One of the six main Japanese dog breeds, the Shiba Inu is the smallest of the breeds. As an ancient Japanese breed, this is often reflected in Shiba Inu behaviour, with the dog displaying great intelligence and independence.
The Shiba Inu was initially bred for hunting on rugged terrain, such as mountainsides. Their intelligence and independent behaviour was ideal for this environment, however as the Shiba Inu is now a popular family dog, these characteristics sometimes need fine-tuning. For example, whilst independence in dogs can be a sought after characteristic, it can also make the dog somewhat stubborn, refusing to carry out any task they do not wish to do. Therefore toilet training can often taken longer than anticipated.
The Shiba Inu's independence can also be seen in their reluctance to be groomed. Similarly to cats, a Shiba Inu will take long periods of time to clean themselves and will, where possible, not purposely dirty any part of their coat. Whilst this reduces the need for regular grooming, as with all dogs, some form of grooming is required and the Shiba Inu's independence characteristic may, similar to toilet training, make this a more difficult task than first deemed.
Whilst Shiba Inus can appear to be stubborn and disobedient, if cared for properly, including handling and socialising from a young age, they make fantastic pets for any household.
