The Shiba Inu is a beautiful Spitz dog. You will get many compliments and turn many heads, while walking next to a Shiba.
A Shiba can get you a lot of attention, and open doors to many social encounters. Get used to hearing, “He looks just like a fox!”.
In fact, it is this foxy look that often gets Shibas into trouble.
Many people fall in love with the ‘Shiba look’, but are not equipped to handle his larger than life personality.
If you like the Spitz look, there are many other breeds that fall into this group, that may better suit your lifestyle.
The Good
1. A dog that is more like a cat
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.
Their inborn cleanliness make them generally easy to potty train.
Sephy only had potty mistakes on the first day that we brought him home (10 weeks old). After that, he has always let me know when he needs to go outside. In fact, he naturally dislikes soiling his living space, and even prefers not to go in our backyard.
Shiba Inus like having their humans around, in the general vicinity. However, they are aloof like cats, and do not need or want human affection, much of the time.
2. A good watch dog
A Shiba Inu is not a noisy dog. However, when there are strange people or strange noises around the house, Sephy will bark to alert me. Once I go and check things out, he stops barking.
Sephy also has a great memory, and will alert me if anything is out of place around the house, or in a familiar neighborhood. One day, he started barking at the fence, because somebody had put a piece of wood on top of it – amazing!
3. Graceful, agile, and high energy
A Shiba Inu is graceful and agile.
He can leap tall fences in a single bound, and can scale walls like Spiderman. If properly directed, his super powers can be used for good. However, when left on his own, the Shiba will likely turn towards the Dark Side.
Sephy is a great hiking buddy, and is always up for a new challenge. He can easily learn and conquer an agility course, but he will only do it, if I make it worth his while.
A Shiba running is a sight to behold, and a Shiba at play is poetry in motion.
4. A doggy Einstein
A Shiba Inu can learn many dog obedience commands, and he can learn them very quickly. He also thinks that he is much smarter than you, and will only obey you when it suits him.
Sephy can quickly solve complex interactive dog toys and puzzles. I am always trying out new ways to deploy his food in toys, because he figures things out so quickly.
A Shiba will challenge us and keep us sharp and on our toes!
5. A larger than life personality
No great genius has ever existed without some touch of madness.
~~[ Aristotle ]
A Shiba Inu may be small in body, but he has a ginormous personality. If a Shiba were a person, he would either be an extremely successful egomaniac or in prison!
Sephy always surprises me and makes me laugh; at least when he is not making me cry.
He has this one move, where he puts his head down on the ground, with his butt sticking up in the air – it is just too precious.
The Bad
1. Bold, strong willed, and stubborn
A Shiba Inu has a “Never give up, Never surrender” attitude.
He will not back down from a challenge, and will often fight back when he perceives a threat. Because of this, many Shiba owners face aggression issues with their dog, including food aggression, dog to dog aggression, and people aggression.
To successfully live with a Shiba, we must be extremely patient, and have a good sense of humor.
Turn a Shiba’s annoying habits against him.
For example, a Shiba gets bored easily. If we ignore him and give him nothing to react to, he will quickly lose interest, and move on to something else.
Sephy can also be very competitive. If he sees another dog getting praise and rewards, he will want to strut his stuff and show that he is better.
Work with a Shiba’s innate personality, and use it motivate him in the right direction. Passive resistance and reward obedience training, work best with my Shiba.
A Shiba will hand you many lemons, which is good if you like lemonade. Otherwise, just cut one up and squirt it on his muzzle.
~~[ just kidding! ShibaShake ]
2. A sly, rougish intelligence
A Shiba Inu is super intelligent. He will most often use his brain power to “push your buttons“, and get what he wants.
Sephy is always trying to figure out how he can outsmart me, and all the humans around him. A trainer once told me that Sephy was spending the weekends, “Devising new strategies to defeat her”.
In another life, my Shiba was probably a Catholic priest. He can guilt me into doing almost anything for him.
Beware the Shiba look – it is one of his most powerful weapons, and he will use it to great effect, if he senses any weakness in you. Before you know it, your Shiba will have gotten you trained to fetch, stay, and rub tummy.
- Remember that a Shiba will do whatever he wants, if he can get away with it.
- If he cannot get away with it, he will figure out another way to get what he wants.
- When he gets caught with his nose in the cookie jar, he will give you the innocent, “What did I do?” look, and then come over to lick your hand.
