Shiba Inu is a beautiful dog breed that is intelligent, energetic, and sometimes stubborn. They have dominant personalities that’s why proper training is a must to avoid all the drawbacks of this breed. They proved to be good family pets if treated right. Foxy face dog breed demands some extra care and training than any other dog breed. Some points which Shiba Inu owners should avoid are.
If you are going to adopt a puppy for the first time then this breed will not be good for you. You should have little experience in training and dog caring to handle this breed. Because the breed is a little aggressive it will be difficult to handle for the first-time owner. But if you had owned dogs before and now you are going to adopt a Shiba Inu, we are telling you some important things to avoid. So it will be easy for you and your puppy to adjust to each other.
What to avoid as a puppy owner?
1. Not Socializing Your Shiba Inu Puppy
- If you have a chance to keep your Shiba Inu life peaceful, happy, and satisfied, you have to do it during their development period also called the puppy imprinting period. Once this period passes, it will be more difficult to socialize your puppy. Having a new puppy in the house is delightful and this is the time you realize that now you have more responsibility to keep your puppy happy and healthy.
- Doing all the things for your puppy, cleaning, feeding, and snuggling, some puppy owners fail to make enough time for their training and socializing. Without socializing, your puppy can not be healthy and satisfied.
- Socializing is a must for Shiba Inu. They are a basal breed of dogs and they usually do not possess domestic traits. Shiba Inu mostly exhibit wilder traits. If they are not properly socialized, they may become ill.
- Mostly they become aggressive, depressed, and suffer from anxiety and fear without socialization. Do not take this risk, let them socialize otherwise it will affect your puppy and family for the rest of your life. This may also decrease the quality of your beloved puppy’s life.
- If you do not allow them to socialize, there is a chance they may run away, be lost forever, or get hurt.
2. Tooth and Nail
- If you have avoided the pitfall of not socializing your puppy then hopefully you also included handling in the training.
- Unfortunately, most of the owners do not include handling in the training, and when to include it’s too late. Being able to safely handle your puppy is a critical aspect of both your and your puppy’s long-time health.
- Many of the dogs go through dental disease which is most common in Shiba Inus and has desired consequences from big dental bills and can decrease the lifespan of your dog. Brush their teeth regularly.
- Nails get long and long due to lack of trimming and your puppy’s natural gait is compromised. This may cause spayed paws, pain, and irreversible joint damage. Trim their nails when required.
3. Facilitate Shiba Inu Aggression
- Shiba Inus who are not socialized have more chances to become aggressive and annoying sooner or later. As a puppy owner, it’s your responsibility to do all that stuff your puppy requires before it’s too late and gets out of hand. Do everything to make their behavior good and facilitate them with providing all their necessities.
- To control their aggressive behavior, first set boundaries and rules your puppy complies with. You can not let go of their aggressive behavior because this may cause problems in the long run.
- In controlling their aggressive behavior, the most important thing you should not do is not to reward them for their aggressive behavior. Many owners, respond softly or in a comfortable tone to soothe their puppy’s aggressiveness.
- Instead of tolerating their aggressive behavior, correct them and make your puppy understand that this behavior is not tolerable. If you reward them you are accepting their aggressive behavior.
- If your puppy is aggressive to a dangerous level and now it is not in your hands to handle, contact a dog behaviorist and seek help from them.
4. Letting your puppy get overweight
- Do not let them become biggie. According to the Association for Pet Obesity Prevention (APOP), more than forty-five percent of dogs are over-weighted and obese.
- One or two pounds extra on Shiba Inus are not the same as one or two pounds on humans. Every extra ounce of fat can negatively affect your puppy’s health and fitness so can be hazardous for them.
Consequences of their obesity:
- Breathing difficulties
- Diabetes
- Decrease mobility
- Osteoarthritis
- Low immunity
- Hypertension
- Liver disorder
- Fatty tumors.
- Increased risks of anesthesia complications
- Chubby Shiba Inu is not a cute puppy but, is an unhealthy dog and you are responsible for this. So if you have an overweight or unhealthy puppy, you need to reconsider the feeding regimen.
- Sometimes just reducing the meal sizes will work but mostly you need to change the diet of your puppy that better suits them depending on their life stage.
- Eliminate the treats from their life if you see them becoming bigger. Do not feed them unnecessary calories by giving them routine treats. But if you do, reduce the number of treats.
5. Feeding your puppy low-quality nutrition
- As a responsible pet owner, you should exactly know what you are feeding your puppy. But do you know? If you need a moment to recall the history of your Shiba Inu’s food production. You are doing this wrong.
- For years, multinational companies are making dog food for susceptible owners. If they fulfill all the criteria of good dog nutrition then it’s all we need. Feed your shine in a balanced diet.
- Dog experts recommend feeding your shine in a balanced fresh grade human diet that is slightly cooked or raw. Not all commercial dog food is trustworthy, but there are some brands we can rely on to feed our beloved puppies.
- Do not go for big brands, check the small companies having a proven track record for fresh food, good ethics, and a love for something much more than their profits.
6. Not exercising both body and mind
- Exercise is the main component in keeping your puppy fit, healthy, happy, and in shape. Lack of exercise can cause several problems to them that can cause problems in long run.
- Most overweight puppies can not get enough exercise because of their obesity. Change this slowly and put effort until they are capable of doing exercise normally like other puppies.
- Physical exercise will keep your puppy fit and healthy and make sure to become your puppy active in life.
- With physical exercise, mental stimulation is also a must for Shiba. But many owners do not take this seriously and do not provide their dogs with enough mental stimulation. This may cause problems for them and the puppy.
- According to the research mental stimulation has a big role in improved behavior adaption, reduces stress, and makes the dog-owner bond stronger.
- Mental stimulation is necessary for the breeds like Shiba Inu because they have aggressive behaviors sometimes. So mental stimulation will help to keep them relaxed.
- Just give simple puzzles to your puppy, this will improve your dog’s problem-solving skills.
7. Not enough training
- This breed is not easy to train. These dogs require a lot of time and effort to train.
- Some of their owners give excuses like “they do not listen” or “they are too stubborn to train”. Yes, they can be stubborn but still, it is not an excuse because they are trainable but require some effort. This should be a reason to train your dog so it will be easy for you in the future.
- Obedience training is very important, it will show the healthy bond between you and your dog. This will also help to make sure everyone safe around your dog.
Trained puppies are:
- Less likely to run away.
- Walk easily.
- Get hurt.
- Able to attend to you almost everywhere you go.
- Good with others- dogs, people, and kids.
- Causeless damage.
- Easy to treat at the vet.
- Easy to treat in emergencies.
- Happier and healthier.
- Easy to groom and bath.
- In-short training is a must for your puppy. It is not that easy but requires time, patience, preservation, and proper guidelines.
Conclusion
Shiba Inu is not for those who are going to own a dog for the very first time because they demand little experience with dog pets. This is a beautiful and intelligent dog breed but sometimes they are stubborn and dominant.
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