Question for people who have bred, owned, or trained shiba inus (please don't respond if you knew someone with one or knew someone that had an experience with one..)

I have a Shiba Inu who is 18 months. We got him from a breeder so he is full bred.

My husband was looking around at a couple of different breeders and decided on the one we went with because they have a good reputation and their dogs are beautiful. From the website my husband picked one of the female dogs but then when he went up there he picked the male b/c the females seemed a little high strung.

Our dog is rambuncious but so sweet. We both work full time so he goes out before we leave and then is in his crate all day and then we let him out at night. We usually go for a walk or let him be outside on a short run. On the weekends we try to take him with us to the park or hiking but we have never taken him to a dog park.

He gets a little "wild" sometimes but he will just do a few laps around inside the house and then he is fine. They don't bark which is great.

I ran out of room so I will do another post.

You aren't going to get a lot of answer with such a small block of people.

You will get tons of different answers from different people that have bred Shibas, owned Shibas and trained Shibas. Depending on the kennel and the breeder you will get Shibas that can range from amazing, to Shibas from parents that never should have been allowed to breed.

It all depends on who you talk to and if their best interests are in the breed or in their wallet.

We have 2 children (age 3 and 7) and he is AWESOME with them. he plays with them and they love to throw the ball and he brings it back. My son who is 7 loves to wrestle with the dog and lay on him and NEVER has our dog ever shown his teeth or growled or anything at him.

he is like a "big" lap dog. he loves to cuddle up on the couch with us.

He was pretty easy to train as well. For the first few nights we took him out a lot but then he got used to going to the door and scratching. Now at 18 months he will just wait by the door until we notice him or he will come up and stand in front of us and just give this little tiny bark.

They really seem to be a great breed and we love our pup :-)

Kelly916,

he might be wild because he's in his crate all day long. Dogs shouldnt be crated all the time. Do you have a neighbour, or a family friend you trust to come and let the dog out for some exercise in the afternoon? Any dog who is crated that long will be crazy. A shiba, who was originally bred to be a hunting dog, needs more than a few hours in the backyard, or a short walk because his owner's are tired.

You can not crate a hunting dog, or any dog, for more than a few hours. Eventually the dog will go stir crazy...which in a hunting breed, is not a good idea.

From my experience with both breeds,

The Shiba is independent minded. Most do not come back to their owners when called. They are notorious for running away. They are high energy and active. Affection and loyalty are not their strong suits. They learn obedience quickly, but getting them to be reliable with is challenging. They don't do well with play retrieves. They are motivated by food and prey. I don't recommend them with small children and I find them in the "more likely to react/bite" category and very mouthy as pups. They are often very reactive around other unfamiliar dogs, but often do get along with dogs in the household.They are very cute and do not demand much attention, which some people appreciate.

The Native Indian dog is not a good choice. The few I met were ill tempered and very difficult to handle. One was a rescue though. There is a lot of controversy surrounding this breed. I would avoid this one.