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.
Thanks for a great and informative article.
I’m amazed at how precise your description of shibas are. If I didn’t know better, I would’ve thought you were describing my shiba.
Feeding question.
I noticed on several occasions, my shiba bringing her empty bowl to me after she’s done eating.
We are on a pretty consistent schedule when we feed her, and we are not exactly the stingy type when it comes to feeding her. Is this a sign I should be giving her more food?
Thanks!
LOL! That is simply adorable! Definitely take some pictures!
My dogs are also big time food lovers, especially my Sibes. They will eat and eat and eat if they can. 😀
In general I feed them their allotted amount of food and don’t give them more than that. I also give them some treats, so I reduce their kibble intake according to their treat intake.
With Shania especially I have to keep her slim so that she doesn’t have to support any extra weight (she is a 3 legged dog). I think it is generally good practice and healthy to keep dogs slim and well exercised.
Remember to share those bowl pictures with us. I can’t wait to see it! 😀
My dog actually has a bowl of kibble to eat from when he’d like, when it’s 3/4 empty he tips it over… lol. Oh Shibas, I love them, and also this article described my shiba exactly. So true!
Omg this website makes me want a shiba inu even though there kind of a tough dog to take care cause you need to know so much about it and know how to take fully good care of it.
Hahaha, yeah Shibas are a big pain in the ass! The get better when they grow older but they are always rebels at heart. 😀
Theyre a pain, but they pay that back in being adorable quirky love balls. They pay you back for their mischief with loyalty and love.
I have a 10 month old Shiba female named Collie. We had her since she was 10 weeks old. She is a total momma’s girl. 🙂
Her favorite place to go (daily) is the dog park. When we go there are usually 3-4 other Shiba’s (3-12 years old) and I’ve noticed that Collie doesn’t not want to play play with them vs gathering them up and ganging on the small dogs. 🙂 Is there a reason why (certain) Shiba’s don’t like interacting?
Heh, Shibas generally think that they are King and all other dogs should behave according to what King Shiba wants. 😀
Sephy likes playing chasing games so he will usually steal balls and try and get other dogs to chase him. I think he is truly puzzled when other dogs don’t want to play chase with him because why wouldn’t anyone not want to play with a Shiba?!
Sounds like Collie likes herding other dogs, which is also a type of interaction.
Also, I have noticed that small dogs don’t generally like playing with Sephy because he has a rougher play style that can easily overwhelm them. I usually only let Sephy play with larger dogs.
my shiba will not stop biting people! he often humps my leg and paws me and bites my hands and clothes and when I back up he follows and continues to bite. when we go on walks he won’t let me put on his harness and does this ‘scream’ thing. also he will not listen to orders unless he can smell food. is there anything you know that can help? mainly just no jumping up and biting ppl.
thx!
Hello Clare,
In terms of biting, here are some things that helped with Sephy –
http://shibashake.com/dog/puppy-biting-tips-solutions
1. Bite inhibition training.
http://shibashake.com/dog/bite-inhibition
2. If Sephy does not stop biting after I non-mark him and give him an alternate command, then I withdraw my attention (stand up and turn away from him).
3. If Sephy continues with his crazy biting then he goes to time-out.
http://shibashake.com/dog/puppy-biting-how-to-stop-puppy-biting#timeout
Here are some of the things that helped with jumping –
http://shibashake.com/dog/stop-your-dog-from-jumping-on-people
Getting help from a professional trainer also helped a lot with Shiba Sephy. The professional trainer was able to observe Sephy and identify the root of many of his behavioral issues. He also gave us many useful tips for every day management.
http://shibashake.com/dog/puppy-obedience-training
Congratulations on your new Shiba Inu. Let us know how it goes!
Very interesting article. K may be adopting a shiba chihuha mix. Will refer to this article again, I am sure
I loved your article. It was very fun to read. Some of the parts were very humorous to me. I was thinking about getting a shiba inu puppy(8 weeks old approx.) when i move. The thing is i work anywhere between 8-10 hrs usually. Would a shiba inu puppy be okay for that long by themselves? Thank you.
Hello Tyler,
With Shiba Sephy, he really needed a lot of attention especially when he was a puppy. Not the cuddling type attention, but the “what kind of trouble I can get into now” type of attention. When left on his own, he would be biting at curtains, biting at books, and biting at everything in sight except his toys. 😀
He is 4.5 years old now, so he is often happy to relax and sleep after his > 1 hour daily walk, but he still really likes having his pack close-by.
In terms of how to keep a Shiba puppy entertained and somewhat contained while you are away, here are some possibilities –
1. Dog daycare.
This allows Shiba to be with people and socialize with other dogs. A good daycare will have small very well supervised playgroups. They will also group together dogs based on size and energy.
http://ezinearticles.com/?Dog-Daycare—Good-Or-Bad?&id=1494435
2. Group dog walks.
Many dog walkers now offer group dog walks where they bring a group of dogs to a hiking park. This is usually a much smaller group of dogs, probably around 6 at most. It is also more structured than a daycare. However, a really good dog walker is probably required to be able to do this with a Shiba.
This article on whether Shiba Inus are truly independent may also be of interest –
http://shibashake.com/dog/are-shiba-inus-truly-independent
omigod u want a shiba?! i hav one and if this is ur first time it will be a HEADACHE! will u b able to STAND the biting? they often jump on u 2 greet u, scratching u in the process and leaving paw prints on ur clothes. r u ready for a shiba? also shibas tend to be the leader instead of u. my shiba is almost 1 yrs old and still isn’t well trained!
but there is a good side!
they r sooooo CUTE! especially when they roll over and let u scratch their belly or when they cock their heads to one side at weird noises. don’t fall for their ‘cute look’ when it’s meal time!
good luck!
WOW!! What a great article you wrote!!! Very informative
Ok, so it’s been a while since I’ve posted. My moksha has been a model shiba well that is until now. Just recently he has decided that he is going to test me on every bit of the training that I’ve done so far. He will not do anything that I ask him too. He is doing things that he used to do when he was just a little puppy ie, biting furniture, stealing things, whining all the time and my least favorite being a little aggressive with other dogs. So lately I have been feeling like he is very much testing my patience…I swear it’s a good thing he’s so adorable. So anyway I think that all the other things will come around, but I am a little worried about the dog aggression. I would appreciate some suggestions about how I can get him to stop with the dog aggression safely. I mean so that he doesn’t tick the wrong dog off and get hurt. I have been using the NILF technique for all of his other behaviors and that has worked in the past, but the dog aggression I am pretty stumped on. I don’t feel like the dog park is the right place to work on this problem, but because I don’t have many friends with dogs it’s kind of hard to work on it at home. The other problem is that I could take him to the local dog trainer, but as every shiba owner knows it’s either hit or miss with dog trainers and I really don’t want to put a tremendous amount of money to spend time with a trainer for a half hour. All that to say if you have any ideas HELP!!!!!!!!! I love my prince moksha, but it seems as though the terrible twos is a cliche not only for humans but for dogs too.
thanks,
meg
Hello Meg,
Always good to hear from you and Moksha.
I would agree. Going to the dog park actually made Sephy’s behavior worse. There is very little structure in dog parks, and often, there are dogs there that do not want to interact with other dogs, are dominant, aggressive or untrained.
Based on my experiences with Sephy, I have observed that different dogs have different tolerances when it comes to meeting other dogs. Dogs bred for protection are slower to trust and will be more particular when it comes to dog greetings.
Sephy is pretty picky about his dog friends. He does not like dominant dogs and he does not like new dogs coming up to him and sniffing his butt. In general, we don’t stop and meet neighborhood dogs because most of them are over-excited and not under good owner control.
In Sephy’s case I have found that it is best to create neutral experiences. We simply ignore other dogs, stay calm, and go on our way. For playing, I carefully choose his friends so that he only plays with more easy-going dogs that are totally not dominant.
