Cute dog, what is it?

If you have a shiba inu, chances are you've been asked; "Cute dog, what is it?".  Depending on the kind of day you've had you may have a variety of responses at the tip of your tongue.  We have created this blog to help current and prospective shiba owners learn more about the breed, understand challenges, share the laughs, and seek the support that we as individuals owned by shibas often need!

Personally, I have two shibas.  I love those dogs to peices- but if I would have known my days of being able to leave my house and take a walk around the block without being interrupted to answer many questions about my dogs ("Is it a puppy? Is it a fox? Is that as big as it gets?") were at an immediate end I may have reconsidered and gotten a lab.  Just kidding...kind of.

So what are they? 

They are the best of dogs, they are the worst of dogs.  Shiba's have gotten alot of attention for their "perfect size", adorable looks, and for allegedly being a dog of the non-barking variety (a memo that both of my dogs missed).  They are accurately described as aloof or "cat-like" in nature and are very independent, but as much as they may act like they want nothing to do with you I believe that most shibas want nothing more than to be a beloved member of a family so long as it is on their their terms.  They are greedy (think of a kid who licks every cookie so no one else can eat them) and intelligent almost to a fault.  If you are looking for a dog you can walk off-leash, who is always looking for attention and affection, will always come when called, and will immediately love all new dogs they meet, then a shiba may not be the right dog for you.  However, if you are looking for a dog who will teach you a thing or two about humility, outsmart you, and who will make you laugh and love so hard it hurts, then you might be OK.  Shiba's are not for the weak of heart, and if there is anything I've learned its that you have to have a great sense of humor and an abundance of patience to be able to have the pleasure of co-existing with this breed.  If you can master the balance of crazy that comes along with them you will find yourself with a wonderful companion.  I give both of my dogs a pretty hard time, but the fact of the matter is that even though they have an amazing ability to make me nuts, I love them and they are a pretty key part of our family.  I am willing to take the good with the bad, and wouldn't have it any other way.

Chances are if you are reading this post it's because you are familiar with our organization. But if you aren't - I am going to take this opportunity to introduce ourselves to you.

Midwest Shiba Inu Rescue (MSIR) is a volunteer based, non-profit organization dedicated to helping displaced shiba inu dogs find loving forever homes. We assist shiba inu's in the midwest area (MN, WI, MI, KS, MO, IA, NE and IL). We are dependent on volunteers and donations to be able to carry out our mission and to give opportunities to shibas to be successful in their new homes.  Our rescue shibas come to us from a variety of places including commercial breeders, shelters, and owner surrenders. We operate under the belief that there is the right family for every dog and work carefully to screen our shibas and potential rescue homes so that we can place our shibas in the right forever home for them. More information on MSIR can be found at www.shibarescue.org.

Thankfully, the nature of shibas leaves them open for endless discussions and we are looking forward to having much more to share!  Welcome to our blog and thank you for reading!

Save a shiba!