Since Shiba Inus are not only such an intelligent breed, but also very independent in nature, we feel that training is vital in owning this particular breed.  A Shiba Inu will learn what you ask of it ten times faster than the average dog, and then they will look at you and ask, "But why?"  Unfortunately, 85% of dogs that are surrendered to animal shelters and rescue are due to behavior problems and lack of training, and about 70% of those dogs are between 6 months to 2 years of age.

All of our Shibas that are adopted out come with at least one professional training course.  More courses or customized private training may also be required depending on the individual dog's needs.  The professional training course that comes with our Shba Inus is an 8 week long course from PetSmart and its Accredited Pet Training Instructors (PetSmart is not affiliated with Shiba Scout Rescue).  The training course is based off of positive training methods designed by lead behaviorists and veterinarians that do not involve choke, pinch or shock collars, jerking on the leash or pushing on the dog's body.  This way, training becomes a positive and fun way to build the relationship between the dog and its new owner.

The One That Started It All

My first foster Shiba was one that belonged to a former student who could not handle his independent nature combined with the destructive behaviors that accompany young teenage dogs. When I received him in June 2007, I changed his name to Tensai, which means “natural gift” or “natural disaster” in Japanese (I figured as my first of possibly many rescue dogs that was a suitable name).  After a couple months of retraining Tensai, we met a family who was the perfect match and they have formed a wonderful bond with him. Tensai has completed Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced training courses at PetSmart which will send him on his way to receiving his Canine Good Citizenship Certification through the American Kennel Club.

Here is Tensai at his Advanced Course graduation.

This is Kumo at his Beginner Graduation in December 2007.  The day after Tensai was adopted, a friend of mine was visiting Adam's County Animal Shelter and came across two older Shiba Inus that were going to be euthanized because they had been at the shelter for nearly 2 months each.  My friend currently runs her own rescue herself and was kind enough to help me get started with everything from writing out adoption contracts to allowing me to use her home and huge back yard as our now main foster home! 

Who knows if we would even be here today if she hadn't felt the need to give this boy a second chance!

This is Kobi at her Beginner Graduation in the fall of 2008.  Kobi, which means "flirtation" in Japanese, is one of our senior citizens that came into rescue at 7 years of age.  Although she was older and had no behavior issues, the training was a great way for her to learn new skills and bond with her new owners, including their teenage daughter who Kobi formed an instant bond with.  In fact, the family loved the training so much, they enrolled their other two dogs into school with Kobi!

Okay so they're not pure bred but we loved them anyways!  From left to right, Kunkunnaku, Dori-ma, and Kabu, were three little puppies who were abandoned at Peublo Animal Services with their mother, Hana, a cream Shiba Inu mix when they were only a few days old in May 2008.  All three puppies found great homes, an so did their mother, and all of them completed their initial training courses.  Kunkunnaku even continued with Intermediate class after his graduation, and the families who adopted Dori-ma and Kabu are hoping to start after the holidays.

Here is Hana, the puppies' mother, a 4 year old Shiba Inu/Red Heeler/Chihuahua mix.

Daichi was surrendered to Boulder County Humane Society as an unneutered and very unsocialized 2 year old male who was not getting along with the other dogs in his household.  With the chance of being euthanized, we took him in and began to work with him and found Daichi a wonderful family in summer 2008 where he could be an only dog but who has also worked very hard to continue working with Daichi's socialization skills with other dogs.

JJ, who now goes by the name of Tiko, was another one of our older dogs who came into rescue at 8 years old.  Tiko has become a real daddy's boy to a CSU student that adopted him in summer 2008 who just adores him.  And yes, that is an Obama bandana around his neck.

Kitsune was one of five Shiba Inu adult breeders that were confiscated from a puppy mill breeder in January of 2008.  Kit was adopted in late summer 2008 by a kind and caring family with their other younger male Shiba Inu.

Senshi was another one of the "puppy mill 5" who was actually the first one to be adopted out, only to be returned 8 months later in Nov 2008.  Senshi's family had a lot of stressful changes that he was not adjusting well to so they thought it best to find him another home.  Senshi was adopted out again to a family after our Spring Adoptathon in 2009 and graduated his Beginner Course in the fall.

Katana was the youngest of the "puppy mill 5" at 2 years of age.  Katana was extremely shy when we received her but after getting adopted by one of our volunteers after our Spring 2008 Adoptathon, she began to blossom into her personality.

Takara was a 10 month old Shiba that came from Table Mountain Animal Center after being found as a stray.  She won over many hearts by being so sweet and social and found her new family during our Fall 2008 Adoptathon.  They loved her so much they decided to adopt Chame, pictured below, as a playmate for her in January of 2009.  Chame came all the way from Arkansas where he had a hard time finding a home because he had a heart murmur.  Takara and Chame are the cutest pair and their family wouldn't have it any other way.