When Sephy was young I did a fair amount of dog-to-dog training with him at our SPCA. We would go over and have short sessions with a variety of dogs. Most of the time we would pick easy going dogs that Sephy can have fun play-sessions with. Sometimes, we would pick dominant dogs or intolerant dogs, and in those cases we practice focus exercises so that Sephy stays calm and ignores the other dogs.
Sephy does not trust easily and he has very clear social boundaries, so I make sure that when he does meet new dogs, it is a successful meeting. For example, with the new puppy, Shania took to her right away. It took Sephy a few days before even starting to accept her into his circle of trust. However, once he has accepted her, he is very tolerant of her crazy puppy behaviors – it just takes him more time.
How to train a particular dog will depend on what sorts of situations we want to prepare him for, what his temperament is, frequency of dog-to-dog encounters, context of dog-to-dog encounters, etc.
Here is an article I wrote on my experiences with Sephy and dog-to-dog aggression –
http://shibashake.com/dog/dog-to-dog-aggression
Hugs to Moksha. Let us know how it goes.
I have raised and breed many German Sheperd dogs in the ’70s …then after my last one was old i decided to get shiba’s..my first instinct after getting him was well i’m the boss…and you have to very well enforce this from day one.. my shake can was always available and every nite after he was 12 weeks old i held him with back down and made him listen to a story. then with treats taught him to sit and lay down. and every day i took him to my hobby store to meet people and i think that daily socialazation is why he is so good today . he is absolutly great with any kid and if the kid is a testy on he knows it from the get go and just avoids them…but the nice ones he is always very good and gets his ball and plays…now adults he mostly says hi and goes to his spot on the window ledge..unless its a person who comes in every week…he never barks but is very vocal when he wants something….i suggest finding a calm dog and meeting him but only on a leash.,not to play but to socialize..and always get him to meet people every day..and even if he is old go to a class like petsmart or others…it may take several times but you have to be patient..playing fetch is always a fun way to get him to listen and sit and throw ball but have his leash on so you can keep him sitting then go longer for staying and laying..and catching the ball…if he gets bored after 2 minutes then wait and hour and repeat..i have found the fetching with shibas is easiest way to get attention..my male is nuetred as he has an underbite but perfect in every other sense.i now just got another female and she is show quality…Marion from classy kennels in michigan raises more champion shibas than anybody in the states…good luck..jeff
Haha, I can just see Lara giving the puppy battle cry and Sephy pretending to be above it all (while secretly enjoying all of the attention and shenanigans).
If Kiba keeps doing well, we’re planning to get a little girl Shiba puppy next year. I love Sibes too, but I think they are just a little to big for our family.
We start puppy class next Monday!
Oh, I don’t think I mentioned it, Kiba’s a Christmas puppy, born on Christmas day. How’s that for an easy to remember birthday? 🙂
Looking forward to pictures of Lara and Sephy playing!
That is awesome! My Birthday is actually quite close to Christmas but I didn’t manage to make it. The big upside to having a near Christmas birthday is that it is always holiday time and everyone is in a good and festive mood. The big downside is that people usually lump birthday and Christmas presents as a combo thing. 🙁
Should be a whole lot of fun! Definitely tell me how it goes. Would love to hear about Kiba’s classroom experiences.
I just posted some Lara and Sephy pictures. Those are difficult to get because most of the time Sephy is too cool to play with puppy! 😀
I love this – If a Shiba were a person, he would either be an extremely successful egomaniac or in prison!
I always tell people Kiba is very well aware of his own worth. In his opinion, nothing in the house is nearly as impressive as he is.
LOL!
How is Kiba?
I have been really proud of Sephy. It took him a bit longer than Shania but he has now fully accepted puppy into his circle of trust. He tolerates her using all of the toys and sleeping on his bed. He is also really good about trying to ignore her when she pesters him to play with her.
Last weekend puppy let off one of her super war-cries and launched herself into a sitting Sephy. Sephy just sat there and pretended to ignore her. Meanwhile puppy bounced off the Shiba wall, and fell onto her back. Then she let off another war-cry and went back to pestering Sephy. It was too funny! 😀
Hello Shiba Shake,
I have a Shiba puppy I got from my sister and he is very aggressive when he is playing and bite me. I was on my computer doing something and he bit my arm! Any suggestions on how to nip this in the bus, he isn’t always bad, he is sweet at times, but i find he is starting to become aggressive.
Kate
Hello Kate,
Shiba Sephy was very mouthy as well when I got him as a puppy. Some things that really helped with Sephy –
1. Using a drag-lead so I have better control.
2. Following the NILIF (Nothing in Life is Free) program. This means puppy must do something for you first before he gets anything in return.
3. Bite inhibition training.
4. Timeouts.
Here are a couple of articles I wrote on puppy biting –
http://shibashake.com/dog/puppy-biting-how-to-stop-puppy-biting
http://shibashake.com/dog/puppy-biting-tips-solutions
“Sephy 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.”
Ha ha ha! It’s like you know my dog, Kramer.
I think anyone that is willing to make the effort with a shiba will be very grateful. My shiba is truly my best friend! He is always making me laugh and is such a great snuggler!
Yeah, they really are awesome and unique dogs. So much personality in a small body. 😀
Hi i think i figured on part of my investigation out. About 15yrs ago we got a puppy from the local pound they told us it was a akita mutt. It looked like an akita but it never got over 25 lbs. We named him cubby because he looked like a blond bear when he was a pup. And i have to say he was the best dog we ever had. First thing was the potty training. One accident then we never even saw where he would go to the bathroom after that. He was so private about it.
He loved going for rides, he would ride in the trucks, tractors, combines, but my favorite was the atv he would jump up behind you and stand on the back fender, He had the best balance i have ever seen, The only time he would get off is when the atv was stopped or he saw something to chase. He would always go with us to check errigation and if you took off with out him he would pout the rest off the day. He was fearless to, when he was 5 months old he jumped in a creek after a big coon, the coon did everything he could to drowned him and i did everything i could to call him off but he wouldnt give up. After he pulled that coon out of the creek i realized i better never let him see a mirror and see how big he really was, because a far as cubby was concerned he was the biggest baddest dog on the planet. I never seen him back down from a fight.
The most impressive thing was how smart he was. We never had him on a leash, he had free roam of the farm but when he was a pup he got on the road once and i yelled at him, after that i never saw him on the road again. We could be at the other end of the farm and he would find us. But several times i would be driving home and he would be sitting in the ditch next to the road waiting because he wouldnt cross the road to get to us.
He knew so many words i could have a conversation with him, but if you said the word bath, or vet you would spend 20 minutes searching the house because he would hide.
anyway he looked just like a shiba and the way it sounds acted just like one acept he never did the scream and he was never on a leash, he never would do tricks (he knew how he just choose not to lower his self to a dogs standard) And if he did something wrong and you caught him his ears would lay flat down and he looked like you just beat him with a stick.
Now i just have to figure out what else he was mixed with.
Wow sounds like a super Shiba-mix! Would love to have a Shiba like that – off-leash and listens to commands.
