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.
I love your training tips here! My shiba girl is almost 5 months, Nilla. She is actually quite a dream child, so far. Dont get me wrong, she has her moments. But the biggest help in her training is my older Tosa Inu, Miyu. Miyu is 2 years old and almost great Dane size. She has the patience of a saint. The first time I took Nilla to the dog park with us, she screamed everytime another dog tried to play with her. It took about 3 more visits for her to start to get excited about going there. But after many rewards and meeting new friends, she has come to love it as much as her sister. Miyu also has helped me stop Nillas biting issue. A giant paw/arm on top of the biting puppy, and stopping playtime taught her that if she bit, then Miyu won’t play with her. We also fed them right next to each other right from day one to discourage food agression. Even training her on the leash was easier, she learned by watching Ms Miyu. Positive rewarding has really helped us. She loves praise and happy noises, so when she is bad, we ignore her or use a voice she knows is one that is disapproving and then stop play. Hearing some of my friends horror stories about their Shibas had me wondering if we should even get one, but I am very happy we did. She is a joy, a very independent, intelligent, and beautiful girl. Not to mention that she out hunts most of my cats! Oh yeah, and she LOVES her kitties. We have 4. They clean each other, play together, and even hunt together. Sometimes I feel she is more cat than dog. She loves their toys and how they group clean. The only thing we haven’t gotten her used to is our chickens, ducks, and geese. She is scared of them so far, which is probably a good fear for now. I think we will work on that in the Summertime more since we live in Alaska…
Shiba inus are amazing fairly very easy and fun to play with.
Thank you for posting this article. My Shiba Koji, is 1.5 years old and we rescued him. We knew nothing about the breed but he is everything you’ve described. He is very mouthy and nibbles on hands and clothes to get attention. I’m afraid he is going to hurt my mother in law as she is an older lady. We’ve been putting him on a leash when she comes over until he calms down. We also have a spray bottle with vinegar that we spray in front of his nose when he doesn’t listen to NO the first time. Vinegar seems to be the only thing that works on him. Koji knows so many commands but he doesn’t always do them when we need him too. My husband and I are expecting twins in a few months so I’m wondering if you have any advice on how I can get Koji ready to have 2 new babies around. I don’t want him to accidentally hurt them or hate them because they take attention away from him. We take him places with us and on walks daily which really helps to calm him down. He is very spoiled with our attention right now because he’s the only one at the moment. I don’t want him to get jealous and build up a resentment towards the twins and become aggressive with them. Do you have any advice on how to ready Shiba Koji for the twins arrival?
I want to buy shiba inu but i read that they maybe smetimes marking in apartment.I read that for males.Is that true?And how much puppy 2months old need to eat and get outside?Thank you.
My shiba is getting more and more fierce what should i do ? And i don’t really understand why he keep biting the toilet pad.
Our shiba Autumn is nine weeks old
She is a bit mouthy I’ve been hand feeding her
Sticking my fingers in her bowl while she eats even taking the bowl away
I worry about her around my elderly mom
Who complains ” she doesn’t like me ”
She is beginung to walk well on a leash
She like to sleep with me
And is being introduced to our new kitten
We work on these processes very slowly and in a controlled setting
Staying very posit is key with Autumn
It’s me, Laurie, again. I have a dilemma. Suki is 51/2 mo now. on a couple of occassions she was playing quietly and well. Suddenly, she lunged at us in full bite mode. When she got blocked from contact, she went to attack our feet. I don’t quite remember what we were doing but I suspect she was very tired and being pushed to stay awake. She also has a pizle stick that she always looking to bury in the furniture. She hasn’t shown any inclination to food or possession guard. Not sure how why this happened, but family member ready to get rid of her. Any ideas?
I just got my Shiba, and I am able to take her for a long walk once a day, but she won’t go potty in the morning unless she walks, and sometimes even then she still won’t go. Do you have any reccomendations? We are trying to reward with going potty quickly with treats. She is currently not crated but can be, and has had one mishap in the house.
I cannot get her to potty outside she is a year old and I just got her from a Humane Society. She was in there for 4 or 5 months and shipped up from San Francisco. What do I do I’m getting so impatient. Please please help.
Are you utilizing a crate? Crate training is the best way to potty train a Shiba. As soon as you take your Shiba out if the crate, you must take him/her outside. When your Shiba goes outside reward him/her with a treat as soon as they are done peeing or pooping. Also with positive energy & affection. Also in the house confine your Shiba to a particular area until they are potty trained. Be consistent with this & your Shiba will be potty trained in no time!!
I am at my wits end with our Shiba, Maxi. I take her outside to potty. She’ll pee right off, but she has to go a football field length away from our house just to poop. Lately, I can see her poo coming out, yet she’ll squeeze it back in!!! She did this three darn times today. So she finally pooped. Hooray!!! I bring her back in and she proceeds to pee on the floor, right in front of me!!! Past two mornings, I took her out, she peed and pooped, then proceeded to drop another load in our sunroom, which also happens to be where her crate is. She is good with our children, except she steals their food from their hands. I don’t know. Never thought I could dislike an animal so much, but I’m having those feelings. Good thing she’s cute….
Hi Jennifer- I feel your pain about the potty times. On really calm days, it isn’t difficult to give a hurry up command. However, on windy days and nights she completely forgets to do bathroom. You might need to give her more time to “go” or maybe taking her for a quick walk. Sometimes this helps Suki. Also, give her super high end treats at bathroom times. I give Suki liversausage only during training or bathroom on windy days.
I don’t know if this will help, but maybe adding about 1 tbsp. of fresh, organic pumpkin. It is a good fiber source. Maybe giving her more time might help.
Well, I’m back where I started with the stubbornness and obsessive behavior. Ugh, I get really discouraged. Even going for a walk is difficult on windy days. She is trying soooo hard to control the outdoor time. It gets to the point where she won’t go to the bathroom when she really should. I take her in (literally carrying her) to make my point about potty time.
Hi all this is Laurie again. In an earlier post I asked for help in safe play with my 5 mo. old. I took a step back and really looked at what appealed to her-leaves. The action or movement is what appeals to her so I devised a tool that incorporates a very narrow opening, 1/4″ pvc pipe, this rope and a skinneez toy. The rope threads into the pipe and I tied a large knot at one end and the skinneez (stuffing less toy) at the other. The rope is about 3 ft. long, similar to a cat toy. I move it like an injured small rodent and she went crazy for it. Now I spend about 30 minutes outside with Suki morning and afternoon. She is calmer, more interested in training and eating better.
Heeeelp! I have a 5 month shiba. Gorgeous little girl and cutiest personality (when she’s not being naughty). I have a difficult time engaging in safe play especially outside. She looves chasing leaves and anything else that blows around. She plays with toys, frisbee, doggy football, ball for 5-10 seconds then gets bored. I take her on walks and to the different pet stores. I can only do that occasionally. Any ideas? Also, she sits at the patio door watching “life” and rings her potty bell to go out and chase things.
