Today was just awesome!

I was a bit apprehensive at first when I realized I had shamelessly allowed myself to be lured into the moving den again (I’m such a sucker for hot-dogs). However, this time, the Pungent-Male actually took us to a fun spot.

Shiba Sephy and the 'Pungent One'.

When we arrived, I was very excited because there were several canines hanging about!

My own pack of fur-less, giant 2-legged ones are fine, but nothing compares to another canine. Best of all there was another Chosen-One there – a Shiba called Ronin.

A Chosen One. The rest are not worthy.

I got into a fun wrestling match with Ronin right away.

I had to stop and do silly exercises from time to time but I didn’t mind because it was so much fun to play with another Chosen-One.

I made sure everyone knew I was more interested in playing by singing my “Play with Me NOW” song frequently and loudly.

Shiba Sephy singing his favorite “Play with Me NOW” song as loud as he can.

The other canine kids were ok, but they couldn’t really keep up with us.

Shiba Inus RULE!

Shiba Wisdom

My friends from class tell me that I can be a bit rude when playing. I will try to tone it down a little bit for the wimps so that play can continue, but really – don’t they realize how honored they are to receive the attention of a Chosen One?

During lunch time I asked him if I could read some of his entries and post it on this blog. After some bargaining, he finally agreed to let me post this first entry for some boiled chicken and melted cheese.

Leaving home

The day I left my mom, brother, and sister
December 22nd 2006

Puppy Shiba Inu Sephy.

Today started like any other day but I could sense a certain something in the air. And of course I was right, because it wasn’t long before a strange male and female came to visit. Everyone was making a fuss over them so it was pretty exciting.

They kept wanting to check me out so I strutted my stuff.

After all, I am an exceptional specimen of my breed and really of all dogs.

It wasn’t long before they tried to put a “thing” around my neck. I of course expressed my outrage. How dare they sully my pristine, primitive look!

Finally they got the “thing” on me but it took several of them to tag team me – oh the injustice!

It only went downhill from here because before I knew it I was loaded up into a wierd looking moving den with the strange male and female. Then – everything I knew and loved was left behind.

Shiba Wisdom

Sometimes life just kicks you in the ass. I spit on life!

Puppy Shiba Inu Sephy sleeping on the sofa.

You have probably seen this foxy little dog, walking his little walk around your neighborhood. Or perhaps you saw him at the dog park, strutting his stuff,… or maybe it was at the dog show.

These little foxes are striking. They act like they are on show all of the time, and they stand out wherever they go.

What are they?

Sounds like Sheba Inu, Shibu Inu, Shiba Enu … the one and only Shiba Inu.

Sounds like Sheba Inu, Shibu Inu, Shiba Enu ... the one and only Shiba Inu.

The Shiba Inu – What’s That?!

The Shiba Inu - What's That?!

The Shiba Inu is a Japanese dog breed. There are six original distinct breeds of dog from Japan, and the Shiba Inu is the smallest one.

The largest in the group is the Akita. There aren’t many red and white Akitas in the United States, but the few that I have seen, look just like larger versions of the red Shiba Inu. And not in the Schwarzenegger-DeVito sort of way.

Between the Akita Inu and the Shiba Inu, are the medium sized Japanese dog breeds, including the Shikoku, Kai, Ainu, and Kishu. These six Japanese dog breeds have very similar appearance and temperaments. They all belong to the Spitz dog family.

It's a wild thang!

Shiba Inu – What Does It Mean?

The Kanji or Japanese character for ‘dog‘, can be pronounced as ‘Inu‘ or ‘Ken‘.  Therefore, Shiba Inu simply means Shiba dog. Sometimes, you will also hear the Shiba dog being referred to as Shiba Ken.

The exact interpretation of ‘Shiba‘, is less clear. It could mean ‘red shrub‘, for the red bushes that grow in the region, where Shibas come from. Alternatively, it could also mean ‘small‘.

The Shiba Inu is certainly a cheeky little red shrub, so both interpretations work out well.

Shiba Inu - What Does It Truly Mean?

Shiba Inu of all colors have the same fiery red personality.

Shiba Inu – What Does It Truly Mean?

I know that discussions of red shrubs are truly riveting, but you probably want to move on to what it truly means to be Shiba, am I right?

Well, you know what they say about red-heads and their fiery temper.

The same is also true of the red-headed Shiba Inu. You may think that you can get around this thorny issue, by getting a Shiba of another color, such as the red-sesame, black and tan, or cream colored versions. However, the Shiba God is indeed one step ahead of you.

Shiba Inus of all colors, have the same fiery red personality.

That is why they are also known as –

• The ‘devil dog’,
• The ‘not for everyone dog’, and
• The ‘honey, why the hell did you get this thing?! dog’.

