Shiba Inu Dogs

[PetraRiedel]

Do you own one? Do you know one?
Husband and I are throwing around the idea of maybe getting a dog. It’s all very preliminary at this point.
We both like the looks and size of Shiba Inus. However, I have never owned a dog in my life, always been a catperson. Husband had collies when he was growing up.
From the description of the breed I gather that Shiba Inus are a bit "special’ almost catlike, very intelligent, clean and athletic. Health problems seem to be uncommon…they cannot be trusted off leash? They do have some dog agression?

Anyone want to share their experiences with this breed?

[equisusan]

Doesn’t sound like a good choice for you. Why not a Collie? They are lovely dogs.

[Anne_FS]

Could you please move this to The Menagerie?

[Janet]

I do not think a Shiba Inu is a good choice for a first dog.

I agree that you will get many more knowledgable answers on the Menagerie forum.

We had, and loved, a Jindo which is a similar (Korean rather than Japanese) breed.

We fostered Lisa for the No Va SPCA.

She was adopted out to a very nice, but not dog-experienced, family. Within a few weeks, she was convinced that the wife needed to be protected form the husband (and it was the husband who wanted a dog) and would not let him close to her.

She was returned, and we fostered her again. It took her MONTHS to like Tim, but, because we were experienced dealing with sometimes difficult dogs, we were able to avoid the “protection” phase. (It was not just that she did not like men, because she loved my father from the first time she met him).

She became very attached to both of us, and we adopted her. but we always had to be very “aware” with new people or animals.

[GotGait]

I have two. I call them “advanced dogs” and they will try your patience. They are extremely smart and very hard headed - not a great combo. They take a lot of consistent positive training and you still can never let them loose. “Come” is a four letter word to them. They also know exactly how far to stay just out of grabbing distance if they get away.
Still, I love my fuzzy foxes. Mine are super snuggly and friendly and cute as can be. One does not like other dogs coming near him, the other likes to play.

They are very catlike and clean BUT…
they shed dump trucks of fur.

[todaysspecial]

Here, read this:

http://jezebel.com/for-the-love-of-doge-please-do-not-get-a-shiba-inu-1498277699

[JanM]

The Finnish Spitz seems very similar, but the few I’ve met seemed very friendly. They look fairly similar, and maybe an easier temperament for you.

[Marshfield]

I haven’t met many, but the ones I have met would be nicely described as “challenging” They’re not starter dogs.

[kewpalace]

I had a Shiba for 12 years - got him as a 2 yo from a rescue when his original owners turned him in because he was food aggressive and they had a young child. My gain. He was my 1st Shiba (definitely not my first dog) and he was a challenge, but after we got used to each other he was a cuddler, a clown and made me laugh every day. He was my “heart” dog and I miss him every day.

My Shiba was food aggressive with people he did not know; I had to warn people NOT to feed him - but you think they listen? He did NOT like strangers getting in his face (and being such a cutie, people always wanted to). He did NOT like my cats although he learned to tolerate them (all the while growling under his breath, LOL). He was rarely off leash in open areas. He was OK with other dogs; he actually just ignored them unless they tried to get in his face. He was hard to have treated at the vet as he didn’t like strangers hanldling him. He had surgery one time and the vet tech called me and said he wouldn’t them them get the bandaid from the IV off his leg. :lol: I said that was fine, I’d do it. He was a great dog. But
I would not recommend them for a first dog.

This site The Misantrhopic Shiba provides a good tongue-in-cheek description of owining a Shiba. While in a humorous tone, take to heart what they say.

Oh, yea, what GotGait said - they definitely BLOW tons of their coat when they shed - there is hair EVERYWHERE for quite a while. Even with daily brushing the hair keeps coming …

[gingerlynn]

[QUOTE=PetraRiedel;7384865]
Do you own one? Do you know one?
Husband and I are throwing around the idea of maybe getting a dog. It’s all very preliminary at this point.
We both like the looks and size of Shiba Inus. However, I have never owned a dog in my life, always been a catperson. Husband had collies when he was growing up.
From the description of the breed I gather that Shiba Inus are a bit "special’ almost catlike, very intelligent, clean and athletic. Health problems seem to be uncommon…they cannot be trusted off leash? They do have some dog agression?

Anyone want to share their experiences with this breed?[/QUOTE]

Wouldn’t suggest them either. They are healthy, but, they take off if not leashed and just are somewhat difficult to train and own.

[rockonxox]

I love Shiba Inu’s. I don’t really buy into the “you should never have this as your first dog” because every dog is different and my first few dogs were of the “don’t do it” category. They were absolutely fine. I haven’t ever had the same breed of dog before and right now have 3 very different types (one is intelligent but very cooperative with training, one is a spazzy part terrier that frustrated the heck out of me during training, and one is a breed that some consider aggressive but he is the biggest cuddle buddy and a very slow learner).

