Sneaky pet store proprietors

Tags

animal law, linjiang street tonghua night market, pet stores, puppies, shiba inu, taiwan, taiwan dogs

I currently live in Taipei by the Linjiang/Tonghua Night Market 臨江街通化夜市. On nearby Keelung Rd. 基隆路 is a concentrated strip of pet stores where the animal wares line up against the windows for a couple blocks.

I pass through the area frequently. And out of some semi-anthropological impulse and my longing for the Bows, I’ll often linger. I scan the windows and take note of presentation, cleanliness, apparent health and vigor of the puppies and kittens, etc.

Toy poodles, Corgis, Pomeranians, Chihuahuas, Mini Schnauzers, Pugs, Maltese, Shih Tzu, and Dachshunds are in — as they were, when I last lived here. I see fewer large breeds in the pet stores, thank goodness, but many can produce Lab, Golden Retriever, and Siberian Huskies on call, if not in the display windows. What seems relatively new to me is the popularity of French Bulldogs, a minor surprise because I can only imagine how brachycephalic breeds suffer in this heat.

And of course, every pet store has Shiba Inu.

Sometimes, I stand in front of Shiba windows and try to re-imagine that swell of desire that made us pick Bowdu out from the pile. This is not to tempt myself anew with another Bad Idea. Rather, I’m trying to identify that first spark of emotion that results in these puppies getting sold — as they do, day in, day out.

My feelings are far too mixed now to just succumb to innocent surrender, given what I’ve learned over the years. Yet, I do remember the lift of total transport, the moment you hold one of those puppies. And before the customer has the time to disperse those happypuppyclouds and think things through rationally, they’ve bought that wriggly ball of responsibility…

And so it happened to the brother of that Shiba pair born July 11th, pictured above, playing with one of the pet store clerks. Two days later, I passed by the same pet store and noticed that only the sister was left, and a pug had been plopped into the missing Shiba’s place. Even curiouser, the date of birth had been changed in a pretty half-assed manner, with a single line added to make it look like the birthdate was July 4th, a whole week earlier. That means on August 18th, when the second picture was taken, the Shibas were just a few days over six weeks old, if the latter date is to believed. If the first date was right, the first Shiba was just a few days over five weeks old when he was sold.

Either way, those Shiba pups were way too young to be taken home, and the fact that the pet store proprietor changed the birthdate on the window indicates that they knew and were trying to fudge perceptions. Not that there are any firm laws in Taiwan against the sale of young pups, as in some parts of the US. In Taiwan, pet retailer laws only stipulate that the animals should already be weaned, and have not been determined to carry any communicable diseases or illness that makes them unsuitable for sale at the time.

I’d be surprised if anyone’s actually been fined for selling underaged puppies. Chances are that the Shiba puppy didn’t die the next day (and if he did, he would have been speedily replaced by yet another underaged Shiba). The people got what they wanted, and all is, hopefully, well. Dogs are pretty hardy creatures, even the ones born and raised under less than ideal circumstances. But it’s precisely because these lives are so easy to produce that I feel like we have the responsibility to protect their fecundity.

And yes, sometimes that “protection” is rendered through reproductive control. More words about that some other time.

One last bit that I thought was interesting…

After the Shiba sister was also sold, this is the pair that replaced them in the window. They are advertised as “mixed blood” 混血 pups — combining Chinese 中 (Taiwanese) and Japanese 日 lines. What they’re emphasizing is the presumed authenticity of import lineage. Mostly I’m just amused by the idea that the dogs themselves possess nationality, such that the breeding combination results in a “mix” that nobody can see anyway.

Sighting: Tula, sweet sesame Shiba

Tags

sesame shiba, shiba inu

While Bowdu barely tolerates most dogs, his threshold seems particularly low for other Shibas. So seeing him get along with Miss Tula was a special, rare treat. Especially because Tula’s the prettiest little sesame Shiba we’ve ever met.

The vast majority of other Shibas we encounter are aged three or younger… which is not so coincidentally about the age that Bowdu became less tolerant of other dogs. However, these two seemed to get along okay because they’re both about eight years old, she’s female, and much smaller than Bowdu.

She seems to be even slighter than Bowpi!

