Shikoku vs Shiba personality

Hello all,

I know a lot of you Shikoku owners also have experience with Shiba inu. I'm curious what kind of differences there tend to be in their overall temperment. I get the idea that, while cut from the same cloth, Shibas are a bit more independant.

Comments

  • edited November -1
    My Shikoku respects his pack leader(s) and is very obedient in the house. He is very eager to please and takes direction very well. But he had (and is on going) tons of training by a professional. He continues to be dog reactive and does not like puppies. From what I read here on the forum, he is piece of cake compared to lots of Shibas.
  • edited November -1
    Ask me again in a year. My shiba was a terror at 6 months. My shikoku is 5 months presently and is less of a terror. However I am a wiser owner now too. Miko is certainly more willing to please I think then Moto was, however I would say Miko is wilder. Moto is better with other dogs and children than Miko too. But we will see where Miko is when she is 2.
  • edited November -1
    Our Shikoku are much easier to train and more willing to please than our Shiba. They also love to work, where our Shiba are not workers at all - more like bitchy little lap dogs.

    Our Shikoku have a crazy amount of energy, while our Shiba do too, the Shikoku energy is a different energy than the shiba. Our Shikas will play all day and show relentless energy but are not so crazy in the house. Our Shibees are crazy in the house or outside - not so much now that they are older but they were really crazy as pups.

    Our shiba show a higher "bitchiness" factor and tend to cause trouble in the pack while our Shikoku just seem to want to play and will avoid trouble with pack mates if they can - unless they want something another dog has.

    Our Shibas have a strong "mine" factor, but will not torment another dog to get what they want - our Shikoku will annoy a pack mate till they get what they want - i mean for hours and hours. This is probably an artifact of the Shikoku's more "wild" temperament.

    Our Shibas love to run and play, but it tends to come in shorter bursts of craziness while the Shikas will run and play for hours and hours - especially as pups. I would say our Shibas are the most playful with us and the Shikoku are the most playful with other dogs.

    Shikoku hit a point at a year old when they calm significantly, with Shiba that point seems to be closer to 2 years of age.

    With Shikoku, if there was a fight, there would be very bad injuries and relentless aggression. With Shiba they seem to just like to make a commotion but tend to not want to get hurt or hurt another dog. There is a lot of teeth flashing and noise with Shiba but then no one is usually that badly hurt... tho if a Shiba fight were to not be broken up it could get VERY ugly. The Shikoku and the Kai have a switch, they can go from play to kill in a split second and it is very difficult to get them out of that kill zone - you just have to remove them and crate then for an hours or so. Then there is the Akita - that's the most hectic thing you will witnesses... an Akita just goes for kill, and that's it - no questions asked, they want to kill an aggressor.

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  • edited November -1
    Thanks, all, for your interesting replies. I am getting the picture that Shikokus are easier to train, and possibly happier with not being in charge of the pack?
  • edited July 2008
    Yes, they are easier to train - Shikoku are also freakishly smart.

    As for the happier not being the pack leader thing - that will depend on the dog. Some Shikoku are VERY dominant, other not so much. Shikoku-Ken, due to their primitive nature, do have a good understanding of social structure and are very social animals so one could assume they would be able to easily take on the proper role in a pack hierarchy - whether that be at the top or the bottom.

    Having said that, the same thing could be said about Akita and their social aptitude, but very few Akita can be kept with other dogs. So I would not assume a Shikoku will always be willing to take a lower position in the pack and not challenge leadership.

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  • edited November -1
    Oh - one more thing, I think Shikoku are more submissive to humans than Shiba.
  • edited November -1
    I have no experience with Shibas, but Brad is dead-on in the Shikok/Akita description.

    Shikokus will fight, and go from 0-60 in that regard. They tend to push the envelope with other dogs which can start fights. Ultra high energy. Type A personality, eager to please, loves to work.
    Akitas will give anyone a fair warning, but then they DO NOT mess around. Once warned, their goal is like James Bond - make short work of the 'problem.' Lower energy, can be eager to please and work if they respect who's giving the orders. They do NOT tolerate disrespect from anyone or anything.
  • edited November -1
    I don't have any experience with Shibas, but my shikoku is very similar to the others. She is high energy, but not in the way a border collie is, but restless - moving around, more likely to chew things she's not supposed to, etc. She's never been in a fight (10 months), but she has been around a lot of other dogs. Even though Stokes and Tag have fought before, she has never-ever-fought with either. She can be reactive with new dogs, but she usually just wants to be the one to sniff butt 1st, and it's only a problem if the other dog wants the same thing, or is so large they can do it easily. Right now she's laying next to my chair as I type - last night while we slept she chewed into a new bath mat. We might have to go back to caging her at night. Anyway - everyone who has met Sora loves her, and it seems like her temperament is typical of the dogs in her age group...
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