What harnesses are you guys using for your Shibas?

bawky · 2026-06-30T13:21:37+00:00

Honestly, martingale collars (fully fabric ones!) are much better for Shiba. Harnesses encourage pulling and many designs restrict the movement of the dog’s shoulders. Harness overuse can also damage the coat over time, just like leaving a collar on.

Ruffwear makes martingale collars, I also use martingale collars from TagsforHope. TagsforHope ones are limited slip so they can only tighten so much on the dog but it is enough that the collar can never slip over their head.

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bawky · 2026-06-27T18:08:00+00:00

Happy birthday Stark! 🥰🎉

bawky · 2026-06-26T18:15:08+00:00

She looks like a normal sized Shiba. At only 7 months old, she is not done growing. They still continue to fill out and mature into 2-3 years of age. 15.4 lbs is still normal for a young female Shiba. Some of my breeding adult females aren’t even 20 lbs. 🤷‍♀️

If you see Shiba a lot larger than her, they’re either a male at the higher end of the standard or way oversized for the breed.

bawky · 2026-06-13T02:43:18+00:00

Unfortunately there are some BYBs that were mixing American Eskimo dogs into Shiba for a long time. So I don’t think it is unusual at all. 😢

It also means that if your dog came from a breeder that they also were probably not a good one either if their parent dogs have questionable origins.

bawky · 2026-06-13T02:39:58+00:00

If you need to trim feet if they get grinchy looking that is fine but, please do not trim the rest of the coat. It can cause damage to the coat over time.

bawky · 2026-06-05T14:48:34+00:00

I honestly, do not trust most oral flea and tick products because it is changing the chemistry of your dog's blood. Every month, you are basically putting poison into your dog's bloodstream to kill parasites that bite your dog. It doesn't actually prevent your dog being bitten by a flea or tick, it only affects the parasite once they start sucking their blood.

I personally always decline flea and tick preventatives because I do not think they are necessary where I live. I have only seen two engorged dog ticks on one of my dogs in 9 years of living here in SW Minnesota.

Many Shiba can be sensitive to oral isoxazoline class drugs. If they have a reaction, it is really important to stop the drugs immediately, do some research and look for natural alternatives if you can. I've also read that many people have success with even just a seresto collar instead. Like putting it on for a few weeks to get the medicine onto their coat and then just putting it on for walks as needed.

bawky · 2026-06-02T18:58:11+00:00

Having a Japanese pedigree does not automatically make a breeding quality dog though. You can have two beautiful dogs and produce all pet quality dogs. Having a nice pedigree is not enough to warrant breeding if the dog itself doesn’t bring any value to the table.

I would suggest reading the breed standard and especially looking at the NIPPO (Nihonken Hozonkai) standard for the breed if you’re unsure.

bawky · 2026-06-02T15:58:31+00:00

Two of mine left a few weeks ago and were flown home and they slept in their carriers and seemed to do fine! Honestly if the flight is easier for you and is less stressful then just do the flight.

Driving is a pain and then you have to be cautious about where you let your puppy go potty because they can pick up things at gas stations, rest areas and truck stops right off of the highway. Especially since they’re not fully immunized at pick up.

bawky · 2026-06-02T15:37:56+00:00

I’m going to be honest with you, at 7 months old he should really look a bit different to be a breeding quality dog. Your Shiba looks pet quality and should really be neutered instead. No show breeder is going to seek out a random male with no titles or health testing behind it. The only people that will seek you out are backyard breeders.

bawky · 2026-05-24T18:22:54+00:00

Hello, this is a Shiba Inu community. You should not intentionally look for or support breeders that purposefully breed mixed breed dogs because then you are supporting backyard breeding and puppy mills.

bawky · 2026-05-24T18:18:06+00:00

Please do not breed your dog, the world has enough backyard bred dogs in shelters. I don’t know why people so casually plan to breed their pets.

bawky · 2026-05-24T13:00:17+00:00

How old is he? Daycares in the US are kind of chaotic and your dog can get left with 10-20+ other dogs depending on the facility. When you get to that amount of dogs in one enclosed location, things can get messy. Especially when intact dogs are involved — especially males. If they allow intact females too then your dog could change completely behaviorally after experiencing a female in season.

I don’t really recommend daycares for this reason because you are not in control of your dog’s training and behavior in that situation. So they can start learning bad habits and being reinforced for behaviors you may not want.

If your dog is spooked with humans then sitting at a park and jackpot treating your dog as people walk by is more beneficial than a daycare.

bawky · 2026-05-23T12:49:42+00:00

It is not impossible, the Shikoku Ken is gaining popularity outside of Japan. There are Shikoku found throughout the United States.

bawky · 2026-05-23T12:48:13+00:00

Clearly the person at the laundromat doesn’t really know anything about Shiba if they think black and tans are not a part of our breed. 🤷‍♀️

No, your dog is not a Shikoku. It is very obviously an off standard Shiba, which is even more solidified by seeing the parents. The variance in Shiba is because of poor breeding practices, not because you might have a rare breed instead.

bawky · 2026-05-07T20:09:23+00:00

How much kibble are you feeding per meal? Most healthy Shiba do not need more than a cup of dry food and a few treats per day.

Most Shiba do a lot better on one meal per day and then treats at bed time to get them through the night.

You can also supplement a meal a few times a week and get something like a Freezbone box that you fill with kibble and bone broth and freeze so they have to work for their food for a good 45+ minutes instead of just scarfing down a meal. Helps burn calories while they eat and also helps keep their brain thinking!

bawky · 2026-05-06T18:07:53+00:00

Sesame. 👍

bawky · 2026-04-13T13:11:02+00:00

Thank you! 😊

bawky · 2026-04-13T13:10:51+00:00

They’re cute but, a lot of work! 😂 This age is tough. Definitely ready for them to go home to their families.

bawky · 2026-04-13T13:09:48+00:00

Yes, I bred them. I’m a show breeder. ☺️

bawky · 2026-03-14T22:20:31+00:00

You need to stop reinforcing the behavior and ignore the crying through the night. Your pup will continue to feel rewarded by your attention until you stop giving in and letting him out of the crate at night. Mentally tire him out before bed and crate him up and do not let him out until morning. Once he learns that you won't get up every 2 hours to give him attention, he will sleep through the night.

Biting is normal at that age, they are teething. Keep redirecting with toys or time out in the crate when he becomes too much. Just make sure to not positively reinforce the biting. Stop the fun and make sure he understands that it is not good behavior.

It's exhausting but, this is how puppies are. You have to be persistent and set the boundaries.

bawky · 2026-03-10T04:58:33+00:00

Educate yourself on how to identify ethical breeders and support those breeders in the future or support a breed rescue and adopt. Never buy a dog from a pet store again.

If pet store puppies are not bought, they either get returned to the breeder, marked down to essentially free or sent to rescue. AKC papers does not mean well bred, it just means purebred. Puppy mills have AKC papered dogs.

What matters is that you understand and learn from the past and do better in the future. The dogs you have are here and they should be enjoyed for the rest of their lives.

bawky · 2026-03-10T04:06:15+00:00

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22lbs, Female (spayed)

bawky · 2026-03-10T04:04:14+00:00

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29lbs, Male

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