Mystery Solved...

When we got Oskie almost 5 years ago, we had no idea what kind of dog he was. Our vet said his best guess was a mix between some type of shepherd dog and a chow. It's not really that big of a deal to know, but I was just always curious. Well, I was looking at blogs the other day, and I clicked on a random blog and when it came up, I about fell out of my chair. They had a dog that looked SO much like Oskie. I left her a comment asking what kind of dog she had, and she let me know that her dog was a Shiba Inu. She agreed to Oskie definitely looked like a Shiba Inu. I started looking on Google at this breed, and, although I don't think Oskie is pure bred, I believe he has a lot of Shiba in him. When I read the characteristics of a Shiba Inu, I laughed out loud because they fit Oskie to a "T". For instance... (I got these descriptions off of a website where a lady is describing her Shiba)

Get used to hearing, “He/She looks just like a fox!”. - We have heard this very phrase on many occassions. Oskie has been called everything from a fox to a wolf. Or people would say, "He looks like a wild animal."

A Shiba Inu is independent and very clean. My Shiba Sephy spends a fair amount of time not just grooming himself, but also helping to groom my Siberian Husky. - Osie keeps himself very clean and he is constantly "grooming" Tanner.

A Shiba Inu is extremely easy to potty train. - We never potty trained Oskie. The day we got him he would go to the backdoor to go outside to do his business.

Shiba Inus like having their humans around in the general vicinity. However, they are aloof like cats, and do not need or want human attention much of the time. - I laughed so hard at this because we have always talked about how Oskie is not a very "loving" dog. He doesn't require a lot of attention as far as petting and loving on him goes. Tanner on the other hand wouldn't mind if you petted him ALL day.

When there are strange people or strange noises around the house he will bark to alert you. - I always say that Oskie loves to bark at the wind. He will bark at anything...especially if there is a strange noise!

Shibas have great memory and will alert you to anything out of place around the house and even in a familiar neighborhood - This characteristic completely cracked me up as well because Oskie has always freaked out when anything is different or out of place. One time I got Oskie a new dog bed after the bottom of his was literally worn out (non existent) and he WOULD NOT get in it or near it. He growled and barked at it until I finally took it outside. I pulled his old one back out, and he climbed right in it. Another time, Michael has left his backpack by the couch one night (not where it normally is) and Oskie ran in the den and jumped up like he was scared to death when he saw that backpack. He knew it wasn't supposed to be there!

A Shiba Inu can learn many dog obedience commands and he can learn them very quickly. - Michael was able to teach Oskie many simple commands (sit, stay, speak, lay, etc) basically in just a few minutes. This always amazed us, but evidently it is common to his breed.

There are several other similar traits, but I won't bore you with them. I know it is likely that no one cares about this post, but I am just proud to know, finally, what kind of dog Oskie is. He was, after all, our first "baby".