I have to say thank you SO MUCH for having this blog and posting about your Shiba Inu. My fiance were on a waiting list for a year and did a LOT of research about our Shiba puppy before we picked him up…and even after all that time we were not prepared. The first few days were their own special kind of hell during which our little guy (Miko) bit and cried endlessly. I became very emotional and, just as you wrote, he fed off of my feelings that he hated me.
Thankfully we are past that time and Miko has gotten much better. However, at about 5 months we have recently encountered what we think may be separation anxiety. For the first few months we had a pretty consistent schedule because my fiance was in school – but that all went out the window when the semester ended for Christmas break. Now that the semester has begun again, Miko freaks out when either of us put him into his crate so we can leave the house. He has always loved his ‘bedtime’ and happily hopped into his crate and settled down, but now he attacks/bites our feet and jumps on us. When I pick him up to put him in timeout for biting he clamps down on my hand, which is quite painful.
Thanks for posting all of the information you have come across and what worked with your Shiba – I’m sure your post on separation anxiety will help us out once we are able to implement some of the steps.
Hi. Me again, Julia Darling. I was also wondering what you do with your Shiba when you leave him alone in the house when you go to work. Do you lock him in a play pen? Can he hold his bathroom urges? Does he become destructive? Thank you.
Hi Julia, Our Shiba is about 6 years old now but we had to crate him for the first year. It helped that he loved being in his crate and it was very large, anyway we would put him in there at night and when we weren’t home or able to watch him when we were home. After about a year, he was really good being out of his crate full time. Although he would still go in there just because. We also had a fenced yard and didn’t have any issues with him escaping. He still needs to be on a leash when we go for walks. Good luck with your Shiba.
Hi. I was wondering if you would ever trust your shiba without a leash in a fenced yard or off leash with no boundries. Would you let him outside with a shock collar? Thanks.
No shock collar!! (Unless you want and insane shiba) Just keep your shiba on a leash and get over the idea that he can be off, ever…
Our Copper came from a shelter…they guessed about 8 months old….He is leash trained and sweet as ever….but he did train us very quickly..wouldn’t trade this goof ball for anything
Got buffy from a rescue centre, love her to bits but bloody hell is she a hand full, tested her off lead twice and she was brilliant, then saw some horses and bolted off, luckily got her in time, went to an open field and running round with my cousins cockapoo, loved it, then the bird came and dejavu hit again, goodbye buffy. Most upredictable dog ive owned, loves to be centre of attention and kick up a fuss whenever she doesnt get her own way, well socialises with both people and animals (dogs, cats) but is easily distratcted like most dogs.
Very boystrious playing attitude which scares many dogs (or get annoyed with her), loves to jump and hulk smash dogs with her two front paws, caught me a few times in the face, hates a cuddle and hates anything that doesnt benefit her, hard to get inside unless she will earn something from it. Hoping that one day she will be able to go off lead but i highly doubt it. Shes 2 and a half and a handful but she has suchna funny personality minus the manopulative side of her. If this is your first dog do not get one, a big handful unless you have the time and patience to train her bad habits but i feel due to the breeds high prey-drive i wont be anle to trust her off leas, has a mind of her own whilst on a walk and is just too damn interested in everything but commands, she knows them, but when it suits her…
Love her to bits though, just wish she wasnt as hard to train!
I do love this website, lots of useful tips … THANK YOU
I too just got a Shiba pup and he is so super hyper active dog. Once Carter got out of the crate, he feels like he is on the loose running around like there’s no tomorrow. It’s a struggle to play with him coz he will either start chewing my pants or start biting my feet (and hands). He also would not sit still when eating. He would only stay for like a minute eating from his dog bowl and then go wonder around with his food in his mouth. So all the food are all over, and end up taking away his food. We do however are impressed with his poo-ing and pee-ing outside the house. Once we let him out, and kept there for a good 5 mins, he would do his business. There are only a few occasions that he will have an accident in his crate and around the house.
Can you maybe share some tips on my struggle with playing with him, (without biting us) and feeding him (to keep him still).
Thanks very much
We got Mojito two days ago, he’s three months old. And even though we were prepared for a little monster that would need a lot of education and training, we were nicely surprised for his calm behaviour. He’s not fearful at all, he’s self confident, enjoys his crate and when we leave for work, he stay quietly the whole day playing with his toys or sleeping in his crate. We were surprised that he doesn’t even cry at nights. Also, he loves being handled, he stay so calm when we grab it in our arms. And it doesn’t look obsesses with biting anything, just occasional biting, more like exploring objects with his mouth.
We are socializing him, I’m also a big fan of Ian Dunbar, and his doing great, he plays with a dog we know very well that is small and have been perfectly socialized, Mojito seems to enjoy playing with the other dog, besides the fact he growled and snapped the other dog, but it was completely our fault, since the other dog was all over Mojito and we didn’t stop him, so I guess he felt he didn’t have any choice. We gave him a time out and after that he kept playing.
We are very happy, and we are going to keep educating and training Mojito to be a great adult dog. Your blog is our main guide, you have done a great job!!
Hi
I have a 4 months Shiba Inu and he’s literally afraid of every noise in the house and is terrified of going outdoors. It’s been with me for almost 3 weeks and every vet is telling me that he should of adapted by now. Any tips or advises?
My Shiba was like that for the longest time. literally scared of everything! he is about a year and 3 months now. it was maybe around 9 months he finally started to warm up and it wasn’t until he was about 1 until he finally felt comfortable with his surroundings. The biggest thing i learned is Shibas won’t feel comfortable until they can trust and respect there owner.
Hi. I have a 20 month old female shiba. I have owned a shiba before, he lived to be 15! My female shiba after about 1 year old, started crying and biting our feet sometimes. It seems to happen when her stomach hurts. We have had a million tests done and everything seems fine with her stomach. Vet says we need behavior training. Anything you could suggest for this? It is not just nipping, it is a full aggressive bite and we have 2 kids. Thank you!
I’m in the same boat, my Shiba is 5 and in the past 2 years has become aggressive toward my husband and son’s feet. Like he’s protecting the floor, I think the ‘that’s mine’ attitude is directed at the floor. He is also pretty protective over me, if my husband tries to hug me, it’s game over. We are trying to desensitize him and it was going well for a while, but recently seems to be worse. We are thinking about bringing his crate back into the house so he can get a time out when it happens. I’m also going to have my husband and son give him more treats (when they are deserved) and have them give him his daily food dish. Hopefully that will help. Let me know if you get any other tips to try.
