New York, NY – October 14, 2010 – NYC Shiba Rescue, Inc. (NYCSR), a volunteer group dedicated to the rescue of Shiba Inu breed dogs in the NY metropolitan area, today announced the adoption of two of our very special veteran foster furries, Buddy and Luna, on October 3, 2010. After almost 3 years of total time within the NYCSR foster program between the two of them, both Buddy and Luna’s foster families have decided to take the plunge and open up their hearts by providing the forever homes they deserve.

Buddy entered the NYCSR Foster Program in August 2008 with the unique distinction of being the only litter box trained shiba the rescue has seen, along with several other more unfortunate characteristics. With the help of his dedicated fosters Buddy was able to overcome some behavioral issues including difficulties reading behaviors and a strong distrust of strangers. Over two years later Buddy has blossomed into a happier, well-adjusted dog who loves going out with his new mom and spending time playing with his new pack of shiba brothers and sisters.

“Buddy has come a long way and we adore him,” said Buddy’s new mom Jenn. “He’s a serious guy at times and will ignore you and act very, very aloof. Then if there’s something good going on, like a car ride, he’s spunky, wagging his tail, and giving you kisses. He’s quite the shiba and has definitely touched all our hearts.”

Luna came into the foster program almost 2 years ago and has required lots of time and dedicated care from her fosters ever since. A beautiful and loving cream shiba girl, Luna has been treated for a number of ailments during the course of her foster period which stemmed from what was finally diagnosed as Cushing disease. Luckily Luna’s health problems are now completely under control and with her adoption she is on track to live a thankfully healthy and fulfilling life with her new family.

Buddy and Luna are the 77th and 78th dogs that NYCSR has adopted out since the rescue was founded in April 2007.

Buddy is chillin’ in NJ and loving the nice weather. His foster mom, Jenn, sent us a few videos of Buddy walking around with all his friends (her dogs) in the yard. He’s come a long way and we adore him. He’s looking for a forever home, someone who understands his quirks, his fears, and his body language.

He’s a serious guy at times and will explore places, ignore you (typical shiba), and act very very aloof. Then if there’s something good going on like a car ride, he’s spunky, wagging his tail, and giving you kisses! He’s quite the shiba and has definitely touched all our hearts.

If you want to see the other videos of Buddy, please check out our YouTube page: http://www.youtube.com/user/nycshibarescue

Buddy is now part of Jenn’s pack – he has been interacting with her other dogs on a regular basis and likes it. He also now has a thing for car rides and gets extremely excited when Jenn gets ready to go somewhere because he hopes it means he gets to go too.

Jenn let us know that Buddy does have allergies but they seem to be seasonal. He also has a luxating patella (similar to a floating or loose knee that people may have) so he needs to take it easy jumping around to not make it worse or hurt it. At the moment, it doesn’t affect him at all. However, whoever adopts him should know to not let him jump off high surfaces or put too much shock on his back legs. Buddy takes glucosamine everyday and a multi-vitamin and runs around like a puppy!

Buddy is becoming a very well-adjusted dog. He will always be cautious with trusting people but he’s made amazing progress in the time we’ve had him. Jenn told us that he likes to run around the backyard with her dogs and follows the pack around. When he’s tired, he lays in his bed and takes a nap. She’s not had any major issues with him and her dogs at all. Buddy found his placement quickly and knows he’s not the top dog, but is quite happy just to be part of a pack and have a foster family that loves him, plays with him, and teaching him what it means to be in a home.

He’s a happy boy overall, still jumps up on Jenn and her husband when he’s super happy and excited, and likes to go on adventures in the car with Jenn. Jenn also uploaded a few videos of Buddy to our Youtube acct.

Jenn, who has been working with Buddy for many many months, is getting ready for Buddy to move to a new foster home. He has made amazing progress with Jenn, her family, and pack. He learned to trust a little more, didn’t have to be on guard all the time, and began to relax and live a nice stress free life in her home. Jenn worked with him extensively and he is a happy dog who still needs to understand and learn that he doesn’t need to guard his food and that the vet is not a scary place. His allergies are improving and he’s a very healthy boy, overall.

Buddy is amazing and he just needs someone who is very experienced to learn from him, teach him, and help him feel safe, secure, and loved. He has a body language all his own which makes him unique to all of us here at NYCSR. He willingly wants to meet people, greet them with excitement, but yet tenses up and becomes frightened quickly with sudden movements. He’s become much better with understanding that no one is going to surprise him or hurt him, but old habits and conditioning can be hard to break. He’s a wonderful dog and we believe his new foster home will take Buddy to the next level of being a great dog and wonderful addition to someone’s home.

Jenn sent us a couple pics of Buddy:

   

Buddy is a friendly dog but he has some fear issues, and his foster family has been helping him slowly get through and work out these fears. He’s definitely excited to see new people and meet new dogs and is generally playful and happy, but he still has some problems with being touched. He is doing MUCH better.

Jenn still asks her friends not to pet him but if they did she doesn’t think it would be much of a problem as long as it was limited and gentle. She’s able to pet him and he is very friendly with the other dogs in the house. Buddy still has food aggression and is fed in his crate. Buddy is a barker – he seems to like to hear himself “talk.” He’s also been out for a day in the city and does well.

Buddy makes progress in big leaps so month to month may not change but then suddenly there’ll be a breakthrough moment. He’s a great boy and so fluffy. You just want to hug him but he’s fearful and needs to be desensitized and understand that being pet and touched is good. We’re hoping he finds his forever home soon!

Jenn told us that Buddy has an oily coat so he tends to smell more like a dog then most shibas and requires more grooming and bathing than most shibas. Buddy is very good about grooming so it isn’t a big deal or anything to be concerned about. He also is not a food motivated dog but does love cheese and tends to listen when he knows the treat is cheese and not a regular “boring” old cookie or biscuit.

Buddy’s a sweet dog but still takes time to trust people and needs a patient owner who understands his body language. He’s not a cuddly shiba but does enjoy being pet once he knows you and trusts you. He’s become comfortable with Jenn and her family but she does not trust him with new people unless they understand how to interact with Buddy and even then, she’s very watchful.

He’s still a bit possessive about food if he finds a piece on the floor or you drop a few crumbs. This isn’t a big problem right now as Buddy eats in his crate and often doesn’t have access to “clean the kitchen floor” since there are several other shibas in the house. However, he will snap if you come too close to his food bowl. Jenn recommends feeding him in his crate and to never force him to come out or go in. He will walk in and out nicely and requires a good patient owner who will establish a routine so Buddy knows what is expected of him and never fails.

I had the privilege to meet Buddy and spend time at his foster family’s house. He’s so beautiful and happy. Jenn, his foster mom, told us he does seem to have seasonal allergies which leads to his ears being irritated and if not treated or kept clean, it could give him ear infections. He’s been on antihistamines and that seemed to take care of the problem.

He’s a social dog who loved meeting me and was excited to say hi to me. He also gets along with Jenn’s other dogs and was just so full of energy and life. He also can be left alone and is quite content to hang out by himself. Buddy is still sensitive to touch so I had to be careful when I tried to pet him. He allowed me to and I didn’t touch his head, just the mid section of his back lightly. Jenn told us that it is more of a fear reaction than anything else. Oddly he seems to really enjoy brushing even for long periods of time.

When he meets strangers he appears very friendly and leans against you, jumps up, and acts as if he wants affection but he’s also scared and may snap or try to nip you if you accidentally touch or move too fast or pet him too hard. It’s as if he is trying to break out of his shell and forget his past but still has some conditioned responses to touch. We’re very lucky he’s got a great foster family who understand him and work very hard to rehabilitate him. You can’t help but fall in love with him when you first meet him because he has a lot of good energy and happiness in his eyes and is extremely fluffy and beautiful.

He will need an experienced patient owner that will understand his fear of being petted and work on it with him to overcome this. Because of this, he will also need an owner that will “protect” him and not put him in situations where he could be at risk but also help him get used to new people petting him.

