I have read some about the shiba inu, but primarily, this will be about my experience with the breed, which is limited to Akira. In general, shiba inu's are somewhat cat like. They will groom theirselves, they like to hunt, they like fish, and they'll even arch their backs to stretch. Shiba's personality is somewhat cat-like, as well, being more independent in nature. Akira likes hanging out with me, but he doesn't need to be on top of me all of the time, smothered with attention. He likes attention, but when he wants it. Shiba's are still very loving. Mine licks me all over and we like to lay together on the floor for napping. I would put my arm around him, and he put his arm around me! Then one time he stroked my face with his paw, and sometimes he will lick me. His favorite place to lick, I think, is in my ear which really tickles.
Shibas are stubborn, but I like to say they are just "spirited." The kanji character for shiba ken actually denotates this. Shibas are very intelligent, and somewhat ornery, but have a tendency to get away with it because they are so darn cute.
In appearance shibas resemble a small fox with a curled tail. They're coats can be red, red sesame, cream, black and cream, black and tan, black sesame, and some variations on these, including pinto. They are medium sized dogs with the females weighing around 20 pounds, and the male 25-30 pounds. Akira is 32 pounds, so there is some deviation from the mean.
The Shiba Inu, or Shiba Ken as the Japanese call them, originate in Japan. A long time ago they were used to hunt animals including boar and deer. It is said that a man went in the woods with a shiba for a month and came out with 25 deer. Now they primarily live in pet and/or show homes. |
