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.
I have absolutely loved all your blog articles! I wish to get a Shiba as they are such a character & a half! I’ve never seen one in person but I wish to soon. I hope on my bday (Apr 12) I get my shiba. Thank you for all the tips & opinions!
I have fallen in love with your blog! I was researching ways to help my little furball, Optimus Prime (Opie) – also a Shiba – be a little less…. dog aggressive when I stumbled upon your blog. It’s amazingly well written, and it’s so funny to see how similar your Sephy’s nature is to my Opie’s. Shibas are a very special breed, but they are definitely not for everyone. I love that you highlight all of the wonderful things that make them so wonderful, but also very candidly address the challenges that may make them not the best for everyone. My Opie is true to the breed – a brilliant, sly little mountain puppy (we climb the local Wasatch mountains together – have summitted many peaks, and every time we get to the top, people ask if she made it all the way – she can scale the rocks like no dog I’ve ever seen before!). Thanks for such a fun blog!!!
Hahaha, I love his name! Thank you Brandy and big hugs to Opie.
We just got our Shiba about 2 weeks ago and he is a hyper one. In the past week he has started nipping at the feet and ankles of my 9 and 14 year olds. They can’t walk around the house without him trying to bite them. Any suggestions on how we can get him to stop? We aren’t sure if he thinks they are playing with him or if he feels threatened for some reason. Neither of them have done anything to him for him to react this at towards them. Any advice is appreciated.
Dogs are very attuned to detecting motion. Usually motion, especially fast motion, is going to trigger a dog’s instinct to chase.
One time at the dog park, I started jogging to get to my dog, and this triggered a bunch of dogs to chase me. I stop jogging right away and make sure never to do that anymore. 😀
With Sephy, I also had him on a light lead when he was young and still in-training. I only did this under supervision and only with a regular flat collar or harness (never aversive collars). In this way I can easily control him and quickly stop him from running or chasing when necessary. I always supervise him closely when he is around children, even today.
Also, Shibas can be a very mouthy breed. When Sephy was young his mouth was all over me.
More on how I train my puppy to control his bites.
More on how I teach my puppy self-control.
However, dog behavior is very context dependent so each dog and situation are different. Given that there are children in the house, it is probably a good idea to consult with a good professional trainer.
http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/virtual-pet-behaviorist/finding-professional-help
https://apdt.com/pet-owners/choosing-a-trainer/
My Sheba is just now 2 years old and is STILL NOT HOUSE TRAINED! We’ve tried everything. Any suggestions?
Talk to your Vet first. My brother’s dog had an undetected bladder infection!! We wiped a wet spot with paper towels, then blotted it while damp to where we wanted our dogs to properly go potty. Same with poop! They have a doggy door to a dog run, so their “scent” was there & praised each time they chose wisely! Also watch for a pattern after eating or drinking. Take your dog every hour to the potty area & eventually you get them in a routine of using it!! One of our dogs wouldn’t go if we watched so we had to pretend we were busy doing something else for her “privacy”… Lol. Good Luck & don’t yell at your dog. Frustrating but yelling just makes them frighten YOU!!
Has he been to the vet for a check-up? As Lisa says, the problem can sometimes be due to a physical issue.
With potty training my puppy, supervision is key. I *do not* let my puppy roam about unsupervised until he is fully potty trained.
How I potty trained my puppy.
Our white Shiba is almost 9. We bought her as a 2 month old puppy & a cockapoo at the same time. They are 6 days apart in age.
I suggest lots of touching and holding while a puppy to get them used to it. Yes, she hated it at first, but would you give up on a child that refused you loving on them?? I started slowly with a collar taking it off quickly, praising, then longer each time. Invest in a good harness. Our dogs love them & it’s a joy for us. Our dogs eat out of the same bowl & are best friends. We have not had many anxiety issues-perhaps since they have each other. I have never heard the scream & if our Shiba barks I get up because it’s for a good reason! She is still very cat like & I respectfully give her space to be independent. Between her sister & the humans, she has learned it’s more fun to be social. She is very very sensitive to loud noises or voices. Remember this for training or if you have a loud family. When we turn the game on or have people over, she gets uncomfortable. In advance, I exercise her in the yard so she is ready to curl up on her bed.
