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,
I got a male shiba puppy about three weeks ago. He is ten weeks old right now. He can be a sweetheart when he wants to. However he is very mouthy and stubborn also. I wanted to train him early about not growling and barking at us. He also pulls very hard on the leash. I can hear him choking himself some times. My vet advice me about the choke chain, but i don’t want to hurt him or lose the his trust between us. What is your take on the choke chain for training collar. Thank you
We have two shibas and have learned that Harnesses work so much better and they don’t choke themselves when they pull
We have a 2.5 female shiba named akira. She was the biggest terror for the first few months but since then she is our pride and joy. We like shibas so much that we adopted an 8 month old cream male a few days ago from a rescue. They played fine at first but now she is very aggressive towards him. He is very submissive to her but we can’t pay any attention or bond with him while akira is around. She bites and snarles at him and other than saying no (which she responds to but then goes right back) I’m not sure how to discourage this behavior. We feed, pet, walk all at the same time but she won’t let him have a moment of peace. Please help us with what to do to discourage this behavior and have our shibas get along. We miss our sweet girl and we know the male is a sweetheart as well. We just want to start off on the right foot. Thanks!
Hello Shiba Gus –
I would like a solution to this one too. I have the same problem with my Shiba and have consulted several trainers about this but have not been able to find a solution yet.
It is very likely fear aggression – which is what my Shiba has. You want to find a vet who understands that and can work with you to find a ‘workable solution’. The best vet I found was a dental specialist, who also seemed to know a lot about training dogs, and she was very patient and took her time with my Shiba. Unfortunately, she only does dental work and I have not been able to find one like that who does general care. Unfortunately, most vets don’t have the time to spend getting to know the dogs that they treat. If your vet is willing, getting your Shiba familiar with him/her would probably help a lot.
There are two options that are not great – but that work for my Shiba.
1. Put a muzzle on him before the vet visit. You must do regular desensitization work with the muzzle for this to work so that putting the muzzle on seems just like any other day to him and not a vet day. Or else, he won’t let you put it on. Go slow with the muzzle desensitization process and make it low stress and rewarding for him.
Never force the muzzle on – if you do, he will fight you from then on and it will become an uphill battle. Also, use a basket muzzle which will be more comfortable for him since he can still lick, pant, drink, etc.
2. When my Shiba gets accidentally hurt, he is already in a heightened state of stress, and at that point there is no way I can put anything on him much less a muzzle. In those situations, our vet works with us to safely restrict him with barriers, and they anesthetize him on his hind leg.
Not great – but so far the best that I have been able to do. I have tried desensitizing my Shiba to going to the vet, but that is difficult, because a ‘true’ visit is always unpleasant. As soon as they try to handle him and poke and prod at him, he gets really antsy. He is fine with just hanging around the waiting room and even waiting while my other dog gets examined, as long as he himself is left alone.
Please let me know if you find a good solution that works with your Shiba.
Thanks for visiting Zero. Sounds like you have a wonderful and very caring friend. It is strange but when I was visiting Shiba breeders last year, I met a beautiful long-haired Shiba who is also allergic to grass.
Some things that may help –
1. Get some shoes. The only thing that could be a problem with this is they might fall off if Zero does heavy activity outside. But I think for regular walks it should be fine.
2. Look up DermaPaw. I use this on my three legged dog to help heal cracks on her pads – and it works great. I am not sure how well it works for skin allergies, but you may want to check out their site and evaluate it for yourself. According to the people, they originally formulated the foot cream to help their own dogs with foot allergy problems.
http://www.dermapaw.com/
3. Wipe and clean his paws after a trip outside. I usually just use a sponge and water to clean up my Shiba’s paws.
4. Check with your vet to see if he has any suggestions as to what is causing the skin allergy and what are some of the available treatments. Although, I would research the treatment options first before committing to anything.
