Comments on: Shiba Inu Training Secrets

By: shibashake

shibashake — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 03:50:05 +0000

Hello Natalie,

Congratulations on your new Shiba! 4 paws up for adopting a dog in need.

Share some pictures with us when you get her, and let us know how it goes.

By: Natalie

Natalie — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 04:05:44 +0000

Hello! I really enjoyed reading your article. I have adopted a Shiba from the animal shelter. She’s very sweet, a little aloof and independent, but that’s the thing I love about her. I’ll be able to take her home in the next week so I’m reading up on how to train her. I’ve always wanted a Shiba, but was always turned off by the warnings, “They are extremely hard to train.” I’ve had a few dogs in the past, but they were always given away (My parents really aren’t animal people and really don’t understand that dogs need patience in order to train them. They are not born trained). So, I guess I’m not a first-time dog owner. But reading this article makes me feel like I’m getting a heads up. That I’m definitely not going into this thing blind. So, for the next couple of days, I will be reading your website for all the info I need. Thanks again!

By: Matt

Matt — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 14:14:46 +0000

Well I really haven’t tried putting on shoes or a jacket so I really don’t know yet. She does wear a harness for walks because she does like to pull and it’s much easier to correct her mistakes with a harness and I don’t have to worry about choking her. So she doesn’t seem to mind the harness at all. I should check into getting her shoes cause when it did snow here she loved it and wanted to stay outside all day.
So my guess is she probably wouldn’t mind wearing a jacket but it doesn’t really get too cold here but when it’s in the low 30′s and she’s been out there for two hours is what raises concern especially when its really windy.
I’ll look into the forum for some more info. and thanks for your input.

By: shibashake

shibashake — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 20:13:46 +0000

since then has nabbed another bird and two voles. It took forever for her to drop them too because she was so proud and happy of her kill,

That is impressive. I think Sephy would just run away with the stuff and try to start a chasing game.:D

I was just wandering how cold it can be outside before they need to wear a coat or something.

It doesn’t get really cold here, so I haven’t gone through any truly freezing temperatures with Sephy. Also Sephy really dislikes wearing anything on his body. I did consider getting some shoes for him because he does not like getting his feet wet, especially cold and wet. However, shoes would only help for supervised walks and not for more rigorous activity as they would quickly fall off.

How is Jada in terms of wearing things?

Here is an interesting thread on the Shiba Inu forum about whether Shibas need jackets-
http://www.shibainuforum.org/forum/discussion/8890/coats-or-jackets/p1

By: Matt

Matt — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 14:13:09 +0000

Hi I wanted to thank you for the information on this website as it has helped me greatly with my Shiba. I have a 9 month old, strong 23 pound female Shiba who loves to be outside. She is also a great hunter, as she managed to kill two birds before she was 5 months old, and since then has nabbed another bird and two voles. It took forever for her to drop them too because she was so proud and happy of her kill, I love seeing that little curly tail wag. But my question is that it’s starting to get cold here in PA and since I take my Shiba Jada for a walk almost everyday and since she spends a majority of the day outside, as she’ll just sit on the step watching birds and planes (she has incredible eyesight)I was just wandering how cold it can be outside before they need to wear a coat or something.
I know they have thick fur and she doesn’t seem to mind the cold so I was just curious if they even needed one.

By: Ruud

Ruud — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 18:02:28 +0000

Hi there!

Thanks a bunch for writing this great article!
I’m getting my Shiba Inu puppy early Februari. I’ve really read into the breed before deciding to get one, and now I’m focusing on how to train and raise my dog, so she’ll be a great companion. You article has a lot of really helpful tips and information. I especially love the concrete advices you give on how to cope with the Shiba’s personality.
It looks to me as if patiënce, perseverance and positivity are some of the key words here.
Being a cat owner myself, I am used to animals having a will of their own, and I’m used to the fact that it can take a LOT of time to get my cats to ‘listen’.

Anyway, I’ve added this article to my favourites, and I’m sure I’ll be reading it again of my oh-so-cute puppy is giving me a hard time.

Thanks again for taking the time to write this!

Kind regards,
Ruud
The Netherlands

By: shibashake

shibashake — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 15:38:32 +0000

(I always do over-researching on things like pets or colleges;;)

That is a really good practice. I didn’t do enough research before getting my Shiba and it was not good for us in the beginning. I could have saved myself and my Shiba a lot of pain if I had been more prepared.

