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.
Hey i have a quick question about my shiba. He’s 6 years old, and doesn’t have that many bad habits. The only problem with him is when we pass by other dogs he immediately becomes aggresive and starts to bark and try to jump at the dog. I don’t know if he’s trying to fight the dog or just play rough. Any suggestions?
Hi Mahogany,
Congratulations on your new Shiba puppy!
In terms of the biting, I know what you mean. My Shiba was extremely mouthy as well, and he drove me nuts in the beginning.
Some things that helped me a lot –
1. Putting him on a drag lead.
The impulse for most people is to push back when a dog jumps on them or mouths on them. This actually just made it into a fun game for my Shiba and he would bite even more. By using a drag lead I could quickly control him and take him to timeout without having to chase him around and without having him mouth all over my hand and arms.
2. Following the NILIF program.
My Shiba works for all of his food either through interactive food toys or by doing stuff for me. He also needs to do commands before I do anything for him – e.g. opening doors, getting toys, getting tummy scratches, etc.
3. Calm and consistency.
Consistency is very important with a Shiba. If Sephy gets away with something once, he will definitely try it out again and again. Set some rules and be very consistent about enforcing them. Timeouts worked very well for me for serious offenses.
Here are more things that helped when Sephy was a puppy.
http://shibashake.com/dog/puppy-obedience-training
I also had a lot of problems with Sephy wrt. leash biting. It was probably the worst issue I had to deal with.
http://shibashake.com/dog/train-your-dog-to-stop-biting-on-the-leash
Finally – this article on pack-leadership may also be helpful.
http://shibashake.com/dog/pack-leader-to-an-aggressive-dog
Hello. I have had my Shiba for two days. She is doing beautifully with potty training but the chewing thing is out of control. Not so much the things in the house but our clothes when we are wearing them like socks and pants. I don’t pull away and she seems to get worse. She bites on her leash. I want to start her on the right track. She even tries to bite the older dog. He is big but he will not rough play with her. I have bite deterrent spray and do not jerk away. I will try the constant calm mood. Any other advice that you can offer will be great.
We are first time dog owners. We are also first time shiba inu owners. We made a huge research before adopting a shiba inu and were well aware of all their personality traits. None the less, we have a problem with our 4 month old puppy that we don’t know how to handle. He is very scared of humans and new situations. He does well with animals (we have a cat) though. When meeting someone new he tries to run away. If he’s not trying to run away, he turns his back on us and completely ignores the situation. We don’t comfort him when he behaves that way. We’ve been exposing him to new situations and he is going to puppy training. Still, we would love if you have any shiba advise/suggestion for us. Thanks for creating this web site, it’s very useful!
Mari & co.
Hello Mari,
That sounds great. You are definitely doing all the right things.
My Siberian used to be afraid of loud trucks – especially the garbage truck. What helped with her is to do desensitization exercises with her and the garbage truck. Initially, we would look at the truck from inside the house and I would reward her for staying calm while inside the house. We would also do some obedience commands.
Then when she is totally comfortable with that, I put her on a leash, opened the door and left the door open. Then I repeated the same exercise. Then we start moving closer and closer to the door, then we started doing it outside etc.
You can do a similar exercise with your Shiba and people. Have a friend or neighbor help you out with this. Have them stand a certain distance away from your Shiba in a quiet and calm environment. The person should read a book and totally ignore your Shiba.
Put your Shiba on a leash and reward him for staying calm, you can also do some obedience exercises so that he has something to focus on. If all is well then walk one or two steps towards the person and repeat. In this way, your Shiba will learn to focus on you when he is stressed or fearful. This will also help him gain confidence.
Don’t move toward the person too quickly. If your Shiba starts to show any kind of stress, then you have moved forward too quickly, so move back a bit and repeat. Make the sessions short and fun, and always try to set him up for success so that he gains confidence.
Once he is close enough to the other person, you can even have them throw him some high priority treats. Make sure – no eye-contact, no touching, and no talking. If he wants to go up and smell them – let him do so but make sure the person is completely ignoring him (no eye-contact is very important).
Once he is ok with that – then you can start doing soft talking and so on; then move on to a little eye-contact, turn away and so on; and finally brief touching – but only go slowly so that he always has positive experiences with people and learns to enjoy his time with them.
How is he in puppy class? Are there many people there? Does he avoid the people and just play with the dogs?
Thank you so much! That is very helpful! At puppy class, he behaves similarly. He doesn’t play with the other puppies (there are 3 others). He just goes, smells them and returns calmly to our side. He doesn’t mind the humans there, he just doesn’t care. I think he’s used to them by now. We’ve noticed that he seems to accept humans that have other dogs with them more easily. It’s almost like he is thinking “okay, you have a dog, you know how this works, I accept you a little bit more, but not THAT much either”.