As soon as you turn away, he is back in the cookie jar!
3. Like the evil, black Spiderman
A Shiba Inu is capable of great feats of agility. However, if left untrained, he will use his powers to destroy and cause great havoc in the household.
If bored and lonely, he will escape by jumping over or burrowing under your fence. He can squeeze through small holes, bite through leashes, and achieve amazing great escapes, that will make Houdini proud.
If not properly supervised, Sephy will pull down items from counters, and shred them to pieces. He may even eat some of those pieces. Once, I left him unsupervised for about 10 minutes. In that time, he pulled down a phone headset, dismantled it into little pieces, and arranged them in a strategic pattern all over the floor. Luckily, he did not swallow anything.
A young Shiba Inu has a lot of energy.
It takes a lot to keep him occupied, and away from trouble. Supervised play sessions with friendly dogs can help. Another alternative is to put him in dog daycare, or to employ the services of a dog walker.
4. A Drama Queen
My Shiba will whine, mope, and act like it is the end of the world, when he is unhappy about something (e.g. wearing a harness).
Woe be to you if your Shiba gets hurt, or even just thinks that he is hurt.
Sephy acts like he is close to death’s door, even for small things like getting grass stuck between his teeth.
Woe be to you, woe be to your vet, and woe be to anyone who tries to help.
Shibas are extremely touchy when in this state, and may snap or bite at anyone who comes near them.
In addition, Sephy is extremely sensitive to the energy of the people and dogs around him. If I am scared or stressed-out, he picks up on that immediately, and gets that way too – except with a thousand times more gusto!
5. An accomplished singer
A Shiba Inu does not bark much, but he has a wide range of vocal stylings.
The most well known is the Shiba-scream, which is a high pitched, loud scream, that will make your blood curdle. Your neighbors will think you are torturing your poor little ball of fur.
A Shiba will quickly learn to use his Shiba-scream against you, if you let him.
Do not get embarrassed, and do not give him a reaction during a Shiba-scream. I just ignore Sephy and go about my business. He quickly learned that screaming is not very effective at getting him what he wants, and he stopped doing it. Remember that a Shiba can see your outward appearance, as well as sense your inner energy.
6. Dog royalty
A Shiba Inu does not like being touched or handled.
Cutting nails, bathing, or a vet examination, is never fun for any breed of dog. However, with a Shiba, it can be total hell.
After a lot of desensitization work and management, Sephy still protests to some of these activities. He sometimes throws a fit when I pick him up, and he only likes human contact when the mood suits him.
A Shiba is like dog royalty. He wants his subjects close enough to serve him, but not too close as to sully his royal person.
7. Pretends not to understand ‘Obedience’
Obedience? What’s that?
Shibas Inus think that you should be obedient to them and not the other way around. If you want a Shiba to do something for you, you had better make him a good offer. Sometimes, Sephy bargains with me. He will sit there and wait until I have the acceptable number of dog treats in my hand, before going into his crate.
A Shiba can be a good citizen at home, but he must be properly managed.
Shibas are strong willed, independent, and bred to hunt. Aversive training does not work well on them. Shiba owners need to be creative and flexible when interacting with their dog.
A Shiba is not to be trusted off-leash, unless in a fully enclosed area.
8. Nasty, wicked teeth
For a small dog, a Shiba Inu has very large teeth, and he is not afraid to use them.
Shibas can be very mouthy; more so than many other dog breeds. When I first got Sephy at 10 weeks old, his mouth was all over me. Now, it is in control, but his instinct is still to bite.
Shibas are a primitive breed, and they lose control more easily than other more domesticated dog breeds.
The Quirky
A grass connoisseur
Sephy likes grazing, but he is picky about what grass he will eat. Dogs may sometimes graze when their stomachs are upset, to clear their digestive systems. However, my Shiba just enjoys eating grass, provided it is the right kind of grass.
I recently found an article suggesting that there might be something to this grass connoisseur business after all.
“We at Green Foods believe that dogs and many other carnivores, including cats and bears, eat cereal grasses because cereal grasses contain nutrients not found in meat that are essential for the animals’ good health.”
~~[ Green Foods web site ]
Thanks to all the posters at Shibatalk and ShibaInuInfo for their many humorous Shiba stories that inspired this article.
