Day 13: SUNDAY and Mikey's Epic Walk

"A walk?  Sure! I love walks!"

Mikey had no idea what he was getting himself into on Sunday.  It was a beautiful day, so we set off on a nice long walk.  It turned into three and half hours!  (One robert at about 3:20, one moses at about 4:15.)  Countless people commented.  "So pretty!"  "What kind of dog is that?"  "How old is he?"  Mikey was great with a couple of little kids who came up to him-- including a toddling baby!

We had a great time!  But that was WAY too long a walk-- even for me.  Poor Mikey!  We won't do that again.  Smaller, shorter walks, with nice breaks in between.

But Mikey did get to visit the statue of Henry Ward Beecher at Plymouth Church in Brooklyn.  (For more information about why Henry Ward Beecher is important, you can listen to my podcast about The Underground Railroad in New York City: http://abcgotham.podbean.com/2013/02/08/underground-railroad-in-nyc/)

He didn't really rest at any point,either. Even when I sat on a bench in a park, he stood at attention, on all fours.  Sitting seems uncomfortable to him, but I guess I thought he might lie down if he needed a break.  But no, he didn't.  I suppose that makes sense since he only had brick or concrete to lie on. In addition,  I didn't find any stores with a nice bowl of water out in front for tired dogs like Mikey.  Poor guy.

I figured by the time we dragged ourselves home around 6:30 pm, he'd have some dinner and then pass out the rest of the night.  I was wrong!  He was oddly energized!  He ate all his dinner (but I gave him wet food only; I left the kibble out because I felt bad for taking him on such a long long walk). Scott and I left to go grocery shopping and returned around 8 to find... a puddle of robert on the floor. Oh maaaan.

But it all ended up okay. We got everything cleaned up and had dinner and relaxed.  Mikey slept outside the crate for the first time Sunday night.

Day 12:  SATURDAY

Mikey continues to attract compliments and questions from strangers! Saturday we did a trip to Hillside Dog Park and then a long slow walk through Dumbo, just like last week. One couple in the dog park asked what kind of dog he is (which most people ask) AND if he was a puppy (!!). Mikey a puppy?  Quite the opposite!  They reached out to pet him and he sweetly allowed them a few pats.  He even did a polite hand-lick.  "He's so well- behaved!"  I agreed.

(I notice this cute thing whenever Mikey gets petted.  He submits for a little while, then steps away and shake shake shakes himself.  I believe he likes his fur to be standing up, not flattened down.  Is that just a Mikey thing, or do all dogs do that?)

Just a Mikey thing.

Later, as we were meandering along Adams Street, Mikey stopped to sniff a tree.  We were near a parked car, and 2 little boys (maybe 6 years old?) were getting in.  It's impossible to ignore a dog like Mikey, of course, so they reached out their hands to be sniffed and they very gently petted him.  "He looks like a fox!"  "Or a wolf."  "Yeah!"  Mikey was SO GOOD.  

Here's another bit of info regarding how Mikey responds to petting: I've noticed when people pet Mikey on his back, he often flinches and might even walk away.  He sometimes does the same thing if people try to pet his head.  This is true even if he sees the hand coming toward him, even if he sniffs the hand first, AND even if it's me or Scott!

So when these little boys (who were very well- behaved) petted Mikey and he didn't flinch or back off AT ALL, I was IMPRESSED.  It may be too soon to say the blanket statement "Mikey is always good with all kids" but it's certainly starting to look that way!  He has never snapped, growled, or barked at a kid.  He always sniffs their hands and permits them to pet him. I've never seen him flinch away from a kid.  In my experience, he actually seems better with kids that he does with adults!  

I LOVE this collage. I wonder if Mikey's as good with kids as this sesame-color shiba inu?

Now, to be fair, we haven't run into any rowdy or screechy kids or babies yet, so it may be too soon to say how he is with ALL kids.  But I can say Mikey is GREAT with reasonably well- behaved kids.

While walking in Dumbo, I finally found some grass for Mikey to walk on!  If you remember, he did get some nice grass under his little paws, briefly, when we visited Brooklyn Bridge Park last week, but there was a No Dogs Allowed sign, so we moved along. And I feel bad because there isn't grass in the dog park, and no other grass available for him to walk on.  

Hillside Dog Park understandably has wood chips, not grass.

