Shiba Inu Forum:
Nipping Shiba

Max is a smart, feisty and playful dog. However, he ranks members of my family! He will playfully nip when disturbed and chase my daughters away when he is eating something good. Obviously I know they are dominant dogs & dog training was a waste. Is this the norm for this breed? Also, I feed him human food (beef, chicken...) Is this OK? Max is 15 months.

I have a shiba who has also had the same problem, she doesn't like children. You need to make sure that Max knows where he ranks umong the "pack". Also, a little bit of extra meat is okay but be careful not to throw his immune system out of wack. Hope I was a little bit of help..

Here's a little more information on breed that might answer some of your questions on how to deal with Shibas and kids: http://bravewolf.stormpages.com/shibainu.html

Here is a site that has a section dealing with both nipping and possession aggression http://www3.sympatico.ca/shiba.inu/Train.htm

I have a 6 1/2 month old male shiba inu puppy and he will constantly nip at my parents and I . he will rip things up like a rug or he will bite me and he has left a few scars on my hands and arms

The thing to remember in all cases is that eventhough they are shibas, and have a different personality - biting is not appropriate. My pup nipped me once when I went to pick him up and that was the last time he evr tried it. I gave him a light spanking and made sure he knew it was not allowed. Has not tried it since. Again a snack here and there is fine, but is not a substitute for a good dog food.