Simply love your incredible dog. My girl stretches out her rear leg & does this kick in the air a few times when she comes to greet me. My crazy dog! We spent over $6,000 two years ago for a tiny skin cancer bump on her upper leg. She is doing great & I would do anything for her-even if she shuns kisses when I want to give them to her! All dogs need respect, care and boundaries. I NEVER trust my dogs with babies or little children including my own. Sometimes even other adults. Shibas tails are very sensitive & it seems to be natural for some people to come up to my dog & try to feel it or straighten it!!
I could go on & on about what worked for us, but the common theme is spend time getting to know your dog & vice versa. Ours was super quick to train & knows more than my previous dog breeds. I only use Newman’s treats & Merrick’s Texas Toothpicks because they are natural on my girls sensitive stomach. The toothpicks are great for biting issues & keep their teeth tarter free! Natural dog food keeps her coat nice & less itchy when shedding. Be patient & kill them with kindness-you will be rewarded with Shiba love!
P.S.-they are very accepting of lots of affection when very,very sleepy
Hello! I’ve wanted a Shiba for years and we are finally picking up a pup next week! He’ll be 6 weeks old. I admire their good looks as well as their personality. I like that they are independent. I’m anxious to get him but also want to make sure I can make him happy. I hope to understand his needs/wants and discipline him properly. Thanks for the blog and all of the comments. It’s nice to read through them. My conclusion is that although there are a few consistent traits, many people seem to offer a variety of characteristics (some only want attention when they’re ready while some like to be lap dogs, some must be on a leash while some are fine off of the leach, etc.). Any tips you can provide for us would be greatly appreciated. We don’t have any other dogs at this time, no kids yet, just my boyfriend and I. I like to run and we’re active so I’m sure he’ll get a lot of exercise and activity. I hope that we can introduce him regularly to friends and family where he can get used to them so he isn’t skittish around them. Many family members had dogs too – a Bassett, Lab, and Corgi to name a few. I hope our new pup can get along with them.
I want to provide him with a regular schedule. I think that’s helpful when training and setting expectations. Timing meals, potty training, our work schedule, etc. Here are our thoughts – please provide any feedback you may have: We both work day jobs 9-5. We plan to take him out and feed him in the morning, again mid-day, and again when we get home form work. I’ve thought about doggie day care for 1-2 days per week (when he’s old enough) to socialize with other dogs and not be alone during the day, but after reading some comments, it may not be a good idea for him.
Do you have any suggestions on food, too? Should we get him a typical puppy food and feed half a cup 3x a day? For how long until you increase the portion size?
Eventually I’d love him to learn to walk off the leash, (all of the dogs I’ve grown up with were able to do that once no longer puppy age) but how do you even try that without chancing him running away at some point?
Thank you so much for this blog and everyone’s contributions. Again, any help/suggestions are so much appreciated!! I’m sure we’ll have more questions int he upcoming months 🙂
-Jennifer
Sorry that should read that he’s 6 weeks now but will be 8 weeks when we pick him up!
Congratulations on your upcoming Shiba puppy!
I think that socialization is key, especially for a Shiba. I made a bunch of mistakes with Sephy when he was young, but we also tried our hardest to properly socialize him, and I think it did a lot with helping him to be more calm and relaxed in new situations, as well as with people and dogs.
ASPCA article on puppy socialization.
My experiences with dog socialization.
For Lara (our youngest dog), we fed her Wellness puppy food when she was young. I did a lot of frozen Kongs with her, because it gives her something to do and helps to keep her engaged. A young puppy is always very active, energetic, and curious, so keeping a puppy engaged in positive, structured activities is always a challenge, at the start.
More on how I pick food for my dogs.
More on how I potty trained my puppy.
This ASPCA article has some good information on recall training. However, I do not let Sephy off-leash in non-enclosed areas. He will usually stay close to his people, but he is also curious and stubborn. In an interesting environment, his recall becomes non-existent, and he will go up to other dogs and people, which is not really fair, especially to dogs who are on-leash and may not like a strange dog coming up and invading their space. Sephy thinks that everyone should be honored by his awesome Shiba presence. 😀
Take lots of pictures and give your Shiba pup a big hug from me when you get him!
