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.
My brother had a mixed breed, sheeba crossed with a husky. Amazing dog, very loyal, kind to its family, will defend her family with her life!
However, it killed any small mammal, trying to socialize with a cat will yield poor outcome for the cat! Our sheeba/husky mix loved rabbits! She would kill them, disembowel them and eat the rest! At a public park a canadian goose made the mistake of hissing and coming toward us, all we saw was feathers and a dead goose!
Sounds like a wonderful dog!
Hi ShibaShake!!
After years of searching for the perfect dog breed to match our personalities we decided a Shiba Inu was perfect! I did a lot of research and came upon your website, I have read almost every article now and I was well aware of the challenges we may face with this type of breed, and we finally adopted out 15 month old Shiba named Remi! When we got him he already had basic training down solid! His favourite is “sit” and “give me your paw”. I have recently taught him to lay down as well. This is however, our first ever dog and we seem to be doing some things incorrectly, we have only had him for a week and a half but I am having a hard time determining when I have exercised him too much, he has started to get comfortable in his new home and has started to act out, I think I don’t give him enough mental stimulation so we are looking into some puzzle toys for him. Our house is quite big and we have no children (nor do we plan to) but last night he started getting overly excited after some big running around in circles outside and playing quite a long game of fetch in the house with me, his excitment got him into the mood to hump my husbands legs and he is VERY mouthy, we seem to not be getting through to him too much on that aspect. We have contacted a trainer for help but the next sessions are only starting in january (16th i Believe) so it would be very helpful to know how to determine what amount of exersice is too much for him. He seems to be a little anxious but brave when we are near by. He has also ended up chewing some of our door frames and the bottom step (although the bottom step was because he didn’t know how to get upstairs at first but 2 days of training and he runs up and down like the tasmanian devil daily). We have a 14 year old resident cat who has anxiety and he doesn’t seem to listen to me about not chasing him even when I try obedience commands like “sit”. I also think we may be rewarding him too often and only with treats, I only just started to get him to “sit” when he wants a door open, although I’m not sure what to do abhout him jumping up on the fragile glass sliding door when we have him in the large living area with us as the cat needs some time to regain confidence in his environment a little. (without the dog scaring and chasing him away). Any tips or advise on how to handle him until we get better training would be SO appreciated!!
Thank you
-Amanda
You may have to get rid of your cat.. shiba breed, primitive prey drive is strong. And will bite the base of the spine to disable the back legs from working.. mine did that to my cat. When we went out for 2 hours and I unfortunately after 2 months, trusted the dog alone with the cat. Came back to cat urine on the floor and cat unable to move in the kitchen. This breed is not a friendly lab or golden retriever.. it has a huge small animal hunting drive. You will have to confine your cat to a smaller space in your house like a bedroom. Away Friday m your new dog. The Shiba and cat will never ever “get along”. Your cat has full reason to fear the dog.
I have been reading a lot about Shiba Inu’s and I really wish I had this information before I got one. I love my Shiba (3yrs, male), but I really feel as though they should stop marketing this breed of dog, as a domesticated animal. First of all, they haven’t been domesticated that long and their idea of proper behavior, as many other dogs adapt to home life, is so different. Shiba’s are not really meant for structured lifestyles because they do what they want, when they want. Their aggressive behavior is not manageable. And even though a lot of experts say that they need aggression training, I find that to be a lie. Shiba’s are like substance abusers. You can tell the person to stop using drugs, but unless they really want to, then they won’t stop. You can train a Shiba in aggression all you want, but if they want to be aggressive, they will be aggressive. This goes with any behavior of a shiba inu, mainly because they are sooooooooo STUBBORN!!! I got my shiba neutered thinking that it will stop his aggression, or even minimize it, which I find to be one of the main issues with shiba’s, but it did not help that much. It’s very unfortunate that a lot of information is not given to people in regards to the real characteristics of dogs. A lot of time when you research a dog/animal, it seems as though you only get the good information about them or their mildly destructive behaviors. You never get the real info about who they are, and that can be very detrimental. I suggest that if there is anyone out there that really knows the good and bad of dogs, to put that information in a book, website or some form of resource, so others can obtain that information when thinking of getting a dog. I truly don’t know what I am going to do with my Shiba at this point because I am attached to him and I don’t want to let him go, but unfortunately they may have to be an option, because I’m currently not a believer that training will work. To have to pay all that money during a time like this for training that may not be effective, doesn’t seem to be appealing. If anyone has any other options that have really worked for you in regards to aggression with shiba’s, please let me know. Thanks.
