OH...oh SHEBA!

We made a decision to adopt a new puppy and my husband came across an ad for a Shiba Inu. He just couldn't resit that foxy face and sprawled out floor stance. I started researching everything I could about Shiba Inus and realized that we were in for a ride, but felt it was worth it.

The first time we met Sheba, she came running up our walk way like she'd been here before and quickly greeted me. The family she was living with said she was rather shy and reserved at first, but with me, she 'owned' me rather quickly. Sheba became the newest member of our household.

There was something about this little 9-month-old that stole my heart. Even when she looks at you as if you're crazy, she's got this 'thing' that makes our hearts melt! She immediately felt like she was allowed to jump on the couch without being invited and just like I've read, will not budge if she doesn't want to.

The one thing we are amazed about is how she doesn't try to dart out of the front door and the one time she stepped outside of the house, she came right back in. She is really well behaved, smart and full of spunk.

Sheba only barks while playing and we only get a good Shiba-scream when she's ready to come back in the house. We think it's hilarious. She gets really excited once someone comes in the door or when she comes back in from outside, so she scrambles around doing her Shiba 500, trying to find something, anything she can put into her mouth to give to us. One time, we received a random sock.

She wasn't crate trained when we first got her, so slowly we got her to go in without having to coax her. That was short lived, because the next day she refused to get into her cage. The last two days she will go limp and make one of us pick her up or push her. We can't help but laugh because she will also stand up, start walking towards her cage, realize that's NOT what she wants to do and will turn around, look at us, and then go back to where she desires to be. This makes me laugh even harder because, well, I did my homework. She's a SHIBA.

We didn't get much sleep last night, this time she decided to howl and scratch and whimper in her cage. We tried taking her out, moving her to a new spot and nothing worked. It wasn't that she had too much energy, we took her to the dog park earlier that day and she got a good run in the backyard too. We are trying to teach her that her crate is okay and that we are not far away at night. I hope we get some rest tonight.

All in all, I love this girl and I know it's going to take persistence, but this is one fun Diva!