We had a Shiba for 10 years. We brought it back from Japan (Okinawa) when I was stationed there and the dog was abandoned and we adopted it. At first she was wild and I did use a choke collar on her for a short period of time. She learned very quickly and we didn’t even have to use a leash after a couple of months. She wasn’t destructive and got along with the cat. She died when she had a knee problem and the vet gave her Rimadyl awaiting surgery. The dog developed acute pancreatitis and died. Just about took me down as this dog was the just the best.
Note: These are primitive dogs with the genetics going back on the island of Okinawa for at least 5000 years, probably longer. Be careful with medication that the dog may not be able to metabolize due to lack of drug pathways which these dogs may have never developed due to their isolation for thousands of years.
To the present. We adopted a six month old rescue Shiba. She was everything you described and more. The biting, stealing, tearing up and destroying the house. I don’t know what the first owners did that resulted in this behavior, or if it is just the way this one is programed. Anyway, last night she actually clawed and bit through a drywall wall to get out of a room. Add to that two rugs ripped to shreds, actively attacking other dogs, cats, and anything that moves and this is not a dog that can left out of sight for more than a minute or two. She screams all night if we cage her. I have used the same firm but gentle techniques I used on the first one and the behavior is not improving after several months.
At other times she is just the sweetest dog we could ever want. But there is no rhyme or reason to this Jeckyl and Hyde behavior.
We both work and can’t cage the dog 20+ hours per day. Not fair to her or us.
As much as it is going to break both our hearts, she is going back to the rescue where we hope she can be placed with a family that has no other pets, is home during the day, has a large area outside to play, and can spend hundreds of hours it will take to hopefully train this loveable but stubborn little dog.
If not too late, exercise helps put it all together…especially if you take her to interesting (to dogs) places
My female shiba is just over a year and a half. I work during the day so unfortunately I cannot be home to let both of my dogs (the other is a 10 year old Rottweiler out during the am although I let them out before I leave and right as soon as I get home. They have a nice big back yard to play in while I’m home. The problem is that everyday she finds something new to chew. And now I feel she’s doing it on purpose. She knows as soon as I get home she’s I. Trouble is I spot something that’s chewed and runs to the gate in the back yard or into her kennel. So she obviously knows she’s in trouble and she’s doing something wrong. How do I stop her from doing this? Or is it an age thing?
We’ve had our four year old female for three years now and she has gone through episodes much like the one you mentioned a few times, but we are currently experience the worst of it right now. Again, she’s four and is fully aware of when she’s being or has been disobedient. We are still trying to properly “diagnose” the problem – could be boredom, lack of exercise, anxiety (separation or otherwise), new treats that leave her with a bad taste – but have found that the solution clearly isn’t in trying to discipline her through “bad dog” technique.
We moved with her overseas four months ago and in the first few months she was an angel, displaying no real issues, just a few mishaps here or there. When we first got her (rescue, just under 1 year old at the time of adoption) she was very nervous, anxious, and ‘independent’. The worst leash pulling you can imagine, scared of loud noises, and eventually we discovered that when we left her at home in her crate (she had been crate trained prior to our adoption) she cried/screamed/howled and scratched at the door of the crate non-stop…literally for hours on end. Our neighbors were the ones who made us aware and they were rightfully displeased.
We decided to nix the crate and treat her prior to any departure, allowing her to roam the house. She took to it immediately with no ill effects. The only times she had made a mistake is when we were stupid enough to leave leather shoes/bags on the floor…that’s a no brainer for a Shiba.
So now, years later, we all find ourselves back at square one. In the past month she has destroyed the following:
Wrist watch band
Hockey glove palm
Beard trimmer AND charger
Toiletries bag
Sandal
Rotating Push Up Handles
Jump Rope
External hard Drive
Extension cord/power strip
Countless papers/folders/pens/pencils
We suspect separation anxiety as this only happens when we leave the house. At first, it only happened if we left for more than six hours (a cinch for her in the past, serious problem now…) but now it happens within an hour of our departure.
Unfortunately I don’t have an answer for you other than a visit to the vet, which is on the calendar for us.
The biggest thing to remember is they love us. As crappy as it can be to deal with the destruction they aren’t doing it out of spite. It could be a more serious problem, too, which is why a visit to the vet is a must.
I hope you find relief and a change of behavior for your Shiba ASAP. Good luck, and let us know if you’ve had any progress!
Teddy is turning 3 in a few days. We’ve had him since he was 8 weeks old. He’s been such a good dog. House training was a breeze and he usually responds well when we tell him no. He does the sneaky thing of stealing napkins and tissues. We’ve taken him to the groomers since he was a puppy when he is blowing his coat. Just recently the groomer told me that we were going to have to do something, because he hated the bath and hurt her. I was kind of surprised because I didn’t realize he had gotten that bad, I guess I assumed that since he had been going since a puppy that he was used to it. I felt so bad and I want to know what I can do to change this behavior. She said he appears to be anxious and afraid. Also when he gets scared he runs away, my other dogs always ran to me. I feel I must not have done something right. He’s not food motivated as I have tried with some other training things, maybe I just haven’t had what he wanted. We love him so much and want to do the right thing. Any suggestions? Should we put him in the bath and use just warm water to see if we can get him to calm down? Any advice would be helpful, thanks
Sephy does not trust easily, so I do all of his grooming myself. I take my time to slowly desensitize him to each thing so that he does it willingly, because the experience is positive and he gets very well rewarded for it.
In terms of bathing, Sephy does not really need too many baths. I brush him pretty frequently, and that gets rid of loose fur and dirt. When he needs a bath, then I play the water hose game with him, which is fun and he sees that more as play-time. Of course, that only works for warm weather.
More on my bathing experiences with Sephy.
Thank you for your response. It makes me feel a little better that I haven’t been a completely bad fur mommy. I guess I’ll have to learn how to groom him better at home. He is really so good in most ways, but is a scaredy cat (dog) on some things. I’ll keep working with him and reading your page to give me encouragement.
Thanks,
Bonnie and Teddy
My pup was terrified of the bath at first but I found if i ran it while he was in it it was the sound/echo that he didn’t like. Now I run the bath prior and put him in and he sits and enjoys the massage lol.. Mine is still quite young (8mths) but it could be something that simple. Just a suggestion.
Hi ! First of all, congratulations for the website, its really great! I have some questions to make and i would be grateful if you could answer them!
I dont have much experience when it comes to dogs, but i felt in love with Shiba Inus! I’m thinking of adopting one, not now, as i have to finish school first (im 17 years old). My mother however had a variety of dogs in the past, and she is experienced enough to help me with my shiba. Do you think that it’s a risky move to have a shiba as your first dog??
Thank you in advance!
George
Haha, well I got a Shiba as my first dog and I sure went through some tough times with him in our first year. I didn’t do enough research into the breed and didn’t know much about dog training/behavior. As a result, I had a difficult time dealing with my Shiba’s aloofness and very strong-will.