I didn’t frame the shot properly to show just how close their hips were. I thought it was interesting that Bowpi was not only willing to sit for a stranger whom she suspected of harboring treats, but to move so close to a Tula, who was also basically unknown to her.

Apparently, both of the Bows have enough dogsense to know that this gal’s cool.

“Typically” aloof breed temperament does not excuse puppy fearfulness

Tags

basenji, breeders, fear, fearful dogs, puppies, shiba inu, socialization

About five months ago, I was invited to meet a local breeder’s litter of six-week-old, tri-colored Basenji puppies. None of the puppies were for me, and I was not on the waiting list. The breeder, whom I had gotten to know on the Basenji Forums, aimed to socialize the pups with as many visitors as possible, and was willing to let me sample the Basenji puppyhood that I had missed since Bowpi came to us as an adult from unknown sources.

one with a flipped-up ear is hiding in the middle

It was all I could do to contain my girlish squeals and tears of delight when all six puppies came marching up to greet me at the baby gated foyer. Though I was eager to dive into that puppy pit, entering the home was a challenge with the black swarm underfoot. It was like tiptoeing through bouncing water balloons! Popping a puppy right at the outset would surely have made a bad first impression. I know I made at least one squeak as I gingerly waded through the living room into the open backyard.

Apparently I was forgiven because they were still willing to play with me. Or maybe I was being punished for the offense with puppy fangs. At any rate, they bit and chewed me, the toy I brought, the backyard plants, and each other without compunction. I still trail a few shredded threads from the clothes I wore that day as a souvenir.

There’s no mistaking the fact that these are mouthy puppies, and that they explore the world with their teeth!

Momma and auntie (not father) were both on the premises to correct them as necessary. I got the sense that this was a constant, exhausting task…

These puppies might have added a few extra wrinkles to her brow… and they’re not even hers!

For all my idealism about how responsible breeders should be breeding, raising, placing, and following through with their puppies, this was the first time I’d met a litter that, in my opinion, was being done “right.” We chatted for a good portion of the afternoon about puppies, the breed, and more, until the entire litter was knocked senseless by our blather.

One thing that left an impression on me was how eager every puppy was to see who was at the door. When the breeder and I talked about this, she made an astute point that the Basenji reputation for being “independent” and “aloof” applies to mature adults — not developing puppies. An aloof adult raises little concern, but puppies should be sociable, curious, and brimming with confidence to accept new experiences. They weren’t necessarily ready to climb into my lap and would sooner chew than cuddle me, but they were evidently unfazed by my presence and ready to engage.

All this resonated with me, especially since these descriptors — aloof, independent, standoffish, not cuddly, etc. — have commonly been used to describe, and excuse, Shibas for being Shibas. It made me recall how we selected Bowdu in the first place. Of all the puppies in the bin, he was the only one sitting apart and watching from a corner. He didn’t appear fearful, but he had no interest in joining the puppy games; when a Golden pup tumbled into his corner, Bowdu nonchalantly extended a paw to hold the pup out of his space.

And we laughed and were charmed and chose him.

The night we brought Bowdu home and put him on the floor of the apartment, it took a brief moment to register that his environment had completely changed from the busy night market that he had known. Then he shuffled underneath the nearest desk and started whimpering. He couldn’t be coaxed out, so after a while, I gently pulled him out… He never tried to hide from us again, and seemed to forget his initial fears, though we would continue to deal with fear-based behaviors for a long, long time.

I doubt Bowdu was well socialized by his breeder or broker, and we didn’t do enough to bombproof him as a puppy. He’s fine now. But for months, and years even, I often excused his quirks as somehow related to either breed temperament or our misanthropic personalities, as his guardians. Oh, he shies away from strangers on the street because he’s being “reserved,” and that gives me an excuse to avoid people, too. He’s cowering from the constant stream of passing scooters because Shibas are highly alert and “sensitive,” and I wouldn’t want him to get too close anyway! He’s frantic and pulling on walks because he’s “stubborn” and “independent-minded” and wants to chart his own course home, even though he has a butt full of poop that should be eliminated outdoors, not on paper.

In my ignorance of dog behavior, my interpretation of those key adjectives in no way matched the spirit by which Shibas are often described. Or Basenjis, for that matter! There were details about Bowdu’s puppy behavior that were really not okay, in retrospect, but my misapplication of supposed breed temperament allowed me to mask, and worse yet, normalize certain kinds of anti-social behavior that really don’t befit the breed.

