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.
Hi Shibashake!
Thank you for your wonderfully thorough website! My husband and I have a 1.5 year old female shiba inu named Koda. We absolutely love her and her personality. She is very friendly and excited to meet people, good with kids, and does not guard resources with people. We take her to the dog park very seldom now that we have a big yard for her but did notice that when she was at the dog park she would steal toys from other dogs and then taunt them with it and growl and fight when they came close. We would immediately leave the dog park when this happened but since we haven’t been in quite some time it hasn’t really been an issue.
About 3 weeks ago our sister-in-law and her husband got a Siberian Husky puppy, also a female named River, and we decided that it would be great for them to meet at our Easter dinner. The pup, River, and her owners came over the day before so we could do introductions and things did not go at all as planned. The dogs met in our front yard and played very well together except when one of them had a “toy”. Koda, our shiba, would get very mean and growl and steal the toy, even if the toy was a pine cone or stick laying in the yard. River is very relaxed at only 11 weeks and could’ve cared less. We weren’t really sure what to do so we just said “no” which really didn’t do anything at all. After a while it was time to go into the house and Koda guarded the front door like the a CIA agent protecting the president. She did not want River inside. When River came inside Koda followed her everywhere and would perform what I call the drive by side swipe and bite move. Things got worse when River picked up a toy or when her owners gave her food. Koda would go nuts if River went anywhere near anything she perceived as hers even if it actually belonged to River.
Eventually we started putting Koda in the backroom when she was mean or starting biting or growling but we’re not really sure that worked. We are supposed to watch River for a week in about two weeks and now are feeling completely overwhelmed and uncertain what to do. There’s so much information online that’s helpful but there’s SO much information we don’t know how to integrate it and where to start. We are also planning on getting a new puppy (a shikoku) in the next 9 months and now are worried that Koda is the kind of dog that can’t have another dog in the house. Could you give us a place to start or some advice? We’d appreciate anything.
Thank you!
Becky
Hello Becky,
LOL! That is too funny!
When I first brought my Sibe puppy home, Shiba Sephy was not impressed. He did not like puppy being in his backyard and he did not like puppy coming up to him and bugging him. I was worried for the first few days because Shania got along with puppy right away, but Sephy didn’t seem to.
After about 1 week though, Sephy started to accept puppy into his pack, and now after over 1 month he is actually very good with puppy. He lets puppy smell his butt, and he tolerates puppy biting him and jumping all over him even when he is resting.
Often, puppy uses Sephy as her chew toy! 😀
Shibas are bred to be guard dogs so they don’t trust as easily as Siberians. The legendary Shiba-aloofness does not help either.
Here are some of the things I did with puppy and Shiba that helped –
1. I try to always set Shiba up for success. I removed all high priority items – bully sticks, new toys, etc. In this way he is less likely to protect items.
2. Whenever Shiba is next to puppy, I make it into a positive and rewarding experience. Often, I will be doing simple obedience commands with puppy and Shiba will sometimes come over to get in on the food action. When he does this, I get him to do commands as well and make sure to reward him well. Very soon, Shiba was coming over for most obedience sessions.
3. I supervise carefully when they are together and prevent any kind of stealing. I make sure to prevent puppy from coming close to Shiba when he is chewing on his toys or busy. This teaches the dogs that I am the one that keeps the peace and they don’t have to do it themselves.
4. I prevent puppy from smelling Shiba Sephy’s butt because I know he does not like new dogs doing that.
5. Shiba and puppy are both on drag leads so that I can control them more easily if need be. Constant management and supervision are very important especially in the initial stage.
In general, I try to step in and stop any conflicts before they occur so that I keep Shiba and puppy time together positive and safe. I try to be fair and puppy has to follow the same rules as the other dogs.
Here is an article I wrote about getting and managing a second dog –
http://shibashake.com/dog/second-dog-introducing-a-second-dog
Good luck! Let us know how it goes with River.
So, Kiba has had two puppy classes so far. His puppy classmates are a little mixed breed with long hair and a french bull dog. All three are about the same age and size.
Class one – Kiba was a little shy with the other puppies during play time, but by the end of the class was playing like crazy. No growling or had biting, but lots of wrestling and nipping. He was obedience champion!
Class two – Kiba joined right in playing. Then the long haired dog nipped him hard. He squealed (Shiba drama, it wasn’t a bad bite – no skin broke and he didn’t limp or have on going pain). He then proceeded to act offended the whole class, ignored the long haired dog entirely (previously his favored playmate), refused any obedience commands (apparently I had broken faith by allowing him to be nipped), and would not eat treats. After an hour long pout it was time to go home at which point he perked up and was happy again.
So, good news, no dog aggression yet. Bad news, like all Shibas he is a DRAMA QUEEN!
Our trainer has never dealt with a Shiba before so his desire to be chased, pouting talent, and bad recall (he stops 3 feet away, sits, and won’t come no matter what) are kind of baffling her. 🙂
LOL! That sounds like a Shiba!
Sephy is very good at sulking too. Every time I give him a time-out, he acts like I have severely wronged him and put him through some sort of torture.
The first class we went to actually had another Shiba puppy who was actually very well behaved. Sephy liked him most. Whenever he was around, Sephy would only play with him and totally ignore all the other puppies. 😀
How are subsequent classes? What are they teaching in class? Anything that works really well with Shibas?
Maria – My shiba does the same thing. He’ll lick the couch or his dog bed until it looks like he piddled on it. I just assumed it was because my kids spill things sometimes and he was enjoying the left overs… but it’s interesting that yours does it too. 🙂
Hey Shiba
so Kali has started this odd behavior latley. When she is laying down (either on the couch or in bed) she starts licking whichever she is on in the same spot. she’s not licking herself she’s licking the couch or the bed. I am constantly finding huge wet spots after she’s gets up. Just wondering if this was something you’ve seen or if I should be worried… it’s more annoying then anything… (and kinda gross)
Hello Maria,
That is interesting. Sephy usually does the licking carpet thing as an extension of his grooming exercise. He will lick his feet or butt and then clean up the surrounding areas as well. He is very obsessive about cleaning, so frequently he over-cleans.