Aimee, now Sasha, was being bounced from home to home and had already been in 3 homes before coming into rescue.  Ironically, each time she was given up for acting out behaviorally was when she was going into heat as no one had bothered to spay her yet.  Aimee turned out to be a wonderful young girl and was adopted out in early December 2008 by a young man in Denver.

Byako was found as a stray by Boulder Valley Humane Society in December of 2008.  Byako didn't read the "Shiba manual" about being more reserved when it comes to strangers and other dogs and quickly found a home with a young couple in Denver in January 2009.

Toutoi was a 10 month old tiny little Shiba that was surrendered by her owner after a family emergency.  This little girl, weighing only 10 pounds, did not last long and was adopted in January 2009. 

Kaguya was surrendered by her owners after 12 years due to a nasty divorce.  Her foster dad actually fell completely in love with her and made her his "little princess" permanently in the spring of 2009.

Kenjou was surrendered by his owners after they had their new baby as he had not been previously socialized around children and was not coping well with the new addition.  After spending a few months in rescue, Kenjou was adopted by his foster family in May 2009 who have been able to successfully socialize and introduce him to children even as young as 2 years old.

Keisho was found as a stray by Table Mountain Animal Center in Golden.  He was still intact when coming into rescue and did not do well with other males and was a horrible escape artist.  After being neutered and with some positive training, Keisho started to come around when it came to other dogs.  He still could scale a fence nearly any size, but curled his way into the lap of a young lady who adopted him in May 2009 and then made the move to Oklahoma.

 After being in rescue for almost a year, Miyu found her forever home! Miyu was adopted by a fellow PetSmart employee and is thrilled to have finally found someone to play ball with.

Daibo came in back into rescue in October as one of our Puppy Mill surrenders. At the age of 5, Daibo had never walked on a leash, used stairs, or lived in a house. Her foster family decided to make her a full-time member along with another foster named Shiba and their dog Damon!

And here is Shiba! Shiba barely made it into rescue but we are sure lucky she did! Shiba's previous owner had to find a new family for her after some life changes which made it impossible to continue caring for her. Shiba's new owners did not want to take her back after she got loose and had been picked up by Larimer Humane. Shiba's original owner contacted Shiba Scout desperate to keep her from being euthanized due to her age. She now has a great home with her brother and sister Damon and Daibo!

NikNak came into rescue after living by a truck stop for nearly two years. After some good samaritins earned her trust, NikNak made the journey to becoming a rehabilitated Shiba. NikNak's foster mom, who also took care of her while she was living on the street, fell in love with her and joined Nik Nak to her family!

Soshina came in with the Puppy Mills dogs back in October of 2009. The most social of the Puppy Mill dogs, it did not find Soshina long to find her forever home!

 Yukiko came all the way from Kansas! She did not stay in rescue long at all and has been adopted by her foster mom! Yukiko is loving life in Loveland!

After over 9 months in rescue, KiiKii has been adopted into his new forever home! KiiKii will be living with a lovely retired lady and her older female Pug, Pugzilla, and starting his class on Friday! Good luck KiiKii and congratulations!!! 

Here is Nikko at his Beginner training course graduation in early 2008.  Nikko, originally named Sushi, was diagnosed with patellar luxation in both of his back legs.  It took a few months before we could find him a home that was able to provide him the care and lifestyle that he needed. 

Although some of our dogs do come in with special needs, either physically or psychologically, we truly believe deep down that there IS a perfect home and a willing heart out there for every dog.

This is Touji at 7 months of age at the end of his Puppy Graduation from PetSmart in fall 2008 and then completed his Intermediate Course in early 2009, both which were included in his adoption fee to ensure he become a well mannered member of the family. 

Touji, which means "winter solstice", in Japanese, was originally surrendered into rescue by a "breeder" who wasn't able to sell him.  The "breeder" turned out not to be a breeder at all; simply someone who honestly did not think her unfixed Shibas would reproduce.  Touji was never named, vaccinated or even handled during his puppy hood so that the "breeder" wouldn't get attached to him.  As a result, Touji was terrified of people and being handled, even severely biting myself when I went to obtain him.  Did I blame him?  ABSOLUTELY NOT!  Touji is now a completely different dog and I could not have found a better family for him!

Yoshi was found as a stray in Fort Collins and when he wasn't claimed, he was going to put down for aggression at Larimer Humane Society.  Turns out, Yoshi was only 4-5 months old and was actually biting when being handled around his mouth because he was in pain from teething!  He wasn't aggressive at all.  Touji's parents were actually nice enough to foster Yoshi for me while I was out of town in November and decided they couldn't stand to separate the pair and welcomed Yoshi into their family in early December 2008.