Wonder what other breed he is mixed with.
hello shibashake,
It has been a long time since I have posted. My shiba moksha is now a year and a half and is in every way a shiba. He still has lots of energy and is too smart for his own good. I wanted to share a christmas story about moksha that I think everyone will appreciate. Of course I, along with many shiba owners, delight in spoiling my shiba. This christmas I got him several toys and filled his stocking with them on christmas eve night. When Moksha figured out that all these toys were for him he very quickly tried every thing in his shiba powers to get me to let him have a toy. You all know what I mean by shiba powers. First he tried looking cute, then he whined, then he tried throwing a temper tantrum by biting my shoe while staring right at me. It was very hard not to give into him, so I put his stocking full of toys on my dining room table which is about two and a half feet high and I no sooner than turned my back and my shiba had jumped from the floor onto the top of the dining room table. He immediately grabbed his toys and jumped back down. I was so shock as this is something he’s never done before. He was so proud of himself and honestly I had a hard time taking the toy away from him. I was truly impressed with the effort that this dog made all to get a couple of new toys. So that is my shiba christmas story. I hope you enjoy the story as much as I enjoy telling it. I also have to ask a quick question…I have recently heard both very positive and very negative things about e-collars. Do you have any experience with them? I have been suspicious about trying anything without asking other shiba owners, because as you all know what works on a regular dog is not necessarily going to work on the very highly evolved SHIBA!!! So any info you have on e-collars good or bad would be much appreciated
thank you,
meg
Hey Meg,
Always great to hear from you. I always enjoy a Moksha story! 😀
Do you mean electronic collars? I did look into it at one time, but decided against it. Here is why –
http://shibashake.com/dog/dog-shock-collar-good-bad
My mother recently got a Shiba. Her name is Kitsu short for Kitsuni or Fox, and she is absolutely insane. She goes from being loving and playful to barking at me, and terrorizing other family members. Kitsu is a diva, and she will prance and strut her stuff to the neighbors when she is walked. I love our Shiba, except for when she screams! As soon as I get my head onto my pillow, kitsu is making our house into a horror movie. I often find myself screaming with her at night, except I’m screaming for her to shut up. our shiba hates being alone, and will follow us everywhere, but hates being held! We will hold Kitsu and try to love on her until she starts punching at our face with those strong legs!
love the website…great information and tips. Thanks!
Hello Weston,
Thanks for sharing Kitsu’s story with us. She definitely sounds like a Shiba! 😀
Sephy has many similar traits. He also does not like being alone, does not really like too much affection, and does not want to be carried unless it has some higher goal – like getting into the car to go to the park.
During Christmas, he stole a plastic bag and to him, that was the best present ever. He pranced around carrying it and enjoyed it more than all of his Christmas toys – LOL! Gotta love Shibas!
fabulous website looking to get a shiba in RI and having a lot difficulty
Thanks Dave. Yeah I did not see any listed RI breeders in the National Shiba Club of America breeder list.
Another possibility is to consider breeders in nearby states and have one shipped over. Based on my experience with Sephy, I think it is more important to get a puppy from a good breeder than it is to get one from a local breeder.
Chat with the possible breeders on the phone and make sure to ask them lots of questions about their puppies and breeding program. Here are some things to look out for while considering a breeder.
Let us know how it goes. 😀
Hi. I’ve had my Shiba Inu for a while and I feel like he’s co-dependent on my other dog. He tends to freak out when I have to take my other dog out [for a one on one walk or to clean him in the front of the house] and leave him behind in the backyard. I was just wondering if this is just a normal Shiba behavior?
Hello Steven,
What I have observed with Sephy is that he really likes his routine, so anything out of the ordinary and he will freak out. Last year we would sometimes take our other dog (Siberian Husky Shania) to daycare and Sephy got really stressed out from that.
However, he is totally fine when I take Shania out for her regular daily walk.
I just slowly got Shiba used to the daily walk routine. First, we would only go out for very short walks. Then we slowly extended the duration of the walks. Then we changed the time of the walks a bit, and so on. By making gradual changes, Shiba Sephy was able to get used to the schedule and nowadays he doesn’t even get up when we leave. 😀
My husband and I will be picking up our very first Shiba in November. He will be 9 weeks old. We decited to name him Clifford, because of his red coat and big personality. My husband has worked at vet clinics and taught dog obedience, and I grew up with alaskan spitz so we thought we could handle this little bundle. Any addvice on the first night and socialization?
Hello Sarah,
Congratulations on your soon to be new family member! 😀
Sounds like both you and your husband are already very experienced with dogs so things should go relatively smoothly. When I first got my Shiba I didn’t know too much about dog training, so it was a big challenge. But then, Shiba made me learn many things very quickly – lol.
Shiba Sephy really likes being in the bedroom with us at night. He is happy to sleep nicely in his crate if he gets to be with us in the bedroom. I like having him in the bedroom as well so it works out for everyone. 😀
For socialization with other dogs I did several puppy classes with Sephy. We specifically went to SIRIUS puppy classes which stresses puppy play training and dog-to-dog socialization. Another possibility, which we did with Shania, is to look for supervised puppy play sessions. Dog daycare centers and SPCAs sometimes organize puppy play sessions that are free and supervised. They also check to make sure that all puppies that attend are properly vaccinated.
Post us some pictures of Clifford when you get him. Would love to see him!
I just love your site so much. I had a Shiba for a very long time – 15 years and he passed away. And wow do we wish we would have known you then. We made mistakes too, but you are so right about the trust issue with Shibas. I don’t think they respond well to aversive training at all. We did decide to get a new puppy, another Shiba, and wow, puppy teething must have been a “repressed memory”, I know we had to have gone through it, but I don’t remember the details with my previous dog. I think alpha rolls are a bad idea, as is a lot of other things. So you have to get creative, the bite inhibition training is crucial. We are trying the time out thing, and “Leave it”. There is a pretty good articles on the internet about bite inhibition. But I would like to pick all of your Shiba Heads out there and give me some reminders please. I thank you so very much:)
Hello Kristina,
Congratulations on you new Shiba puppy!
LOL! Yeah when Sephy was a puppy he was such a Terror. Lucky for him he was a cute Terror.
You are absolutely right, bite inhibition training is one of the best things I do with Sephy. When he got older, he started a bout of leash and jacket biting which could have turned out really badly. However, because he had good bite inhibition training, he never broke skin even when he redirected his bites onto me. This gave me enough time to come up with something effective to stop his leash biting behavior.
Another thing that I was very happy I did with Sephy are resource exercises such as exchanging objects, adding food to his toys, and helping him with his food toys. I think all this made him be very easy going about his toys and his food. Sometimes he will bring his toys over to me to ask for my help. 😀
If you have some time, check out this article I wrote on bite inhibition and let me know what you think.
http://shibashake.com/dog/bite-inhibition
Big HUGS to Shiba puppy!
Just got my Shiba last week she is just about 6 months. I must say after reading about the Shiba’s I was prepared for the worst. But she has been a real sweetheart. She is housebroke, doesn’t chew on things (just her toys and treats). Very condent when left alone. I do need to keep her from jumping up and wanting to chew on me when I come home. Don’t trust her off lead so we do a lot of walks she is quite pickie about going potty in her yard we have 10 acres so she like to go way out back to do her business. I was wondering if you or do you know of any one who has used a radio fence with a Sheba? Just wondering if she would run through the correction. I would appreciate any feed back on method of containment.
Hi Cher,
Congratulations on your new Shiba! She sounds like a total sweetheart which is very rare for a Shiba 😉
I looked into shock collars and electric fences when I first got Sephy but decided against them after reading some of the studies that have been conducted on their use. In particular, Polsky’s study showed that shock containment systems (invisible fence, underground fence) can increase aggression in dogs over and beyond their normal behavior.
This is because such systems are usually tied to a simply trigger, for example the dog getting near the fence, and ends up over-correcting the dog and not using the right timing. For example, if a dog sees a human, another dog, or a cat, she will likely want to go check out the situation. Every time she does this, she gets a shock. This teaches the dog that humans, dogs, and cats cause pain, and the dog will likely start to see these objects are threats. Ultimately, the dog may resort to aggression herself to get these threats to go away.
Also, Sephy got habituated to pain very quickly. His stubbornness was so great that it seemed to always trump even a painful aversive correction. This happened when I was using collar corrections on him. Finally, I just decided to go with reward training which has worked out much much better for the both of us. 😀
This article contains more about shock collars and shock containment systems –
http://shibashake.com/dog/dog-shock-collar-good-bad
Some other possibilities include –
1. Fencing up a smaller area.
2. Training for good recall. However, Shibas tend to be very stubborn and independent so it is difficult to get 100% recall with a Shiba. There is always some risk that Shiba will run off to chase a squirrel and may not return.