Definitely enjoyed the website we have a shiba that just turned a year old. He has many traits you mentioned one thing he does that was not expected but is appreciated is the fact he loves sitting on our laps.
It is a very smart breed and he is learning things all the time and he gets along really well with our other two dogs we have.
We are having a baby in March any suggestions when bringing the little one home?
Wow! Congratulations on your upcoming baby! 😀
This is not something that I have first hand experience with though, so I can’t be of much help. Have you looked at the Shiba Inu Forum? There are many Shiba owners there, with a lot of Shiba knowledge. Here is a discussion on Shibas and a new baby-
http://www.shibainuforum.org/forum/discussion/8066/having-a-baby-with-a-shiba/p1
I have also found the ASPCA website to be a good source of information-
https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/virtual-pet-behaviorist/dog-behavior/preparing-your-dog-new-baby
https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/virtual-pet-behaviorist/dog-behavior/introducing-your-dog-your-new-baby
Big hugs to your furry gang and congrats again on your upcoming little one! 😀
I have a 3 year old Shiba (Colby Jack) that we got as a puppy. He’s such a great dog! I see so many similarities here, but differences as well. He’s really smart and remembers his surroundings quickly. I found that he was really easy to potty train and teach tricks (sit, down, shake, spin, roll over, still trying to teach him to balance on his tail for beg). He’s very much treat motivated. This dog has a full range of vocal stylings from a throaty “intruder” bark RUFF, a yap, yodels, rar-rar-rar, woo woo woo. Haha. You know I’ve found that he’s not super reactive to stuff that goes on outside since we’ve been living in apartments. Although, there was one funny time he started barking at and trying to get a fly that landed on the outside of the window. Cracks me up. We’ve found that Colby is very affectionate with us. This wasn’t so much as a puppy he was aloof! In the later years though he loves belly and neck massages.
Now for some of the challenges… He is super difficult to put any drops in his ears or bathe. Bathing him is a two person job but it’s gotten better. Worse though is that we are starting to see his dog anxiety and territorial behavior. Since we had him as a puppy we did a good job socializing him outside the house so he’s great with meeting other dogs on the street. HOWEVER, bring that dog in the home and he barks at the other dog and lunges at him. Last week we hired a dog sitter to take him. He came in and met the first dog no problem but when the second dog came it went very much downhill. We don’t have another dog in the house and all this bad behavior seems to materialize when we are not around (with a sitter). This makes it really difficult to work with him to change his behavior. When we put him in day play care with groups of other dogs he does the opposite. Gets really nervous and bares teeth at the other dogs when they come to greet him. I’m getting to the point where I don’t know how to board him apparently he’s really high strung at the kennel. Any advice would be appreciated.
Does Colby become reactive with another dog in the house when you are around? How familiar is he with the sitter? Was the plan to board him at the sitter’s house? How many dogs did the sitter have? Are these dogs that Colby has met before?
Sephy does not do well in daycare either. There are several reasons for this, the most important one being that he likes having a fixed routine and consistency. At the daycare, it is all new people, new dogs, new environment, and his trusted people are not around, so it is too stressful and too high stimulus for him. We have tried boarding him with one of our Huskies who does well at daycare, but Sephy still didn’t like it. He prefers to stay at home, with the familiar.
With Sephy, it takes a while to earn his trust and it also takes a special kind of temperament. He does best with calm and positive people, who take the time to get to know him. For example, he generally does not allow people to handle him at the vet, but there were two doctors who did well with him. They were both very calm, confident, patient, and positive.
With a sitter there is greater flexibility, so I would have a sitter visit a few times at the house to get to know Sephy, with me around. Then I would go on some walks with the sitter and Sephy, and slowly foster trust. Then, I would keep up with occasional visits by the sitter, to maintain the relationship.