Bottom line is that my misinterpretation of those terms did not benefit my dog as an individual, over the course of his development.

There have been so many times on my dog forums (moreso Shibas than Basenjis) where someone’s fearful, aloof, non-cuddly puppy behavior is dismissed as somehow “typical” of the breed. Sometimes it’s a new dog owner having to face the crushing disappointment that they’re really not the center of their puppy’s world, and that’s part of the reality of owning a “primitive” breed. Yet other times, behaviors like hiding, running away in fear, a general listlessness and dullness to stimuli are excused as “typical” breed traits by well-intentioned folks who are just trying to reassure the confused dog owner that they did get what they signed on for.

However, so often the conversation is about puppies that have been home for days or just weeks, who haven’t even been alive long enough to develop personal preferences, let alone show stable breed proclivities! They’re still growing into the world. New owners are still learning to observe and describe them as individuals, not against everything they’ve researched about the breed (if at all). Puppies don’t consult the breed manual. And even the stablest pup from the most temperamentally sound parents can develop a mind of her own as an adult; indeed, “independent” is so vague a term here as to be useless.

What I’m saying is that a fearful, dull puppy is not necessarily a final judgment on the breeder, nor does this alone limit the dog’s potential to live up to breed hype. But having now met an entire litter of pups that seemed so alert, resilient, emboldened by adventure, and downright youthful, I am reminded of how childhood and adulthood are fairly demarcated developmental categories. Perhaps it is our anthropomorphic tendency to conflate the two. If so, that is our folly, and the child’s loss — of any animal species.

Strangest things that people have said about the Bows

Tags

basenji, basenji mixes, shiba inu

“They look like each other. So they must love each other very much.”

Disregarding the fact that they don’t look that much alike, this was strange logic to me…

“Basenjis are everywhere. There’s a little Basenji in everything. They’re little horndogs.”

This person was, I think, extrapolating from the “primitive” status of Basenjis to the perceived ubiquity of Basenji mixes. An amusing perspective (regardless of accuracy) that goes against the decline in purebred Basenjis over the years…

“What beautiful fur he [Bowdu] has! He would make a great pair of gloves!”

Most shocking to me was the nonchalance with which this sweet, old woman made this statement as she stroked his back and made kissyfaces at him.

Person A: “That’s a Basenji. They can’t bark.”
Person B: “They can’t? Really? Why not?”
Person A: “They were breeding their necks in such a way that they got their voicebox squeezed out of them.”

Oh really. Tell me more about how they bred Basenjis, please.

“Did you have to break their tails to get them to curl like that?”

Sure, I confess to some fetishization of canine curly tails, but I’m not sadistic enough to take it to the level of Chinese bound feet…

And finally, my favorite, totally politically incorrect quote —

“Shiba Inu are a bit like the Japanese. Charming, incredibly polite most of the time, but prone to sudden outbursts of violence.”

… as spoken (with great fondness, believe it or not) by a middle-aged Taiwanese woman who was probably channeling her own nationalistic education in colonial history.

(The Shiba depicted with Bowpi above is not Bowdu, and despite appearances, they are just playing!)

Novato Shiba Picnic 2013

Tags

meetups, shiba inu, shiba inu mixes

Finally — I’m putting up pictures from the Novato Shiba Picnic 2013! My sister and I leashed up the Bows and headed over to check out the festivities this year, making it just a bit after the group photo. With temperatures somewhere in the upper 80’s and minimal shade, I’m afraid we didn’t last through many of the afternoon events…

We got to catch the rescue parade …

… which wasn’t much of a parade, since it was so hot that nobody wanted to move! I didn’t blame them. Adoptees and adoptables from Northern California (Red Young) and Northern Nevada Shiba Inu Rescue (Jack Owens) were in attendance.

I sympathized with this guy, who seemed to be protesting the heat by thrashing in the grass instead of letting himself be admired.

My brain was so fried, I’m afraid I was unable to remember anyone‘s names…

Except this pup above, whose name I think is now Pika. Her momma is a purebred Shiba from Taiwan, confirmed when brought over by Red. Mei-mei, the mom, and her two puppies were all adopted. I was very excited to meet Pika, as I’d only seen pictures when she was a seriously adorable pup. She definitely had the Basenji-esque brow wrinkles and ears happening then, so it was interesting to see how she’d grown into her face.