But as we walked beneath the crisscrossing loops of the Brooklyn- Queens Expressway (BQE) on- and off- ramps in Dumbo, we saw it: LANDSCAPING!  There were big grassy areas Mikey could walk on.  So we found a place that was safe to access. (Don't worry, I didn't cross a busy on- ramp with a slightly- arthritic 12 year old dog!) Mikey seemed to like the grass a lot. But I think his favorite part was the ice cream sandwich wrapper he found!

Thanks to rapheevanoff for the great photo!

Interesting fact:  we can thank Robert Moses (the actual guy, not the product of Mikey's dinners) for the BQE slashing and burning its way through Dumbo, and also the rest of Brooklyn and Queens.  Neighborhoods and communities be damned! Oh well.

Day 11: Atta Boy, Mikey.

Mikey patrolling. Panzer supervising.

Mikey does this cute thing while on walks. He generally ignores all humans, dogs, squirrels, etc. But  he'll occasionally pick one human, seemingly at random, to walk up to and just look at, with his adorable black eyes in his furry cream face. They always melt and reach out to pet him, saying, "Aww, who's this?" (Except for one funny guy who asked Mikey "Can I help you?") I have no idea why Mikey chooses those specific people. He chooses both men and women, young and old people, black and white people. Mikey seems happy to embrace the diversity of New York City.

Tonight I tried something new with Mikey's dinner. He has been eating more of his kibble since I started soaking it in warm water to soften it up a little. So I tried a new thing-- I put the kibble in warm water, and had myself a nice cold beer to celebrate Friday. Then I finished prepping his dinner. In other words, I let the kibble soak until they were barely holding their shape. He ate all his wet food, and the shreds of turkey I put on top, but left all his kibble. ALL of it! So now we know he likes it softened a little, but not all the way. Good to know, buddy.

Happy Friday, everyone!

Today's walks: post-work: both robert and moses. Atta boy, Mikey. Quick walk before we went out for dinner: nothing. Pre- bedtime walk: nothing.

Mikey is growing less and less tolerant of getting his eye ointment. The vet told me to put it in both eyes, twice a day, for ten days. We're nearing the end of the ten days, and Mikey's eyes look MUCH better. (It was a slight infection making them a little goopy.) I don't know why he's getting more agitated, instead of less. I never, ever poke him in the eye. I'm pretty sure the ointment itself doesn't hurt, because he doesn't flinch or whimper or anything. My guess: it's just plain weird to get a line of ointment in your open eye. Poor guy. We're almost finished!

Hey there, clear eyes. (Notice Panzer glowering behind Mikey's ear.)

Panzer the cat seems to be getting bolder. The last few times Mikey did his patrolling through the apartment (last night, this morning), Panzer planted himself in one spot on the dining room table or on the dining room rug. Every time Mikey passed him, he'd meow emphatically. Scott thinks he's saying "Hi!" and I think he's saying "Scram!". Either way, Panzer seems interested in starting a dialogue. But it's a moot point, I guess, since Mikey continues to ignore him. Still, we're proud of Panzer.

Day 10:  Mikey Says "Bad Human! Bad! Bad!"

I came home from work last night to find an accident on the floor: robert AND moses!  I didn’t react, just cleaned it up and took Mikey out.  I feel terrible because I keep getting the timing off!  Poor Mikey must have held it in as long as he could.  Maybe I need to move his midday walk later to coincide with his need to go to the bathroom.  Right now the dog walker comes in early afternoon, between 12 and 2.  But I’ll ask him to walk Mikey at 3 or later.

 

No robert or moses on his post- work walk, which I expected, because he was empty!  He ate all his dinner, good boy.  Then no robert or moses on his late evening walk either. 

 

This morning Mikey woke us up by rattling around in his crate, so I let him out of his crate and started to get stuff together for his early-morning walk: leash, moses bag, treats.  I come into the dining room to find Mikey in a squat.  He had a robert accident! Poor guy, if he held it for 2 more seconds we’d have been outside! 

 

On the walk, he did his moses pretty quickly.  Good thing, because it was raining.  As far as I can tell, Mikey is NOT a fan of the rain.

 

Blog readers, I need your help!  Is there any way I can help Mikey so he doesn’t have to hold it in until he’s bursting?  It’s not his fault I’m a first- time dog owner.  He shouldn’t have to be the dog I learn this stuff on.  Poor little guy. He has every right to be mad at me, and, I don't know, attack us or something.  But how?  Dogs have no weapons.

Or do they?