Sounds like you have a great environment. Sephy loves to go hiking and playing with us in the backyard. The only thing is that Shibas tend to love routine and may get really stressed when there are large changes in their life. Sephy is pretty high strung about changes, so I try to keep things as stable for him as possible. Shibas misbehave most when they are stressed.

In terms of noise, Sephy is actually a pretty quiet dog. He will bark when there are people or dogs close to the house to alert us, but he stops after we go and check things out. He did do a lot of Shiba screaming when he was young, but after we switched to using reward training techniques and learned how to properly train him, he got a lot better. I haven’t heard him Shiba scream in a long time.

Sometimes we will have howling sessions with all our dogs. It is pretty fun and I think the dogs like it.

Good luck with college. What are you majoring in?

By: Nicole A.

Nicole A. — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 21:36:51 +0000

Hello! I’ve been doing a lot of research on the Shiba Inu, and I’ve come to love it so much. Recently my Shitzu passed away from old age and I’ve been really quite lonesome without a dog. I was thinking about getting a Shiba within a year or two.

Currently I’m a college student, so I’m planning to wait till I have more time to spend and train a puppy. I live in a large house with a medium-sized backyard, but there’s a trail near my house that I go walking at. There are no little kids here and we have one slightly crazy old grandmother, but everyone in my house is pretty much an adult. We’ve had a whole bunch of dogs before, but if I do end up adopting a Shiba puppy, it will be the first dog that I have personally raised. I know it’s quite a long time to worry about getting a Shiba (I always do over-researching on things like pets or colleges;;), but I was wondering if my home situation sounds fine (I don’t want to bring a Shiba into the wrong kind of environment) and if there are any tips for a (hopefully) new-Shiba owner. Like are they noisy? And what should I do if they are noisy and unleash the Shiba scream (I heard it when I was young and it scared the youth out of me for awhile).

By: shibashake

shibashake — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 01:44:28 +0000

Hello Maha,
My new Sibe puppy Lara was also pretty anxious when we go on our walks. Some things that helped with her -
1. First we only went on very short walks and very close to home. This helps to get her outside and also helps her build confidence because every walk ends well and on a positive note.
2. Luckily, our area is next to a quiet hiking path so I would just take her there. There is usually no one around and it is very quiet. This also helps her build some confidence. Another possibility is to drive to such a location.
3. Now Lara is used to going to the quiet parts, so sometimes we will venture into the more noisy areas. Usually though, we go to the quiet parts first, which helps to build her confidence, then if she is up to it, we explore a bit of the new areas at the end. I make sure not to overdo it though because I want to set her up for success.
4. Together with the walks, I am slowly desensitizing Lara to the things that she is most fearful of, e.g. sound of coyotes, garbage truck. We are currently working on skateboards. Here is a bit more on the desensitization process -
http://shibashake.hubpages.com/_srec/hub/Dog-Anxiety-Fearful-Dog

This article on dog anxiety may also be of interest.

Hope this helps. Big hugs to Tuffy and let us know how it goes.

By: Maha

Maha — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 15:30:32 +0000

Hi:) I have a 7 and a half month old male shiba inu Tuffy.He’s been with me since he was 9 weeks old, we live in NY and he was shipped to us from a breeder in AK. Tuffy being a shiba does what tuffy does,lol we have been applying training consistently with him from day 1. He is a really good dog but true to his breed so very stubborn and suspicious of everyone and everything (yes that includes every car, every shopping bag, every garbage bag on streets, every person walking on street hell even the wind and leaves rolling by). So my problem is… Tuffy being an escape master , he always tries to run away , lately he got a little better but still if there’s a loud bang, a loud car driving by , fireworks etc. he will take off like a bat outta hell. I worked really hard with him on walking, we live across a huge park , and that’s where I take him for walks everyday. He loved going to the park running ( on leash) and playing with other dogs, BUT here comes the issue, he got neutered 2 weeks ago, and now every time I take him for a walk he pulls on the leash, get’s scared after a little bit , pee’s and run’s back towards home, he doesn’t even want to do his business , he just wants to be out of there, if he see’s another dog he looks interested but then when the dog comes nearby he run’s away and doesn’t want to play. I have also started noticing that now the anxiety of moving objects and sounds is way worse then before, even leaves and trees rustling with wind scares him out of his pants. I don’t know how to fix this issue, it took me months to get him accustomed to his “walking” routine, and now we are back to square one, which is really frustrating as even though he is potty trained, he does not want to do his business in home anymore, it has to be out,yet he is afraid of everything outside.it really makes me sad, and sometime cry because I really want him to be able to enjoy his walks and play in the park and not be so afraid all the time. Anyone got any suggestions please:) Thanks.