This is Kisu, a Shiba/Husky mix and her new brother, Pongo, a Chihuahua/Poodle mix.  Kisu suffered from severe separation anxiety to the point of hurting herself in attempt to break out of her crate or out of her house and needing to be medicated in order to calm her very sensitive and stressed nervous system.  After a few months, Kisu was adopted by a family with two little girls (and Pongo of course) in the fall of 2008who are able to spend most of their time with her.  Half way through Kisu's Beginner Class, the family was happy to report that she was off all medication and more than happy to go into her crate! 

Tasha was taken in from La Junta Animal Shelter after her owner passed away in May 2008.  With no family available to take Tasha in, she was going to be euthanized because she was 8 years old.  Her new owner, Richard, pictured above, instantly connected with Tasha and boy does she know she's his little princess even if she is older than him in doggie years!  Tasha travels all over the country with her dad to car races and auto shows.  She even has her own myspace page, listed under Princess Tasha, of course.

Here is Princess Tasha getting her picture taken with Santa Clause.

Cusco, formerly known as Yuuhi, was adopted originally from Adams County Animal Shelter only to be returned because he was way to active.  Yuuhi finally met the perfect match in the fall of 2008, a young man who is on the Colorado State University track and cross country teams!  Cusco even gets to run with his new dad on campus with the team!  He also lives with a pug that belongs to his owner's girlfriend and all four of them make a great family. 

CC, formerly known as Circe, was surrendered by her family after a long history of incontinence at 8 years of age when they were expecting their second child.  CC captured the heart of a young man who is a teaching assistant at CSU during our 2008 fall adoptathon at PetSmart and completed her training course in November of 2008.

Keiko was a 6 month old Shiba Inu/German Shepherd Dog mix from Table Mountain Animal Center that would have been euthanized due to food aggression.  After only a couple weeks of positive training, Keiko was able to be adopted into a big family after our 2008 Fall Adoptathon and the children can even curl right up to her while she is eating and she just wags her tail, loving every minute of attention.

Samara, formerly known as Chou, was an  8 month Shiba Inu/Chow Chow mix who was surrendered by her family in the fall of 2008.  She was soon adopted by a young lady attending CSU who had been looking for a Chow mix for months and the two bonded instantly.  Samara lives with the lady's roommate and her other dog and are the best of friends.

Kyouki (right) was a Shiba Inu/Basenji mix that was found as a stray by Cheyenne Animal Shelter.  He was adopted out from CAS in February 2009 only to be returned two months later because the family's other dog was attacking him.  Kyouki was transferred into rescue upon his return to the shelter.  One of our foster moms offered to watch him for the weekend and Kyouki quickly fell in love with Mia, their 3 year old female Shiba (left) and the feeling with the family was mutual.  Here is Mia and Kyouki taking a well deserved nap after an afternoon at the dog park in Loveland.

Here is a familiar face that many of you have come to know his story since last fall 2008.  Deshou came to us needing double knee surgery due to a hereditary genetic defect from being poorly bred for a pet store.  After repairing his knees in February 2009, Deshou made a full recovery and finally found his new home with a young couple in Denver and was adopted in June.  Despite his difficulties earlier on in life, Deshou was the social butterfly with everyone he met.

Shisen was confiscated by the state and turned into Denver Dumb Friends League in early May of 2009 where she was then transferred to rescue.  It turned out that Shisen was only a couple of weeks away from delivering puppies, all 6 of which were born on May 30th, 2009.  Shisen quickly found a home with a nice man in Denver once her puppies were weaned and she was spayed in August 2009. Her puppies all found homes between August and October.  Some have already finished their Puppy Training Course.

Here are the puppies shortly after opening their eyes at 3 weeks old.

Here are the puppies at 8 weeks old playing with their foster mom's Bulldog.

Yasu was surrendered to Denver Dumb Friends League where she was then transferred to rescue because she was pottying in the house.  Turns out Yasu simply had a severe urinary tract infection that just needed a little extra medication and TLC.  She was adopted in July 2009 by a wonderful family and their rescued Lab, Champ, in Thorton.

Laya is a Shiba/Eskimo/Italian Greyhound mix that was originally found as a severely abused stray in Japan!  A soldier brought her home to the US where he took care of her for 5 years, only to be sent out of the country again.  Not being able to take her with him, he found a young lady in Utah where he currently resided that promised to find Laya a home.  Having difficulty, Laya's temporary mom found our rescue and drove Laya out to Colorado in hopes that we could find her a permanent home.  Laya was adopted out by an older retired couple after our Fall 20009 Adoptathon who had experience with severely shy and abused dogs.

Tenka came in along with the other Puppy Mill dogs back in October. She found her forever home out in Parker, Colorado just in time for Thanksgiving! Tenka's family just welcomed Sounen into their family and the two are a great couple!

Sounen came into rescue back in August of 2009. One of our senior Shibas, Sounen had experienced a turbulent life and was used as a backyard breeder. