The Shiba Inu is a very beautiful dog. However, behind that foxy face, is a dominant, stubborn, intelligent, and extremely mischievous personality. This can make them a challenge to care for.
Indeed Shiba Inus are not for the faint-hearted, and they are not recommended for first-time dog owners.
Despite this warning, my heart was already set on a Shiba Inu puppy. I had a lot of free time then, so I thought I would be able to handle one little dog. After all, how difficult can a small puppy be?
Little did I know, a Shiba Inu can be a major pain in the ass!
Even dog veterans have problems with their first Shiba. In fact, many experienced trainers were unable to handle my Shiba Sephy.
Here are the Shiba Inu training secrets that helped me turn my devil dog into a model citizen. Well, maybe not a model citizen, but a fun citizen that I truly enjoy living with.
1. There are No Miracle Cures
When I first got Shiba Sephy, he was a big challenge.
Some of his favorite daily activities include biting my hands, running crazily around the house, biting on curtains, vicious leash biting, jumping on me and others, humping my leg, and much more.
I was desperate to get him under control, and did a lot of research online and off-line. I read a lot of online articles and bulletin boards. I called local dog trainers, watched all the dog training shows on television, and read a lot of dog training books.
During this time, I found something that looked like a miracle … a 10 minute Shiba online training program. According to this advertisement, there were some special “Shiba words” that will magically turn a Shiba into a Lassie. Yeah right!
Luckily, I did not succumb to my desperation, and did not buy this product.
The fact is, there are NO “miracle cures” for training a Shiba Inu.
The secret of Shiba training, is simply to exercise extreme patience, and find humor in our Shiba’s antics. Use reward obedience training, and always be firm but fair.
A Shiba will probably never be a Lassie, or perfect dog. However, if you are looking for a dog with a big personality, who will always make you laugh with his sneaky and roguish ways, then the Shiba Inu is for you.
2. Use Passive Resistance
The best way to deal with Shiba Inu misbehavior is through passive resistance.
Shibas get bored easily and do not like being ignored. They really enjoy their freedom, and also like being close to their human pack. We can control a Shiba best by controlling these most desired resources: our attention, and his freedom.
If we actively try to stop our Shiba either through physical punishment (e.g. alpha rolls, leash jerk) or active restraint, he will fight back. This encourages him to practice rough play, and biting on people.
If we back away, or become fearful of our Shiba, he will learn that he “wins” by showing dog aggression.
If we over-correct our Shiba by exerting too much physical force, or by correcting him too frequently, we will lose his trust, and it is difficult to regain a Shiba Inu’s trust.
What works best with a Shiba is NOT to engage in a physical competition, but rather to engage in a mental one.
There are certain resources that Sephy really enjoys including walks, treats, toys, and his freedom.
When I want to take him on his walk, I go to the door with his lead, and call him to me. Initially, he would dally and not really want to come, because he wants to go walking on his own schedule. I count to three. If he does not come, I leave and go about my own business.
After a short time, Sephy will amble over, and pester me to take him on his walk. This is done through begging, and whining. I ignore all this bad dog behavior. When I have a break in my schedule again, I repeat the above exercise.
A Shiba will quickly learn that to get the resources that he wants most (e.g. go on walks), he has to do it according to our rules, and our schedule. It is important to practice the Nothing in Life is Free (NILIF) program with a Shiba.
Set a Shiba Inu up for success, so that we can reward him frequently, and keep him interested in doing what we want.
Another Shiba favorite is to steal something he is not supposed to, and then run away with it, thereby engaging a fun chase game.
A Shiba Inu is very agile, and it will be difficult for us to catch him. I always try to keep an eye out for my sneaky Shiba, and stop him before he steals an object. I also put a drag lead on him, so that I can easily catch him by stepping on the lead.
Note: Use a regular flat collar with the drag lead, and not an aversive collar. Aversive collars such as prong collars or choke chains, should only be used during supervised training sessions. Cut the loop on the drag-lead, so that it does not catch on anything in the house.
3. Rules, Rules, Rules
Shiba Inus are naturally dominant. If we do not provide them with rules, that we consistently enforce, they will take over the house.
It is best to enforce those rules as early as possible. This ensures that Shiba does not develop any bad habits later on, that will be more difficult to break.
Some of Shiba Sephy’s rules:
1. No Biting
The most important rule that I place on Sephy, is no biting on people. Shiba Inus are a very mouthy breed. Their instinct is to use their mouth in a wide variety of situations, including when they are excited, frustrated, and fearful.
They also have large teeth, and can accidentally hurt children and seniors. If Sephy starts biting on me or on others, I no-mark the behavior (Ack, ack). If he continues, I put him on a time-out.
It is also important to teach a Shiba bite inhibition. In this way, when he loses control of himself and does bite, he will not cause much harm.
2. No Food Aggression or Resource Guarding
Prevent our Shiba Inu from guarding resources. Shibas have a don’t back down, don’t surrender attitude. Therefore, the best way to teach them not to guard resources, is to use reward training techniques.
Show them that people and other dogs coming near them, while they are eating or playing with their toys, is a good thing. Prevent stealing, and practice exchanging objects. This teaches them that giving up something, does not mean it is gone forever.
If we use physical force to grab a toy away from our Shiba, he will likely become more possessive over his objects. He will also lose trust in us, and may use aggression to protect himself, and his belongings.
3. No Rough Play
I do not play rough with Sephy. He gets to wrestle with my other dogs, but no wrestling is allowed with humans.
I also do not play any dominance games with him, for example, no Tug-of-War. The few times that I did play Tug with Shiba Sephy, he followed very strict rules during the game. However, when I took him out for walks, he would start playing tug with the leash (leash biting).
4. Socialize Our Shiba Inu
Shiba Inus can get aggressive to unfamiliar things including objects, dogs, people, and environments.
They are also naturally stubborn, and may become aggressive when forced to do things that they do not like.
Socialize our young Shiba to many sights, sounds, and smells, and he will be ready to handle new things as a confident, and well-balanced adult. Make sure that new experiences are always positive, and at worst, neutral.
Some things to consider while socializing our Shiba Inu:
1. Shiba Inus have an extreme play style, that many dogs may not like.
When he was young, I used to take Sephy to enclosed dog parks. During this time, his favorite play partners were larger dogs, and young Pit Bulls. Shibas like doing wrestling and rough play, which can easily overwhelm other small dogs.
Choose our Shiba’s play-mates carefully, so that a fun time can be had by all.
2. Shiba Inus dislike handling.
Socialize a Shiba to touching and grooming, as early as possible. Pair the touch and groom sessions with very good treats, so that he will associate handling with positive experiences.
Do not use physical force to do any grooming. This will make it into an unpleasant experience, and our Shiba will fight us every step of the way.
Instead, groom gently, and make it short, fun, and rewarding.
3. Shiba Inus do not generally like people petting them from above.
Petting from above can be seen as a dominance move by dogs, and Shibas may see this as a threat.
We can slowly desensitize our Shiba to this move, by pairing head petting with good food rewards. At the same time, instruct people to approach from under our dog’s head, and scratch his chest.
5. Control Our Own Energy
An important thing to remember while interacting with our Shiba, is to control our own energy.
Shiba Inus are especially sensitive to the energy of their owners, and the people around them.
When I first got puppy Sephy, he was extremely mouthy. In particular, he would resort to biting when I stopped him from doing something unacceptable.
This made me become afraid of him.
The more afraid I became, the worse Sephy behaved. As soon as I got fearful, he would start to hump my leg, grab my clothes, jump on me, or bite my hands, arms, and legs.
Anger and frustration will also elicit extreme Shiba behaviors.
In the early days, I had a dog walker take Sephy out for group walks at the park. When the walker tried to stop Sephy from doing something disruptive, he would object, and try out one of his Shiba moves, including alligator rolls, leash biting, hand biting, and of course the Shiba scream.
The dog walker naturally got embarrassed when Sephy screamed like he was about to die. There were other people around, and some of them thought that she was mistreating the poor dog. Sephy easily sensed her embarrassment and frustration. From then on, the Shiba scream was his favorite weapon to use against her.
With a Shiba Inu, it is important to stay calm at all times.
If we lose our cool, Shiba will sense it and continue to use this weakness against us.
The best way to handle a misbehaving Shiba, is to stay calm, and remove him to a quiet, lower stimulus area, as soon as possible. If he continues with his bad behavior, he gets his freedoms revoked with a time-out. Remember that fear, anger, frustration, and other extreme emotions will only make the problem worse.
Once I was able to control my fear and remain calm, things improved significantly with my Shiba.
Sephy will never be a model-citizen, but nowadays, he is actually very fun to be with. He is goofy, he is funny, and he usually stays out of serious trouble.
Shibas can be a big challenge to live with, but they are well worth the effort. They have a great personality, and they are always up to something that will make us laugh.
I love my Shiba Inu.
He is one of my best buddies, and whenever I see him, I just have to smile.
Love your site. I am bringing home a 6 week old male Shiba puppy next Friday. I am reading a book by Dr. Ian Dunbar and plan on raising “Koji” with his methods.
(I just put down my rescue Jindo dog after 15 years – who I loved dearly, but he had trust issues with strangers and I want to do what I can with this puppy to make him more friendly)
Unfortunately, I have a couple of trips planned from a long time ago – if I don’t get this puppy I may have to wait over a year or more -I live on an island with only one real breeder – we can not import dogs because of strict quarantine laws..
My question is, if I’m doing dunbars crate, chew toy. socialization, bite inhibition training, do you think it will mess everything up if he has two separate one week breaks with a sitter who may not be as vigilant as I?
one trip at 8 weeks, one at 12…? The book makes it sound dire if you aren’t super vigilant///your experience??
Mahalo & Aloha-
Koji’s new mom…
LOL yeah – I also found Dunbar’s book to be a bit ‘too alarmist’. However, his techniques worked well – except for the restraint technique which did not suit Sephy.
In my experience, the first few months in a puppy’s life is important although I certainly did not fulfill all of Dunbar’s extensive socialization goals. I enrolled Sephy in SIRIUS puppy class I think at around 12 weeks and I also introduced him to the people in the neighborhood. Sephy really enjoyed puppy class and playing with the other puppies. The SPCA or humane society is also a great resource for dog-to-dog socialization. Sometimes they may even organize puppy play sessions.
The most important thing in my opinion is bite inhibition training – which I think the sitter can do with Koji. It will also make it easier if the sitter follows your rules etc. so that there is consistency throughout. But even if not – you just need to re-establish them when you get back. Sephy really needs structure and routine or he gets stressed and unhappy.
I was very clueless in the beginning and made very many mistakes including using aversive techniques, but Sephy and I have bounced back from that. In general, I have learned to get dog training information from multiple sources and use what I think is best for Sephy and Shania. You may also enjoy Karen Pryor and Patricia McConnell.
Don’t Shoot the Dog!: The New Art of Teaching and Training
The Other End of the Leash: Why We Do What We Do Around Dogs
My most favorite dog book is Bones Would Rain from the Sky: Deepening Our Relationships with Dogs by Suzanne Clothier. It is not a dog training book but more of a dog relationship book. However, it really changed how I thought about Sephy and significantly helped to improve my relationship with Sephy.
Hope this helps. Let us know how it goes with Koji!
I bought Shiba Inu puppy in May (she was born in February), and have been socializing her with other dogs on a regular basis. I bring her to the dog park, and most of my family has dogs, so when she is at other houses, she is around dogs. She had been doing fine with other dogs, lots of tail wagging and play bowing, but this past weekend when I was home, she started barking and charging my parents’ dog and now she is acting aggressively towards most of the dogs she comes in contact with. I am starting to get worried, and not sure how to handle her when she charges and snaps at other dogs. Do you have any suggestions or insight?
Hmmmm … with cases of aggression it helps a lot to identify the aggression triggers – e.g. does it only happen with certain dogs? (large dogs, small dogs, dominant dogs, fearful dogs, nervous dogs) Does it only happen when they come close to her? smell her butt?
Also make sure that she is physically healthy. Sometimes, when dogs have body pains, they may feel more vulnerable and start showing aggression to protect themselves.
In my experience with Sephy – I tried to identify the aggression triggers and then carefully managed him so that he does not keep practicing aggressive behaviors. The more they practice it – the more likely it will become a habit. I also stopped taking him to the dog park because he was showing the most aggression there due to the unstructured setting that exists in many dog parks. Sephy was picking up bad habits from the other dogs, and getting overly stimulated.
Here are some of my experiences with Sephy and dog parks –
http://shibashake.com/dog/enclosed-dog-parks-good-or-bad
Instead, I started doing one-on-one play sessions with other dogs that are friendly and balanced. We visited the SPCA and played with the balanced dogs there – one on one and under supervision.
I also did distance desensitization exercises with him and other dogs. Here are some of my experiences with Sephy and other dogs –
http://shibashake.com/dog/dog-to-dog-aggression
In general, it is best to set Shiba up for success and only expose her to situations with other dogs that she can handle and be successful in. Getting a trainer to observe her behavior and identify the aggression triggers can also be very helpful.
Let us know how it goes.
Thank you! 😀 She’s certainly a star, there are some awful pictures of her here:
http://www.irishrats.co.uk/otherpets.htm
I don’t know how else to post them here! Is there a forum? 🙂 I will certainly make use of this site, there’s so much to read and so many great ideas and tips! 😀
xx
Hi!
This is a very useful website, with much to think on 🙂 I have recently acquired a lovely Shiba girl, Portia, and she is proving a bit of a handful. She’s 7 now (a retired breeding girl) and she does exhibit a lot of the behaviour above, most notably stealing and she never comes when called. I’m trying to work on her, so any advice is much appreciated. The breeder I got her from is wonderful, and has been so helpful, however the more people who give advice, the more things we have to try with her! She’s a joy to be with, but is certainly a challenge!
xx
Congratulations on getting a Shiba!
Heh – yeah those are Shiba favorites. Sephy’s favorite game is the catch-me-if-you-can game. He loves playing this with other dogs as well.
In terms of stealing, I try to properly manage Sephy’s environment so that if he does steal – he doesn’t get away with it. Otherwise, I just leave him be and he loses interest very quickly when nobody chases him – lol.
In terms of coming when called, Sephy will come when it suits him, and in his own time 😀 When I have something really good he will definitely come whether I call him or not – but otherwise, he is doing his own thing. As a result, I rarely let him go off-leash.
He loves other dogs though. I used to go to the park with a neighbor who has a Golden with good recall. Sephy really loved sticking to the Golden – so in those cases he got to go off-leash. 😀
Hugs to Portia. She must be a very beautiful girl – so share some pictures with us.
We have recently adopted a male shiba inu mix. He is beautiful and so well behaved all day, until we try to go to bed. We have 2 cats who already run this house and they have the upstairs, and he has downstairs. He however is not pleased with the arrangement of us leaving and going upstairs for bed. We didnt originally want to use a crate, we tried a gate, we have a very small kitchen area where we would have liked to keep him with his belongings at night, well he jumped that. So we moved it and he knocked it over, he whines alot but the first 4 nights calmed down and went to sleep, well last night he got so worked up, he jumped the gate, ate the carpet on the stairs and then dug the carpet outside of our bedroom door, needless to say we ended up all sleeping together in the spare bedroom. Today our neighbors gave us a crate to try. he opened the door in 30 seconds, then he actually took the crate apart, he got the top off of it! He is currently downstairs protesting as I type. What do I do? I am most concerned for him hurting himself, he just gets so worked up! Please help!!
Yeah I had very similar experiences with Sephy. What worked out for him ultimately is to have his crate in our bedroom. That way, he gets to be with us (he wants to make sure everyone is ok) but he is contained so he can’t get into trouble. Since his crate is right there, it will also be much easier to stop break-outs and other Shiba hijinks. However, I think he will be very happy to be with everyone and will probably just settle down.
I have also tried putting Sephy on a lead and tying the lead around the bedpost. I usually only do this after vet visits or when he is sick, then he really does not like being in his crate.
Hi, I was wondering! I just bought a male shiba at three months old and he is already humping one of our other dogs. Is this just part of their nature or is he just on some extreme testosterone booster? By the way his name is Isaac; awesome little guy!
Sephy was like that too. We used to take him to the SPCA to socialize with the dogs there and he tried to hump every one of them. Nowadays, he will stop with just a verbal warning, but initially, I stepped in and stopped play whenever he tried to hump.
Congratulations on your new pup! Shibas are pretty awesome dogs but they do tend to have an attitude and their stubbornness is off the charts. 😀 Share some pictures of Isaac with us when you can.
do you suggest neutering male puppies? does it greatly affect their temperment?
Hello Crystalia,
Based on what I have read, neutering is a good thing to do. Shiba Sephy is neutered and Siberian Shania is spayed.
A dog that is not neutered will feel a biological need to mate. When that need does not get fulfilled, he may get frustrated. If that frustrated energy does not get properly channeled it may get released as aggression or some other destructive behavior.
Neutering can also improve health and make is easier for the dog to get along with other dogs.
This is not to say that neutering will get rid of all aggression or behavior issues; it is just another contributing factor.
In terms of whether neutering changes a dog’s personality, all the information I have read says that it does not. One thing that may help is to ask your breeder or other breeders about it. Breeders probably have the most experience with this issue given that they have both neutered and un-neutered dogs.
Based on conversations with my Sibe breeder, she spays her females as soon as she has finished showing them and after about one or two litters. According to her, the dogs still keep their awesome personality.