We purchased a shiba Inu back in oct. 2010. I did not read up on this breed but fell in love with him upon sight. Brought my dog home and commenced to educated myself with this breed. I must say after reading alot on the internet (which was mostly negative) I wondered if i brought home a demon. However my Shiba has many of the traits spoken about in this web site but is not agreesive at all. Even my vet was amazed. I love him and for us he is the perfect dog. Yes he is smart, gentle with my grandchildren and my 87 year old mom who loves to walk him. I need some input on a behavior he is doing latley. Him seems to “hack/cough” like he is trying to clear a fur ball fom his throat. Is his normal as he grooms himself constantly like a cat. Thanks for a delightful and accurate web site on the characteristics of Shiba’s. Any input would be helpful.
Hello Susan,
Yeah Shibas do shed a fair amount, especially when they are blowing their coat. During coat blowing season, I brush Shiba Sephy a couple of times a week or more, if needed, to remove all his loose undercoat. I use a Furminator, which is very effective at getting all the hair out. I make sure to pair it with food rewards and make it into a very positive experience so that he enjoys his grooming sessions.
Hope this helps.
Hugs to your Shiba. He sounds like such a wonderful guy. 😀
I absolutely loved this article. My boyfriend and I recently got a shiba inu. Her personality matches exactly with Sephy. My boyfriend once said, “You cannot train a Shiba inu, you can only persuade it.” This is extremely true! Our shiba will listen if we have something in return (a tasty treat, or toy). I have also noticed that Shibas are curious. When I take my shiba for a walk, it is never in a straight line. She bounces back and forth to check everything out. I once took her off leash on a walk (never will i do that again)and a neighbor had her door open, well my shiba decided to stroll right through to check it out! Anyways, your article was funny, creative, and informative. Your site will definitely be a daily reading ^.^
LOL! You may enjoy this – Why Are Shiba Inus One of the Most Difficult Breeds to Train
Sephy used to be a terror when he was young. Now he is much more calm and lazy. When I least expect it though, he will still bust out one of his ninja-moves and remind me that he is Shiba!
They really are very funny and unique. Many of the things that Sephy does, my Sibes would never do. 😀
I have 5 Shiba’s & I love them all, they each have their own unique personality. Most recently though one of my Shiba’s got out, she disappeared a week ago & has recently been spotted in the area this weekend. She WILL NOT come to us, she just runs when we call her. We finally set up a catch & release trap this afternoon & are still waiting for it to work. Does anyone else have any ideas on how to get her?
Hello Nikole,
Some things that motivate my Shiba Sephy to come running over to us-
1. Other dogs. Sephy loves to play with other dogs. When our dog walker took Sephy walking at the park, he wouldn’t come when called but he would follow the other dogs. The walker would just call one of the other dogs and Sephy would follow along.
2. Fun and new things. Sephy will especially come running when I am playing with my other dogs, or when they are getting rewarded with good smelly treats. Playing with a new squeaky toy will also get Sephy very interested.
Hope this helps. Let us know how it goes.
My shiba oliver is almost 9 months now, he really is an endless ball of entertainment! Luckily, he is very well behaved for a puppy with of course a few crazy moments here and there. One of the biggest problems is pulling on the leash, if he sees anything moving, and i mean anything, he tries to get it. If it’s a windy day, you can just forget about having a nice walk as he will go ballistic trying to chase leaves. He’s the same way with birds, he even watches airplanes!!! If you have any good tips please let me know, he does not listen to commands outside and does not particularly care about treats, even hotdogs he is so focused on the leaves or birds.
In the meantime, here’s oliver in action!!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=riwbJSvsSNY
LOL! Funny video. Gotta love Shibas. 😀
Yeah, Sephy also loved to chase leaves when he was a puppy. He also loved to jump into piles of leaves. Now that he is older, he is more blase of about leaves. Wish we had a big backyard when Sephy was young, it would have been fun to watch him run around chasing leaves in the yard.
Hope to see Oliver’s video on “chasing leaves” – that would be really fun to watch!
As for pulling, the 180 turn around technique works well with Shiba Sephy. Every time he pulls, I would verbally warn him. If he keeps going I would just turn around and move him away from whatever he is pulling toward. After a distance, we would stop and he can watch if he stays calm. Here is more on our leash training experiences.