The first few months were very hellish, but on the good side, I learned a lot from my experience with Sephy and got a bunch of good stories to tell. 😀 On the not so good side, I made many mistakes and Sephy had to go through some bad experiences, because I did not do the right thing by him. I also wanted a more affectionate dog, so the aloofness was not easy to deal with.
My Shiba Inu Story.
Another thing to consider is what happens when you go to college. My Shiba really likes/needs certainty and a fixed routine. Changes to his routine, can cause stress, anxiety, and undesirable changes in behavior. Sephy is very loyal but he does not trust easily. So if I am not around, I need to make sure that there will be others that he already trusts, who can take care of him, train him, and provide the structure that he needs, in a similar way as I have.
Here is a comment from someone who is having trouble with their son’s Shiba while he is away in college-
http://shibashake.com/dog/dog-to-dog-aggression/comment-page-5#comment-667521
Hey shibashake!, my mother and i had experience with other dog breeds over the time (A dalmatian, chow chow and a chihuahua), and my mother and i are thinking about getting a shiba inu puppy after we move, as my dear dalmatian died recently, as well as my mothers chow chow a long time ago, my question would be, our chihuahua (yes, the chihuahua isnt really the dog of either of us, she obeys us both equally), is well socialized and trained in obedience but, my questions are:
Would our chihuahuas behavior have influence over our shibas training?, with the case of our dalmatian, the chow chow’s behavior had a drastical influence!, considering he was really stubborn and independent
Also our chihuahua loved to play with our dalmatian when he was alive, would the shibas rough play mean a risk for our chihuahua?
Keep the good work!, your blog helped me a lot for the research of this breed : )! i absolutely adore their personality and intelligence!
My dogs certainty have a big effect on each other. This is also called social learning. This article from The Whole Dog Journal has a lot more on social learning and how it can affect our dogs in both good and not-very-good ways.
My Shiba plays best with dogs that are larger than him. He likes to wrestle and play rough, which overwhelms smaller dogs. My younger Siberian Husky is larger than him, heavier, younger, and also very agile. However, my Shiba sometimes gets to be even too much for her. Sephy is a very focused dog, and can get quite extreme with whatever he is doing. I always manage and supervise play-time very closely, mostly to protect my larger Sibes. 😀
How I picked a companion for my Shiba Inu.
How I help my dogs get along.
Our almost 9 month old Shiba puppy has recently taken to biting the feet of my husband and 14 year old son when they are in the kitchen. He doesn’t do this to my 17 year old daughter or I. I notice that he tried to stand over top of our neutered male cat as well. Has me thinking this might be a “trying to be” alpha male in the house thing. First Shiba (though have raised another breed for years) so not sure how to stop this behavior. My husband or son getting mad at him and yelling certainly hasn’t stopped him. And its only been in the last 3 to 4 weeks. I have plans to get him neutered but he did have a heart murmur and need to make sure his heart is healthy enough for surgery before doing that.
When my Shiba was young and still in training, I put a drag-lead on him (only under supervision and only with a flat collar or harness). If he tries to bite on me or my clothes, I can use the leash to control him, and take him to time-out if necessary.
My Shiba is also very sensitive to the energy of the people around him. If I get angry, frustrated, stressed, or fearful, he will pick up on that energy, get more reactive, and his behavior will worsen. To get him to stay calm, I need to also control my own energy and actions. Shouting and moving around a lot usually just makes things worse.
With Sephy, it is very important to set up a fixed routine and a consistent set of house rules. This creates certainty, and certainty helps to reduce stress and reactive behavior.
More on how I deal with puppy biting.
More on how I set up structure and teach self-control.
More on how I trained my puppy.
During Sephy’s problem period, we also visited with several professional trainers, which was helpful.
https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/virtual-pet-behaviorist/finding-professional-help
https://apdt.com/pet-owners/choosing-a-trainer/
Hello!
I have a 2 year old Shiba that we are experiencing a little bit of aggression at certain times with if anyone has any help it would be much appreciated!!
We notice that when we decide to go to bed, we usually carry him upstairs and when we go to pick him up he seems to ALWAYS growl and sometimes go for the bite (with no penetration) but once hes is being carried he is fine.
Then in the mornings we give him a treat then I go to say bye to him before I leave for work and he seems to growl again and the last few days he has gone for the bite. I’m nervous what is going on… why he is doing this now? He is always so sweet usually but he looks at me so angry and snarls him mouth. He does this with a new meat bone as well. I understand the guarding of his bone for that situation but the others I’m at a loss.
If any one has ANY suggestion I would really really appreciate it ! Thanks so much!
Has he always shown this behavior or did this start suddenly? Did anything unusual happen around the time of the change? What is his daily routine like? What type of training is he used to? How does he respond to grooming and handling?
Sometimes, dogs may also guard their space, which is a resource. In addition-
1. My Shiba does not enjoy being restrained/held. His freedom is restricted when he is held, which makes him feel a lot more vulnerable.
2. My Shiba is very sensitive to my energy. If I am nervous, fearful, uncertain, or stressed, he will pick up on my energy, get anxious himself, and become even more reactive.
Based on what you describe, I would consult with a good professional trainer who can observe the dog, help read his body language, and develop a safe plan for retraining.
https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/virtual-pet-behaviorist/finding-professional-help
https://apdt.com/pet-owners/choosing-a-trainer/
With my Shiba, I manage him very well and try not to put him in situations where he will start guarding. The more he guards, the more likely he will repeat that behavior and in a wider variety of contexts. In the meantime, I slowly desensitize him to handling and to objects.
http://shibashake.com/dog/why-dogs-get-aggressive-over-food-toys
http://shibashake.com/dog/stop-food-aggression-stop-resource-guarding
http://shibashake.com/dog/resource-guarding-shiba-inu
I have a Shiba Inu along with 6 other dogs, everything seemed to be fine, no aggression towards the other dogs or people, come her second heat cycle she has become unmanageable. She has continuously attacked 4 of the other dogs, including the alpha female and male, she used to try and be sneaky with her attacks but now she is attacking right in front of me and even when I hold onto the other dog to keep them away she continuously try’s to attack, I have tried separating her, crating her and sticking her alone in a room as a “time out” nothing seems to be working, she even attacks my husky when he is sleeping. What do you suggest
All my dogs are spayed/neutered. For proper management of a dog during and after her heat-cycle, I would consult with an experienced registered breeder.
http://www.shibas.org/breeders.html
My Shiba acts exactly like yours! Although people say that their shibas are more submissive, mines is absolutely not.
If he experiences something bad, he is gonna remember that bad experience for a long long long time. Very easy to lose his trust. Sometimes I feel disappointed and feels like having no payback from him. But I still love him.
