They act more like cats than like dogs. They're very fastidious and clean, and tend to be very independent and aloof for dogs. I've been told they get along very well with cats.

What Caminante said.

I suspect only the Japanese know the secret to raising them.

CN, Did you watch the video before you called them "independent and aloof"?
This is halfway to chocolate lab.

When I was a kid we had a chocolate lab who was so attached to us as a family that she chased our car down the street whenever we left the house. One day she caught the car. My brothers cried for hours.

They usually bond with one human, and with that human they can be super affectionate, like the dog in this video.

With all other humans, (even others in the household) they tend to uphold the "independent and aloof" label.

Also, even though they're quite cat-like, they don't get along with any other animals, including cats. They're very much one-animal pets. The only way to pair them with another animal is to adopt littermates.

This information brought to you by the owner of two Akitas, which are Shibas' larger cousins.

I was over at somebody's house the other night and she went to use the bathroom and a dog came in the room when I thought it was her. Never told me about the dog. Anyway I was scared shitless because it was built like 4 shibainus formed like voltron, but maybe a little labrador.. basically imagine a big black shibainu. And here's a stranger in her house. The dog just sat there staring at me and I was freaked the fuck out because if I needed to split I'd have to grab all my clothes from where the dog was sitting. And the dog just kept staring at me. In the morning the dog didn't want anything to do with me but wasn't antisocial and didn't bark.. it was weird.

That being said, I love that dog.

Ooh ooh, I have an opinion, but it's second hand. I have two friends who own shiba inu. They are both just like the dogs. Someone here said it well: "Catlike, neat, fastidious, aloof." They are intelligent. They can do tricks and such very well -- easy to housebreak, etc.

one friend who owns one is a gay male. He is very into japan, partly why he is interested in them, has studied the language. The owner is himself very neat and fastidious. He's a reader, a pretty stationary person so he is at home fairly often to help care for his dog. He walks it regularly (once a day at least).

Another one who owns one is my friend's parents, who both run a very quiet temple. The dog lives primarily in the basement and backyard, where he is very content. This one is a bit gluttonous, and is overweight actually. Interacts with humans only briefly, especially strangers, then he runs along to do something else. But, again, perfectly house broken.

I don't think there's a secret to raising them. But if you have a lifestyle and a personality in any way similar to the two people I knew who owned them, you could probably do it. I wouldn't want to do it myself -- I would worry about the mental health of a shiba inu with how long I need to be away from home.

I just shared this video with my said gay friend and his reply was "Haha--Nikko totally does this!"