned/trained any puppies before, I have nothing to compare with, but I see that as a blessing in disguised; I get to start from scratch.
It has been the best 8 months of my life, which I had never thought it could be brought by a tiny little rascal. Jupiter turned out to be a mama's boy, a healthy hunter, and a genuine lover. (Who says Shibas don't like to cuddle?!)
But that is not to say this fulfillment did not come after some heartaches, challenges, tears (WTF did I get myself into?!?!) - if I shall pick one most important thing to know as a new Shiba Inu owner, or current owners who desire a rewadring journey with their Shiba puppies, is to START THEIR RECALL TRAINING EARLY.
The purpose of the recall is not about leaving your dogs unattended, nor to walk with your dogs unleashed on the streets. I don't really care if your dogs are friendly, and stop asking if mine is, as if you are better than anyone else because your dogs behaves well around you. A simple "can we say hi?" will do the trick. (sorry about the mid paragrah ranting.) You never know when it comes to animal nature and triggers, which happend to Jupiter: he ran off because he got scared of something, and I happened to accidently drop the leash which prompted him to book it 30 miles an hour, vanished in less than 2 seconds.
A successful recall, is to be able to get your puppies back when they escape, and trust me, they will, especially escaping is usually in Shibas nature; recall is also a peace of mind for you knowing that you don't have to chase your puppies around to round them back from the dog parks (it is also quite embarrasing.)
*Just a Quick Rant*
Am I an expert on dog training? No, but I am persistent, I love behavioral sceince in general and a problem solver by nature. I don't really stop asking questins just because someone tells me "that is the way it is." I find it rewarding to be able to figure Jupiter out, and to see him grow into this amazing puppy that peple able as "stubbrn, hard t train."
Speaking of which, the same people also mentioned they never let their Shibas off leash or even go to the dog parks because they will never come back. Please don't be that person. Let your dogs be dogs! If we are taking away their true nature, why are we parents in the first place? If you are too lazy to invest and train your puppy, why did you get him the first place? Do not take the easy way out.
Before we dive into the fun of recalling your Shibas, I would like to mention that I have included some links for the products I used to better prepared Jupiter for a happy, healthy, joyful puppyhood. You will not pay more for these products, and I will receive a small portion of the commision (supporting small business, anyone?) Here we go!
Shina Inu Key Temperaments
First thing first, a few reminders of how Shiba Inus are. They are extermely independent, not highly food driven (at least for me,) very alert, cleaver and observant. In addition, Shiba Inus are free spirits and do not do things your way just because you tell them to; this ties into their primitive nature....I think that is why I am able to relate to his desires and temperaments well because well, I am a free spirits and I don't really do what you tell me to do without any grounded, reasonable, desirable reasons (light bolts!!!.) In this article, you will find the top 3 tips for recalling Shiba Inus (according to their nature) as a first time dog owner. To sum up (if you are crunching for time) pick the highest value reward and stick to it, limited practice (and be patient) and beware of your own state of being.
One thing I wish I would have learned/known in the early stage of his training, is that recall is an ongoing practice. Especially for a Shiba Inu due to their wild and free nature (non-dependent, non-attached.) I was so proud of myself and Jupiter, when he was aboout 3 months and we went to an open field to play catch. Now everytime I think about it I will have chills...how did I have the courage to let him go off-leash without proper recall training? At 3-5 months, we went to many dog parks including fenced and unfenced. Leading up to 6 months I slowly realized he refused to come when call, and will run away if I approach; because he associated come with "losing his freedom." So we started some recall training but I was not too worried about it because there is always someone else's dogs I could use to lure him back to me; but then he learned to not trust any human who approached him the dog park, what a smart cookie!!! One day we were training at a small fenced park, he was only off leash for 3 seconds when he saw another dog walked by. He bolted and slipped under the fence like a cat and ran so fast to that leashed dog, out in the open. One, the owner was startled, two, Jupiter thought it was a game and was having a lot of fun watching me suffer from acute anxiety and slight heartattack trying to get him to come to me. I used his second favorite treats at that point, scattered them around the ground for him to come close to me. He knew it, he knew that one step closer I would get him and he tip-toed around it. He did not give in; he finally decided it's time for his care-giver to not die from this incident, so he picked up the last piece of cheese with a smirk on his face.
That was the day I decided shit is getting real and I am about to roll up my sleeves the fix this. Here is our proccess:
The Highest Value Reward
Define the highest value reward for your pup will be the first thing you do. Once you have that, associate that reward with recalls, or whatever you are having the most trouble of. But trust me, I would say recalls are probably going to be your most challenging task with Shiba Inus.
It can be his favorite toy, a good pet, or an amazing treat. Jupiter's was boiled chicken. Now, I did mention Shibas are generally not food driven, but for Jupiter, though he is not food driven, he will always come/perk up/get excited when he hears me open that special container of heaven. That tells me a lot, doesn't it? Whatever happens, chicken wins. Once I decided the chicken is his favorite, I no longer use the chicken for anything else but recalls. I even stopped his sitter from giving him chicken as snacks when she came to see him.
Limited Practices
I know this sounds counterproductive for any kinds of training. Don't we want to practice often to make perfect? No. For Shibas, or any of stubborn, free, playful breeds, they have to think whatever you are trying to make them do is fun, special (rare) and hard to come by, so they would appreciate and listen more when it actually happens. Isn't that crazy we actually need to use reverse psychology on Shibas? WILD!