One question: How do you get him to swim? He got frightened in the water once and will never come near water anymore. I am still hoping that he could forget that bad experience. Apparently, he’s not gonna forget~~~
Sephy does not really like water all that much. However, when he is playing with other dogs, he forgets all about that and is willing to jump and play in puddles. When there are ducks in the lake, he will go into the water a bit, but only at the edge where he can still walk.
Since we don’t have a pool and Sephy is not a big fan of water, I have not done much training in that area. I think if I wanted to train Sephy to be more comfortable with water, I would first identify what things are most rewarding to him. In Sephy’s case, one thing would be having some interesting play in the water, especially involving another dog. Then, I can use that to slowly encourage him to go into the water on his own.
I would first start at the edge, and then slowly move in has he gains more confidence. Of course I would need to make sure that everything is always safe and under close supervision.
http://www.shibainuforum.org/forum/discussion/5914/does-your-shiba-like-the-water/p1
Need advice what kind of dry food to feed my 5 month male shiba puppy. He has had a reaction (diarrhea, vomiting) as we were looking for a replacement for the kibble his breeder gave him. We had him on grain free diet but it did not improve. Even tried a limited ingredient diet — and still did not work, in fact, quite the opposite. He is doing OK with beef and chicken food which is sold in soft packages, not cans, and which has actual pieces of beef and chicken, not too processed. Another question is at what age will he start “asking” to go potty by standing next to the door.
How long have you had the puppy? How often does he vomit? How long have the symptoms lasted?
The first thing I would do is to make sure that it is actually a food issue. Diarrhea and vomiting can also be caused by other physical issues, so with my dogs, I visit the vet if the symptoms persist.
Once I am sure that it is a food allergy issue, then I first put my dog on a bland diet (plain boiled chicken and plan white rice). I use a different meat source if I suspect that my dog is allergic to poultry.
More on what I do for food allergy issues.
Potty training depends on the puppy’s past experiences, training, etc. My Shiba Inu was potty trained while living with the breeder, so he pretty much went to the door when I got him at 10 weeks old. However, if a puppy is used to being caged for long periods of time, and is forced to do his business in his cage (e.g. in a pet store), then potty training will be more of a challenge.
More on how I potty trained my Husky puppy.
My vet suggested not to mix proteins. I switched my Shiba to acana lamb and apple. Also, feed your shiba same snack. I use Merrick dehydrated lamb lung and lamb and apple. It’s easier to digest.
Plain rice mixed in with pieces of chicken breast and chicken hotdogs works well. I avoid beef due to allergies. Try that. Either all lamb or chicken.
If your dog scratches a lot, especially ears it can be food related. My Shiba is a lot happier now that he eats mainly one protein. Every second day I add very small amount of salmon oil and his coat is 100% better.
Flax oil is another option but it doesn’t taste well
I’ve met other shiba owners who recommend salmon. What ever works stick with it. Don’t change diet too much. Hope info helps
I have a 9 week old shiba. She is abit of a handful when taking her out for walks. She goes potty in our yard the first week we had her but if I take her on walks, she won’t go and freezes up and sits down. I can tell she’s nervous but I don’t know how to calm her. She bites on the leash and sits on the grass and glares at me and I don’t know what to. She won’t take treats and I have to pull her to have her start walking. But every other minute, she would sit back down.
What should I do?
A new puppy may be uncertain and a bit fearful of a totally new environment with new sights, sounds, and smells. With my puppy, I always start small and set her up for success. For example, I first desensitize her to the collar and leash. Once she is comfortable with that, I start leash training her inside the house, where she is more comfortable and relaxed. Then, we start doing exercises in our fully enclosed backyard and so on. I start small, set her up for success, and slowly build up her confidence. As she gains confidence, I *very slowly* increase the challenge of the environment.
How I train my puppy to walk on a leash.
When I get a new puppy, I always take her to the vet as soon as possible. In this way, I can make sure that my puppy is physically healthy, and I can also get advice on vaccinations, etc.
Puppies still have developing immune systems and are more susceptible to diseases, therefore I am very careful where I take my puppy before she is fully vaccinated.
ASPCA article on puppy socialization.
More on dog socialization.
How I trained my Husky puppy.
My girl used to do that, too. I actually kneeled down and would call her to me and repeat the process. It’ll take some time, but making them feel comfortable and confident enough is important when they’re small.
Hey! I have a Japanese red shiba and he is generally a very good dog. He turns 6 in September and my issue is, lately he has been Mr. Houdini! Any time that someone opens the front door he maneuvers right past…of course if I go after him he thinks it’s a chase game. I dislike the idea of shock collars however I find myself considering it but only for use of the front yard. We have a huge yard that he can run around in and he gets his walks (well if you call it that with a shiba haha..we got used to the fact that he walks at his pace lol). I am afraid that he is going to get hit by a car or something else that will injury him. We live in a small town and people are careful and there really isn’t much traffic but I would die if something ever happened to my boy..
Escaping is a self-reinforcing behavior. When a dog succeeds in escaping, he gets a fun outside trip, with no restrictions, no rules, and maybe even some fun chasing games with his people. This is a big big reward, which further reinforces the escaping behavior and so on.
http://shibashake.com/dog/dog-escape-why-dogs-run-away/comment-page-1#comment-386323
Some things that help with my dogs-
1. I train them all on door manners.
2. I increase their structured daily exercise (walks, structured play, interactive food toys, etc.)
3. I increase management (leashes, baby gates, double gates to the backyard, etc.)
4. I do recall training exercises.
https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/virtual-pet-behaviorist/dog-behavior/teaching-your-dog-come-when-called
5. I set up a fixed routine, a consistent set of house rules, and I follow the Nothing in Life is Free program with all of my dogs.
More on how I deal with dog escapes.
As for shock collars, they are not something that I would use on my Shiba. In the long run, his behaviors worsened with aversive training, and I lost a lot of his trust early-on from using such techniques. Shock collars are risky, and can cause even more behavioral issues down the road. Finally, they are also *not* a guaranteed way of recall. Therefore, it is not generally something that I would use on my dogs or recommend to others.
More on what I think of shock collars.
I’m glad to find this blog. I am in need of coaching, we have a 10 week old cream male Shiba Inu, he’s our first dog. He is very smart and very good with the potty business. He’s area of concern is the chewing of just about everything, he doesn’t like to sleep alone and hates to be in his crate and exercise pen.
Yeah, my Shiba was very mouthy as well when he was young. When he chews on something that he shouldn’t, I no-mark and redirect him onto a sanctioned toy.
More on how I taught Sephy not to chew on curtains.
More on how I deal with puppy biting.
With Sephy, it worked out best to have him sleep with us (in his crate) in the bedroom. This helps with bonding and he also really needs to be able to see his people. After he matured and got some training under his belt, we let him out and now he gets to roam about the bedroom (but we keep the bedroom door closed).
