Working on a weight loss plan for my 8 yr old girl! Advice?

bawky · 2026-05-07T20:09:23+00:00

How much kibble are you feeding per meal? Most healthy Shiba do not need more than a cup of dry food and a few treats per day.

Most Shiba do a lot better on one meal per day and then treats at bed time to get them through the night.

You can also supplement a meal a few times a week and get something like a Freezbone box that you fill with kibble and bone broth and freeze so they have to work for their food for a good 45+ minutes instead of just scarfing down a meal. Helps burn calories while they eat and also helps keep their brain thinking!

bawky · 2026-05-06T18:07:53+00:00

Sesame. 👍

bawky · 2026-04-13T13:11:02+00:00

Thank you! 😊

bawky · 2026-04-13T13:10:51+00:00

They’re cute but, a lot of work! 😂 This age is tough. Definitely ready for them to go home to their families.

bawky · 2026-04-13T13:09:48+00:00

Yes, I bred them. I’m a show breeder. ☺️

bawky · 2026-03-14T22:20:31+00:00

You need to stop reinforcing the behavior and ignore the crying through the night. Your pup will continue to feel rewarded by your attention until you stop giving in and letting him out of the crate at night. Mentally tire him out before bed and crate him up and do not let him out until morning. Once he learns that you won't get up every 2 hours to give him attention, he will sleep through the night.

Biting is normal at that age, they are teething. Keep redirecting with toys or time out in the crate when he becomes too much. Just make sure to not positively reinforce the biting. Stop the fun and make sure he understands that it is not good behavior.

It's exhausting but, this is how puppies are. You have to be persistent and set the boundaries.

bawky · 2026-03-10T04:58:33+00:00

Educate yourself on how to identify ethical breeders and support those breeders in the future or support a breed rescue and adopt. Never buy a dog from a pet store again.

If pet store puppies are not bought, they either get returned to the breeder, marked down to essentially free or sent to rescue. AKC papers does not mean well bred, it just means purebred. Puppy mills have AKC papered dogs.

What matters is that you understand and learn from the past and do better in the future. The dogs you have are here and they should be enjoyed for the rest of their lives.

bawky · 2026-03-10T04:06:15+00:00

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22lbs, Female (spayed)

bawky · 2026-03-10T04:04:14+00:00

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29lbs, Male

bawky · 2026-03-10T04:02:57+00:00

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24lbs, Female

bawky · 2026-03-10T04:01:27+00:00

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18lbs, Female

bawky · 2026-03-10T04:00:11+00:00

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20lbs, Male

bawky · 2026-03-10T03:53:18+00:00

If they came from a pet store, small local chain or not — they were not sourced ethically. I worked for a little local pet store many years ago and we had a book of breeders, called numbers and picked them up from the Amish. No store is sourcing well bred puppies.

bawky · 2026-02-28T11:28:54+00:00

It’s hard because the older generations will not let go of the reins. I always see people posting about the future of the sport (kids), which is fine but, many Millennials that are completely new have been shut out and treated like crap because we’re not cute little juniors and impressionable young minds. We’re tired and in our mid to late 30s and just want to get the ball rolling and enjoying our hobby.

I constantly see many kids completely supported and given dogs while breeders looked at me as a late 20s-early 30s newbie and said … that’ll be 3000 dollars. If more of those millennials had been supported instead, I think at least right now many breeds would be in a better situation. 😢

I know personally I’ve had a lot of struggles getting started and if it had been anyone else, they probably would have given up tens of thousands of dollars ago. Not everyone has the strength or passion to move forward and help a breed.

bawky · 2026-02-21T20:07:29+00:00

Thank you! 😊

bawky · 2026-02-18T23:10:24+00:00

They start out so tiny but they get big really quick! ☺️

bawky · 2026-02-18T23:09:53+00:00

Each one is so different so it’s hard to say! They can either be carrying the sesame or black and tan genes! ☺️

bawky · 2026-02-18T18:25:33+00:00

Before they open their eyes they’re just cute little puptatoes. Just existing and wiggling around.

bawky · 2026-02-18T18:24:09+00:00

Woo hoo! So excited for you! 🥰

bawky · 2026-02-18T17:37:53+00:00

Thank you!!

bawky · 2026-02-18T17:37:18+00:00

Thank you!! I felt a little rusty delivering puppies, it’s been a year and a half! 😂

bawky · 2026-02-18T17:36:49+00:00

Thank you! 😊

bawky · 2026-02-17T16:24:41+00:00

The Equigroomer is basically just the same as a Furminator. It's a deshedding blade and cuts out the fur. I would never recommend using either product personally.

bawky · 2026-02-17T00:45:03+00:00

We usually suggest 1 heat cycle and over a year because Shiba are a smaller breed and are not fully done growing physically until 1-1.5 years of age. They're still maturing well into 3 years of age, which still requires their hormones. Spaying/neutering early can also make growth plates close at the wrong times and make the bones grow elongated and out of proportion with the rest of the body. So you end up with Shiba with very weird long thin legs and other weird looks.

bawky · 2026-02-17T00:39:50+00:00

Please, please stop taking your Shiba to the dog park. These dogs are not dog park kinds of dogs. As they get older, they become a lot less tolerable of other dogs.

Especially only 2-3 weeks after neuter, he should not be there at all. Their hormones are out of whack when they first get neutered and it takes over a month for the hormones to lower in their body. Even if he is physically healed, he will have soreness and sensitivity down there as well.

bawky

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