The Hunter

Shiba inus were originally bred to hunt small game, birds, etc. It is in their blood. With that being said, Pepper killed her first squirrel today.

As per our daily ritual, Pepper woke me (never my boyfriend) up at 9:30AM to let her out. Zoey, the Collie-Aussie mix was already outside. I usually leave them out there for about an hour so that they get tired from playing, then they come inside to sleep. It was the morning ritual.

However, a half hour later, I started awake from the constant barking of Zoey, the herding dog. It usually stops after a few minutes, but this time there was almost a panicky twinge to her bark. I've heard this bark before: DANGER! (The last time Zoey barked like this, there was a 3 1/2-foot snake in our yard!... not too uncommon in South Carolina.)

I rushed downstairs only to find Pepper and Zoey fighting over the carcass of a poor very-much-dead little squirrel. I WAS HORRIFIED! I yelled at them and they dropped it immediately. The body was limp and wet from the freshly rained-on grass. I almost cried as I quickly disposed of it. Because there was no blood, I am guessing that they played with it to death, as they'd done with several bugs before.

Honestly, I don't think there was really anything I could do at that moment. Pepper has just gotten so fast! The squirrels used to be able to outrun her, but I guess not anymore. I don't think she'll do it anymore because  she now knows that it's bad. Even so, I've just kept her inside all day, just in case she might get tempted. So far, she's killed (I don't know for certain that she was the one which killed; however, she is the faster of the two --the Collie mix likes to lay down a lot -- so it is most likely that she was the one that caught, then tried to play with the animals.) a rat and a squirrel, and caught the 3 1/2 foot snake. I don't know what to do. My sweet little Pepper is a born hunter and a killer, but I can't help loving her.

Shibas and Swimming

At first, Pepper didn't care much for swimming - or getting wet, for that matter. Shibas have a thing about getting dirty and Pepper is exactly like that. She couldn't stand puddles or the rain...

One day, we took her to a new dog park, one that have a doggy beach (a big pond and some sand) and she LOVED it! But for the longest time, she wouldn't go into the water. Finally, she got hot enough (and saw enough dogs jump in) to step her feet into the water. On the second day, she went in until her chest touched the water. And now, about six months later, she happily swims in the shallow parts.

This is a video of her at a water park. They had a "doggy day" in which they only opened the park for canines.

(Take note that she still doesn't like to get her head wet.)

Dog Allergies

After so many months of raising Pepper, I've discovered (in her heavy-shedding months) that I may have allergies. So what can you do?

As I know that I would never give up Pepper in a million years, I've learned from Victoria ("It's Me or the Dog" lady) that many allergens from outside can become trapped in your dog's coat. The best way to keep your allergies as low as possible is to brush your pet everyday. It can significantly decrease how much your dog sheds as well as the amount of outside allergens your four-legged friend brings in.

The Escape Artist

Being as independent as they are, Shibas are natural-born escape artists. Even Pepper has escaped our house and yard a few times... thus, we've made a few changes to our environment to try to contain her. We've reinforced our yard with a backyard fence and a front yard fence. We've also had to add several 2x4s to our carport so that she couldn't squeeze out...  I just hope she doesn't learn to climb or jump over the fence.

Dogs Will Be Dogs

I've learned (the hard way) that no matter how old the dog gets, if you lock it in a room, don't give it the right chew toys, and if it gets bored enough, it can still eat your furniture. Pepper did, however, have a lot of help from her friends: Bosco, the Boston puppy, and Zoey, the Collie-Aussie puppy

Training as a Puppy

I've learned that training your puppy as early as possible increases your success of compliance and obedience. Because Shiba Inus and Huskies are known for their stubbornness and willingness to comply only on their terms, we started training Pepper as soon as we got her... and with many hot dogs.


We picked her up when she was 6 weeks old and immediately started to work on her recognizing her own name. A week later and she had already mastered "sit" and "paw." We didn't want to use the word "shake;" she actually shakes (her whole body) when we use that command.