After that, we managed to stick it out for the Shortest Shiba contest. I don’t think I even caught the name of the winner!

Nor did I catch the winner of the Curliest Tail contest, though the MC did a great job hamming up that competition.

One “celebrity” Shiba that we did catch in the lineup was Prince Zuko, representin’ on behalf of Twibas.

Alas, we were all withering pretty quickly, even in the shade. Perhaps the heat helped dull some of the Shiba sharpness. I was satisfied with how decently Bowdu behaved himself, even if he did snarl at a couple of the more vivacious, younger Shibas (who probably needed to hear it). As long as no blood is shed, I’ll just take it as another typical day amongst Shibas…

Unfortunately, poor Bowpi, who has issues with certain kinds of sounds, was freaking out in the midst of all that applause. At twenty frantic pounds, she was jerking my sister all over the place as I was trying to take pictures. Even in my hands, she tried to make a break for it a couple times — good thing she had on her limited slip collar!

So we cut our visit very short this year. It was still great to meet some readers, however briefly, and to witness this critical mass of Shibas in the Northern California area. Sorry I was too discombobulated to take better pictures, but I saw plenty of cameras at the event so surely someone else documented it better than I ever could. The rest of my Shiba Picnic photos can be found here.

Hope to make it another year — when the weather will (perhaps) be just right.

Sad Singaporean Shiba

Tags

eric khoo, housing and development board, jack russell terrier, JRT, public housing, senior dogs, shiba inu, singapore, singaporean dogs

I was flipping through a book on dogs in Singapore* when I came across this sorry example of a Shiba Inu in the first few pages:

Though the book does not purport to represent any of the breeds within standard, I would almost rather not see a Shiba than one in such shape. I was frankly taken aback by his girth, the large callus on his front elbow, his flattened rear pasterns and collapsed, faded ears. For all the good that this book is trying to do by imparting a sense of responsibility and important knowledge unto the Singaporean and Malaysian general readership, I could not help but think the authors were oblivious as to what a real Shiba should look like.

So I scowled. I sneered. I judged. I posted the snap to my Instagram, voicing my disdain. Several friends responded in kind, and we frowny-faced together, finding solidarity in our sadness for our maltreated Shiba brethren. “Looks like a typical puppy mill Shiba,” commented one of my friends. I admit that I thought the same thing.

Well I put the book down, returning to it at a later date. That’s when I found another picture that hinted as to where this Shiba might have come from.

Singaporean Film Director Eric Khoo [邱金海, Be With Me (2005), My Magic (2008), Tatsumi (2011)] apparently owned an eleven-year-old Shiba named Iiko. He is described as “rare” (like the first picture), and “gentle and loyal with his kids.” Iiko’s feet appear aggravated by allergies, his paunch is more pronounced from that angle, and his tear-stained countenance and droopy ears suggest that he’s not particularly pleased to be manhandled by the crowd of boys, despite the caption.

Though Iiko actually appears more decrepit in this second picture (the final photo credits confirm it’s the same dog), my criticism of the Shiba’s first representation immediately softened upon seeing him portrayed in this domestic setting. Here he was, somewhat dopey and dour looking, but nevertheless placed as “one of the boys” at the center of the family. Within a series of pages describing how to “Be a responsible owner” by properly socializing, training, and vetting a newly acquired puppy, the presence of this senior Shiba — older than the eldest son by three years — affirmed the idea that a pet is a commitment for life, through family transitions, poor health, and old age.

I felt sheepish for having been so judgmental based on the first picture. Truth is, both are only pictures, brief moments embedded in a cultural context that is unfamiliar (which is why I checked out the book in the first place). For all I know, Iiko sleeps outside on hard concrete and seldom gets actual human interaction… Or maybe he gets to rotate between the boys’ beds each night. That reality, whatever it may be, is not for me to know and judge.

As a pet, the authors of the book included Iiko in their annals of special Singaporean dogs because they found him worth documenting. Perhaps it’s just because he’s a “rare” breed and belongs to a famous filmmaker. Perhaps the authors wanted to highlight his simple canine essence by contrasting him to Khoo’s celebrity. Or perhaps it’s just because he’s old and has obviously seen better days. Frankly, this Shiba was still one of the unhealthiest looking dogs in the whole book, as even the local pariah dogs appeared more fit.