Let us know how it goes. Zero sounds like such an awesome Shiba! Maybe he can give some lessons to my Sephy 🙂
I have a 6 month old male shiba who is absolutely wonderful in almost all areas…the only thing I am having trouble with is visits to the vet…he is wonderful at home, but at the vet he acts up so much that the vet thinks he is very aggressive…any ideas on how to help my shiba become a little more vet friendly?
My name is Zero and I’m a 3 year old light cream colored male Shiba Inu who loves my owner dearly… I don’t like that she lives at an apartment complex where the grass isn’t so soft and it’s always wet which bothers my paws to the point where I chew on them constantly… I’m given Benadryl several times a week, if not daily when my owner remembers to give it to me… Do you know of any other cures for my itchy paws?? I don’t mean to give my owner a hard time not wanting to go outside, but at the same time I love it outdoors (when there is perfect grass) and I can’t wait until winter time in Texas because that’s when I’m most happiest…
(My Shiba Inu is the BEST dog I’ve ever had and this is my first time to have a dog of my own… When I first adopted Zero, he was the most mild mannered Shiba Inu I have ever met and that’s why I adopted him… I knew there was going to be an instant bond… Sure, it took time for him to adjust to his surroundings but within several months of being exceptionally quiet, never barking, as a hearing impaired owner, I was relieved that he started barking at the door when people came to visit… He barks when anyone gets near my door or walks up the stairs of my apartment complex… I couldn’t ask for a better dog except for the stubbornness is really a patience test for me… Zero knows about my level of patience, but with patience on both of our parts, we compromise and make things work… I wouldn’t trade my Zero for any other dog, he truly is the best I’ve ever had… 🙂
Thanks for your suggestions. We have been working hard at trying to desensitize our Shiba to new noises and experiences and have made a lot of progress. She used to be afraid of the guitar/piano being played, handling of dishes and other household noises, but now she doesn’t react at all. Regarding her fears of going on walks,I guess we’ll try it one step at a time and reward her each time we go a little further away from the house. Thanks so much for this website and for the insight and suggestions you provide to others.
Andy
Hi Andy,
My Siberian was fearful too when she was young. She used to be very fearful of new objects, and especially noisy objects like the garbage truck.
One of the things that worked well for her was to use desensitization exercises. You want to slowly expose her to new things from a distance – before she gets too stressed and is taken over by fear.
For example with the garbage truck, I would first desensitize my Sibe from inside the house during garbage day. We would both sit by the house window and when she could hear the garbage truck noise, I would ask her for her attention and treat. Later on I asked for other commands.
Once she was comfortable with that, we both sat on the doorstep of our house when the garbage truck passed, repeating the same exercise. If she got too stressed we would move back into the house. In general I wanted her to associate the garbage truck with focusing on me and doing obedience exercises, so that she slowly understands that nothing bad happens when the garbage truck passes.
Then we moved out and sat on our lawn, and so forth.
In general, you want to try and set the dog up for success and only expose her to small amounts of the stimulus so that she can handle it positively, and slowly gain more and more confidence.
I have more on the desensitization process here –
http://shibashake.com/dog/dog-to-dog-aggression#desensitize
It is about dog-to-dog desensitization but the process is the same for other things. Stay far enough away and slowly get the dog comfortable with the fear stimulus.
Hi, We have a 14 week Shiba who has developed several fears that prevent us from walking her outside our yard. She is so fearful that we are not even able to coax with her favorite treat. She struggles tremendously to avoid going into the street or driveway and responds with fear when she sees something new like child on a bike, skateboard etc.
Hello Amanda,
One of the things that worked well for me is it identify exactly what my Shiba’s greeting tolerances are and then try to manage and retrain them.
My Shiba generally does not like other dominant dogs. He also does not like strange dogs coming over and sniffing his butt, so I protect him from that. In general, small dogs don’t do well with my Shiba, so I only let him play with big dogs.
Once you identify what his dog-triggers are, you can desensitize your Shiba to them slowly, and build many positive associations with other dogs. I write more about my dog-greeting experiences here –
http://shibashake.com/dog/dog-to-dog-aggression
Hope this helps.