Dog aggression is very contextual, and rarely come out of nowhere. Are there certain things that trigger aggression? Have you ruled out potential medical reasons where your Shiba might actually be in pain, thus in a bad mood all the time?
You should record videos of these instances and show a trainer. Even better if the trainer can observe in person. They will offer better insight in terms of the severity and how to proceed with training.
I adopted a 3yo male rescue Shiba in May 2021. He was abandoned due to “aggression”. Surprisingly he never bit me once. I practice calm energy with him at home. I am always gentle with him and let him have alone time. He comes to me and leans into me, or paws when he wants some affection. He is now comfortable with me carrying him and bathing him.
Yes they are cute but not when they are mixed with another breed mine is mixed and she goes after my small animals (cats and my baby morki)
Sorry if have bad spelling.
We got our at pet smart I think it was my dog is know 2 so dont remember.
I have been poking my head into your page since 2012 and have confirmed so much through it. I don’t know if you’re still active or not but I do appreciate the time and effort you put into this. I love this especially, “He will sit there and wait until I have the acceptable number of dog treats in my hand, before going into his crate.”
I have a 7 y/o Shiba female who has really shown me that this dog may be legally ‘owned’ by me, she is definitely a partner in this relationship. We negotiate almost everything!
I really enjoyed reading all letters! I have a 2 year old red Shiba, TULI and he is and does everything I read in all the letters. The first year was very busy. This little guy has so much energy and even I sit with him every evening for few hours and play. We take him 3 times for daily walks 30-60 minutes each time. He plays great with all other dogs and loves people. He takes any opportunity to escape, ears going back and his little legs go. Down our street lives a friend who always has a treat, that’s were I always go and pick him up. He is our whole families joy and I could not see my life without him.
My shiba Molly is 3 yrs old. She is the best dog. I had a fit when my son brought her home. I knew he was looking for a dog and i was ok with that. My only request was please make sure the dog has poodle in their mix.. I can’t stand dog hair. When he brought Molly home I have never heard of this breed nor did he. Can you believe someone would buy a $1,200 puppy without knowing a thing about the breed. Even if the dog was free I wouldn’t bring the dog home until I did some research. I quickly learned about the shibas and I was scared. I signed her up for classes fast she was only 9weeks old. I fell in love with this dog. She was tough for the first year.But going to daycare a few times a week and classes really helped. She loves people and she is great with kids all tho I watch her closely when around kids.My best friend has a baby doll cat that my dog loves. The cat loves her to .IT is a male cat almost as tall as Molly. When they see one another they rub noses and lick each other. I love everything about this dog except the shedding they shed all year long but twice a year they blow there whole under coat and watch out..That is why I wanted poodle mix in because of the shedding.Even though I hate the shedding I would not trade her for anything. She is the best.I would love to see a shib a nd poodle mix . Did you ever hear of that mix?
We have a beautiful Shiba Inu before we knew anything about her we bought her!!!! Love Her!!!
Problems with her is just one House breaking She peed on the floor we scoured it with great dog mess cleaner. we can put her out side for 3 or 4 hours walk her and she will wait and come in and go straight to that spot and do her business! Grrrrrr so aggravating!!!!!!!! Solution a Boot holder a pad and a piece of carpet put it next to the kitty litter and her new magical spot to do her business!!!! we are trying to phrase it slowly to outside.
AND YES THEY DO BARK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I know the way lol i am shiba owner too. She is crazy and brave. stood up to a squirrel.lol