Indeed, the Shiba Inu is not recommended for first time dog owners.

However, figuring I was smarter than everyone else, or mainly because of lack of research, I decided to get a Shiba as my first dog anyway. It was not an easy first dog experience, but after over a year, Shiba Inu Sephy and I reached a somewhat peaceful state of cohabitation.

My little red shrub still has some thorns, but he is growing some beautiful flowers as well.

Shiba Inu Sephy - My cheeky, little red shrub.

Mame Shiba

Standard sized male Shiba Inus tend to range between 20-25 pounds, for an average weight of around 23 pounds. Female Shiba Inus are slightly smaller, and have an average weight of 17 pounds. There are always outliers though.

My male Shiba is a big boy, and comes in at around 30 pounds. He is not an overweight dog, just big-boned.

Recently, some breeders in Japan and the United States have started breeding Mame Shibas, which are essentially smaller sized Shibas. ‘Mame‘ means ‘bean‘ in Japanese, so these are bean-sized Shibas.

Mame Shibas are not recognized by any of the kennel clubs in Japan, or in the United States. As a result, the breeding of Mame Shibas is not regulated, and many of the breeders who sell them, do not breed for health or temperament.

Since the Shiba Inu is already a difficult dog breed to begin with, we want to try and get one that has a balanced temperament. Therefore, it is best to get a Shiba from an accredited club breeder, who has to follow strict breeding guidelines.

Mame Shiba? Nah - just a Shiba Inu puppy.

Jomon Shiba

The Jomon period is the time in Japanese history from around 14,000 B.C. to 400 B.C. The Jomon inhabitants reared hunting dogs that were a big part of their culture.

Archaeological sites have uncovered well-preserved skeletons of the Jomon dogs, which show that they have prick ears and a sickle tail. Scientists believe these dogs to be the ancient ancestors of the Shiba Inu, and the other five original Japanese dog breeds.

Some breeders in Japan have founded the Shibaho association, to breed dogs with physical characteristics that conform to the Jomon dogs of old.

The Jomon Shiba is a more feral looking Shiba, with a narrower head, and larger teeth. True to their even more primitive roots, Jomon Shibas are more stubborn and less obedient, than their domesticated Shiba Inu brothers.

Given the already high level of stubbornness and willfulness in a regular Shiba, it may be best to stay away from these Jomon dogs.

Shiba Inu Sephy looking a lot like his Jomon ancestors in this foxy-shot.

Shiba Inu – Why Not?

Shiba Inu - Why Not?

The Shiba Inu is independent and aloof.

The Shiba Inu is a clown.

The Shiba Inu is a charmer.

The Shiba Inu is one of a kind.

Truthfully, there are many easier and friendlier dog breeds than the Shiba Inu.

The Shiba Inu is independent and aloof. If we want a lap dog who likes to cuddle with us, then the Shiba is not for us.

The Shiba Inu is feisty and active. If we want a calm dog that just lies at the end of our bed, and warms our feet, then the Shiba is not for us.

The Shiba Inu is a dog rebel. If we want an obedient dog that follows our every command, and only lives to please us, then the Shiba is not for us.

Why Do People Get Shiba Inus?

Yeah, they are a bit nuts. Maybe more than a bit nuts. However, once we get beneath that fiery red temper, we will find a rich and deep Shiba soul.

The Shiba Inu is a trickster. He likes to play tricks, and he likes breaking rules. We will never be bored if we live with a Shiba, because he will always be up to something. Sometimes, it is even something good.

The Shiba Inu is a clown. He likes being the center of attention, and he will do much to get to that coveted spot. What he does, will be original, funny, and very entertaining. In fact, Shibas remind me of stand-up comedians. They can easily make others laugh with their crazy hi-jinks, but they have a very sensitive and fragile soul.

The Shiba Inu is a charmer. He can charm birds from the trees, if he wants to. Most of the time, he may not want to, but when he does, look out! It is simply not possible to resist those deep dark eyes, his infectious grin, or roguish charm.

The Shiba Inu is one of a kind. He is not like a regular dog. In fact, many people describe the Shiba as a dog that is more like a cat.

If we want a dog that is a bit different, a dog that will challenge us and grow with us, a dog that will surprise us in both delightful and sometimes non-delightful ways, a trickster, a prankster, and a rogue, but sensitive, deep, and surprising – then the Shiba Inu is the dog for us.

He is like Han Solo and Indiana Jones, except with more fur and without the hat!

The Shiba Inu is like Han Solo and Indiana Jones, except with more fur and without the hat!

Getting a Shiba Inu

Only get a Shiba Inu puppy from an accredited breeder or from a Shiba Inu rescue.

Should we get a Shiba Inu puppy?