When he first started doing this, we thought he had problems with his anal glands. We brought him to the vet to get it expressed/expelled, but the vet said his glands was normal and not really full. Every year when he goes for his check-up we make sure to ask the vet to do this, just to be safe.
I think Shibas just love themselves so much they have to lick up their own scent. How is that for narcissism??! 😀
My shiba is 8 months old. little attention whore. He needs to be in the same room as me all the time. constantly begging me to take him for a walk. he loves to be loved and rubbed. and hes great with all dogs too. me and my gf had ALOT of free time to train him. but recently hes been really disobedient. starting digging and not listening to my commands. i think its because we moved in with roommates who have another puppy, and she doesnt listen at all.. he figures she doesnt why should i? the only thing i hate about my dog Dag… hes a darter. he assumes tunnelvision when he sees something. last time i had him off the lease, he chased a train… but anyways i love my Dag wouldnt trade him for a million bucks. i love his little face expressions and his personality. i would love to get another one…
I have a 1 1/2 year old shiba named Anouk. Your site has been a huge help in getting her to be a fairly obedient pup (THANK YOU). The only big problem is that when we play – usually fetch – she can get way overexcited. She gets mouthy and uses her paws and nose to jump up on you. I’ve had a LOT of painful bruises on my nose 🙁 when I say no and turn away, it only makes her jump on me more for attention and I don’t think she understands that she’s done anything bad. Do you have any suggestions on how to deal with this behavior or, even better, avoid it in the first place? While she doesn’t seem to be resource guarding or obsessive over the toy, she seems very obsessive over the play.
Hello Carrie,
I know what you mean. Sephy would get pretty crazy as well when he was young. The thing that works best with him is to have frequent play breaks. This prevents him from getting too amped-up and he doesn’t get to the stage where he loses control.
I also have very strict rules with Sephy during play. For example, he can get very excited while playing with the flirt pole. So I make sure he does a sit every time before we start. We only start when I say so. When I say Leave-It, he has to drop the flirt toy and not try to protect it. Also, he is only allowed to bite at the toy and not at the flirt string.
If he doesn’t follow any of these rules, I stop play, which for him is pretty horrible because he loves his play sessions. If he starts jumping and biting at me, I put him in time-out. I don’t have too many time-out offenses, but biting at me is definitely one of them. Sephy is actually quite good with excitement-biting now. Even when he is amped-up, he catches himself and licks my hand instead of biting.
With proper rules, play time can actually be a good training opportunity to get Shiba to listen to us even when he is excited. The key is to stop before Shiba he loses control and is no longer able to listen to us.
Here is an article based on my dog play experiences with Sephy.
http://shibashake.com/dog/dog-play-fun-games-to-play-with-your-dog-or-puppy
Here is an article on puppy biting –
http://shibashake.com/dog/puppy-biting-how-to-stop-puppy-biting
Most Shibas aren’t particularly affectionate. My puppy, Kiba, is actually pretty friendly for a Shiba which means that he likes to sleep on the couch or near our feet when he’s tired. 🙂 The rest of the time, he’s off doing other things and only comes to us if he needs his kibble ball refilled or wants to play a brief game of fetch. He might request the occasional belly rub, but then he’s on his way.
Shibas aren’t lap dogs and most of them don’t “slow down” until 7 years old or older. And even then, there’s a good chance he’d rather nap on his bed than in your lap.
Shibas love their people, but on their terms. They’re really more cat like about the whole thing.
hmmm… not sure what the URL is, but I’m pretty sure if you search Maria C Zucca, I should be the only one. 🙂 hope all is well with the new pupper!!!
Help, Help. Help,
I am a responsible dog owner, who has raised already 3 dogs (1 chihuahua and 2 mini pinschers). I bought a shiba 1 month ago, he is still 3 months old. What a bad surprise so far! I was looking for an affectionate dog that will love me back. This dog only loves himself! He does not care that my wife and I are around him. He just wants to do his own thing. He will not stay next to us. He is always looking for something to do or to play on his own. Will he stay like this? Will he get better once he gets older? If not, I will give him up now rather than later since he is still young and can still adapt easily to a new family. Affection is a trait I value a lot in dogs. Please help!! Will he become affectionate later on?
Hello Rida,
Shibas tend to be rather aloof dogs. My adult Shiba likes being by himself most of the time. He will ask for affection sometimes, but based on his own Godly Shiba schedule. 😀
As Andrea says, a Shiba Inu is a dog that is more like a cat.
Here is an article I wrote on the Shiba Inu Personality.
I love your shiba stories. I have a one year old and he is really very delightful. Really a very, very nicely behaved shiba all things considered. He does love the dog park, but I know exactly what you mean by “an extreme style of play”. He doesn’t really fit with the dogs his size, but sometimes entices too much pack,chase mentality in the big dog park. Luckily, he does seem to be pretty good at zeroing in on which dogs play/wrestle/chase like he does. Tug of war with park toys is totally off limits, he will start a fight over a toy. Overall, he is sweet and not destructive at home…I was a little afraid of the breed given all I had read, but he is not a difficult dog for me.
Hello Tricia,
That sounds very much like Shiba Sephy. He loves chasing games so he his standard mode of operation is to get a ball and try to entice other dogs to chase after him. One time he initiated a chase game with a beautiful Afghan Hound who totally creamed him in terms of speed. Poor Sephy. 😀
What is your Shiba’s name?