More on how I crate train my dog.
https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/virtual-pet-behaviorist/dog-behavior/weekend-crate-training
However, a puppy has a lot of energy so I also provide my puppy with a lot of positive/structured activity throughout the day to keep him engaged. I did a lot of frozen Kongs with my Husky pups. They are usually more ready to take a nap after they have had a bunch of play, training, and then one or two frozen Kongs.
More on my Husky puppy’s schedule.
Hi. I’ve had my Shiba (Ramen) for 4 months now. We bought him when he was 2 months old and he just hit his 6 month mark. He’s a great puppy but the biting is getting out of control. So out of control that I’m thinking I may have to find him a good home before we move in a few months. I love my Ramen as my child but I can’t have him around kids, most other dogs and most importantly I don’t feel like I can trust him right now. Last night he got angry and bit me because I tried to remove a piece of plastic from his mouth he found on our walk. I don’t want to get rid of my Shiba but I can’t worry about the next time he’s going to bite me either. I spent weeks with bloody lips and face bites, but I thought that would slow down wove he was finished teething… Thank you for your help.
How I deal with puppy biting.
As for removing things from my Shiba’s mouth, that was something that I also went through with Sephy. This is more of a resource guarding issue.
http://shibashake.com/dog/resource-guarding-shiba-inu
http://shibashake.com/dog/stop-food-aggression-stop-resource-guarding
Sephy was also very mouthy as a puppy. He really needed consistency, structure, and training. We also got help from several professional trainers, and it was very useful for me to have guidance on reading body language, timing, technique, safety, and more. Especially for aggression issues, it is best and safest to get professional help.
https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/virtual-pet-behaviorist/finding-professional-help
I had a lot of problems with my Shiba, but after I started learning more about dog behavior and how to properly communicate with him, control my own energy, and train him, things got a lot better.
My Shiba Inu story.
http://shibashake.com/dog/zen-dog-training-tips
We have two big issues..
1) We have an female 8&1/2 week old puppy.. She absolutely hates her crate. We live in an apartment so when she whines and does her shiba scream, we feel like a guns pointed to our heads and let her out “/.. We feel bad for our neighbors.
2) The first night we had her she was using the potty pads then the next day up until now she goes everywhere but on the pads? We tried the spray and the pads with pheromones. Were @ our wits end.. What can we do? We’re getting grossed out and frustrated.. Please help!!
1. Crate training
With my puppy, I start small and go in small steps. In the beginning, I leave the door open, put a piece of my puppy’s favorite food close to the door, and let him go get it. I keep repeating this until he is comfortable doing this and starts to associate his crate with rewards and good things. Then, I may throw the food in a bit deeper and so on. I leave the door open so that he can go in and come out whenever he wants.
After my puppy is totally comfortable going into and coming out of his crate, I let him work on food toys and other high priority but safe chew toys inside his crate. I still leave the door open. In this way, he gets used to staying in his crate, and continues to associate it with positive activities and safety.
Next, I slowly build up time within his crate with the door closed. I start with a few seconds and then slowly build up from there.
More on how I crate train my dog.
ASPCA article on weekend crate training, but as they say, it may not work on dogs that already have a negative association with the crate-
https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/virtual-pet-behaviorist/dog-behavior/weekend-crate-training
In general, I try to set my Shiba up for success so that we don’t have a shiba-scream situation. However, if he is screaming simply to get his own way or to get attention, then I also need to make sure *not* to reward that behavior. If I do, he will start to scream in a wider range of situations because he has learned that screaming gets him what he wants.
2. Potty training
With potty training my puppy, very close supervision is the most important thing. I set up a fixed schedule and I watch my puppy like a hawk. If I cannot supervise my puppy for even 1 minute, I put him in a safe enclosure with puppy pads. I do not let my puppy freely roam the house until he is fully potty trained.
More on how I potty train my puppy.
I also did a lot of private lessons with several trainers when Sephy was young. I was very new to dog training at the time, and it was very helpful to have a good and experienced trainer help me with timing, reading body language, management, mouthiness, etc.
https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/virtual-pet-behaviorist/finding-professional-help
I just got a male shiba inu puppy about a week ago (9 weeks now) and he HATES walking with the leash. Its my first dog and I researched alot about it before I got one. I would like to take him on a walk but its almost as if im dragging him because he is resisting so much. I leave the leash on when he is inside the house so then he can get used to it, but it seems like its not helping at all. Is it too soon to give him walks and will he ever get used to it? (ps my puppy is very lethargic and doesn’t have the excitement that puppy’s are supposed to have)
Where did you get the puppy? Have you taken him to the vet? When I get a new puppy, I take him to the vet as soon as possible to make sure that he is in good health, and to get advice on vaccinations etc.
Puppies still have developing immune systems and are more susceptible to diseases so I do not walk my puppy in public areas (where he may come in contact with sick dogs or other animals) until he is fully vaccinated. Poop, pee, or contaminated water, from sick animals may also pose a risk. However, puppy socialization is still important.
The ASPCA article above has some suggestions on safe ways to socialize a puppy who is not yet fully vaccinated.
I really want to thank you for sharing your heart and knowledge on your beloved Shiba. I swear we have his twin, from different mothers of course. They look a lot a like, ours is a 30lb Shiba, a fiery red head for sure, but also a very so creative personality on him. He is over 4 years old now. We actually got a second one (mistake) right away after having Mushi 4 months…then the aggression got way worse. But after 4 years, he has our hearts,…. he can make it difficult to have people over for dinner and have friends and family stay with us…we have learned to adapt and desensitize him…still working on it and will continue. Our second one is a black, tan and white Shiba, he is the alpha. He is stockier, but totally cool and calm…Vets are always amazed at him. We have to polar opposites….makes our lives never dull and we will always be Shiba Inu fan. thanks again for your time and energy and heart for sharing about your experiences and knowledge of Shiba’s, it has been a huge help these past 4 years.
Thank you very much for this Myrna.
Hi, I was thinking about adopting a Shiba Inu. I want to a dopt a Shiba Puppy and raise him. My concern is how long can a shiba be left alone before it is too much? I will probably leave the puppy alone for about 8 hours with about a 3 hour 2-3 hours in between. I’ve had cats and dogs before so Shiba will not be my first dog to train. I’ve done a couple of research and it says that Shibas are really independent which I guess it is nice? Are there any tips to train shiba stay in their cribs, or safely roam around the house? Thank you very much.
My Shiba puppy needed a lot of supervision and training. He also had mild separation anxiety when he was young, and I had to very slowly train him to tolerate alone time. As a puppy, he was also very energetic and mouthy. He would be biting the curtains, books, etc. During puppyhood, I had to supervise him well, and when I couldn’t fully supervise, I kept him with me in the kitchen, or in his crate (after I crate-trained him).
