Raising your Shiba

The Shiba is a majestic and proud dog which has very high thoughts about itself and it's worth, and with a self-assurance which goes way beyond it's small size, it feels as the absolute center of the world.

As new Shiba owner, it's now your job to convince your dog that there, after all, are other living creatures, which are both larger and stronger than it.

The breed's inborn chief instinct does that it's very important, in a very early age to tell it who's the leader of the pack. The pup must be raised with a firm voice that is that it won't help to say to the pup in a soft voice "please don't do that"! At short and firm "NO" is all the pup needs to know when it has done something wrong.

You must appear authoritative and calm to the pup to gain it's respect and this is very important, because as the pup sees it, then the family with who it lives together with, it's "pack". It's natural for the pup to try to gain a higher position in the pack, and that could be shown in different ways, but generally you can say that it is trying to see how far it can go. That can be seen in that it i.e. suddenly tries to jump up in bed even though it knows that it's not allowed doing that. If the pup won't be corrected, it will see it as a little victory and will suddenly feel like it's worth a lot more than one who's in the bottom of the hierarchy. Here you must be consistent and not give after for the pup's sudden ideas.

Praise, acknowledgment and learning are just as important for the pups raising, as reprimands. The pup must feel it's loved, safe and welcome. The Shiba is a proud breed who very reluctantly will loose its dignity and that you must respect. In your daily handling with the pup you must not tease and embarrass it.

The Shiba is very devoted to its family but not to risk that its love to its family will shut out all others it's very important that you engage in the pups socializing. As more people the pup meets, as more different environments it experiences the more social and obliging it will be.

Provided that the Shiba has been raised in the right way and has had positive experiences with children, it will work out OK between these.

The Shiba is a dominant breed and not always as friendly to other dogs, especially not if it's dogs as the same sex as it self, therefore it's important to teach the pup to associate other dogs in an early age. Here puppy training will be a great help because it will meet other puppies at it's own age.

The Shibas natural beauty only demands very little grooming to be presentable. The only problem you can have with trimming the pup, is nail cutting, which is necessary to keep the paws nice. It's not always that the Shiba will agree in that it's necessary to have the nails cutted. Some Shibas are absolute convinced that they under the nail cutting are about to have their paws amputated and they will act like it's about to happen. Some Shibas can even start screaming VERY loud to try to avoid having their nails cutted, therefore it's VERY important to accustom it to this treatment already from the pup stage. You must take the time to lift it on a table and fiddle with it a couple of minutes every day.

When you then have raised your Shiba in a good way, you can look forward to many funny and happy years with this wonderful breed, which gives you a lot more than it demands of you.