I have never owned a Shiba but there are a ton that go to the dog park that I frequent and I had quite a few come into the doggie daycare I worked at. They are very independent to the point of being stubborn. Any dog with those traits is going to be difficult with training. They aren’t the most social and can be standoffish with other dogs that don’t live with them, but I’ve never seen them be aggressive.

If you do go with a Shiba it would be worthwhile to look into some puppy training classes (either private or through a place like Petsmart).

[joiedevie99]

My sister had a Shiba. She was a beautiful black cat in a dog’s body. She lived her entire life on her own terms - never learned any command reliably. She would tolerate being petted for a while, then randomly act annoyed and leave. She wouldn’t touch toys, and never attempted to fetch a ball.

[Flurry84]

With so many breeds who have been fantastic family companions through many years, why don’t you select a known entity who will give you great joy from the beginning. All you would need to do is some basic training and then enjoy your new best friend. Friendly, reliable temperament makes first-time dog owners not only want to keep their dogs for a lifetime, but also to want to add another and perhaps another. It is a win/win situation. (Coming from someone who has easy and difficult temperaments and has shown in breed and worked several in agility through the years)

[MunchingonHay]

Shiba’s ‘job’ way back when was to get bears out of caves where the Akita was waiting to kill the bear.

They are cute, fun, dogs but not a beginner dog. (I worked for a breeder in PA many moons ago).

If you want something that size (small to medium) I would look into King Charles Cav., corgis, perhaps spaniels and mutts.

[Finding_Serenity]

Our 1.5yo pup is a Shiba/GSD mix as far as we can tell. Her prey drive for rabbits is through the roof… thankfully its only them and not all wildlife.

She is extremely intelligent, food driven, and loves other dogs/kids (she was socialized from day one at the in-home rescue she was at). She does her commands for treats though recall is … 50/50 at best. She will come in halfway, and then go sideways or will come the whole way in but then runs back out before you can grab her/give treat, she talks back when she doesn’t like us telling her no, and very clean (housebreaking her was almost instantaneous). She’s quite the personality, and extremely tolerant and relaxed but has a lot of energy.

She does shed… especially now that her puppy coat is in full swing of blowing out along with her undercoat. She goes through phases where she wants to snuggle and never let you out of her sight and EVERYONE has to be in the same room as her, and others where she ignores you and as soon as you touch her she walks away with her nose in the air.

They truely are designated as not beginner owner friendly due to the intelligence, stubborness, disreguard for commands (especially recall) if they don’t feel like doing it and will take advantage of inconsistency and lack of “command” from their owners… I honestly equate her personalty to my Appaloosa boy… they’re practically the same when it comes to training…

[yankeeclipper]

I agree with others. They are not a good first time dog. My neighbor has one. She had no idea how to train and with limited funds didn’t get much. The dog although sweet, has fear issues which contributes to walking horribly on a leash, very stubborn and barks at the drop of a hat.

[LexInVA]

I love my Shiba! He’s a little stubborn but I wouldn’t trade him for any other dog.

[GotGait]

I’m with you Lex, although mine started tag teaming me at 4:30 this morning - wanna eat eat eat! They are master manipulators. It’s a good thing they are so cute.

[Miss-O]

I only have experience with one Shiba. We got him 9 years ago and he’s still trucking along just fine. He’s a good little dog but I will never again have a Shiba.

He’s pretty much everything your traditional thoughts of a ‘dog’(faithful, protective, loving and all that jazz) are NOT. He’s more like having a wild animal who’s been tamed living in our house. He is HIGHLY intelligent but won’t do something if it’s not his idea. He’s well behaved in the house but NOT outside. Despite years of training he CAN NOT be trusted off leash. He really is an outside dog and prefers to be outside on his tie out then in the house with us. He doesn’t enjoy being cooped up in the house and after so much time of being indoors, with walks in between of course, he will use ANY excuse possible to escape. He has a HIGH prey drive like a hunting dog, but will do all the hunting on his own accord not as a hunting partner. He is also dog aggressive despite lots of socialization.

When he was a puppy he was terribly skittish, not of us but of everything else in the world. He had major problems with loosing control of his bowels when scared. We struggled with socializing and training but it didn’t do much. One day when he was about 3 or so I took him to petsmart. He had been making progress with the skittish stuff and we went during off hours so it was nice and quiet. We were walking from the front doors to the back and I was so proud because he was walking right along side of me for once. Once I got to the back of the HUGE store I turned around and noticed a fairly constant stream of pee and poo from the front doors to where we stood. Talk about embarrassing.

At the age of 9 he’s gotten a little better and more loving towards us but it’s been a long haul. It was shortly after the Petsmart incident that I realized I was trying to make him into a dog he simply is not and that I should just stop the socializing and training. Things got a lot better after that.

Long story short…if your interested in a Shiba, get a cat instead. They have the same attitude and the added bonus of going in a littler box.

[Foxtrot_s]

The one up the road is a thick, stubborn, aloof, though not unfriendly, thing.
Does not seem to have the qualities of man’s best friend that we all would like in our companions.