Leash Eater

Leash Victim #2

Kai has chewed his way through two leashes in one month.  Quite impressive for a sub-10 pound puppy!

His first leash victim was a lightweight lead, about 4 feet long and 1/2" wide, that we purchased more to get him used to the feel of a leash than anything else.  He HATED having a leash on at first and would just thrash around like a fish on land.  We let him drag the lightweight lead, attached to his collar, around the house on and off for about a week, and he got more used to it after that.  We used that lead a few times when we took him places, but he soon chewed about 2/3 of the way through that, so we retired it.

Leash Victim #2 was a green six foot item, seemingly much sturdier than Victim #1, and wider (about 3/4").  You can see its sad demise in the photo above.  It lasted about two weeks.  Sigh.  The final blow for this leash was when we took Kai to a local upstart brewery tap room last night.  We brought some chew toys for him to stay occupied while we visited with friends, but he managed to do quite a bit of damage to the poor leash.  I wouldn't trust this leash anymore after what it's been though.

It's fun to eat leashes at breweries!  It's also fun to rip a piece off your Sun toy.

I have Leash #3 on order now, which I hope will last longer.  It's made from re-purposed climbing rope, so (in theory) it should be tougher for him to chew through.  And also we clearly need to train him so that he doesn't chew his leashes!  I found the leash on Etsy, and I hope it is shipped quickly.  I'm thinking we may need to pick up an interim leash, though, because we can't be leashless with him for more than a few days. 

It's always fun to see everyone's reaction to the cute puppy.  I have talked to more strangers in this past month than I have ever talked to in my whole life, I think!  I have the "speech" down by now.  Everyone asks the same things.

ADMIRER:  oh, what a cute puppy!  What breed is it?
ME:  he's a Shiba Inu.  (if they look confused, I add)  it's like a small cousin of the Akita.  (most people seem familiar with the Akita)
ADMIRER:  he looks like a (choose one or more of the following:)  chow/fox/stuffed animal/teddy bear!  How old is he?
ME:  three months old.  His name is Kai.
ADMIRER:  how big will he get?
ME:  about 20-25 lbs when full grown.  Not too big! 
ADMIRER:  I have a (fill in the blank) dog, etc.  OR  My roommate/sig other/parents/etc. have a (fill in the blank) dog.  This is followed by a story about the aforementioned dog.

It's fun to introduce people to Shibas, since many have never seen or heard about them!  (Little do they know that behind that adorable facade lurks a ferocious MONSTER!)