Sephy is independent in that he does not want or need much human affection. However, he still likes having his people around. He really needs a fixed routine, and even today, he will get stressed if we come home late or if there are big changes to his schedule.
http://shibashake.com/dog/are-shiba-inus-truly-independent
With time constraints, I would consider adopting an adult dog, that is already trained and who is already comfortable with being alone for a longer period of time.
I adopted a rescue shiba at age 4. He had bad behaviour, bit me in bed and didn’t want to be touched. I’d flick his ear, put him on time out for 15 min. I used positive reinforcement and gave him chicken as a treat outside or when handling. It’s been 8 mo. Troy is like a lap dog, very close. Staying calm, positive reinforcement, treats, regular use of short commands helped.
He’s no longer a pain. I love him like a child. No need to discipline him. He’s too sensitive but tough. He’s my no. 1 and knows it.
So I have two questions, because you seem to know lots about Shibas. I have a male Shiba, Loki, who is just over a year old. We live in an apartment currently, and there are lots of other dogs that live around us. A few months ago, I took Loki outside to go potty on our normal schedule and another dog got loose from their house and attacked Loki. This was a German Shepherd/Malinois mix, and so he was like 4 times the size of my pup. The other dog didn’t do any real damage to Loki, we took him to the vet and everything, but now he is terrified to go outside. Even months later. Whenever we say lets go outside he runs and hides under anything he can. That dog has been put down so we haven’t had any more encounters with him, but I just don’t know how to fix this with my dog? It’s like he has PTSD and it makes me very sad.
The other thing was just that he has been shivering a lot and I didn’t know if it’s because he is cold or sick? Normally Shiba’s just don’t get that cold I didn’t think. We have been having really good weather so he has shed most of his winter coat, and then today it snowed buckets so I just assume it’s because he doesn’t have his winter coat in?
Sorry for the novel, thanks!
Reward him with treats outside. Avoid dogs you don’t know. My shiba hated walking. Now, he walks all the time. Distraction helps. Have him walk or play with a few trusted dog friends. Ptsd takes time to go away.
Also, shiba shake could be his way of handling stress or he’s anxious. Continued exposure in same area may be too difficult for him. Disract him by taking him to different area.
I help my dog with fear and anxiety issues by doing desensitization and counter-conditioning exercises. I start small, with a very weak version of the scary stimulus, pair it with positive rewards and experiences, and then slowly build up from there. For example, my Husky puppy was afraid of going out when the garbage truck came. Therefore, I did noise desensitization exercises with her.
http://shibashake.com/dog/how-to-calm-a-fearful-reactive-dog#noise
At first, we did the exercises inside the house. Once she is good with that, I very slowly get her comfortable with tolerating the noise outside. First, we would do our usual desensitization exercises (on-leash) but with the front door open. Initially we may stand far away from the front door. As she gains confidence, I start doing exercises closer and closer to the front door. Then we may just take a couple of steps outside, and I very slowly build up her confidence and tolerance.
ASPCA article on desensitization and counter-conditioning.
The more positive and successful experiences my dog has, the more confidence she gains, and the better her behavior becomes. Similarly, reactive or scary experiences will undermine that confidence, significantly set back training, and worsen her anxiety symptoms. Therefore, management is also very important. I want to make sure to keep my dog in a calm, positive, and relaxing environment, and not expose her to more than she can handle.
For desensitization to be effective, it needs to be done in a very structured and specific way, so it was helpful for me to get guidance from a good professional trainer, especially in the beginning.
https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/virtual-pet-behaviorist/finding-professional-help
https://apdt.com/pet-owners/choosing-a-trainer/
More on how I desensitized my dog to other dogs.
As for the shivering, I really can’t say. It doesn’t snow here, so the only time I see my dogs shivering is when they are in pain or feeling extreme stress or excitement. When does the shivering occur? Is it at a particular time only? Is it only when you take him outside? Is Loki eating and drinking normally? Is his energy and activity level normal? Has there been anything different? When in doubt about health issues, I usually call my vet and see what they say.
I have a four year old shiba who is a very good and obedient dog. She loved and still loves to run away but we invested in a fence and now she can no longer get out. She had two dog friends on the other side of the chin link fence which she sort of plays with everyday. Yesterday a friend brought over her 1 year old Keeshond. He was very sweet and playful but my shiba turned into a monster! She has never dared to bare her teeth at me and for the first time yesterday she did and I thought she would bite me when I was shooing her away from my friends dog’s food. Usually I am the ‘pack’ leader and my husband is very passive with her so she loves him like crazy. Yesterday she surprised both o us with this very bad behavior. I’m sure it was the irritation of a young energetic and curious dog on her turf that made her so angry. I certainly wont have any dogs over again. Hope she never does this with kids!
That sounds like food guarding behavior. Shibas are bred to be guard dogs, and will have a tendency to guard their stuff. I did a lot of exercises with my Shiba to discourage object guarding, and I set him up for success when meeting new dogs, by removing all possible items of contention. The more reactive episodes my Shiba has, the more likely he is to associate other dogs with negative events, and the more protective he will become of food and objects.
Why dogs guard their food and toys.
More on food aggression.
More on dominance and aggression.
For resource guarding issues, I would get help from a good professional trainer who understands the different types of aggression, and knows how to conduct desensitization and counter-conditioning exercises.
https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/virtual-pet-behaviorist/finding-professional-help
https://apdt.com/pet-owners/choosing-a-trainer/
Hello,
I just recently obtained myself my very fist Shiba puppy who is now 8 weeks old named Loki. I came across this blog and find it very helpful in understanding the nature of the Shiba. I especially like the use their mind games against them and use timeouts to teach them whats right or wrong. The only problem is that when he starts to bite hard and get out of hand I put him in his kennel for a time out. But he will start to scream like there is no tomorrow and will do this for over a half hour easily and won’t even begin to settle down. I’m worried that these timeout are becoming destructive and making him act out more often.
Any insight as to other options?
Thank you
When does he usually start biting, is it during play or something else? What do you do when he starts to bite? Where is his timeout kennel? What do you do when he starts doing Shiba screaming?
I manage my puppy’s biting behavior by doing three things-
1. Bite inhibition training.
2. Structure, routine, and teaching my puppy self-control.
3. I try to set Sephy up for success, and I give him many chances to do the right thing. I only escalate my response when he escalates his behavior. I only use time-outs for serious misbehavior.
More on what I do for puppy biting.
I do not use Sephy’s crate/kennel for timeouts. A crate is a very useful management and safety tool, so I want him to associate his crate with being calm and with positive experiences. He often sleeps in his crate at night, while travelling in a car, etc.
More on what I do for timeouts.
Sephy will also use his Shiba-scream to great effect if I let him. I talk more about the Shiba-scream in the article above. As soon as Sephy figures out that Shiba-screaming can get him out of certain things, he will keep on doing it because it works.