Buddy has been doing very very well with his foster family and canine friends. Jenn sent us a few photos of Buddy hanging out with her dog, Syd.

Buddy is doing very well. His coat has come in beautifully. All things are pretty much the same with Buddy except that he was recently groomed and the groomer said he was a perfect gentleman. Although we wouldn’t recommend it, the groomer said she was able to completely groom him without a muzzle. In the past she has been able to wash him without the muzzle, but did use it for his nails.

His foster mom, Jenn, has begun to introduce Buddy to her 5 other dogs.

“We are taking it slow mostly because my dogs can be protective of their house, but Buddy is doing very well. Right now we are still in the “meeting” though a gate, but Buddy has not shown any aggression even with Sawyer barking at him through the gate. This is really good because he has not shown any barrier defense through the gate and has not shown any fear or defensiveness even with 5 dogs on the other side of the gate staring at him. We are going to continue introductions and move on to limited interaction with individuals dogs next week. Although originally I thought Buddy would be best as an only dog, but his behavior meeting my dogs through the gate has been so good that I’m starting to think that he can reside with another dog. I’ll let you know how we progress.”

Buddy does have some resource guarding issues for things that he comes across on walks (bottle caps, sometimes sticks, etc.) and something that is easily snatched from a table when the owner is not paying attentions (cell phones, etc.) He doesn’t eat or really chew these items, it’s more like “Ah ha! I got it and its mine”. Jenn is working on trading with Buddy. He is slowly getting it, but he’s not 100% yet. They have more success if he gets distracted and drops the item.

Buddy is very comfortable with people and enjoys being around “just hanging out”. He still is sensitive to touch and extensive petting so you have to be conscious of when enough is enough. He is much better with petting in larger open areas where he can walk away when he has had enough. In smaller confined areas he can get fearful and defensive. He actually seems to be happiest just being near you – laying at your feet or by your side.

Buddy loves his crate and Jenn finds him sleeping in it throughout the day. His barrier defense while in his crate eating is subsiding and he is learning to relax and digest his food after done eating. Then when he comes out of his crate he is calm and ready to go outside.

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Recently, Jenn, Buddy’s foster, discovered that Buddy has had a least one seizure (petit mal). We think he may have experienced others and according to his previous foster he had at least 2 similar episodes in her care. Buddy also appears to have allergies, but not very bad. He also has an irritated ear, but it’s not infected, just inflamed. We’re not sure if he may have a hearing problem or if he’s just unable to distinguish where sounds come from but he seems to not always be able to detect the direction of sounds clearly. Perhaps it’s just the inflammation.

Buddy still has food aggression and is still being fed in his crate. When it’s time to let him out, Jenn does not reach in for him. She opens the door and lets him walk out. He is crate-trained and has not been a problem with her but she stresses that whomever takes Buddy needs to understand what techniques need to be used to keep everyone safe. When he’s very happy to see someone he will jump up on them and does try to run out the door because he knows it “playtime” in the backyard. He also has a high prey drive and tries to catch birds and other small animals outside. He’s been known to bark a lot but it is more of his way of saying “play with me” or “come on, let’s go outside!” and not just excessive barking at anything or nothing.

Jenn and her family have been able to leave Buddy alone for several hours without any problems. He seems to just go into his crate and nap. She told us he’s definitely come to think of his crate as his safe haven and willingly walks into it and out of it. He only gets defensive if you come to the door, but won’t do anything. When she lets him out, she opens the door and lets him walk out on his own. She told us that Buddy will show aggression if you force him out or do any action that he may read as being a threat to his own safety.

Buddy can be a sweet dog and has played with Jenn, likes to pet, and leans against her. He isn’t a cuddly dog but he does enjoy the company of his foster family and likes to play catch, chase, and kill his stuffed animals. One thing that we must stress is that Buddy needs to trust his owner, and anyone who is interested in him will probably have to meet him a few times and gain his friendship before actually becoming his forever family.

We have a few pics from Easter and he looks sooooo happy laying in the sun.