Shiba Inu. The 'Little Brushwood Dog'
The Shiba Inu is an ancient Japanese breed which has a reputation as a strong willed hunting dog. It’s original breeding was for flushing small game so is a dog with a high intelligence and this needs to be considered when buying a Shiba Inu as a pet and the subsequent training.
If you do not have the mental fortitude to establish yourself in the ‘Alpha’ role, this breed has the capacity to dominate the house. Yes they are a loyal, loving companion, excellent with children and relatively low maintenance, but their intelligence demands exercising and challenging.
Being a smallish dog, they are well suitable for appartment living, but never consider them as a dog not requiring exercise. Being originally bred for hunting, they require a considerable amout of exercise, preferrably off leash, but if not well trained, once running free they will be off into the way beyond and only return when they want to.
Training and socialisation must be started early, and if in a family environment, a clear understanding of the single word commands must be established and adhered to by all, otherwise the Shibu will walk all over you. One command, one action and as with any working dog, singel word clarity is the only way to succeed.
The principals are simple; Sit, Stay, Come, Free and so on. ‘Come’ in particular can enhanced by a visual signal such as arms high, directly upward, which offers a visual recognition over a long distance. I use this with my Border Collie cross and it works well. All I have to do is call his name, “Come” and raise my arms and he will return from a long way off.
The Shibu is a awesome dog, free from health problems and very loyal, so don’t let this put you off, just make sure you train correctly and consistently from an early age and establish yourself in the “Alpha” role from the beginning.
An excellent way of training a Shibu and many other dogs is by using a clicker to acknowledge a correct response from the dog, the dogs treat it like a game and they learn very quickly, so if you want to give this a try, check out the Clicker Training manual.
