What You See is What You Eat.

On our walk yesterday, I met a woman yesterday who called out, “SHIBA INU!!” from across the street.  She ran over and made all these cluck-cluck noises and played with Idgie for a bit.  She was really surprised that Idgie was the first dog I ever have had – “That is a difficult breed to have for your first time.”  I don’t know if she thought I was an inane idiot who bought Idgie from the pet store because she looked like a teddy bear, or if she was commenting this in general.  In any case, I am pretty sure she is right, which makes me think, I wonder what is it about the shiba inu that makes it difficult for a first-time dog owner,  as opposed to, say, a german shepard or a lab?  It might be the tendency to be dominant, but all breeds have their dominant members.   Can’t be that she’s hard to train – she’s actually proven fairly easy to train and will listen to commands; it’s the part where she’s also smart enough to weigh the pros and cons of complying that is getting us.  Maybe that’s it.

In any case, I found this – maybe this is it too.

Shiba Inu Property Laws

1. If I like it, it’s mine.
2. If it’s in my mouth, it’s mine
3. If I had it a little while ago, it’s mine.
4. If I can take it from you, it’s mine.
5. If it’s mine, it must never be yours.
6. If it just looks like mine, it’s mine.
7. If I saw it first, it’s mine.
8. If you are playing with something else and put it down, it’s mine
9. If I am chewing something up, all of the pieces are mine. [This one is super funny, because Idgie will tear up pieces of paper, rip the cotton out of her toys, etc., and walk away from the mess -- but the second you try to pick everything up, she'll run over and start to try to save the pieces from a certain trashy death.]
10. If it used to be yours, get over it.
11. If it’s broken, it’s yours.

courtesy Ice Wind Farm – and almost every website dedicated to the shiba