I'm posting because I adopted a Shiba Inu two weeks ago when he was 9 weeks old (so he is now 11 weeks old, hehe).
He's very sociable, loves attention and asks for it quite often. He's almost toilet trained (just a few accidents when he's left alone for too long).
However, I don't always understand his behaviour. For a start, he never plays!
We've bought him little balls, small squeaky bone-shaped toys to try and entice him, chew ropes for teething, etc. But nothing seems to work; he's not interested at all (except for the rope, which he chews when we're out of the house).
He spends a lot of time in his bed and can stay there for hours doing nothing. You almost get the impression that he's depressed :(
We walk him every evening and even let him off the lead in large open fields (we live in the countryside). He runs all over the place and seems very lively then, but he won't try to play with us...
Finally, he's very timid; the slightest noise makes him jump and he goes to hide under our bed.
Does anyone know if this behaviour is normal? Does he just need more time?
Thanks for your help!
Translated from French
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Get stuck in and play with her yourself, as using these toys isn't instinctive—it's a skill they have to learn. For instance, I’ve got a Canaan Dog who only learnt how to play fetch by copying other dogs, so giving her plenty of time to learn is vital.
This reminds me of my Chow Chow (her temperament is very similar to a Shiba); she didn’t play at first either. It takes time for them to understand how to play. With mine, we really had to work on getting her interested in the ball. We didn't just throw it; we’d dribble it, make it disappear, bounce it... basically, we showed her just how much fun playing is (but it took a while). Now she plays with balls and balloons all the time, and it’s brilliant because she keeps herself entertained by tossing them around for herself. For some primitive breeds, it takes time to build a real bond. Mine was quite aloof at the start, but as the months go by, we're getting closer and closer.
Evening :) It's not necessarily normal, but it's certainly nothing to worry about.
If he's acting this way, it's because he wasn't socialised enough before you got him.
So it's up to you to be patient with him and show him the right way to behave ;)