While my fencing was being built, I put Sephy on a long lead with a flat collar and let him roam about that way. But I only did this when I was around to supervise because the long lead would sometimes get tangled etc.
Hope this helps. Let us know what works out best for you and your Shiba.
I am so pleased to read all of these comments. We adopted a Shiba named Sheba about two months ago from her foster family. She’s been so sweet and I loved her the minute I saw her. She’s been coming out of her shell and ‘feeling herself’, as we call it it, lately. She never tried to run out of the house when we open the door. We’d been thrilled that she’d actually sit at the door or lay down in the garage and never tried to run out. Now, she’s trying to test her boundaries and of course when called, she ignores us!
Sheba ‘talks’ at the dog park. At first she made me think she was being aggressive, until a play day with a boxer-pit that growled while running, Sheba barked while chasing him. I love it! So now, I have to advise dog owners that she is ‘aggressive’ in play but means no harm. The other owners, so far, have actually laughed about it! She’s been a little nippy with us when playing too.
Overall, she’s affectionate, has great temperament with our kids, doesn’t bark and makes us laugh and shake our heads constantly. My husband joked, before I even read this thread, that if she wasn’t so cute, she’d be gone! LOL He loves her to death too.
Hi Pamela,
Congratulations on your new Shiba! She sounds absolutely awesome – just like how a happy Shiba should be 😀
Sephy is a lot better now, but sometimes, he still gets into one of his Shiba moods and drives us crazy. The Shiba psyche is definitely very complex – which makes them infinitely interesting and mostly a lot of fun. They really are such characters. 😀
Share some Sheba pictures with us when you can. Shiba puppies are too cute.
Does Sephy walk around the house whimpering in a “woe is me” kind of way for no apparent reason at all? Reptar has been exercising his vocal chords more than normal the past few days. It’s comical, but also strange. Just wondering if it’s a common Shiba behavior?
Oh and pictures to come soon!
Funny that you should bring this up. Sephy just acted like that a few days ago. I thought there was something wrong because he was walking around and would not lie down on his bed even for cheese. Finally he deigned to lay down, so I started checking his body and paws. However, he was very jumpy and kept pulling back his paws. I didn’t see anything wrong with him so he got his cheese toy and I just let him be for a while.
He was back to his old Shiba self the next day. Sometimes he gets into these Shiba black moods. It is a bit strange. Maybe he had a bit of a tummy upset or something else disrupted his groove.
So definitely yes – Sephy has those moments as well. It is so tough to be Shiba! 😀
Your Shiba is so adorable! I am seriously considering buying a Shiba, even after learning about their feisty sides! I love cats as much as I love dogs so when I heard Shibas were cats in a dog disguise it really caught my attention.
I have 2 questions though, I’ve been thinking about getting a rescued Shiba that is not a puppy. Do you think this is a good idea since I would’nt mind skipping to an age when the Shiba calms down a little?
Also, how did you get your Shiba? I’m having difficulty sorting out the good and bad breeders, and the good ones seem quite expensive ($2,500).
Thanks for making a great site too!
Feisty is a very nice way to put it! 😀
Hmmm, that would depend. Some rescues are already pretty well-trained, and they were given up because their owners had to move or could no longer keep them financially. Other rescues were given up because their owners were not able to properly train or manage their Shiba. The latter group will be a lot more challenging.
When I got my second dog, I took her on a trial run of 2 weeks to make sure that she would fit in well to our home. Most rescues will not only let you have a trial run but also be willing to accept the dog back if things don’t work out at some later point in time.
The best place to get a Shiba puppy is through an AKC registered breeder.
Here is a list of accredited breeders from the National Shiba Club of America –
http://www.shibas.org/breeders.html
Here is the AKC breeder search page –
http://www.akc.org/classified/search/index.cfm?edu=1
Most registered breeders also show their dogs, so they know more about the breed and are careful to breed for health and temperament.
Still, make sure to interview the breeder and ask him/her lots of questions. If it is a local breeder, ask for a visit so that you can meet the puppy’s parents. Also ask for health certifications for the parents. For Shibas, this is usually a check for hip dysplasia.
Here are a couple of articles about my puppy buying research and experiences –
http://shibashake.com/dog/how-to-get-a-dog-cheap-dog-cheap-puppy
http://shibashake.com/dog/new-puppy-supplies-what-a-puppy-needs
Just got a 8 week old Shiba female today.. this helped alot..
thanks.. WISH ME LUCK… She is a little doll!!
Awww – she must be too cute for words. Good luck!!
Remember that you are the boss even when she gives you the irresistible Shiba look. 😉
I have totally enjoyed reading this site. I adopted a dog about 3 years ago and they told me she was a corgi mix. When taking her to the vet recently, I was told she looked like a Shiba Inu. After looking up the dog breed, this was for sure my dog. It is so great to read about my dogs personality traits, they are right on.. She was easy to train and does love to chase. She fit right in. Love this breed.
Thank you,
Katrin Wince
LOL – yeah Sephy learned commands easily … but getting him to actually do the commands when you ask it of him is another matter altogether. There were a few times that he did extremely well in puppy class and we won some dog balls, but most of the time we were at the bottom of the class. One time a trainer barricaded us behind a wall of crates! 😀
Ah, I do love Sephy. Life is always interesting with him around.
Hugs to your Shiba. She sounds like she has a good mix of attributes.
my shiba is name is Dakota aka Kodi he’s 7 mos old now and he just started letting me know when he’s ready, I’m trying to change his bathroom time from 3 times a day to two times a day because of the season is about to change from summer to winter and I know three times will be a little must for me so here lately him and I have been working on this, since we are working on this he is starting to wake me up now in the morning to eat and go out side earlier then usual, I don’t know if this is good sometime, but I keep in mind the time is different now, so I go along with it. I love him, and we both have learned each other habits and personality and so far so good, until I let him off the leash. I learned this the hard way, now I keep toys and treats on me and I only keep him off in a closed area and for a little while cause if I don’t I notice he gets this look on his face and it’s trouble after that he won’t come when I call him and he will run circles around me and keep on going. I try to take him once in a while to the doggie park, but some dogs don’t like him and this leave us to go solo. Me and my kodi
LOL – Kodi sounds like a very awesome Shiba.
I used to take Sephy to the dog park as well, and Sephy could not understand why some of the dogs did not want to play with HIM – a Shiba! He also liked stealing balls from the other dogs to start a chase game – which is not the best thing to do. Dog parks are a bit too unstructured for Sephy so nowadays I only do small supervised play sessions with dogs I know.
Seems like you have gotten off to a really good start with Kodi. I think what you say here is key. After I started really listening to Sephy and trying to understand his point of view, things got a whole lot better for the both of us.
Sephy also likes getting up early. But during the weekends, he will let us sleep in. 😀 One thing that helped when he was a puppy was to not give him water or dry food after about 7pm.
LOL – I definitely know that look! It is when Shiba is hatching a plan and he has that glint in his eye. Sometimes Sephy’s little tail will also twitch. I think that is when he feels playful, and is about to do something to engage me in a chase game – which is Sephy’s favorite. He also does this with my other dog. It is fun to watch them.
Many hugs to Kodi. He sounds like a perfect Shiba.
I volunteer at an animal shelter and absolutely fell in love with a Shiba/Finnish Spitz mix puppy, but sadly he got adopted. Now 3 months later he got returned (most likely due to the owners lack of puppy knowledge) He is about 7 months old, weighs about 30 lbs-40 lbs. I’m still a college student, but I live in an apartment with no other pets and lots of walking trails/dog parks nearby. I spent some time with him the other day and he does not seem to be very food aggressive. He didn’t make a sound and he is very smart. I’ve owned several big breed dogs while growing up (Labs, German Shepherds, Dalmatians, Weimaraner) but they seem to be easier to train than Shibas. I think I’m pretty dog savvy after training many at the shelter (I just want to reap the rewards of all my hard work!).