Big hugs to Oliver!
oh…. my ….. gosh. I recently got a dog from the shelter that was part German Shepherd according to them. It was clear that he didn’t look like one. He was so much fun when we met him and bonded with us super quickly. So we took him home. I then began researching what kind of dog he must be on the other side. It was clear that it was something unusual, because he looked a bit like a fox, with a powerful build, but smaller stature. Oh…. and a SUPER curly tail. Many people thought he might be an Akita, in fact.
So I googled “Curly tailed dogs” and went through the images. The moment I saw a picture of a Shiba Inu, I screamed “THAT’s IT! I think … no, I’m pretty sure that’s what Jacob is, because he looks almost EXACTLY like a Shiba Inu. (except a couple of black markings on his back, but that’s about it!). Little did we know what a character we adopted.
He hugs by putting his paws around our waist and leaning into us. He jumps about a mile high. He’s infectiously funny, and we wondered if a comedian dropped down and decided to inhabit the body of a dog. He’s AMAZINGLY smart and trainable. He’s an adept escape artist. He can entertain himself for hours without us having to do anything, except sit there laughing. I can be playing with him and a fly will buzz by… and he’ll be off to the races. He’ll hear a squirrel and charge at top speed through the air. (He can catch some serious air!) It’s impossible to take him off leash, unless he’s completely squared off in a large enough space and CAN NOT get out. I can’t use aversive training very well with him. He responds better to positive training. He LOVES to mouth us… he doesn’t bite, but I’ve never seen a dog who gets serious pleasure out of mouthing anything. It’s like a baby with a pacifier. I’ll say “No biting”, but really lovingly and he’ll just close his eyes and mouth my arm while thumping his tail and curling into me. The list goes on… and on… and on. I’m reading this blog and laughing hysterically. It’s soooo JAKE. …. except he is extraordinarily affectionate. I’d say that’s the only difference. He’s not aloof by a long shot. But everything else is a button on the nose. Looooovee this doggg!!
In fact, he looks almost EXACTLY like a Shiba Inu. (except a couple of black markings on his back, but that’s about it!)
LOL! Jake looks absolutely adorable. Love those big ears! How old is he?
That is so awesome. Wonder what other breed Jake is mixed with that gives him the more affectionate nature. Perhaps it is the German Shepherd side.
Would be really nice to get a more affectionate Shiba! 😀
Thanks for sharing Jake’s story, photos, and wonderful nature with us. Love the pictures. Also big hugs for helping out a dog in need!
I have a 13 year old Shiba. I rescued him at 2. He is the light of my life. Bruno is very stubborn but loves other dogs. We adopted a lab/hound mix 2 years ago and they are best friends. I had a baby 11 months ago and I have to keep them separate. He wont go after her, but will bite her if she tries to crawl on him.
My question is, we just adopted a 5 month old kitten. I have introduced her to the Lab mix and they are fine. I tried to introduce my Shiba and he tried to bite her!
Any suggestions?
Hello Bruno’s Mom,
I do not have a cat, so unfortunately I don’t have any first hand experience with this.
Here is a good discussion on training cats with Shibas on the Shiba Inu Forum-
http://www.shibainuforum.org/forum/discussion/7120/problem-with-cats/p1#Comment_125511
There are many veteran Shiba owners there with a lot of useful information.
hey, i was reading your page, and it ‘s scary to see the things my shiba does on here! But, my real question was if you had any advice on shiba agility because im trying to train my shiba Cody, and some days he will work with me and some days he wont try anything because he doesnt feel like it. I would love to enter him into competitions but i need him to work with me more. Do you have any advice?
LOL! That is exactly like Sephy!
When I have something that Sephy really wants, he is willing to do whatever it takes to get it. The difficult part is finding something that he consistently wants.
Have you tried rewarding Cody with a favorite game? Sephy likes doing tug and chase games so he is usually willing to work for those. I am not sure how that will work in an agility competition though.
When Sephy is hungry, high priority food rewards can also be a strong motivator. I recently put him on a mini diet, and he has been a lot better about doing commands and being attentive. He is even willing to work for kibble, which is pretty amazing.
Yeah, Shibas are definitely not a common breed in dog agility. But it would be awesome to see one beat out all the Border Collies! 😀
Haha yes! I have be rewarding him almost after every jump so he knows that he did something right. He has improved so much though. He used to never even get near a stick or pole or something! He’s such a girl sometimes. LOL. Also, i have recently changed his food, im not sure if you have heard of it but its called Taste Of The Wild? He seems to love it. The last thing i am having troubles with is concentration. He doesnt always want to listen like you said reward him. I have been doing so, but then he runs away and thinks we are playing a chase game and wont come back! Lol:) I would love to see him kick butt in agility.