Still, he has a home and a family to call his own — the basic satisfactions of human and canine alike. Ultimately, it was more significant that this li’l dude was old than a picture-perfect Shiba. The authors knew what they were doing after all.

* Reference:
Lee, Koon Ann Lennie and Ilsa Sharp. Singapore Dog: K9 Facts, Figures and Fancies. Singapore: SNP Editions, 2003.

As a final tangent, one of the most fascinating entries in the book was a list of breeds approved by the Singaporean Housing and Development Board. Since the vast majority of Singaporeans live in HDB government-sponsored housing, this is essentially a form of breed-specific legislation that affects the general population. On the cover is a Jack Russell Terrier, a breed which is HDB approved. However, the JRT breed introduction takes exception to official recommendation, noting, “The authors do not agree with the HDB ruling and do not recommend this breed for high-rise and/or HDB apartment living.”

Relevant websites:

• HDB list of permitted dog breeds
• Doggiesite.com
• Action for Singapore Dogs
• Singapore Police K-9 Unit

Eight years worth of Shiba smiles

Tags

anniversaries, shiba inu

Not to be outdone, Bowdu has a gotcha day anniversary too.

Eight years of this goofy face, and still countless reasons to smile.

FILM: The Tale of Mari and Her Three Puppies

Tags

dog movies, japanese film, shiba inu, tale of mari and her three puppies

Film: The Tale of Mari and Her Three Puppies [Mari to sanbiki koinu no monogatari マリと三匹子犬の物語]
Director: INOMATA Ryuichi 猪股隆一
Performers: FUNAKOSHI Eichiro 船越英一郎, HIROTA Ryouhei 広田亮平, SASAKI Mao 佐々木麻緒
Breed featured: Shiba Inu
Production information: NTV/Toho, 2007 (Japan)

A friend was poking fun at my dog-crazedness when he asked me to name a dog movie that I actually disliked. While I can babble about flawed films, I hope it’s apparent that I don’t give a free pass to anything I watch just because it has a dog! Or a Shiba, for that matter… I’ve long refrained from reviewing The Tale of Mari and the Three Puppies, for instance, because everyone expects me to just adore it. My high hopes, however, led me elsewhere by the end credits.

The title character Mari is based on a real-life Shiba bitch who survived the 2004 Niigata Earthquake, led rescuers to her family of human survivors trapped beneath the collapsed house, and then was abandoned to fend for herself and her three newborn puppies. Despite her heroism, she is repaid with betrayal, simply because she is a non-priority being — a mere dog. The sanctity of family unity becomes sanctimony when deliberately rent asunder by this act of moral injustice. This is not the type of raw deal that a Shiba can sink her teeth into…

So Mari has to learn how to survive aftershocks, hunger, crows, and the elements until rescue teams are finally able to safely escort civilians back to the wreckage.

real life Mari and her puppies, from the film’s closing credits

For the Japanese, constantly beset by earthquakes, tsunamis, and the threat of nuclear catastrophe, this leap from disaster to drama is never so distant. Portrayals of crisis are part of an ongoing process of psychological mobilization, serving as important mental drills supplementing physical survival kits. Shifting the stakes onto the bodies of animals abstracts the threat just one level further, even as the drama assumes anthropocentric turns.

The Tale of Mari and Her Three Puppies works through the theme of disaster in two classic modes, as a maternal melodrama and a modernization narrative about country vs. city. Unfortunately, the movie does neither particularly well, and fails even to live up to its premise as a dog-centric story.

Roll of 28, Day Twelve: Shiba aglow

Tags

roll of 28, shiba inu

Today’s choices for Roll of 28: either this Bowdu sunset shot, or an Instagram of my dinner.

I chose the more glamorous picture.

Not your instabuddy

Tags

aloofness, shiba inu

Bowdu is very welcoming with new people whom we invite to our place. But out in public, he’s much more cautious.

People who actively call out to him typically get ignored. Especially men.

Even if the other party also has a Shiba. See how they silently maintain their pact of aloofness?

If lucky, a stranger might receive a cool, disinterested sniff. Bowdu would rather crane his neck than step forward.

This dog’s not gonna be your instabuddy, bro.