Why Are Shiba Inus So Stubborn? (Explained)

If you’re a proud Shiba owner, no wonder you’re aware of how stubborn your Shiba can get at times. But if you’re a newbie dog parent and thinking of adopting a Shiba, you must give it a second thought. Training a Shiba Inu can be a hell of a struggle for the first-timers.

Why are Shiba Inus so stubborn?

Shiba Inus are among one the most stubborn dog breeds due to their traits and personality. The actual breeding purpose of Shiba was to hunt small games. Hence, they’re independent-thinkers, intelligent, cunning, and take their own decisions which contribute to making them stubborn naturally.

Are Shiba Inus stubborn?

Shiba Inus have a reputation of being quite stubborn since they’re highly intelligent, bold, confident, and often have their ideas about different things.

Shiba Inus tend to respond negatively towards aversive training techniques. Hence, they will eventually develop destructive behavior and get more stubborn. Your Shiba will fight back the moment he feels threatened.

As a result, the more he engages himself in fighting back, the more he’ll get used to fighting and normalizing it as his usual behavior.

A Shiba Inu is a strong-willed dog and stays focused on a subject until it is accomplished. He becomes focused to such an extent that he becomes obsessed with it regardless of him involved in a conflict.

With this singular state of mind, it becomes quite difficult to distract him. He will never give up no matter how hopeless the situation looks. It hurts his Shiba pride to accept a defeat.

Consequently, it is earnestly important to properly train your Shiba from a young age. The training session should not involve any challenge or fight.

Are all Shiba Inus stubborn?

Primarily, Shiba Inus were bred to hunt small games and hunting traits allow your dog to think independently making him strong-willed and a stubborn dog. Consequently, aversive training methods won’t do any good to your pup.

Shibas have earned quite a reputation of being stubborn which is true of course. To make your pup obedient, you have to train him from a very young age. Passive training methods work efficiently for your Shiba.

However, all Shiba Inus are not equally stubborn. The amount of stubbornness may vary. But it is most likely for your Shiba to be stubborn since it is one of their personality traits.

Your stubborn Shiba will fight back to punishment training methods eventually developing destructive behavior. And it might become difficult to tame his stubbornness later.

Hence, you might want to start with passive training methods from a very young age considering all Shibas can be somewhat stubborn.

Five reasons why Shiba Inus are stubborn –

Strong-will personality:

Shiba Inus bear a very strong, confident, and bold personality and often have their ideas about things. Hence, they’re most likely to follow their hearts and think independently which sometimes makes it difficult for them to follow their Master’s orders.

So you have to train a Shiba while maintaining his preference and liking.

Never gives up:

Shiba Inus are not afraid of anything and are willing to push boundaries if they’re obsessed with anything. Even if it’s harmful and puts them in a conflict.

Their persistent personality and stubbornness make them ready to endure all the pain – not eating, not walking, losing freedom all for the sake of Shiba Honor. Hence, punishment is not even an option for Shiba.

Rebellious at nature:

Shiba Inus being independent, brave, and aloof has the heart of a rebel and enjoys a fair bit of human attention – not necessarily positive attention. If you forbid him to do something, he’ll try and sneak in as soon as you turn your back just like a rebel teenager.

Cat like personality:

Your Shiba will want a lot of attention from you and pampering from you but will do whatever he wants to do for a certain time just like a cat.

He doesn’t like to be distracted and dominated when he’s seeking attention. A Shiba Inu can be needy at times taking your advantage and your love may spoil him to some extent.

High prey drive:

Initially, Shiba Inus were bred to hunt small games. They bear a high chase drive and immediately go after his target. Hence, it is most likely not to pay attention to you when he’s chasing games.

Along with hunting traits, they’re independent thinkers and love to make their own decisions.

How do you deal with a Shiba Inu stubbornness?