Here's a video of her doing tricks to get her pet bed:

Shiba Inu Facts

As I've noticed that Pepper took more of her personality from the Shiba Inu, I will give a couple of facts about the breed:

Shibas are one of the oldest Japanese breeds, and one of the smallest. They are highly intelligent dogs.
They are very clean, almost cat-like, and are often known to avoid puddles.
Shibas are often very quiet, but are always very cautious and alert.
They are very loyal to their handler and will adapt to his/her situation (apartment, house, etc.); however, like all dogs, they require regular exercise and (especially because they are so stubborn) discipline.
Shibas were bred to hunt small game, birds, and contrary to their small size, flush out bears and boars. They are super fast! Pepper loves to chase anything that runs fast, flies fast, and even slithers (with great caution, of course)!

For more information, check out the Shiba Inu Profile.

First Meeting

We drove four hours to the mountainous areas of Georgia to see the 5-week-old puppies... and it was well worth it. By the time we got there, there were two girls and one boy left (out of a litter of eight). They were all sired by a pure-bred, registered Shiba Inu, and the mother was a light-colored Siberian Husky, neither of which exceeded 30lbs. Both were on site, and we were able to look at them.

Initially, William wanted to get the last boy, but he quickly changed his mind (and put down the poor little guy) when the puppy went number-two on him. Meanwhile, I picked up the darker colored little girl and held her for a while. As I held her and looked at her, we locked eyes and I could swear she talked to me; it was more mewing then anything else, but she had already stolen my heart.

Finally, William made me put her down so that we could consider all of the puppies, and as soon as I did, she did her duty on the floor. Quickly behind her came the other girl (a lighter coated puppy) who began to eat her poop! From then, our final decision was going to be the dark-coated puppy, who sat in the corner away from her poop as her remaining brother and sister played in it.

We had a week before we could go get her, so we went home and prepared for our new puppy, who we still hadn't named yet. Finally, we settled on "Pepper," for her dark coat.

Shiba Inu or Siberian Husky

I wanted to rescue a dog or adopt one from the local shelter, but William was against it. He wanted to know for sure what his dog was so that he could know what to expect behavior-wise. I couldn't blame him... a small part of me wanted to know, too. Don't get me wrong; I REALLY wanted to adopt one from the shelter... but at the same time I wanted to make sure that I could be as prepared as I possibly could, for the sake of the dog and for myself, and that meant knowing what your dog was so that you'd know what to expect.

So, after a LOT of researching and arguing, William and I narrowed it down to two breeds: William wanted a Siberian Husky and I wanted a Shiba Inu. Even a pet compatibility test put Shiba Inu in our top 3... but he really wanted a husky. Why? They were smart dogs and they were pretty. Living in South Carolina, though, I knew that would not be in the best interest for the dog, and so was dead-set on getting a Shiba. Be that as it may, I occasionally kept an eye out for Huskies, just to give him a glimmer of hope.

We looked EVERYWHERE... shelters, pet stores, newspapers and websites... until finally, we found a semi-local breeder who had just had a litter of --you guessed it!-- Shiba Inu/ Siberian Husky puppies!

The Decision

I'd been wrapping my brain around the idea of getting a pet, and when my sister beat me to it, that sealed the deal. She adopted a puppy, a black hound mix, from the local shelter and named her Bella. From the very beginning, Bella was very shy and cautious, and thus required a lot of time and devotion. While everyone took turns caring for her, I quickly realized the strength of the love and companionship that a dog brought to the family. I figured, "why spoil my sister's dog when I can get my own?"...

At that time, we were all in our final year of college, and were graduating soon. William (my boyfriend) and I would soon have to spend our time searching for jobs. If we wanted to get a dog, the time was now. With our flexible class schedules, we could use what time we had to train it and love it and teach it tricks... but what kind of dog would we get? One from a shelter? A breeder? And so the search began...