We just got our shiba yoshi a week ago today and are head over heels for him. He is the most curious and unique dog I have ever met. So far we’ve had our ups and down with his training. He learned his name and how to sit after two days. He follows us around without a lead on. We take him to the bathroom inthe backyard, which is unfenced. He stays by our side (my boyfriend, pitbull malta and I) and doesn’t try to venture off into other yards or toward the street. He has made a few mistakes in the house suprisingly. I bring him outside every few hours but it seems that he holds more in his bladder than any other dog I’ve ever owned.
He is starting to catch on to our teaching him not to chew on anything other than his toys.
We were having trouble trying to walk him on a lead until I started walking him on a choke rope. Today he finally caught on and stopped trying to be so persistent.
The one thing that is giving us the most trouble is crate training him. He doesn’t want to be in his crate at night and just cries and cried for hours on end. I’m hoping that with repitition we will be able to get over this.
He doesn’t seem to be that hyper after he has been up for an hour or so. Just becomes lazy or curious and spends a good portion on the day sleeping in the sun under the window.
he is a bit of a challenge at times but that’s what I wanted.
Congratulations on your new Shiba puppy! Yoshi sounds like a really awesome Shiba.
“He doesn’t want to be in his crate at night and just cries and cried for hours on end. I’m hoping that with repitition we will be able to get over this. ”
Yeah Sephy was like this too. Moving the crate into our bedroom helped a lot. He mainly just wanted to be with everyone and make sure everyone is ok. I also give him a frozen Kong to work on. Just put some wet dog food into a Bubble Kong and then freeze it.
Big hugs to Yoshi!
I have to laugh when I read some of most of this, especially a certain someone up there whom “seems” to have had an easy time with his shiba. I had NO idea what I was getting into. I actually got him from a very well-kept pet store in Fort Myers Florida, who either knew nothing about the breed, or didn’t want me to know! Napoleon (fitting, don’t you think???) is 3 months old, and I am determined to win this battle. You know which battle I’m talking about. It’s like training a dang cat.
I’m getting ready for work tonight, so will definately be coming back to read all of this later. I feel so much better.
I’m sure my neighbors have gotten a show watching me chase him round and round in my back yard.. ughhh! I of course learned since then that this does not work. later
LOL – Napoleon – that is apropos.
Yeah I know what you mean. I got Shiba Sephy from a local breeder who had AKC papers etc., but all she wanted to do was make the sale. She didn’t care whom she sold her puppies to. It is really sad, but at the time I didn’t know better. There should be stronger laws that protect people and especially the dogs from these puppy sellers who treat puppies like a sack of shoes are just in it to make a buck.
Haha – I had a great battle with Sephy. The first few months were the hardest but after over 1 year things really improved significantly. After Sephy turned 3+ he got even more mellow – by Shiba standards. He still tries to push his boundaries now and then, but only in amusing rather than frustrating ways 🙂
Definitely tell us more stories about Napoleon. It would be really funny to put him in a Napoleon outfit! But then, I think he might not like it much. Sephy really hates wearing any type of clothing.
Hugs to the little guy and share a picture link with us when you have the time.
Hi Luke,
How is Shiba doing?
Yeah Shibas can be pretty stubborn when they don’t want to go something and often when they are stressed, they will shut down and not respond to anything at all.
My Siberian was like that with loud noises, especially with the garbage truck. When the truck came she would get really afraid, go into a panic, and want to run home at high speeds.
What worked best for her is to expose her to the things slowly. Every garbage day I would do obedience exercises with her inside the house so that she is focused on me and getting rewarded for doing work. Then we slowly moved closer and closer to the door. Then we did exercises with the door open, etc.
One thing you can try is to use puppy pads for now. Only bring it out during potty time and place it close to the door. Then make it into a fun game where you combine commands with the “Find-it” game. In the “Find-it” game, throw a very good treat – only a very small piece (my Shiba loves cheese) – some distance away from Shiba and say Find-it. He will likely go get it, at which point praise him well for being so clever and keep going. After he is into the game, start throwing the cheese closer and closer to the door, and let him go on the pad if he wants. The pad is just a temporary thing so that we can keep sessions short and fun and have been be successful.
Once he is comfortable with that, you can move the pad outside the door and repeat. Then keep moving the pad closer and closer to the outside together with playing the “Find-it” game.
This way, going outside becomes a fun and positive experience rather than something that he is afraid of.
Re: dog park – yeah I stopped taking my Shiba to the dog park after a very short time. He was starting to pick up bad behaviors etc. What worked well for Sephy are smaller dog play groups – just one or two other dogs in a more structured setting.
What is Shiba’s name btw?