I try to set Sephy up for success, so I introduce new things slowly and one at a time. If there is going to be an introduction of a new sitter, I try to keep everything else constant, e.g. same environment, routine, rules, and no new dogs.
Hey Shiba Shake!
I’m so glad I found this blog, it’s full of very helpful and insightful information.
My family just got our very first Shiba puppy, two days ago. His name is Kuro, and he’s 8 weeks old.
I have to mention that I am very much in love with the race, and wanted a Shiba for quite a few years. But, we live in Israel, and there are very few Shibas here. Can’t point my finger on how much, but I’d assume less than 20.
So we finally got a puppy, chose him from the litter, and he was beautiful, and playful and very much full of life.
He came to our home, and was quite apprehensive (which is understandable), and it was his first encounter with my 8 year old Pomeranian.
She is very loving and gentle dog, but also didn’t have a proper socialization with other dogs, so she’s quite eager to play all the time, and it might came out a bit aggressive.
Anyway, our new Shiba is adjusting, but we are having a few issues that we’d like to consult about, before we make any substantial mistakes.
Firstly, he screamed bloody murder when we tried to put a dog collar on him.
We calmed him down and eventually kind of tricked him into the collar.
More problems started when I attached a tiny leash on him, he screamed again, dropped to the ground, and if you even try to walk him he screams and throws quite a tantrum.
We talked to a trainer, she suggest to just attach the leash and monitor him, and gently progress and let him get used to it.
Also, at first he was quite fazed by the Pom, as she wanted to play, but now the tables turned, and he is the one chasing her, and even kind of slapping her around and biting her. I am assuming this is puppy play, I saw him doing the same with his litter brothers, but she is very frightened and too scared to react. Right now they are the same size, but soon he’ll be bigger and I’m scared it might be a problem.
Also, there’s biting. It’s very cute at this stage, but we want to nip it at the bud. The trainer suggested to close his mouth and firmly say NO! Until he relaxes and only then pet him. So far it just excites him more.
My big fear is that since this breed is so rare here in Israel, I won’t be able to find someone who deeply understands the Shiba, and we are facing challenges that we didn’t have with my Pom.
Would love to talk to you more, and hear more advice if you have the time.
Congratulations on your Shiba pup!
1. Collar and leash
Sephy was very sensitive to putting on a collar as well. What worked best is for me to slowly desensitize him to both collar and leash.
http://shibashake.com/dog/train-your-puppy-to-walk-on-a-leash#collar-desensitize
2. Other dogs
I institute very clear interaction rules for all of my dogs. I supervise during play-time, meal-time, etc. and make sure that everyone is following the rules. My Shiba gets excited very easily, so I always manage his excitement level during play-time by throwing in many play-breaks. I make sure he does not overwhelm my other dogs.
http://shibashake.com/dog/second-dog-introducing-a-second-dog#play-time
3. Biting and mouthiness
Sephy was very mouthy during puppyhood. Doing anything physical, e.g. closing his mouth, only made him want to bite me more. He thought a moving hand was great fun to play with. 😀 Three things were helpful in terms of controlling his biting – bite inhibition training, redirection, and teaching him self-control.
http://shibashake.com/dog/puppy-biting-how-to-stop-puppy-biting
Hope this helps. I love puppy pictures so share some links with us when you have the time. 😀
Hi. I was just curious how big these guys are? They are so cute and I am considering adopting one. I have a husky. He’s 9 months and weighs about 65 pounds right now. So will a Shiba get that big or are they much smaller? And are they as energetic as a husky? My husky really needs a playmate besides me and my son and the 2 tiny dogs I babysit.
My male Shiba is over 30 pounds, but he is a really big Shiba. The breed standard is much less.
My Sibes are both females and they weigh about 45 pounds each. Because my Shiba is larger and my Sibes are females, their size difference is not as great. They play very well together. I am not sure how things will go with a larger male Sibe and a smaller Shiba. It would depend on your Sibe. What type of dogs does he like playing with? My Shiba has always preferred playing with larger dogs, who likes to wrestle. 🙂
More on how I went about choosing a second dog.
My Shiba is pretty energetic but not as energetic as my Huskies.
More on Shibas vs. Siberians.