He would be crated while I’m away for at most 6 hours.
Basically my question is. Do you think he would be a good fit?
Hello Kristin,
It is very awesome that you are volunteering your time at the animal shelter.
He must be a really handsome boy! Is there a picture of him on the shelter website? Would love to see him.
Hmmm – I would have a long chat with the people who returned him. You already know a lot about dogs and dog training, so you can filter what they say and get a good understanding of what some of his issues are, and how he would deal with crating, etc.
In my experience with Sephy, he needed a lot of attention in the first six or so months after I got him. He calmed down a bunch after over 1 year, and after 2 years, he got even better. But the first 6months to 1 year was pretty bad for the both of us 😀
The final thing to consider is that a dog may curtail college life activities. One of the things that I truly enjoyed about college was that I was able to set my own schedule and hang out late with my friends if I wanted to. I don’t think I enjoyed more freedom than when I was in college and I had a great time. It was nice to stay up really late drinking coffee, and talking about nothing and everything 😀
I also did a fair amount of traveling. During the summer I did some fun internships, and during Senior year I had to travel for interviews and such. Sephy really likes his routine, so this type of traveling would be hard on him.
Hope this helps. Let us know what you decide to do and share some pictures with us if you can.
Hello everyone,
Well I have just experienced the absolute sadness of having a sick shiba. Because of the heat the last 3 days my poor prince Moksha has been very sick with diarrea. He is finally starting to perk up, but yesterday he needed to go out every three hours and just looked sooooo pitiful. He lost all of his little quirks that make him my lovable shiba. It’s so funny that when they are healthy you just want them to chill out, lay down, and just be a snuggly “regular” dog, but when their sick and they act like a “regular” dog you just want your shoe stealing, mouthy, back talking, aloof little shiba back!! Shiba’s and their owners are truly a unique breed.
LOL – that is so true. Sephy has been out of sorts the last few days as well. He sprained one of his legs while playing and had to be put on a low activity routine. He does not like it at all and is constantly finding new ways to express his general unhapiness. 😀
Thanks for the kayaking picture. It is amazing that Moksha goes in there with you! He is brave and handsome!
Hugs to Moksha. Glad to hear that he is feeling better.
Hi Meg
Have you tried a pro-biotic drink like Yakault?
I used to work in rescue with lots of vets and more than one told me this trick and it always works for me.
When my dogs get an upset tummy I start by giving them a tablespoon of pro-biotic drink followed by a dollop of plain/ live yogurt. This is followed by small tablespoon sized meals of chicken and rice every hour with some plain cottage cheese to soothe and bind the gut.
In the afternoon repeat the pro-biotic & yogurt and also at bedtime.
No main meal, just the chicken & rice hourly throughout the day. Nine times out of ten your Shiba (dog) will be bouncing about back to normal by the next morning.
Obviously if the problem persists you must go to a vet but here, the first thing they do is give a pro-biotic which they charge you a fortune for and is exactly what I’ve said here.
If its very hot, have you tried a damp towel put in the fridge for an hour underneath him for him to lie on?
Hey, we got dusty when she was 3 months old. were you able to get an of her sawdust/straw from when she was with her mum? I would try and get some from the breader if you can. we put some of this in the garden and from day one she knew to go there. we just sat with her a made a big fuss over her when she went lots of good girls, cleave girls and cuddles. she was soon going as often as she could to get the attention.
Good luck
I just got a female Shiba Inu and is very hard to potty train. She constantly goes to the bathroom in the house. We will bring her outside she will just sit down and then come in the house and go in here instead. Does anyone have any advice how I can break this earlier. She is only 3 months old and I know it’s a lot of work to train a puppy but I have never had her breed before. Please respond back if you have advice for me. Thanks
Hello Vanessa,
Congratulations on getting a Shiba! Shibas have great personalities and they will always make life interesting.
In terms of potty training, what Brendan says is very true. Sephy also really loves attention so rewarding him by giving him lots of attention, play, and treats when he goes outside works really well.
This was what I did with Sephy –
1. When he did his business inside, I just calmly non-marked him (No or ack-ack) and then brought him outside. If he continued doing his business, I make a big fuss and reward him. Then I play with him for a while outside before we come back in.
2. I took Sephy out as soon as he wakes up, and after rigorous physical activity. When I first got my Sibe, I had to take her out after about 5-10 minutes of play with my Shiba – lol. Once she gets excited – she had to go! When she goes outside, I reward her well and play with her. If she doesn’t want to go, I wait a couple of minutes, and then I bring her back in – no play and no rewards.
3. When Sephy had to go, he will also start circling an area. Once he starts doing this I would bring him outside.
Here are more of the things I did with Sephy and Shania for potty training –
http://shibashake.com/dog/puppy-potty-training-facts-and-myths
Good luck and let us know how it goes.
Since my shiba isnt colored the normal red/orange people say she looks more like a wolf.
That is really interesting – sometimes people think my Siberian is a black and white Shiba. Many people also think she is a hybrid wolf and get afraid of her – which is too bad- because she is such a lover.
Would love to see your Shiba. Please send us a link when you can. Thanks!
wwell probly because he is from mixed dogs like a mutt.
This article really made me laugh.
It made me laugh because its so true. My shiba has all of these traits except for the scream.. I’ve never heard her do that before.
Thanks for this fun read though.
Very insightful website & posts- I would like to pick the brains of all you great Shiba owners. I’m thinking about adopting a 2 yr old female Shiba from a rescue shelter. They don’t know why she’s there and say she’s docile. I’ve never owned a dog before (rescue mgr says that this dog shold be no problem for 1st time owner). There are no kids or other animals here and no yard (but have a great dog park nearby). I’m concerned about my furniture & if I could leave her (she’s crate trained) for at most 6 hrs? What other concerns should I have and what should I ask the rescue shelter? Thanks for your input!
Hello Mabel,
Being in a shelter can be very stressful for dogs. Most dogs tend to be more reserved in such situations, and slowly get back to their normal self after about 2 weeks (or more depending on the dog) in a home. The people at my SPCA used to call this the honeymoon period – because that 2 weeks can be very useful for teaching the dog house rules and getting off onto a good start with a fixed routine.
I think you already have a great environment for a Shiba because she will have the place to herself and does not have to deal with other animals. When I started out with Sephy I had a very similar situation – no other pets, and also no yard. I must say the no yard was very difficult for a Shiba puppy. Sephy was very energetic and not having any off-leash time was very difficult. Luckily our SPCA had a fenced compound and they let us use it to exercise Sephy.
After about 1.5 years, Sephy calmed down a lot and did not need as much exercise. Now he is over 3 and he is very relaxed and lazy most of the time. He usually only needs his 1-1.5 hour morning walk and he is good for the rest of the day. Since the female Shiba is 2 years old, she may already be more calm.
How does the female Shiba deal with other dogs? If she has lived for long on her own, she may be wary of other dogs, or certain types of dogs. I would also ask about how comfortable she is with food, whether she protects her food/toys from people or from other dogs.
I was also a 1st time owner when I got Sephy – and he was very challenging for me. After about one year things got a lot better and Sephy taught me a lot about dog training. The two things that are probably most challenging about Sephy and many Shibas –
Their stubbornness can be out of this World 🙂
They are very independent and mischievous.
Sephy is a lot better now but he will still test his boundaries and conduct scientific experiments on the people around him to see exactly what he can or cannot do.
The other important thing is to not to go too quickly with a rescue dog. Let the dog come to you and don’t overwhelm her with too much attention. Shibas tend to be more on the aloof side anyway, and like keeping their own company. Below is a very useful guide for what to do and not to do on the first days –
http://www.maessr.org/learn/YourNewDog.pdf
It is not a Shiba guide specifically, but it has good information that applies to all dogs.
