Tsunami took his first class (and all subsequent classes) at Peninsula Dog Obedience Group in Soldotna, AK. We were introduced to clicker training at this first class.

We were fortunate to find a wonderful, enthusiastic clicker trainer at Peninsula Dog Obedience, Faith Hayes. Her vision and belief in Tsunami was a motivating force for us. Two of the most important commands we learned at this class were "leave it" and "wait." These simple commands have been quite useful on several occasions from stopping the eating of rotten salmon on the riverbank to waiting for a moose to cross the street in front of us.

Aside from fundamental commands, another vital aspect of puppy class is socialization with other dogs. At the end of each session, we would have puppy play time. Shibas can be dog aggressive, especially same sex. Making an extra effort early in your dog's growth will reap many rewards in developing friendly or tolerant behavior to strange dogs. Socialization in puppy kindergarten will go far to reach this goal. Even after puppy class, make sure your Shiba has regular opportunities to have contact with friendly dogs during those vital developmental years (puppy to early adult).

Additionally, if your dog enjoys canine and human interactions, make time throughout their lives to provide this stimulus. Tsunami thrives on "dates" with his canine friends. We try to provide this interaction on a weekly or bi-weekly basis. Tsunami enjoys his canine friends so much that he knows where they all live. It's been written that the Shiba Inu has an uncanny sense of direction. We have found this to be true with Tsunami. This young man can remember where his friends live after only one visit. No matter from what direction we start our walk (whether at home or in town), he knows exactly which house or building his friend is at and will visit them whenever possible (he is a bit of a lady's man).

When we walk in town, Tsunami will visit a minature Schnauzer at a photography studio and 2 Scottish Terrier girls at the local feed store. As much as Tsunami enjoys seeing "his girls"…his friends enjoy their "male caller." He also has a Cairn Terrier friend he meets on the street occasionally. At home, Tsunami enjoys the companionship of another Minature Schnauzer, Jack Russell Terrier, Lab Retriever, American Staffordshire Terrier, Australian Shepard, Husky mix, and a Cattle Dog mix.

Classmates that he enjoys seeing as often as possible include a Rottweiler, German Shepherd Dogs, Chow Chows, Gordon Setter, Australian Shepherds, Redbone Coonhound, and others. Where the majority of Tsunami's friends are female, he is making friends with many neutered males. As with any Shiba (or other breed), intact males can be a challenge. However, with reasonable exposure, Tsunami is continuing to learn to tolerate intact males without significant issue.

For your very alpha, dominate Shiba you may find it helpful to continue classes beyond those basic socialization and obedience classes. They continue to reinforce your position in the pack, it keeps their minds busy and learning, and reinforces the important lesson of getting along with other dogs, male and female, intact or not. Tsunami loves going to school! He enjoys his classmates and is thrilled to see his teachers. Again, as you can see, socialization at an early age with the Shiba Inu pays off with huge rewards!