We picked a secret word, because "come" and "close" had become redundant as we poinsoned them earlier on without proper training, as results he only "comes" "close" here and there when he feels like it. Once we set our secret word, the training was quite similair to the basic recall training out there: I started with holding the chicken, and said "bumble" (LOL) as he came close to me. Gave him a piece and I released him. Few minutes after I said bumble again and he came right to me, rewarded and released. Here is the difference from basic trainign...this was it, this was our first day of training; short and savory. Moving on, I would repeat that once a day, but farther distance each day, or from a different room. Remember, only once a day. Which means you are going to have a lot of patience and alternative measures for the next couple weeks in the training window.
After that we practiced on our walks. This treat carrier shown below was a life saver; with rainy weather here in PNW, there is no way I would wear a rain coat plus a pouch; and shuffling through all the extra clothing until I can unzip the pouch, that is just too much. This carrier is easy to reach and carry on the leash, so I will never forget his training treats anymore!
I did not wait until I was confident of his recall to bring him to the parks. I was semi confident and just wanted to see how the progress was, so we went to our usual dog park. One important factor here, one he had already associated this park as "come means no fun" place, which had made everything harder. So I picked the time when there was little to no dogs as distractions. Let him play a while and I said the magic word. He was confused, but I dingled that chicken in front of him (and I could see his internal debate, "more fun? or chicken and going home?") chicken won again, but this time, I released him back to the wild so he could play more. I have accomplished two things here: one is that he now knows bumble (or anytime he comes close to me) does not always mean going home, two is that I am well-know at this park as the crazy-screaming-praises-in-excitment dog mom.
*Ongoing Tips *
Because Jupiter recognized that most of the time he comes to me, we usually put on the leash and go home (which I adjusted my behaviors after I realized that) he had become distant and reluctant to get close around his teenage years. I worked really hard to re-instill new behaviors so he now snuggles with me and let me pet him at all times (there is still hope! if you wish your Shibas can be more affectionate!) Using the treat carrier, especially on walks, any time he comes close or checks in with me, he gets a good boy, a pet (because he may associate my hand reaching to his back as a bad thing) and a treat. With this pattern for anytime, anywhere, always praise, pet, reward, Jupiter has become very keen to be close to me.
Beware of Your State of Being
This is the biggest lesson I learned, from becoming a pet partent. Long before I got Jupiter, I was already practicing mindfulness and meditation, as well as moderating my internal state NOT according to my external environment. If you are interested, check out my post about navigating through uncertainties. But everything I learned and practiced, went out the window from time to time because training and accomodating a puppy was a new kind of stress for me (other than work, relationships, which I had been navigating thgouth with my new state of being.)
One important thing with mindfulness, is that we recongnize (be the observer) our thoughts, especially toxic, harmful thoughts. But I let that all go without noticing it when challenges arised with Jupiter.
One example of how things changed as soon I recognized and changed my state of being: back when Jupiter was 3 months old, we started going outside for potty. But for the life of me, no matter how many miles we walked, he would not go poo poo. But as soon as we got home he went right to his emergency pad to poo poo. We tried many methods, including going outside for 10 minutes every 30 minutes. I was frustrated, tired, I doubted my ability to have a dog and thought this would never end. Guess what, because I was frustrated about one bad thing, I forgot to celebrate one great thing, I forgot to enjoy the moment when we played fetch inside. My mind was occupied with "how am I supposed to do this?" and my body viberating with so much negative energy. One day I heard it helps to talk to your dog, "so they don't feel stressed" that was when I realized OMG, he felt what I fellt. He was also anxious, stressed, and he was not enjoying the moments. As soon as I recognized my own state of being took up a big part of how he was acting, I started prepping myself on our walks: "no matter what happens, he is a good boy. One day poo is going to happen, and he will learn. No pressure, no ones judging but you, Yu-Shan, be kind to yourself." BAM. The same walk, as I prepped my internal being, and talked to him (I told him about my dating story and asked his opinions) he pooped. I screamed, with so much excitment. Who knew poop can be to enticing. From that day on, with any kinds of challenges I may have with him, I am so much more present, calm, and peaceful - not that I don't care, but I instill that state of being with trust that he will, and can do what is right. And he did.
The escape incident I mentioned earlier that prompted to the extreme make over recall training, was also a great lesson on my state of being. That incident happened 3 months after the poo poo challenge. You must know, we are not perfect, and it is ok to be imperfect. There are going to be good days but bad days might outweight the good. That was one of the bad days for me. But guess what? I learned from poo. I knew that my anxiety did not make him come back any quicker. So instead of focusing on what he was not doing, I believed in our ability together to make recall happen for us. Which made training so much more fun, and creative.
If I am going to pick one universal advice to those who wants to own and train a Shiba, is this: when we are able to stay as present and as mindful as possible, we become more creative in any situations instead of reactive. Reactive replays your past, and Creative gets you to the future you want. So here you have it, my top 3 crucial tips for recalling a Shiba Inu: Establish a Highest value reward so it is always special, limited practice so it is always special, and stay conscious because your (and your Shiba's) present is special :) Happy Training!!!
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