Hope this helps. Let us know how it goes and what you decide.
Hi Colleen, Our shiba never shows his teeth either. You hit it spot on when you mentioned “nip”. That’s what my little one does (he’s 1 year and 5 months). You are right in it must be a shiba trait.
My Shiba, he’s 10 mos, also loves to “talk” while playing with other dogs. He also nudges and “nips” (never bites or makes teeth on leg contact with) at other dogs knees to try to get them to play if they are ignoring him. I’ve found that in small groups or 1:1 play sessions, it’s easier to comfort the other dog owner(s) that it is how your Shiba plays and it is not aggressive.
I’ve never corrected my Shiba for nudging other dogs legs or “talking” while playing as it seems to be part of his play style but my Shiba also does not enjoy dog parks so we don’t have to worry so much about that.
I thought it was just my Shiba that did those things. Glad to learn the talking, or monkey noises as I call it, and the play biting at the legs to play may be part of a Shiba trait after all….
Hi everyone! I have 2 male shibas that are 6 months apart. They absolutely love to play with other dogs at the dog park. There are some dog owners who fear that our shibas are being aggressive toward their dogs when in fact they are just playing. They love to “talk” to other dogs and when running after other dogs, our shibas try to play bite the other dog’s back or hind leg to stop them. By no means is it aggressive but of course other owners may think different. Is this common with everyone? Or is this something that we should correct so other owners are not afraid?
Yeah Sephy does this as well! I call them his Shiba warcries 😀
One thing that Sephy really liked to do while at dog parks is chase after other dog’s balls, steal them, and then start a chasing game. He loves playing catch me if you can games. However, some dogs may not like this kind of behavior, and it may ultimately lead to other things. What usually happened was that as soon as the other dog tries to correct Sephy with a growl, they get alpha rolled by their owners.
As you say, sometimes the other owners get fearful, excited, etc – and this gets picked up by Sephy which amps up his behavior even more. Shibas, I think are very sensitive to the energy of the people around them. I have also met some people who will correct other people’s dogs with physical techniques – and that is extremely dangerous for everyone.
Like Colleen, I have stopped bringing Sephy to dog parks because the situation there is just too uncontrolled and Sephy is a mischievous little thing. Also, not all the dogs there have bite inhibition – and their correction may ultimately cause physical damage. I also did not want them to get alpha rolled – when it was Sephy who started the whole thing.
Here is an article I wrote about my experiences with Sephy and dog parks –
http://shibashake.com/dog/enclosed-dog-parks-good-or-bad
I am pleased you enjoyed it.
Thanks for the tips.
Hey guys
Quick question, is it ok to switch from wet food to dry food? When we first got dusty she was on dry, she didn’t eat it so we went for the wet stuff, she has been fine on this for the last 7 months but has been on hunger strike for the last 48 hours, we went and got some dry food and she cleared the bowl in seconds (normally she eats like such a lady and then burps after haha)
Thanks
Thanks for the pictures and word file Brendan. Dusty’s instructions are hilarious! You should definitely publish it, I think Shiba owners everywhere would enjoy it very much.
Sephy also sometimes goes on a hunger strike for no discernible reason. I think he has a very sensitive digestive system so sometimes he just wants to clear it out. It could also be that the food company changed some ingredients in the wet food.
In general when switching food it is best to go slowly and do it in quarters. 1/4 new food, 3/4 old food for 3-4 days. If everything is ok, then go 1/2 and 1/2 and so on. When I first got Sephy, he was on Eukanuba (what the breeder gave him) and we would practically have to jump through hoops to get him to eat the stuff. After I switched to Innova EVO things got a lot better.
Sephy is exactly the same way! He also eats like a lady and burps at the end LOL. In contrast my Siberian girl eats like a man, drinks like a man, and snores like a sailor! She is pretty awesome! 😀
my little shiba Moksha is at it again. He has recently decided that everything in the house is his and has been stealing everything. I can hardly leave a room without him getting into something…and of course he then looks at me with his big brown eyes almost as if to say “it wasn’t me mom, I didn’t do it” Any suggestions on what I should do with my thieving shiba?
Hi Meg,
Thanks for those pictures of Moksha.
Some possibilities –
1. Have him attached to you at all times with a long lead so that he doesn’t get a chance to steal.
2. Brush up on his Leave-It training, and set up training scenarios where you are ready to catch him in the act. If he keeps trying to steal but fails and gets a bad response for it, he will likely stop.
3. Make sure not to chase him around after he steals because that is usually a big reward for a dog especially a Shiba. If Sephy steals something and nobody shows any interest, he will quickly lose interest in it as well 😀
4. Remove all dangerous objects from Shiba steal radius.
5. Keep him engaged with sanctioned chase games at home.
Shibas love to keep testing their boundaries. They remind me of that Verizon guy except they say – “Can I do this now? What about now?” – LOL. Many hugs to Prince Moksha.
Hey
I recently Left Dusty with my focks for 5 nights and she was no trouble at all (although she did get them to do things for her that i would never do, lift her in and out of the car ect)
We took her round there a couple of times the week before we left and she was fine. think it helped that my parents have 2 black labs which dusty loves and uses as her body guard when she wants to go and sniff out trouble.
we did get the happiest and loudest noises when we went to pick her back up and she took a night or two to settle back in at ours but it worked really well.
good luck
B
p.s i will get some pics to you guys soon, she is a big girl now, all 10.2kg of her
Hahaha – Dusty is such a super Shiba!
Yeah I think what you describe is a great boarding solution. I believe that Shibas, in general, like being with people they know and in a place that they are fairly familiar with. In this way, they are also a very loyal breed.
O-O Can’t Wait! I love seeing Dusty. I always show her pictures to Sephy in the hopes that some of her awesomeness will rub off on him. 😀
Did you ever board Sephy while on vacation?
My dog (recently adopted as a young adult) has food aggression problems and dominance issues that we are working through, but im starting to worry about our upcoming vacation.
I’m not sure if a boarding facility could handle him. he’s been kicked out of daycare once for…well, pretty much being a bratty shiba!
I’m worried that if he is boarded he will snap at feeding time or throw a fit.
he has bit me a few times in the past.
I did look into several options for doing that but they didn’t really work out for Sephy. The daycare people couldn’t really handle him and neither could the dog walker who also did home boarding. With the daycare he would either whine throughout the day or get into trouble during play-sessions. With the dog walker he did Shiba screaming, alligator rolls, and many of his other Shiba moves.
The dog walker wanted to start using choke chains on Sephy and do extreme corrections, which I wasn’t comfortable with so it ended there. According to the dog walker, they have a Shiba boarding with them and he was ok, but only after they did some heavy duty physical stuff to him. I wasn’t willing to risk that with Sephy.
I think the issue with boarding Shibas is that it takes time for them to trust a person and to feel comfortable the person. Short term boarding is usually a challenge because the people there do not have enough time to spend with a Shiba.
Some alternatives that may work –
Getting a neightbor/relative to house-sit. Shibas may be more comfortable with someone they already know and have spent time with.
Have a pet sitter come over numerous times before vacation so that Shiba can get familiar with him/her before the real deal.
I would definitely be interested in hearing what works out for you. I think many Shiba owners including me are in the same boat on this one.
MEG
Thanks great, we also loving being able to walk dusty of the lead its so much nicer!
well done you for being willing to give it a go.
Hey Brendan – good to see you! Send us more pictures of Dusty – we all miss her. How is your super Shiba doing?