 My current approach:  He gets food and water between 7:30 and 8 am, and then the bowls are taken away.  He gets a half- hour walk between 12-2. Then, a 6:15 pm walk.  Then food and water around 7 pm, and we always take his bowls away around 8:30-8:45 pm.  Then one more walk just before bedtime.  He doesn’t have a water bowl available to him during the day.  We reward him with gold- level treats (tiny bits of hot dog, cheddar, or roast beef) every time he roberts or moses outside.  We croon “good robert moses!” over and over, despite odd looks from passers-by.

 

For the most part, this has been working over the last 11 days, but 2 accidents in 2 days has me worried.  One more accident, and maybe it’s time to call the vet?  I hate to be a hypochondriac- by- proxy but that’s better than making Mikey sick!

Probably ought to have the vet check out his googly eyes, too.

 Well, Mikey ate most of his breakfast today.  This is great news.  Maybe he’ll start putting on some weight!

(Later) I contacted Csaba the dog walker and we agreed to move his midday walk to ~3 pm, starting this Monday. I'll keep you posted.

Day 9:  Mikey in The Sunshine

Weather's warming up and walking Mikey is becoming more and more fun for us.  But that could be because we're all getting used to each other, too. The morning walk yielded robert, but no moses.  Mikey ate about half of his breakfast, maybe a little more.

(As you can see, we got pretty lazy about transitioning Mikey to Kiba.  We'll stick with Mikey for now.)

I've noticed a definite improvement in his eating.  He's still not too much of a breakfast man, but at his last several dinners, he has definitely cleaned his plate.  He didn't eat too much after he first arrived.  We didn't know if he was finicky or nervous.  Now we know he was nervous.  Also, we thought he didn't like kibble, but if it's soaked in warm water for a few minutes and then mixed in with wet food, he eats it.  Hard to say if he enjoys it.  Last night I experimented by NOT stirring everything together.  I figured, if he hates kibble, he'll just eat the lump of wet food off the top and leave the softened kibble in the bowl.  But he ate it all!  It must be the hardness of the kibble that he dislikes.

Panzer and Mikey continue to ignore each other.  Now, Panzer is a standoffish cat already.  And Mikey is chill and laid back.  That's a perfect combination.  So they're coexisting really well.

But sometimes we'll be working on "sit" and lavishing attention on Mikey ("Goood siiit, Mikey!  Good boy!  Smart boy!  Good sit!") , and we'll hear Panzer meowing at us.  We assume he's saying something like  "I already know how to sit. And I know how to poo in a box." 

"AND I'm working on a doctoral thesis."

So we go over and pet him, too.  But we've been careful to keep paying lots of attention to Panzer after Mikey's arrival.  Well, Scott has paid lots of attention to him.  Me, I must confess, not as much.  Well, I have a new dog to take care of!

Oh, that's a terrible excuse.  Mikey is SUCH an easy dog.  I'll pet Panzer lots and lots tonight, I promise.

Day 8 Mikey and the Firefighters

On Day 8 we had a great post- work walk. The weather was so beautiful I was able to wear sandals!

 

There was a fire on our block and soon after we set out on the walk, we were surrounded by 4 shrieking fire engines, 2 wailing cop cars, and at least 20 fire fighters and cops.  Mikey was a total professional, just sniffing as if nothing were going on.  I actually had to drag him away from the commotion.  This is not a fearful or skittish dog!  He only reacted to one particularly loud and annoying siren that went close by us. He just flicked an ear at it!

As you know, we’ve been working on “sit”, even in high-distraction areas like the dog park, Smorgasburg, and inside moving vehicles.  Well, here’s the best part about the fire: Mikey managed a sit even with firetrucks and firefighters and sirens going on around him.  WHAT A GOOD BOY.  He's doing his "sit" in the picture up on top, but here some others of Mikey, cool as a cucumber.

 

(Don’t worry about the fire.  I believe it was just a small but smoky kitchen fire.  I saw an abashed- looking young guy exiting the smoking building and talking to the firefighters.  I always feel a tiny bit sorry for firefighters who come all the way out and then see that it’s no big deal.  What a letdown, huh?)

 

On his post- work walk Mikey mosesed but did not robert.  Hmm; unusual.  Then after we went in and he ate dinner (all of his dinner, hooray!) he had a robert accident on the floor.  My fault.  Maybe I should have kept him out a bit longer. Poor guy.  Then on his late night walk: neither.   We even took him for a quick last walk immediately before bedtime, but nothing!  Uh oh.  We felt a great sense of forboding…

 

…For no reason!  He woke up before the alarm in the am, which was unusual, so I decided to listen to what Mikey was telling me and get him outside quick!  Upon opening his crate I could see he had NOT had an accident overnight.  What a good boy.

