Merry Christmas!

It's the holidays and Niko's doing a great job spreading cheer.  We had many guests yesterday and Niko was in charge of shoes and coats. Just kidding. He guarded the door and made sure each person was greeted, sniffed, and if they are lucky, licked. I didn't hear him bark once and he was very friendly with the little ones.  Surprisingly, Niko kept his Santa hat on for a very long time. It was a nice Santa kerchief made for dogs. I think he was too overwhelmed to notice it was even on.

Niko's made a nice resting area under the tree. As you can see, the  'n' ornament is for Niko and the bottom part of the tree is bare to keep it shiba safe.
In this pic, you can see Niko's beautiful wood carving skills on the table leg too.










Niko got a rubber football wrapped like a piece of candy. The Santa hat looks more like a superman cape here.

We wish everyone a happy and safe holiday! Ruff!

Happy Holidog

Rewarding Good Behaviors did a holiday special on their website and Niko is featured:
http://rewardingbehaviors.com/pages/?p=210

Niko was neutered a few days ago. We dropped him off in the morning and picked him up after work.  When we arrived, he was zonked out in the kennel. After we completed the paperwork and turned around, he was awake with his tail wagging at the gate. It was a heartwarming reunion and we gave him lots of hugs and kisses.

Niko is recovering very nicely. Since he is a smaller dog (22 lbs), his stitches were smaller.  He was sluggish that first night but bounced right back the next day.

Snow Day

The verdict is in, Niko loves snow.  We had a good snowstorm that covered the yard.  When I took him outside for the first time, he stayed on the pavement and sniffed the snow out to test the "waters."  I walked on the snow and tugged on him a little. He took the leap and hopped around the yard. He buried his face in the snow and acted very silly. His motions resembled a bunny hopping around.

Leaving shiba tracks

My Welcome Home

I went out of town for an extended weekend and sure enough, Niko was on my mind often.  I thought of him every time i saw a four legged creature.  When I returned, I let Niko out of his crate. He danced around me, hopping and darting back and forth playfully. He let me pet him and hug him a little bit. What's interesting is that Niko took a few minutes to sniff me.  It was as though he was making sure (extra sure) it was really me. I thought it was funny.

Niko gave me  a welcome present. Within 30 minutes, I heard him make a gagging sound. He threw up! I put him back in the crate so he wouldn't tamper with the evidence. Sure enough as I was cleaning up mess #1, he threw up again in the crate.  Maybe it was his way of saying "don't ever leave me again!"

I will spare Niko's readers from any vomit pictures :)