Bonding With Your Shiba Inu: Things to consider

Keep In Mind Before You Start

To build a strong bonding with your Shiba Inu, you have to practice respect – respect him for the dog he is.

When you understand a little bit more about the Shiba’s temperament, you can build a stronger and longer lasting bond. Because the Shiba is independent and strong-willed, you have to be gentle yet firm in your communication. He is also highly sensitive – something to keep in mind when issuing dog commands.

Don’t Worry – Stay Calm

Calmness and consistency during bonding and dog obedience training will garner your dog’s ongoing loyalty. For example, when giving dog commands, you need to do so softly but with authority. If you remain calm, so will your Shiba Inu. You also have to stay consistent when communicating with your companion dog.

For instance, you don’t want to lavish your dog with affection one day and yell at him the next for having muddied up the couch with his paws. If you don’t want this to happen, you need to teach your Shiba not to jump up on the furniture. Show him that you are pleased when he rests on the ground level. If you want to keep things positive, you have to remember that you are the alpha dog – you are in control.

Therefore, to bond with your companion dog, you should not punish him for not obeying your dog commands. This is especially true of a Shiba, who feels wounded when treated this way.

Why should you blame him for not understanding? After all, he was not born with the ability to interpret the human language. It is up to you to show him what you mean by the dog commands you give. Fairness is an important component in cementing the Shiba and human bond.

Learning What It takes to Communicate with Your Shiba

When we practice calmness, consistency, and fairness, our companion dog will feel secure, knowing what we expect from him and what he can expect from us. If you show any frustration or anger, you will only stress and confuse your Shiba – something that can easily break the human and companion dog bond.

Redirect Your Fear – Focus on Being Confident

Because Shiba Inus are so strong-willed and stubborn, it does not help the dog owner to show any type of trepidation. Dogs can easily sense fear in humans, especially the sensitive Shiba Inu.

When he picks up this feeling in his owner, any established bond can break. Fear denotes a lack of trust and confidence – in our companion dog and in ourselves. Therefore, you cannot build trust, or bonding with your Shiba, by being timid or scared.

To build a strong and healthy bonding, you need to establish verbal dog commands, including hand gestures, with your companion dog that, after a while, he will easily recognize. You also need to set up rules that can be enforced on an ongoing and consistent basis. Provide a regular routine for your dog for feeding, exercise, and dog obedience training.

Communicating with Your Dog

While establishing a set of rules does not automatically build strong owner-dog relationships, it will define the owner-and-dog relationship roles.

Your dog commands or rules will not do you much good if you try to enforce rules out of fear or anger. Again, you need to exert a soft but authoritative approach and do so consistently and fairly.

For example, if your dog does not obey one of your dog commands, that is not the time to become angry. You have to ask yourself why he is ignoring you or why it is not working.

Again, you cannot blame your companion dog for being himself. In this case, you will just have to wait until your Shiba is ready to participate. If you want to develop a bond with a Shiba Inu, you also have to learn patience.

What to Ask Yourself

To further develop a bond with your Shiba Inu, you need to answer the following questions:

• What do I want to accomplish by strengthening by owner-dog bonding?
• How can I communicate effectively while considering my dog’s sensitive nature?
• How can I keep communications consistent and fair?
• What are the best methods to use for dog obedience training?
• How can I better understand my dog’s care needs?

By answering the above questions, you can outline a dog obedience training plan that will develop your owner-dog bond and make dog ownership both a challenge and more rewarding.

Do You Have What It Takes to Create a Good Bonding?

Even the smartest dog can be hard to train if you don’t calmly communicate. Make all the following characteristics part of your own behaviour in creating a strong bonding with your Shiba Inu – calmness, fairness, consistency, understanding, firmness, gentleness, and confidence.

Also, all those bad dog behaviors, such as chewing, jumping, or chasing, can be redirected more positively when we use the right dog obedience training methods. For instance, set time aside for game activities that feature controlled chasing or running, such as fetch.

Buy safe chew toys to distract your Shiba from chewing on things, such as furniture legs, fabrics, or shoes. It also helps to make your dog work for food treats by providing it with interactive toys that hold food inside. In turn, he has to figure out how to get the treat.

Making Owner-Dog Communications Work

What are some examples of every-day communication and bond building?

For example,

• Go to an area that doesn’t have many people and walk your Shiba on a loose leash so he can use up excess energy.
• Hand-feed your pup kibble treats during dog obedience training to further establish trust.

By taking an ongoing interest in your Shiba’s demeanor and personality, you can find the ideal forms of communication. Good things take time, and a good bond does not happen overnight. That is what you need to keep in mind when communicating with your companion dog.

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When you make dog obedience training a priority as well as how you communicate, you will realize dog training success and form an owner-Shiba bond that will leave both of you happy for life.