 

Outside he walked for a while, sniffed around a lot, and then, only after a few minutes, did first robert, and then moses.  So it wasn’t even an emergency.  Yay, good boy!  I’m slowly learning how to work with Mikey to keep as much robert and moses outside the house as possible.  He’s being very patient with me!

 

I tried a few new treats last night, because I was making a big chef’s salad for dinner.  He tolerates but isn’t crazy about tomato. That's a bronze- level treat, to use Tamar Geller's terminology. He isn’t interested in lettuce (he spat it out!) and would not even look at cucumber.  But he LOVED the tiny bits of roast beef and turkey cold cuts we gave him-- just as we expected!  Those are his gold - level treats, along with bits of hot dog and cheddar.

Here's a photo unrelated to anything, but I like it.

 

The Statue of Liberty is that tiny spike in the distance.

Mikey is the dog you want in your house if you want your pets to stay off the couch.  See, I really want him on the couch.  But he won’t (or can’t) jump up.  So I picked him up and set him next to me on the couch.  He seemed very nervous.  I petted him gently and kept murmuring “it’s okay, buddy, it’s okay.”  This usually works pretty well when he’s anxious.  It got him through the vet visit, and helps him when I have to do his eye ointment twice a day.  But he just wanted to get down off that couch!  He actually jumped down and ran away!  My guess: he was VERY well trained to stay off the furniture by his last owners.  Or he just doesn’t want to be up there.

Working on Shiblog Inu is a lot of fun.  I hope you will pardon any typos I make.  I'm usually posting pretty late at night, and sometimes I'm even nodding off when I post.  Also, I'm not sure why Blogger sometimes has different- sized type in the post.  I assure you, I'm not trying to make it look like that!  So I'm still working out the bugs.  Please bear with me and keep coming to read Mikey stories!

Day 7:  Mikey's First Shiba 500

Morning walk: I had to wake him this morning, which was just as tough as waking him last night for his pre- bedtime walk.  Boy, does he sleep soundly.  He did just Robert, no moses.  Once we got home, he ate a few bites of his breakfast.

One thing I’ve noted: since he squats to pee instead of lifting his leg, he often gets a bit of robert on his paws.  It would be good to wipe down his paws before returning home.  However, he dislikes having his paws handled.  (Lord knows how scared he must have been at the vets for his claw clipping, poor little guy.)  So I’ll need to start gradually acclimating him to having his paws handled.

The weather is warming up. This is great, but it leads me to a growing concern.  My heavy coat had plenty of pockets for moses bags, treats, keys, wallet, etc.  But soon my heavy coat will be going into storage   I’ll need to think up some kind of bag, non- fanny pack style, that holds:

-bags so I can pick up moses 

-treats that I can grab VERY quickly

-keys, wallet, phone, chapstick

-and now, paw wipes 

I’ll continue to keep a list so I can be prepared when warm weather arrives. If I get a travel water bowl, that'll need to go in as well.

(Later)  I came home from work to find robert AND moses on the floor!!  Bummer. I guess he didn't do either on his midday walk. I took mikey out immediately but he was empty, of course.  Regardless, it was a beautiful evening and we had a great walk.  I even saw a smaller cream- colored shiba inu. Mikey probably resembled him when he was younger.  Alas, Mikey was too busy sniffing a stain on the sidewalk to see him.  After his walk, I'm pleased to say Mikey ate all his dinner!

Today is our 1- week anniversary with Mikey.  It seems like he's been part of the family forever!

Tonight I decided to try a slightly earlier evening walk, around 9:30 pm, so I didn't have to wake him up out of sound sleep around 11 pm. It turned into a very long walk.  Then we came in and Mikey did his first Shiba 500!  (This is just running up and down the hallway, throughout the apartment, like crazy.  Some shibas do this every day!) I never would have thought he was capable of a Shiba 500! Panzer hissed but Scott and I were psyched.  Maybe Mikey's not the slow guy I thought he was!  He's doing so great!!

This isn't  a bad picture.  He really is moving this fast.

Tonight I'm trying out a new thing: leaving his crate unlocked, with the door slightly open.  I'm just seeing if he'll choose to stay in his crate by night.  It's not a perfect experiment.  His dog bed is in the crate, and that's the only soft spot on the floor for him to lay on.  The only other place he might want to lay is the dining room rug.  So if he escapes his crate, he'll probably be in the dining room.