This weekend we took him for the fist time to the dog park. He got put in his place right away by other dogs. The rest of the dogs “harassed” him. He behaved real submissive and although we wanted to “rescue him” from the situation we let him deal with it in it’s own dog way. By the end he was really happy but he always wondered, run and played with other dogs close to where we were.
So as you can see, it looks like he’s pretty selective of his friends, dogs AND humans.
So glad to hear that your Shiba did so well at the dogpark 🙂
I used to take Shiba Sephy to several dog parks, but we were not able to find one that really worked for us. Sephy is always trying to make friends with dogs that don’t want to have anything to do with him.
One of my trainers said that Sephy is like that awkward guy at the party that tries to talk to you even when you are just trying to get away. Guess maybe he can’t understand why other dogs don’t recognize his awesomeness. Poor Sephy 🙂
Hi Mike,
Yeah it was pretty bad with Shiba Sephy as well, in the beginning. First 6 months were the worst though. Things improved bit by bit after that.
After about 1.5 years, Shiba Sephy really calmed down a lot.
Two things that made a big difference for Sephy –
1. Controlling my own energy and not letting him get my goat as much. 🙂
2. Switching to reward training.
It will get better.
Life was so much better before we got our shiba. It’s been 5 months of hell! We’ve spent so much money on him and we’ve been miserable ever since.
I wasn’t sure if it posted a recent picture, so here is the link again.
Before we got our shiba Sam, we had our pug Fred. Sam grew up with fred and used to play with him all of the time. When Sam was about 2 we got another puppy..a shiba-sheltie named clyde. Clyde grew up with sam as they are closer in age. Sam only picks on fred now! For example: she will run around chasing and biting is tail and legs. Or when they are in their pen and I run upstairs I will hear her screaming at him…and I know she’s biting him too. She does the same thing to clyde when she gets riled up. She gets way too imtense playing and she will start snapping and screaming at him. Meanwhile he comes over near me and cowers while bearing his teeth. We give her time outs when she gets into things. Also, my brother showed her a laser pointer and ever since she’s been chasing shadows on the floor and lights on the wall. Its so bad sometimes that at night she has to sleep in her play pen. She screams at clyde when she’s in there someTimes too!! I need a behavior-ist. Any advice in the mean time? Thank you!
Hi Christen,
My other dog is a three-legged Siberian so I am very careful not to let my Shiba overwhelm her. Whenever they are playing together, I will always supervise and step in as soon as I see my Shiba escalating. What helped the most is to interrupt him before he escalates into Shiba-intense levels 🙂 I found that it was better to stop him earlier rather than later.
If you stop them early, then it is easier for them to calm down. After I stop my Shiba I will do some obedience commands with both dogs. This way they can get rewarded for doing something else, they get to work together, and it also gives them an outlet for their energy.
I only use the timeout if my Shiba will not stop and redirects his craziness onto me. He also goes to timeout for humping.
Once I started stepping in and ‘redirecting’ my Shiba, he learned that if he gets too rough, fun play stops but if he plays nice he gets to keep going.
In the beginning, I only let my dogs play when I had time to supervise. Other times, they are separated – my Sibe stays in a pen and my Shiba stays outside. Consistency is important here so that Shiba will learn that [rough play]=[no play] rather than [rough play]=[maybe no play]. Shibas love challenging maybes 🙂
Now they are older and are good about regulating themselves, so they get to play whenever.
More exercise will also help. The more I walked my Shiba, the better behaved he was. I also hired a dog walker for a period of time so that he got to walk and socialize with other dogs.
Another thing to try is to make them do work for you together – e.g. synchronized obedience commands. Do they go on walks together?
As for the laser pointer it is probably best to stop it altogether. Laser pointers can often encourage obsessive type behaviors in dogs. This is because they are encouraged to chase something insubstantial that they never really ‘catch’.
Some fun chase games that my Shiba like are the flirt pole and the water hose game. Make sure that you institute strict rules when playing games with a Shiba – for example, no getting too intense, no jumping on people, no nipping on people, do commands before the game starts, take short breaks throughout, etc.
Great pictures Scott! You can really see how she has grown.
Akiko is too cute for words.
Maybe I will get a creme Shiba next but I am not sure if I am ready for 2 Shibas in the household 🙂
Would love to see more pictures.
Hey:-) Here is an updated pst on Akiko. She is 15 weeks now…the experience has been awesome thus far.
Congratulations on getting a Shiba Peter:-)