However, dog behavior is very context dependent, so each dog and situation are different. If something truly is not working for Sephy and is only causing him more stress and/or a deterioration in his behavior, then I look into using something else. For example, some people suggest using a blanket to calm a dog down. However, this had totally the opposite effect on Sephy and only stressed him out more. I can tell when he is stressed by looking at his body language and his physical responses. Therefore, no restraining blankets for Sephy.
The key with Sephy is to learn how to accurately read his signals, so that I know when he is simply trying out a move to get out of something, when he is truly stressed or in trouble, when he is truly in need of something, and when he is inadvertently being rewarded for bad behaviors. Being able to read the situation properly is a very big part of training Sephy, and in the beginning, I got help on that from several professional trainers/behaviorists.
http://shibashake.com/dog/finding-a-dog-trainer
More on how I train my puppy.
More on how dogs learn.
I have a brand new Shiba Inu puppy that is going on 14 weeks now. It has been quite a struggle but he is pretty low maintenance I guess as far as puppy goes. Good lineage I guess! I think I may have already made some mistakes with him as he is my first dog and I think that I was getting a little too physical with my resistance because I for the life of me could not get him to stop biting me. I am just wondering if I have lost his trust as he seems to act kinder to other people and then treats me like crap, the person who cares for him. Is there anything I can do to repair the damage? I plan to hire a personal dog trainer to come to my home and observe.
Yeah, I had similar issues with Sephy. Some things that helped with my Shiba-
1. Controlling my own energy
I used to get very frustrated, disappointed, or angry with him. However, Sephy is very sensitive to the energy of the people around him. He would pick up on my energy, get stressed himself, and act even more crazy. On the other hand, he behaved much better with people who had very calm energy. After I controlled my energy and stayed very calm, his behavior improved noticeably.
2. Have a plan and be decisive
Consistency and being decisive are also important with Sephy. Therefore, I always have a detailed plan worked out on how to respond to his problematic behaviors. I usually also have a plan B and plan C. When he starts with something undesirable, I try to be calm, decisive, and effective. I need to be able to stop him from continuing the behavior, and also prevent him from getting rewarded for it.
Often, Sephy would get inadvertent rewards. For example, if he stole the t.v. remote controller, I would shout and chase him to get the controller back. As a result he got rewarded with a fun game of chase, with lots of excited shouting. This made him repeat the behavior more and more because it was rewarding. My response was actually reinforcing his bad behavior.
Instead of chasing and shouting, I put a light drag lead on him. When I see him make moves on the controller, I just step on the lead. In this way, he can’t run away, there is no game of chase, and I can quickly put him in a time-out area. From this he learns that –
Steal t.v. controller = No rewards and temporarily lose freedom.
3. Focus on my Shiba
Sephy also behaved much better with others even though I was his primary caregiver. This annoyed me to no end. However, the more annoyed and upset I got, the worse my energy became, and that again led to Sephy picking up on my bad energy. Therefore, I had to detach myself somewhat and just focus on making things better for Sephy. If he had fun with other people, that is good by me. If he has fun with me, that is good too. However, I will still stop him from doing things that he is not supposed to do, I will stick with my plan and be consistent, and I will stay very calm.
More on how I deal with puppy biting.
More on how I teach my puppy self-control.
Some of my early experiences with Sephy-
http://shibashake.com/dog/my-dog-training-mistakes
http://shibashake.com/dog/my-shiba-inu-story
Good idea with the trainer. Let us know how it goes.
I have a 9-year-old male Shiba that I adopted from a shelter when he was four – like you mention, positive reinforcement and attention / treats are the best – this dog makes me laugh every day, so glad I have him! This week I”m adopting a Shiba puppy who came over for a home visit and I was pleasantly surprised how well and curious my boy was about it!
That is awesome! Sephy used to love puppies when he was young, but now he is more reserved/aloof. It took about 10 days for him to warm up to the last addition. Once he accepts them into his Shiba circle of trust though, he is great with them.
Congrats on your new puppy. I am so glad that she has found such a great home. Sounds like it is going to be a great Shiba Christmas. 😀
Are shiba inus a good first time dog when they’re young, cause we might rescue one from a rescue we found online
In general, Shibas are *not* recommended for first time dog owners. I got a Shiba puppy as my first dog, and went through a very difficult time with him, before I learned enough to properly handle him.
However, each dog is also different, with their own temperament, background, training, etc. How old is the Shiba at the rescue? What does the rescue people say his personality is like? Has he already had a bunch of training? Does he currently have any behavioral issues? Do they think he would fit in with your situation?
More on why Shiba Inus are difficult to train.
More on my experiences with Shiba Sephy.
I write a lot about my adventures with Sephy here.
We got a Shiba Inu (Max) at the humane society last Feb(’14). I had previously had been doing a lot of research on the Shibas. This is our 2nd dog, a poodle/shitzu mix.
Max was 3 yrs old. He was an owner serender…stated he didn’t get along with their other shiba. We found out that they had a Children day care center. We believe that he was mistreated by the children…so now, of course he doesn’t like small children. We are very cautious when children are present when we are in the public.. Their other shiba was fat where Max was very skinny, his fur was dull. Now, he has a wonderful coat, at the ideal weight. He is an absolute joy! My husband was 1st leary of this breed, but now he stated that this is the best breed! The big dog look, but compact!
We love Max to the “Max”!
Loved your article and tips. We have two Shiba Inus, now 14 and 10 years old. LOVE ’em! They really are our four legged children. We didn’t find them incredibly difficult, tho you can tell they are a “wilder” breed, but maybe that is because we’ve had other pups and I’ve always had cats as well. I’d say, if you are an animal lover willing to take the time, Shiba Inus are GREAT! : ) Best wishes to you and Sephy!
Thank you Ruth and big hugs to your two, although they would probably prefer chicken to hugs. 😉
still waiting for my reply
hi,
i have a 4 month old shiba which we owned for 2 months already. She has been biting me nonstop on hand and legs and leash biting and jumping on people.
i have tried the following consistently:
1)turn my back and ignore her. but hard to when shes biting to extent that it hurts
2) put her in a confined area and ignore her
3) lightly slap her leg when she bites me
4) telling her `no` each time
5) give her a chew toy to distract her
6) ask her to smell my hand and give her treat (just started this)
as all fails. i need some advise and dont want to turn to trainer because cant afford it.
everytime i put her on leash she bites me.
i dont think shes bored because we walk around 30 mins a day and we play ball in between the times.
please help
http://shibashake.com/dog/puppy-biting-tips-solutions
http://shibashake.com/dog/how-i-trained-my-husky-puppy#bite-training
http://shibashake.com/dog/puppy-biting-how-to-stop-puppy-biting#timeout