Hello,
I had to post and let you all know that I took my dog Moksha to the beach today and can you believe it…I LET HIM OFF LEASH!!!! He did incredible for about forty-five minutes and then started to become a little aloof so I decided to put him back on before he decided to take off entirely. It was so wonderful, because as you all know shibas are notorious for getting distracted and its not usually recommended to let them off leash. I was sooo excited. For the forty five minutes he was great… he mainly just followed me as I walked and when he would get distracted I would call him and can you believe it? HE CAME. He came when he was called! I had to pinch myself to make sure what I was seeing was my dog and not a mirage. I was just so ecstatic that I had to share it with all of you.
That is amazing Meg! Sign of a great and strong bond.
Loved your pictures of Moksha. Send us more when you get the chance.
Haha im very stubborn too xD i felt like a shiba would be a good dog for me but maybe a different breed is better. do you have any suggestions for what kind of dog i should get instead? im sort of looking for a dog that doesnt shed too much,isnt too big,and is all right with being left alone for a while. Thanks for the information about your shiba inu though.
Hmmm, I don’t have much experience with smaller dogs. One small dog breed that seems to behave very well is the Pug. From what I can tell, they are friendly, not very high energy, and are loyal. Here is a pretty good summary of their origins and characteristics –
http://www.anniebees.com/PadisCorner/ThingsToKnow.htm
I would get on some pug message boards to get more details on the breed. Breed specific message boards usually have a lot of very knowledgeable people.
Good luck and let us know what you decide. 🙂
such a helpful site! is the shiba inu good for me? im in middle school and i think having a dog would help me deal with my depresssion. what if i were to leave it in a roomy cage for about 6 hours because of school? and is the shiba inu good for 1st time owners?? D:
Hi Mary,
Very nice to meet you.
Shibas can be very difficult dogs to manage – they are stubborn, dominant, sneaky, and did I mention stubborn? 😀 The stubbornness is really the worst. As a result they are usually not recommended for 1st time owners.
When my Shiba was young, I took him to a variety of trainers and even some trainers had problems with him. The dog walker couldn’t handle him and didn’t want to walk him anymore, and several daycare centers could not handle him.
Shibas can be very feisty and even experienced dog people can have trouble handling them.
Shibas are also very intelligent and need a lot of mental and physical stimulation. Shiba Sephy works for all of his food, he gets to play with Shania, he gets walked > 1 hour every day, there are play sessions, etc. and he still has the energy to get up to no good. Such a character he is!
If left alone for too long, Shibas will become unhappy and destructive. They are very good at escaping from crates and even enclosed backyards. When bored, they will escape to find adventure outside – then neighborhood beware! 😀
Another thing to consider is that Shibas really are quite aloof dogs. If you are looking for companionship and a loving dog, you will probably be disappointed in a Shiba. Most of the time, my Shiba likes being by himself and he dislikes getting too much human affection. He only wants to be loved on his own schedule and will walk away otherwise.
Let me know if I can be of more help, and happy summer holidays!
WOW! you have THE BEST site! wonderful and very detailed info! i want a shibu sooooooo bad! but my dad would never let me :/ He likes big, well behaved dogs. such as great danes. don’t get me wrong, i love my gus(my gret dane) but i want a cute, small dog i can cuddle up with and just… idk… not have him squash me every time he moves! but i’m going to try REALLY hard to talk my dad into getting me this dog. so i have a few questions:
1.are they good with cats? cuz i have like 20 cats.
2.are they good most-of-the-time out side dog? cuz i live out in the country so i have lots of open space for him to roam, but i can’t have him inside to much because two reasons:my dad doesnt like inside dogs;and i have school so he would be un supervised inside,and with my past experiences,thats not a good thing.
3.do they need some kind of special food? cuz we get the genaric stuff.
thank you!i really do love yout site. it’s amazing!
Thank you for dropping by Maggie. Great Danes are very awesome. My Shiba loved playing with them whenever he met them at the dog park. It is funny watching him play with such a large dog because he will be trying out all his Shiba moves to no avail – lol.
Shibas are bred to hunt so they have a high prey drive. While they can be trained to accept cats (if brought up from puppyhood), their instinct will be to hunt them.
Shiba Sephy is definitely an inside dog. He doesn’t like being outside for too long, and if the grass is wet, he doesn’t like stepping on it. 😀 He is such an interesting fellow.
Shibas also like having their people around – not too close – but around to serve them. My Shiba spends most of the day inside the house with me while my Siberian mostly likes being outside.
Shibas may be allergic to certain ingredients. For example Shiba Sephy is allergic to wheat and all wheat products so I have to get him special grain-free kibble.
Hope this helps. Let me know if you have more questions.
I am so glad I found this webiste! It is sooo helpful! My Shiba Inu, who we named Django, arrived at our home after someone apparently abandoned him in the countryside. We had no intention of owning a dog, but after two months no one had claimed him at the pound(we had been temporarily housing him for this time) we were in love and decided to give it a go.
Wow.
The honeymoon is over. I can’t believe the first day he showed up we left him out front tied with only a little rope in case his owners came by! As he becomes more comfortable, he reveals his strength, independence, and affection… yes, affection. I have so many stories to tell, but right now we are concerned about how exactly we should house this guy. Inside, outside, indoors a crate while we are at work or in his large roomy outdoor pen(with couch and doghouse)… where he screams and yelps and causes us much concern. We can’t have him run loose in the house because of the cats, except for limited times, when they are upstairs. Somtimes I worry he needs a better home. But who could love him more? We just want to create the right environment. Any advice? And how to stop this screaming when he is left outside!
Hi Roxanne,
Two paws up and a BIG WOOF for taking in a Shiba in need.
Yeah my Shiba was like that too. He generally likes being in the house. Is is possible to set up the pen in the house? or perhaps set up a safe area/room for him to stay in? When Sephy was young, I set up a gate to block off my kitchen area and let him stay in there. The kitchen is nice because of the tiled floor (can’t chew on carpets), there are no electrical outlets he can get to, and the counters are too high for him to steal stuff off.
Another thing I tried with Sephy is to let him go to dog daycare for a couple of days per week. I also tried group dog walking. There are now many dog walkers who will take a group of dogs for a nice off-leash romp in a nearby hiking park. They come to pick up your dog and will drop him off after the hike. I actually liked the group dog walk more than the daycare, but it was difficult to find a walker who could handle Sephy 😀
He is a terror that flaps in the night!
Let us know how things go with Django. Would love to hear his stories.
Hello Shiba Loving Friends,
It has been a while since I posted so I wanted to give you a little update. I am the owner of a beautiful black and tan shiba named Moksha. I am happy to report that I lived through the first year of my Shiba’s life. He was a year old on March 14th. He had a big birthday party and I spoiled him rotten. He probably couldn’t have cared less he just looked at me like, “now this is the way I’m supposed to be treated, why are you making such a big deal out of this?” In the afternoon he took the longest royal nap I’ve ever seen him take. He is such a PRINCE! So I lived through the first year, but there are still quite a few challenges with his royal highness. I am still working on a little mouthing when he is not getting his own way, He is still jumping on people and he is still soooo excited all the time. I am working with a personal trainer on some of his issues, but I highly recommend working one on one with a trainer especially with a shiba, it is much easier to get him to focus with just me and the trainer and not a ton of dogs around. Anyways, I just wanted to give you an update, because I have found a tremendous amount of support here on this site. Support that is truly necessary when raising a shiba. It has been amazing for me when I am talking with other dog owners how incredibly different shibas are from the rest of the dog population. It really takes saint like patience to live with a shiba, but for some of us it’s the only way to live…I don’t think i’ll ever own anything but a shiba at this point. Anyways thank you so much for all of your support throughout this last year and I’m sure that I will continue to post and chat with shiba lovers like myself. Could you tell me where I can send some pictures. I think if you could see him you will understand the “prince” comments. And to be totally honest, I love to show off my little shiba. Thanks again, you all are great!!!
Hi Meg,
So glad to hear from you and Moksha. I am happy to hear that all is going well.
