How did you teach him to come when called snd walk off leash? I’ve never in my life had a dog that does not want to come to me, so I never figured out how to get my dog to come. If she doesn’t want to in the first place how do I reward her for it? However, my dog is wonderful and sweet, not aggressive, and calm. Our only struggle is her bolting out the door and then we can’t get her back unless she decides to come.

Hi Liza
I am far from being an expert an get my 1st dog (and shiba in Sept 19).
I really love this blog as it shows some owners have pretty hard time and things are often as described in books. Shibasake shows there’s always a way, and you will find a solution! I will just share what has worked for me and Kawaii. Sorry if it is too long!

For the potty issue, maybe you can try to have Xander in a play pen as soon as you cannot have your eyes on him. He will probably respect his ”home” and won’t pee inside. Try to have him potty break often before you find out at which frequency he needs to go. If he’s outside the play pen, try to keep your eyes on him every time. If you catch him starting squatting, clap in your hands to surprise him and make him stop and pick him in your arms (on his back – he won’t pee on himself) and reach the ”potty spot in your garden and praise him.
If you go to the garden for his potty break and he doesn’t do anything; just say nothing and let him in the play pen. Try 30 min later.
Hope it will work for you!!

For the rocks, I stopped worrying about it and only remove stuff from my dog’s mouth when it is metallic or glass. When picking the object I trade it against a treat. I also practice drop it exercise with plenty treats when playing.

For refusing to walk: try to call him once give him the 1,2 3 seconds to come. If he doesn’t continue what you wanted to do and try again when you have the time. You can put him in the play pen in the meantime. Staying calm is the most difficult thing right?! Mine play at catch me if you can… I remove the toys and ignore me… and try again later. But you are the one in charge, and you will decide when to go out.

For the biting: If it is against your furniture, I redirect my dog saying ”nah” and offer him a Kong or a wood stick in order for him to chew. I let them always around for him to pick them when he needs.
If he bites you; 2 options the soft one fake a cry sound and turn your back on him and ignore him for 30s – really count 30 slowly, he has to feel the loneliness.
If it is not working keep his head into your hand and look at him with severe look and without a word for 30 real secondes, then go away… and come back to play later. (Do not use that too often, other he may think your a psycho or loose the power of it).
Also try when you pet him in your arm, to touch his jaws, praise… touch his tooth and praise…etc slowly but surely… everyday till improvement… then several times per week.

You may also to hand feed him several weeks to make him understand you control the food; having him sit and look into your eyes before feeding him…

Good luck with your little monster, try to stay calm… and patience will work and transform him into a nice pup.

… You may also try obedience class for puppies! It may help

I’m hoping for some serious feedback cause the last
two days have been terrible. I’ll admit – I did not research or know anything about a Shiba Inu prior to owning one. My fault – absolutely. However, me having a puppy was very last minute (long story) My pup, Xander, is just shy of 3 months & I got him about 3 weeks ago. Since then I have done a lottt of reading & research because I want to do the best I can. I’m still learning but will gladly take any help I can get.

So, a few of the things I get are just normal puppy issues but I feel that anything I’ve done hasn’t even helped in the slightest. He pees all the time in the house, even right after I’ve taken him out. Side note – my carpet is green unfortunately so I’m not sure if he mistakes it for grass? I’ve recently noticed him trying to dig into the carpet so that’s why I’m not sure. He chews everything – even rocks. He’s so quick sometimes he’ll swallow it before I’m able to get it out of his mouth. He refuses to walk. Sometimes when we go out he’ll just sit down & wont even budge. I have a big yard so we walk around the house sometimes so that’s good. And now, as of the past two days which has made me want to cry – he’s started to really bite. Like angry bite. Every time he bites or chews I’ll do my best to distract him with his own chew toys, etc. but it hasn’t helped. He gets a lottt of attention & we play with him as often as possible. I’m not sure if he’s just mad that I keep taking stuff away but the angry biting is what has me the most concerned. I’m almost in tears & at a loss. I do know the one thing I didn’t do so well on so far is punishment. I was putting him in his crate for timeouts and just started using the bathroom but he doesn’t seem to have much a problem with the crate. He will cry for maybe 10ish minutes and then he will lay down. So, if there is anything I missed – any advice, I’ll take it all.

Please check with your vet for possible food allergies.

Congratulations on your upcoming little hurricane! Make sure to get lots of sleep time in beforehand. 😀

Thank you for all of these blog posts. I have a 4 year old Shiba that I’ve had since he was 8 weeks old. Your articles have greatly helped me to train Kazu and he is perfect in most areas except in leash walking. I made the mistake of keeping him off leash for the first year of his life because I was teaching him boundaries (like how far he can be away from me), and while he doesn’t run away and comes back when called, as soon as I put the leash on him it’s a whole different story. He pulls and pulls until his collar or harness will slip off. I’ve tried redirecting his goal , I’ve tried very quick leash jerks, and I’ve tried to even stand still until he calms down, but once that leash relaxes, he pulls again (so he knows what I’m looking for, just not willing to continue with it). The only thing that seems to work is if I take him on extended walks that will tire him out by the end. Any suggestions?

Thank you Bel. This is what I do for puppy biting-
http://shibashake.com/dog/puppy-biting-how-to-stop-puppy-biting

Firstly I just wanted to thank you for these blog posts. they have provided great info and insight into the Shiba breed. I have a 6 month old Shiba inu who I love to bits but also drives me crazy sometimes. I was wondering what your best advice on puppy biting is? I’ve tried every technique from yelping, to holding her mouth shut and time out also but nothing really seems to work. She is mostly biting me to get me to play I believe so do you think time out is best in this case. I have a studio at home and every time I sit down to do work she attacks me. The funny thing is I have a two year old daughter which she never bites hardly and treats her completely differently than my husband and I. They sure are an interesting breed.

Also do you have any advice on food stealing? We can’t sit on the couch anymore and eat because she jumps on us or tries to bully us into giving her food which we never have. she just doesn’t give up.

thanks again.