Shiba Sephy really taught me how to be a lot more Zen about things.

That is a great question!

The typical week with Sephy when he was a puppy is very different from a typical week with him now. He was a lot of work during puppy-hood. He would probably wake up and start getting into trouble right away – biting and tearing at books, stealing remote controllers and running around with it, leash biting, humping, and showing me the Shiba butt if I try to give him any affection.
http://shibashake.hubpages.com/_srec/hub/Shiba-Inu-Sephy-and-Me

Sephy is now about 5 years old and he is a lot better.

On a typical day, he would wake up at around 5:30 am. He would have an early play session with the Sibes and then he is happy to just rest and relax. Later in the morning, he would have breakfast and then we would go out for a walk of about 1.5 hours. Once we get back, there would be another play session with the Sibes, after which he is happy to catch some Zzzz’s until evening time. If people come nearby the house though, he would usually wake up and alert me. He stops barking when I go check out the situation and reward him for being such a good guard dog.

When he wakes up in the afternoon we would usually go to the backyard for a play-session, if it is not raining. Sephy is not a fan of rain except during walks. Then in the evening, we do teeth brushing, and dinner. Before sleep there is usually another Sibe play session, then he goes into his crate for the night with his Greenie and a chicken Kong Jack. We also groom his nails on a weekly basis.

Sometimes he would get into a black-mood and not want to do teeth brushing. But that is ok. I usually just ignore him and try at a later time when he is more hungry. He will also dig at the carpets sometimes, which seems to me like a denning instinct. He stops when I tell him to. Sometimes he will still try to steal from the other dogs, so I always keep an eye on him during meal times.

Sephy is not perfect, but he is a lot better than before and actually pretty low maintenance. However, he is still not a very affectionate dog relative to other dogs (breed trait). In addition, vet visits are still pretty awful.

I don’t have a cat though, so I don’t have first-hand experience with that. Shibas are hunting dogs, so they do have pretty high prey drive. They will have to be trained not to bother the cats in the house. Definitely check out the Shiba Inu Forum for more cat experiences.
http://www.shibainuforum.org/forum/discussion/8146/shibas-cats/p1

Our Shiba inu had allergies and at first we didn’t know what was wrong. She was licking her paws and they became red and irritated. She developed irritated areas on her stomach as well. We took her to the vet who said she may have an infection but most likely allergies. She ordered her some antibiotics and suggested we change her food. We changed her food to California Natural Herring and Sweet Potato Formula food and she has been fine ever since. Unfortunately she can not have treats or different food but she seems to be doing fine. We also have 3 cats, we keep their food away from her also. This was a couple of years ago now and “Shiba” is healthy and happy. Good Luck!

1. Shedding – Yeah Shibas have a thick undercoat and they will shed a lot during coat blowing season. Their coat only blows about twice a year, but with my Shiba, I find that there is some hair around all of the time. Probably not a good idea for someone who is allergic to dog dander.

2. Sharing castle – Shibas can be taught to share, but training and supervision are key. Shiba Sephy tends to be aloof with new dogs. He did not want to have anything to do with my new Sibe puppy at first. We supervised them very closely, did a lot of group training exercises, and rewarded them well for being calm around each other. After about 10 days, Sephy warmed up to puppy.

The key, I found, is to make sure that they have many positive experiences and little or no negative ones. A lot of supervision is needed, especially in the beginning. Here are some of the things I did while introducing my Sibe puppy -
http://shibashake.com/dog/second-dog-introducing-a-second-dog

Most Shibas tend to be more dominant by nature, and do not generally get along well with other dominant or territorial dogs. Both my Sibes are more submissive by nature.

From observing Sephy, he is not the type to start a fight, but if another dog starts one, he will not give up and will not surrender no matter how big or how fierce the other dog is. I make sure to carefully screen all of the dogs that he meets and plays with.