That is so true. Also, not many people know the Shiba breed, so it was difficult for me to find trainers for Sephy. Many of the initial trainers told me he was a really extreme Shiba – which I later learned was not true at all. It turns out that he was and is just a typical Shiba – lol.
Oh – I love Shiba pictures! 😛 Please send me a mail through –
http://shibashake.hubpages.com/_srec/contact
Thanks and Happy Easter! Hugs to Moksha – hope he finds lots of Easter eggs 😀
Absolutely Hilarious!!
It is very clear to me after browsing this website that you guys know exactly what you are talking about, when it comes to Shiba’s.
My Shiba Inu Kenji is Nuts and does everything you say on this website. Other readers comments are killing me as well. Obviously it is the breed unlike any other that makes these dogs so amazing! My Golden Samantha-Jo never did half the crazy things Kenji has already pulled off.
I am still finding myself telling him that he’s very lucky he is so cute or he would be elsewhere…..lol
Good information and a Great Website! 🙂
Thanks Curtis.
Hahaha – yeah, good-looking dogs can get away with so much more, just like good-looking people! I guess good-looking people tend to be more on the high-maintenance side as well 😀
Hello,
Thanks for your great website. I looked at it soon after I got my puppy, Monty, and am now looking at it again.
Monty is a great dog. He is incredibly friendly towards people and other dogs and very well-behaved at home. I’ve also used reward training as I got the sense, as you have, that my shiba could get aggressive with me if I used force or aversion training. Besides being terrible at recall, things have, for the mostpart, gone very well.
Now that he is 9 months old, however, he is developing some aggressive behaviour and more stubbornness. He has never bitten me but now becomes completely crazed when it comes to trimming his nails whereas he was fine before (perhaps it’s because he had his nails trimmed at the vets after a very traumatizing neutering experience(?)). He plays well with almost any dog but he has also started becoming aggressive with them over food and even over (their) toys or sticks. When I take him to the dog beach, this has become a particular problem. Today he snarled and snapped at one dog over a stick (when Monty was trying to steal it) and stole another dog’s ball (he has no interest in playing fetch with me). Where before he would eventually stop when I went to get him, today he ran away from me and I spent a good 15 minutes chasing him with the annoyed dog owner and dog following us around for the ball. I am concerned that someday he will be severely put in his place by another dog or run off and be hurt.
I have a groomer come in to do his nails now but Monty is used to getting a lot of exercise and loves going off-leash at the beach (which is very far from any road and the only time he is off) and I would prefer not to stop doing this. I often leave a leash trailing so that I can catch him more easily. Do you have any suggestions as to how I can curb the aggression and get him to be a bit more obedient?
LOL Montasaurus, I like that!
That is amazing – my Shiba was exactly like that when I took him to the dog park. He would pretty much steal all the balls and the poor other dogs got alpha rolled by their owners when they rightly got annoyed with Shiba and attempted to correct him.
I think Shibas quickly learn that if they steal balls etc., that is the quickest way to get attention and to start a game of chase with other dogs or with people. In this way they get two of their most favorite things – “eyes on them” and a fun chase game.
This is one of the main reasons why I stopped taking Shiba Sephy to dog-parks. The environment there is just too unstructured for him, and he was also starting to pick up bad habits from the other dogs.
Instead, I took him to the SPCA nearby. They have a nice enclosed grass area and I let him play with the SPCA dogs on a one-on-one basis. I also take him hiking on trails (on leash) and he really enjoys that. I have tried taking him on off-leash hiking trails and he has done well on-leash even with the other off-leash dogs. I find that the owners in hiking trails are better at supervising their dogs and really have good off-leash control over them.
Before I moved, I also had a great neighbor with a very friendly young dog named Kai. I would bring her over to my house several times a week for supervised play sessions with Sephy. That worked out really well.
If you truly want to continue trying the beach thing – putting on a really long lead (only on a flat collar) may help. A really long lead (like the ones that people use for recall training) will allow you to stop him before he initiates chase, and put him on a mini time-out. The disadvantage is that it can easily get tangled if he starts wrestling with other dogs. It may also get caught on trees and such.
The important thing is to quickly shut down the chase game as soon as he starts to go after balls. Shibas are really smart and once they learn that they can do whatever they want at the beach or dog-park and you cannot effectively stop them, they will keep doing it, and with great gusto!
Some people use shock collars but that has many risks. In a situation with other dogs, the shocks may just encourage aggression towards the other dogs or worse with people.
Here are some of the things I found when I looked into shock collars –
http://shibashake.com/dog/dog-shock-collar-good-bad
“The important thing is to quickly shut down the chase game as soon as he starts to go after balls.”
Thanks for your comments. I think you’re definitely right on that one. I try to intercept him immediately now before he steals a ball or stop him as soon as I can. Basically, I call him quite sternly and hold up a finger and, if he chooses to look at me, he will eventually stop. My boyfriend will give him a flick on the nose (I don’t) but just the threat of it seems to let him know I mean it. If he does not look at me, however, he will actually run off the beach up to the path and jump on people as if to show off the ball… arghhh.
I will probably see how it goes. If he continues to do this or has a conflict I will definitely keep him on lead. For now, I just leave a leash on trailing behind him so he will be easier to stop. The threat of going back on the leash may also be helping.
Thanks again.
LOL! That is so like a Shiba! They *know* they are God’s gift to humankind 😉
Hi, I had a ? we have a shiba who is 14months old at first she was sweet and kind we have a 2year old rat terrier who dosnt play but now she attacks her all the time if we throw her in the cage she rips at her or even if u yell at the other dog for doing something she attacks her or if u yell at her for doing something she takes it out on her our rat terrier has had her ear torn her leg bit in to her back cut open, Im at my wits end I dont know what too do?? ANy suggestions Ive never had a dog so aggressive and over small things to and yesterday she grabbed my arm tryin to get to the other dog.. She gets loved and played with and treats all the time I dont understand do you think if we get her fixed she’s be more calm?? Please if anyone has any idea let me know …
Hi Nicole,
Shibas tend to be stubborn and bossy when they can get away with it. When I first got Shiba Sephy he was a ball of badness 🙂
It is important, especially for a Shiba, to establish rules in the house and outside the house. Some rules that my Shiba absolutely has to follow include no biting people, no getting on furniture, no humping, no bullying my Siberian, and no guarding of food or toys.
If he breaks any of these rules, I non-mark him, and ask him for an alternate command. If he does not listen, he gets his freedom taken away and he has to go to timeout. In this way he learns that doing certain things = no freedom, but doing what I ask of him = nice rewards.
Another thing that helped me a lot is following the NILIF (Nothing in Life is Free) program. This means Shiba has to do something for me first before he gets anything in return – including food, toys, freedom in the backyard, and *affection*.
Here are some things that really helped me when Shiba Sephy was young-
http://shibashake.com/dog/puppy-obedience-training
In the same way it is important to establish boundaries between your two dogs. My Siberian is a three legged dog so in the beginning I always supervised my Shiba very closely while playing with her. No bullying will be tolerated. Whenever he starts any kind of bullying – which includes humping – I will step in, non-mark, and stop play.
In this way he learns that certain behaviors = no play, but playing nice = rewards and lots of fun play.
By controlling a Shiba’s resources (food, treats, affection, freedom), you can teach her what are acceptable behaviors and what are non-desirable behaviors.
Staying calm is also very important when dealing with a Shiba. In the beginning I would get angry and frustrated and that only made things worse with Sephy. Stay calm, and have a plan on how to deal with each bad behavior. Once I did that, things improved significantly with Shiba Sephy.
Here is another article that may be helpful –
http://shibashake.com/dog/pack-leader-to-an-aggressive-dog
It may also be a good idea to get a professional trainer. It is easiest to train a dog when they are young, so now is a great time to start. A good professional trainer will be able to come up with a comprehensive program for you including how to set boundaries for your Shiba, and how to get her to listen and do what you want.