Shiba Inus can be very dominant dogs.
Shibas are a lot more primitive than many other domesticated dog breeds, and their instinct is frequently to fight rather than flight or appease. As a result, training a Shiba Inu can be more difficult than training other dog breeds.
Nevertheless, training a Shiba Inu is very important because if you do not, he will likely take over your house, and do whatever he wants. This ends up being dangerous for you, for everyone around you, and especially for your little Shiba Inu.
Shiba Inus may think that they know-it-all, but our human world is very complex and it is up to us to teach our Shiba Inu what is acceptable and what is not acceptable.
However, being pack leader to a dominant dog like the Shiba Inu can be a challenging enterprise.
On our side – we have opposable thumbs and a big brain;
On their side – they have large teeth, wondrous agility, all the time in the world to observe us, and an incredible roguish kind of intelligence.
The odds are a bit stacked against us, thus we must utilize our brains and opposable thumbs well.
Here are some strategies that helped me become pack leader to my dominant Shiba Inu …
Hi,
My shiba puppy (13 weeks) keeps waking up at 2am by barking and whining very loudly for too long. He then gets very playful and aggressive if we try to put him back in his playpen. He won’t stop biting and scratching us when we do, and barking nonstop if he’s locked up.
Help please… he has only been home a week and has an incredible amount of energy despite hours of playtime.
Hi,
Shiba owner of just over a week, 9 week old puppy, he has turned into a hellion since I’ve gotten him. He loves eating the carpet and cords when I’m not looking, ie in the shower or cooking. How do I stop him from doing this, because ack ack and a loud voice doesn’t work
When my Shiba Inu bites on something he shouldn’t, I no-mark, and then I follow-up with some action. For example, I start by redirecting him onto a toy. If he redirects, then I mark the behavior and reward him by playing a fun game with him. In this way, he learns that playing with his toys is a lot more rewarding and a lot more interesting.
If he doesn’t redirect, then I body block him away from the area and get him to do something else. If he keeps going back, then I close the door to the area, so that he no longer has access to it. If he starts whining or pawing at the door, then I temporarily take away his freedom by putting him in a time-out area.
In general, when teaching my puppy, I start small and give him many chances to do the right thing. I only slowly escalate my response if Sephy escalates his behavior. In this way, I set him up for success and I have many chances to reinforce good behavior.
I also found frozen Kongs to be very useful to keep my puppy occupied. In the beginning, I help him get the stuff out, but he quickly learned how to do it himself, and it probably also helped with puppy teething.
With my Shiba, setting up a fixed routine and a consistent set of rules was very helpful.
http://shibashake.com/dog/puppy-biting-tips-solutions
Hi, my 5 month old puppy has burrowed in some palmetto and mangrove brush by the canal across from the house. She sees us and keeps climbing in and out of her safety spot. How do we get her to come back on her own terms? She knows where we are at, and watches the house when she surfaces.
My dogs will usually come running when they smell something really smelly and yummy – e.g. sardines.
They are also very curious and will come over if they notice something interesting going on, especially if it involves a lot of motion, e.g. people playing games, throwing balls, etc.
What does your puppy really like to eat and do? How long have you had her? What type of training methods are you using?
Hi, we’ve only had her a week.
We have a chem free pet food company and she loves our beef and sardine blend.
I know she is hungry. She got free from her harness yesterday afternoon.
She is coming out to noodle w/our golden retriever. When Bre came out and looked at me, I didn’t jump at her, so I tried to walk back to the house w/Sunshine. She came out further and followed and turned around and ran back in.
She is on a bank of a canal here in Florida and she is burrowed in the middle of a thicket boundaries with razor stemmed palmetto bush.
Exhausted and don’t know what to do.
hi,
i recently purchased a shiba inu without first doing some research. she was the most beautiful thing in the pet store, and i absolutely could not resist. now that shes home, she is a disaster! i could not control her, i could not train her like i did with my other dogs. i was able to teach her how to sit, but everytime there are any other distraction whatsoever, i am completely ignored. not only that, she refuse to learn anything else other than sit. i tried teaching her down the way i did with my other dogs (first making her sit, then hold the food to the floor she she would lie down) at first it seems very successful, but it turns out she refuse to do it unless i have food in my hand. can you please kindly offer me some advice on what i can do with my shiba inu?
Thank you
Hello Michael,
I know what you mean. I was in a similar situation when I got my Shiba Inu. He was a terror on 4 paws!
Shibas can be extremely stubborn and extremely sneaky. Some of the key things that helped me with Sephy include –
1. Calm energy – controlling my own energy so that I am always calm and sure when dealing with him.
2. Structure and routine – Shibas really need structure and routine. Sephy usually gets stressed when things change or when he is unsure what would happen. He is most calm, well-behaved, and unstressed when we stick to a fixed routine that he is comfortable and happy with.
3. NILIF program – Only give Shiba something after Shiba has done some work for you. It can be as simple as getting her to sit before opening the door, giving her affection, food, or anything else.
Here are some of the specific things that helped with my Shiba when he was a puppy.
http://shibashake.com/dog/puppy-obedience-training
Here are some of the things I did to establish pack leadership.
http://shibashake.com/dog/pack-leader-to-an-aggressive-dog
Congratulations on your new Shiba. Things will get better with time and training. Shiba Sephy is almost 4 now and he is a good boy nowadays – for a Shiba 😉