LOL! Sephy doesn’t like stepping in puddles, and will not touch lizards, mice, or earth critters.
Funny, I just saw this kibble mentioned recently in another comment. The ingredient list looks good. I currently have all my dogs on Innova EVO.
Hahaha, yeah that definitely sounds like a Shiba. There is the Shiba-way or the highway.
Would love to hear more about how you trained Cody on agility. You should write an article about your experiences. 😀
Haha yes.. he’s crazy. And that is a good idea, i might write some things down and make an article later! He just gets nervous too when it comes to things that he has never seen before, If you want to see some pictures? I could email them or something. but thank you! you’ve been a big help! 🙂
Yeah, would love to see pictures. I will send you an email.
While reading this article, I recognized a lot of the things you talk about with Shiba’s. He does get very aggresive towards the other dogs, especially when it comes to food or getting attention. Sometimes he will even attack me for no reason. He will come up to me when he does want the attention and then start snapping at me a minute later, which I will never understand. Another thing I will never understand is why he eats dog poop. He even brought it in the house the other day. Any idea’s?
Hello Sarah,
In terms of food aggression, here are some things that helped me with my Shiba Sephy-
http://shibashake.com/dog/stop-food-aggression-stop-resource-guarding
With poop eating, both my Sibes like eating outside poop, especially cat poop. Here is why and some methods of prevention-
http://shibashake.com/dog/how-to-stop-dog-eating-poop
Here are some things that helped me while training Shiba Sephy-
http://shibashake.com/dog/shiba-inu-training-secrets
Hi im laura and i have a few questions i would like to ask you about the breed
1st does this breed have any serious medical problems?
2.is this breed a good apartment pet?
3.in the first week you have the dog what do you have to do to train it and stuff
any suggestions on how to take care ofShiba Inu of there first week living with you let me know
1. Hip dysplasia is probably the most common hereditary condition. I also got a comment about glaucoma.
http://shibashake.com/dog/dogs-and-glaucoma
An accredited club breeder will usually have relevant health certifications.
http://www.shibas.org/breeders.html
2. If properly trained and well exercised, Shibas can be ok in an apartment. When I first got my Shiba I did not have a backyard, but I did take him on a lot of walks, and I also took him to our ASPCA for off-lead time in an enclosed play space. When Shiba Sephy was young, he had a lot of energy, and needed regular off-lead time, in an enclosed space, to play and run around.
3. In terms of training, it took me a lot of time, and a lot of patience to train Sephy. It was many months before I got most of his crazy behavior under control. Shiba Inus are very stubborn and generally more difficult to train than many other breeds.
Here are some of my experiences with Shiba Inu training.
When we were looking into the Shiba Inu breed, we looked at the Shiba Club of America’s website. It looks like patella dysplasia, hip dysplasia, and eye problems are the most common genetic issues. A reliable breeder will have the CERF eye ratings and the OFA hip and patella ratings available for the dam and sire of a litter.
Glaucoma is another problem that can come up occasionally in Shiba Inus but you can’t get it checked in a puppy and it’s not part of the CERF check for the eyes. You have to get your dog checked around 4 yrs. This is important because if they don’t catch it in time, your dog can lose their eyes. Again, this is all info I found on the Shiba Club’s website. Any inaccuracy is my own as I’m remembering what I read a month ago.
I must admit my shiba has a real personality, but you almost make it sound more negative than positive, As long he/she knows who is boss your shiba will be obedient and love you, my shiba hendrix is quiet. Only alerts us when someone is at the door,doesn’t scream, love all and everyone, this is due to at a young age been with all ages and animals, and he even will do tricks without the aid of treats, just be consistent and firm when the time is right and you will have a best friend who will show you total respect, good article though,
This is spot on when I was reading this I was like this is exactly like my shiba inu who is also 5 although a female. I really liked this article 🙂 I’m glad I’m not the only one who had a dog with this unique personality haha.
LOL! One of Sephy’s vets described him as “quite a character”. I like that. Shibas really are such “characters”, and should be featured as a USA network character! 😀
Shiba Sephy really taught me how to be a lot more Zen about things.