That would depend on our temperament, lifestyle, and the amount of time we can devote to a new puppy. The Shiba Inu is a challenging dog breed, because he is extremely stubborn, dominant, and smart.

Shiba Inu training is a must, and it can be a very time consuming and frustrating process, especially in the beginning.

Patience and time are two key ingredients, that we will need in abundance.

Shibas are inside dogs, that need the company of their people. A Shiba puppy that is constantly left in his own company, will become stressed, unhappy, destructive, and aggressive.

If you still want a Shiba Inu after all this – then get a puppy from an accredited breeder, or from a Shiba Inu rescue.

Shiba Inu Sephy fell asleep during a hide-and-seek game.

Shiba Inus can be a challenge to care for, especially as a first dog. I wanted to do my very best for my Shiba Inu puppy but I still made many mistakes.

This is the story of Shiba Inu Sephy and me.

My Shiba Inu Story

Shiba Inu and Alpha Rolls

Because I was new to dogs, and Shiba Inus, I asked my breeder many questions. She recommended that I check out Cesar Millan, The Dog Whisperer for dog obedience training tips.

After 4 days, I took Sephy to the vet and she recommended that I return him because he was mouthy and not well behaved. The vet technician recommended that I check out Cesar Millan, and taught me how to implement alpha rolls.

I had already fallen in love with Sephy and was not about to give up on him so I bought some DVDs of The Dog Whisperer and started to do alpha rolls.

The results were bad. Shiba Inus are a feisty, stubborn, strong-willed breed, and my little Shiba fought every time I did an alpha roll on him. While he would be slightly subdued after an alpha roll, he would quickly go back to chewing everything, running around crazily, knocking things down, jumping on every piece of furniture, mouthing on me and other people, and much more.

Life became very difficult for both Shiba Inu Sephy and me.

A girl and her Shiba Inu.

Training My Shiba Inu

I signed Shiba Inu Sephy up for a puppy class to help with his dog socialization skills.

I signed Sephy up for a SIRIUS puppy class to help with his dog socialization skills and I also got a private trainer who is well-versed in aversive dog training.

After watching The Dog Whisperer, I was under the impression that I could only be pack leader if I showed my Shiba Inu who was boss through more forceful aversive methods.

All aversive methods deliver an unpleasant stimulus to the dog.
Some techniques such as the leash jerk and the electronic collar deliver pain. Saying that such techniques do not deliver pain, and is only used to get a dog’s attention is rubbish.

For such techniques to work effectively, it must deliver the proper level of pain so as to motivate a dog to follow our commands which will ultimately stop the pain. On the other hand, aversive methods may get more consistent and prompt responses, in the short-term, because pain is a strong motivator.

Sephy responded extremely well to my private trainer, Gary. Gary is extremely good with dogs and fearless. My Shiba would act out from time to time and mouth over Gary’s arms but he was able to easily stop this with some leash jerks (using a flat collar).

One time Sephy even placed his jaws on the trainer’s neck while being held, but Gary kept on holding him and had no problems calming Sephy down.

Gary taught me how to train my Shiba Inu using leash jerks or leash corrections. He cautioned me against over correcting and to always try and set Sephy up for success. He also instructed me not to give eye contact during corrections, and whenever possible, to try and redirect the source of corrections away from myself.

Sephy enjoyed his weekly one hour training lessons very much, and always gave Gary many licks. This experience showed me that aversive methods can sometimes work well if implemented by an expert with the right energy.

Gary taught me how to train my Shiba Inu using leash jerks or leash corrections.

Walking with My Shiba Inu

Sephy responded well to my leash jerks initially.

However, when he was extremely excited, for example when meeting other dogs, my jerks would have no effect. Our trainer ultimately recommended that I try out the prong collar and showed me how to fit it and put it on properly.

DO NOT try to slip a prong collar over your dog’s head like you do a choke chain. Refer to Prong Collar Info for proper instructions on how to use a prong collar.

People commonly refer to the prong collar as providing power steering for leash jerks. I.e. the prong amplifies the force of your leash jerks, thereby delivering more pain and a greater aversive stimulus to the dog.

The prong collar was extremely effective initially. I was always worried about hurting my Shiba Inu, so my leash jerks tended to be too soft. With the prong collar, they were just right.

When Shiba Inu Sephy was extremely excited, my leash jerks would have no effect.

My Shiba Inu and His Dog Walker

Shiba Inu Sephy a model citizen?!

Shiba Inu Sephy is King of the World.

At this time, I also enlisted the services of a dog walker/trainer, Betty (not her real name).

Betty also prescribes to the Cesar Millan, physical dominance type training. This suited me well at the time, because Betty did leash jerks and I thought consistency in techniques would be a good thing.

However, the situation started to go down hill from here.

