Difficulty Finding Shiba Breeder

So I need some aid in finding a breeder of Shiba Inu.

I had one before. A little spitfire asshole senior with RG and DA who eventually went blind. She was put down from a liver shunt at 12 about two years ago. I now have a big doofus LGD with one working eye.

I live nomadically, aka I live in a truck camper. I do have steady work but it's all seasonal and I travel as much as I possibly can. I try to tether as much as possible because it's the big outdoors, we should all be enjoying it, plus carrying a fence sturdy enough for a 100lb dog just... isn't happening. The cats also get tethered when outside, so it isn't just the dog :p I'm going to be picking up a poultry fence specifically for a barrier for stray dogs (I got my gun too). I feed raw, usually whole prey sometimes prey model. I want to hunt small game and maybe do some ratting with the Shiba. I hike A Lot, and might be doing some overnight trips in the future. Usually an hour or two walk is the norm. I fully believe in Vasectomy and Ovary Sparing Spay, my LGD is currently intact and I'm debating on if the vasectomy is worth it just to say he's "neutered" so people don't think I'm breeding or will be breeding :/

Now, all those Lifestyle points above? One or more has blacklisted me from pretty much all the local breeders around me. If they like my lifestyle, they loathe my alternative spaying. Or they like the raw feeding but think I'm leaving my dogs to rot on tethers or something. I live in Western Northern Canada and none of the US breeders suggested ship their puppies.

I love Shiba's and gosh darn it I want to find a well bred one.

Help?

Comments

  • You should head over to the Shiba inu Forum so you can join the breeder discussion thread there to get information from more Shiba owners. ;)

    You will likely need to fly to pick up your puppy for most NA breeders, given your location. Another option would be importing from Japan (info on http://japandogexport.com) or from another country. I only know of a single Shiba breeder who ships puppies in NA and they're more lax, which is an issue for me personally but you sound like you have a situation breeders don't immediately agree with.

    I would still suggest fully explaining your situation and reasons to the breeders you have (or haven't?) contacted if you feel like they might be misunderstanding your intentions. You really are at the mercy of the breeder when getting a puppy, so try to respect where they're coming from and how much they love the breed and their dogs. If in the end they truly just don't agree with you, then that's fine, but you want to choose a breeder where there is a good bit of mutual trust because they should be your first point of contact when you have breed or dog specific questions.

    Good luck with your search!

  • Just don't be too eager to get a puppy, because that can lead you to getting scammed. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
  • I usually contact with questions and then respond with a lot of discussion on what I do and why I do it. I think the last breeder I contacted was with almost five paragraphs. Especially for the Shiba as they aren't the easiest dogs and most good breeders are leery of people who want one with the whole "doge" thing.

    Vasectomy and OSS is less common around here, which is part of the issue. I try to give links and research papers explaining my choice. The tethering is probably the most difficult thing to get across as there is nothing *inherently* wrong with it but most people have a knee jerk reaction to the idea and sort of shut it down immediately before even considering it. And there's not much I can say about it except that it's done in a safe manner, is better than crating and kenneling, etc etc.
  • It's typical for breeders to be picky. Shibas are very cute and popular, but not for everyone so I'm sure most of their conversations with inquiries are flat out "no"s.

    You will be hard pressed to find a breeder who will let you tether long term or without supervision. I don't know if there's any NA breeder who allows their Shibas to be "outside" dogs (well taken care of or not) but I'm not seeing where the issue would be for supervised tethering... Plenty of people are active with their Shibas, I don't think your on-the-road style is inherently something a breeder wouldn't approve of if you seem trustworthy to them otherwise. But I'm not a Shiba breeder, so I wouldn't really know!

    Like I said before, you will probably need to be willing to fly out to pick up a puppy from other NA breeders if you can find any who approve if outside life for their puppies. You can try with European breeders, or from what I understand a good bit of Japanese breeders tend to keep dogs outside or indoor/outdoor anyway. Just a warning, all of these options are VERY expensive in comparison to being able to drive and pick up a puppy.
  • edited June 2017
    @BarkingPup That's good. You can see what happened to Ro3bert in his posts. The tether in will probably be the hardest thing to overcome. I think the pendulum has over corrected a bit in regards to the requirements of a lot of rescues and breeders impose. I get why they do it; the rescues have seen a lot of bad things and often good breeders actually have waiting lists so they can be picky and both rescues and breeders just want the best homes for their dogs, but at the same time their pickiness is a boon to the millers, pet stores, and less than reputable breeders. It is unreasonable to expect people to pay multiple grand to import a pup that can be acquired for a couple hundred from someone's backyard or a pet shop. It's great to do the "right thing," but realistically the bottom line does matter unless you're rich. By Western standards most of the dogs I see here in Japan would be considered abused. I'm firm believer that you don't have to be the perfect owner to be a good owner or the owner a dog needs. Of course I'm probably a hypocrite, because if I ever had a litter of puppies you bet I wouldn't just be weeding out those whom I thought were unfit. I would be looking for absolutely the best homes for MY pups.
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