Four ways to deal with a Shiba Inu stubbornness-

Positive reinforcements:

When your Shiba is being a stubborn brat, try dealing with positive reinforcements. Your dog won’t listen to you if you’re being aggressive. It will only make the situation worse. Rather, make him listen to you saying words like ‘STOP’ and ‘QUIET’.

Never use physical punishment:

A Shiba never responds positively towards aversive attitude. Instead, he’ll fight back and become more violent.

Such an incident will make it normal for your pooch to often be involved in destructive behavior even if it puts him in conflict. Hence, you have to deal with him calmly.

Train him to obey verbal commands:

You’ll need your pup to listen to you when he’s being stubborn and aggressive. So he must obey your command.

You need to train him to listen to your commands while he’s still a puppy. Only then, you can make him stop using commands like, ‘STOP’ when he’s throwing tantrums at you.

Reward with treats:

Give your pooch praise and treat every time he listens to you and stops his tantrums. Receiving your appreciation and treats will only encourage him to be more obedient towards you in the future.

How to discipline a Shiba Inu?

3 ways to discipline a Shiba Inu-

Use passive training method:

You cannot use physical punishment while disciplining a Shiba, so you have to go with passive resistance.

Shibas tend to be very needy and enjoy human attention. Give him the attention he needs but for a legit cause to make him listen to you. Too much attention will spoil him.

Avoid hitting your dog:

Always remember not to punish your furry friend physically. It might result in developing destructive behavior. Hitting and spanking will only build the tendency to fight back and run away. The worst scenario could be, it would ruin the relationship with your pooch for good.

Establish you’re in charge:

Ensure to establish that you’re the alpha and you’re in charge so that he becomes obedient to you. Spend as much time as possible training your Shiba at his early age. It is not a cup of tea to train a Shiba, a reason why they’re not recommended for first-time dog owners.

Are Shiba Inus really that difficult?

You cannot ignore the fact that Shiba Inus can be difficult and give a hard time to the dog owners. Their cute, adorable, and snugly appearance is enough to woo you and make you want to adopt them any day. But you cannot, however, overlook the difficulties.

Along with Shiba’s cuteness, you also bring his bold, confident, and stubborn personality to your home.

If you do not train him to be an obedient dog since his puppyhood, be ready to get a lot of tantrums and attitudes in his adulthood. Moreover, training a Shiba puppy can also be challenging at times.

On top of that, a Shiba needs a lot of attention. You have to constantly love and pamper him when he’s in the mood. But a Shiba also loves his freedom and you have to give him his space.

Why is my Shiba Inu so aggressive?

A Shiba Inu is not born aggressive, but he holds a strong-willed, brave, and stubborn personality which might later trigger him to get aggressive if not trained properly.

A lot of things might trigger your Shiba to get aggressive, like territorial issues, over possessiveness for his belongings, protective of you, anxiety, and high prey drive. But things will not turn so worse if you train him properly from an early age.

Treating your pooch’s aggressiveness with physical punishments will develop destructive behavior, which can ruin the environment of your house. Hence, you must never use aversive training methods even if he’s being aggressive and disobedient.

Can Shiba Inus be obedient?

Shiba Inus can be obedient since they love human company and listening to their masters. However, they’re highly intelligent, bold, confident dogs who have their ideas about things.

So to have an obedient Shiba Inu you should focus on training him from a very young age.

Positive reinforcements, passive training methods, reward with treats, training at an early age, and a fair amount of attention can help make your Shiba an obedient one. But treating with aversive training will never make your pooch obedient.

At what age do Shiba Inus calm down?

Your hyperactive Shiba is most likely to calm down at 5-6 months if trained properly. By this time he reaches adolescence. If you provide him with adequate training from his puppyhood and focus on early socialization, he’ll calm down at this stage.

However, their hyperactive traits will get triggered when they’re on heat at the age of 8-9 months old. And it will last till they’re fully matured, that is, 16 months old.

Despite being stubborn, with early training and proper socialization, you can have a smart and adorable Shiba roaming around the house, creating a happy environment.