Sephy became extremely sensitive towards handling. He would also constantly challenge Betty, by leash biting, hand biting, and doing alligator rolls (rolling on the ground to resist moving). Sephy also discovered that Betty really dislikes his high-pitched Shiba scream, and would constantly do this to great effect.

Betty did her best in trying to control the situation but her flavor of dog obedience training was clearly not working well. Finally, she wanted to escalate her leash jerks by using a choke chain.

Given the possible dangers of choke chains I decided that they are not an option.

Given the disturbing statistics on choke chains, they are not an option for my Shiba Inu.

I Did Not Choose Wisely

Electronic collars are inappropriate for Shiba Inus and pet dogs in general.

At this point, the leash jerks were also becoming less and less effective for me.

My Shiba was becoming habituated to them.

I was not implementing the leash jerks quickly enough so sometimes they were more like tugs and thus had no effect. I was also over-correcting and my leash jerks did not have enough force even with the prong collar.

To continue with aversive techniques, I would have to escalate the force of my leash jerks or switch to the electronic or shock collar. I was unwilling to go down this extreme path, so I decided to explore all other dog training possibilities.

Shiba Inu Sephy spits on electronic collars, leash jerks, and aversive dog training.

The Right Kind of Shiba Training

I stopped dog walking with Betty and started looking for a new dog trainer.

This time I checked out all types of trainers, rather than just the Cesar Millan, aversive type trainers.

While doing this, I received a fair amount of insults, scolding, and rabid preaching from trainers of the other camp, the reward dog training camp.

I always think it is rather ironic that many of the books and people who support the use of reward training (positive reinforcement training) would resort to aversive methods (insults, rabid preaching) when trying to convince other people of the effectiveness of their positive reinforcement methods.

Luckily, there were several reward dog trainers who practiced what they preached and based on their advice, I got the book Bones Would Rain From the Sky by Suzzane Clothier. After reading a few chapters,

I decided to stop using aversive methods and try using only reward obedience training.

Reward dog training with Shiba Inu Sephy.

Shiba Inu Sephy responds much better to reward based training.

Shiba Inu Sephy is a much happier dog with reward based training.

I would like to say that reward dog training worked like a charm and from then on everybody lived happily ever after.

Reality, of course, is a bit messier. First of all Sephy gets bored easily; with everything, even his food.

For the reward methods to work I had to identify a variety of dog treats that he liked and cycle through them so that he remains motivated throughout the day. I also got a greater variety of toys and used external opportunities, such as meeting other dogs and meeting people, as rewards.

Walking on a loose leash (without the use of leash jerks) was a bit challenging at first, but stopping and sometimes doing a 180 when the leash gets taut works very well.

A happy Shiba Inu Sephy eating his birthday cake.

I am a lot happier with reward obedience training.

Shiba Inu Sephy is responding much better to the reward methods and is more relaxed and happy.

I am a lot happier with reward obedience training.

Frankly, I do not have the temperament for implementing an aversive correction with enough force for my Shiba Inu. I was also losing my dog’s trust because I was over correcting and not protecting him from other people (e.g. dog walker) who were also over correcting him.

Sephy is responding much better to the reward methods and is more relaxed and happy.

Being an adolescent, he still misbehaves occasionally, but a lot less so than when I was using aversive methods, such as leash jerks and alpha rolls.

Shiba Inus are very strong willed and stubborn. A Shiba will almost always respond to an aversive stimulus by fighting back. The greater the stimulus, the more threat he feels, and the more he fights back.

This is not to say that aversive methods will never work on a Shiba Inu. As I discussed before, under the hands of an expert trainer (Gary), Sephy actually responded well to leash jerks. However, I have not seen him respond so with anyone else, even other experienced trainers.

The famous Shiba Inu grin.

What I learned from Shiba Inu Sephy:

• Get information from multiple sources and do not take what one person, even a popular trainer, says as truth. Do your own research and try out the techniques yourself.
• The “best technique” is different for every dog-owner pair. So called “experts” will try to brow beat you into using their favorite techniques by using moral arguments and/or by telling lies. The effectiveness of the different techniques will depend on your training skill (timing, delivery of stimulus), on your temperament, on your dog’s temperament, and on the current level of trust and respect between you and your dog. Be honest and let your own moral compass steer you.
• Start out with reward obedience training. With reward training there is very little risk of losing your dog’s trust. Unlike aversive training, I will not injure my dog physically or mentally if I make training mistakes. I follow the Nothing In Life Is Free (NILIF) program and try to be a fair but strong pack leader through the control of resources.
• Things can go really wrong with aversive methods. Our dog may misbehave more, get destructive or aggressive, lose respect and trust in us, get stressed and break down completely, run away, or get injured. Always get direction from a good professional trainer before trying out pain or dominance based aversive methods.

I love my Shiba Inu!