More Chewing

Thanks to Niko, we now have a second way to get our tissues out of the box. I feel like NIko is chewing stuff more lately than when he was a puppy. He is 3 months shy of 2 years old. It could be the freedom he has to roam the entire house when nobody is home. He gained that privilege about six months ago. 


On some days, I hide treats in different locations to make his day a little more interesting. He likes finding "treasures". Like the time we placed a tennis ball by a tree in a park and walked him there the next day for him to find the ball all on his own. I bury durable waterproof toys and bones in the deep snow out in the backyard. Niko keeps occupied this way and things are extra special to him when he discovers them on his own. With Niko, I think mental exercise is as valuable as physical exercise. 

Giddy Up, Horsie

While Niko was enjoying a yummy treat, I put a tug toy on his back. Minutes later, I was surprised to find it was still on his back. He must have been too distracted with the treat to notice he was wearing what looks like a saddle.

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So, we gave him a passenger. He trotted around long enough to allow me to snap pictures.

When he found out about the baggage he had on his back, he threw his passenger.

The Westminster Dog Show

The Westminster Kennel Club had their Dog Show at Madison Square Garden in New York this week. Although I wasn't there, I found a cool article in the NY Times today. It is an interactive article displaying pictures of 102 of the best of breed winners. I was delighted to see it was alphabetically listed by breed so I can scroll to Shiba Inu. Click on this link to see the winning Shiba:
Thunder the Shiba Inu  
What a perfect dog!
My knowledge of dog breeds is veeeeery limited. I often fake nod when people tell me their dog's breed. This article is helpful because scrolling through the breeds, I recollect some of the names and now I know what they look like.


Here's a random picture of Niko chillin' from last weekend:

A Shiba Shredder

Protect yourself from identity theft by investing in a Shiba Inu.

I learned something. Just because I've left newspaper on the coffee table out dozens of times and Niko didn't do anything to it, doesn't mean he won't decide to do so all of a sudden. I wasn't mad, but amused at how tiny some of the shreds were. Glad he found something to do while he was alone. When I went to clean up the mess, Niko went into his cave as though he knew he did something wrong. 

My cozy slippers have also fell victim to Niko's shredding skills. My left slipper is slowly turning to a size 7 from a size 8. Do we yell at him when we find stuff he destroyed? No. Because it's the humans' fault for leaving things out to tempt him. Then again, he hasn't destroyed anything that made us that mad yet...

I'd say the most valuable thing he chewed on was a photobook I made Ed for Christmas. It wasn't worth a lot of money, but it had sentimental value. I was out of town when I found out and wasn't thrilled to hear about it. He chewed the cover but the pages were still in tact. 

I look at it this way, when Niko's alone, he misses us. He chews my slippers because he smells my stinky feet. That is touching. And newspaper....that's just fun to chew I guess.