[QuietDeath]

I have a 5 month old Shiba Inu pup (named Inu). He is mean when he eats and you get too close.
I try petting him but I always get bit or snapped at. I tried holding the bowl so my hands are visible but theirs not progress he just bites my fingers out of the way.

Is there anything new I can do or try?

Also he has a eating problem. He wont eat his dry food. It takes him 3 (or more) days to finish a bowl of food. So we started mixing his food with wet dog food of the same brand. He woofs it down.
Like I said he is 5 months old. And still small. Where as my friend has a 6 month old shiba who is fully grown, and was full grown at 4 months. Hes (inu) not one of those mini breeds of shiba but a full blood shiba. We figure this lack of eating is stunting his growth.

(sorry if its kinda run on ish. I'm all excited to finally be seeking some help. The vet is no help at all)

Help on this topic too?

 

[rosemaryninja]

First of all, read these stickies. They will help.
http://www.dogforums.com/3-dog-training-forum/6856-nilif-nothing-life-free.html
http://www.dogforums.com/3-dog-training-forum/2522-doggy-zen.html

Implement them immediately. Wear gloves for the Doggy Zen.

Start hand-feeding him his meals. You can feed him his meals through Doggy Zen exercises if you want.

He's being a picky eater... he's learned that if he waits long enough, you'll give him some tastier food. Instead of mixing in wet food, put down a bowl of dry food for 15 minutes. If he doesn't finish it, or even if he doesn't touch it at all, just take up the bowl again. You can refrigerate it or put the kibble back in the container. A few hours later, put the food back down for 15 minutes and do the same thing. He should get no treats, no snacks, NOTHING to eat in between feedings. Don't worry -- dogs can go a very, very long time without food. He knows that food is available to him and he will eat when he's hungry.

 

[ILuvLucy]

When we went to see Victoria Stilwell last night, she had a dog up on stage that did this also.
What she did was to put an EMPTY bowl down in front of the dog. Then, she put a small handful of food in the bowl (right out of her hand). After the dog ate this, she would repeat. This was so the dog associated the food(good) with her (also good). She also said that this might take quite a long time to produce results.


I don't know if this would help you, but thought I'd add it to the thread.

 

[hulkamaniac]

When we went to see Victoria Stilwell last night, she had a dog up on stage that did this also.
What she did was to put an EMPTY bowl down in front of the dog. Then, she put a small handful of food in the bowl (right out of her hand). After the dog ate this, she would repeat. This was so the dog associated the food(good) with her (also good). She also said that this might take quite a long time to produce results.


I don't know if this would help you, but thought I'd add it to the thread.

It does sound like that would take a very long time to work. I could also see in the OP's post where the dog would possibly snap at his hand if he tried something like that. I like the other suggestion of putting the food down and if the dog doesn't eat it, take it up and put it away. I'm assuming we've already ruled out any health issues (i.e. it's not painful for the dog to eat dry food for some reason or the dog doesn't have some other health issue.) Definitely implement NILIF.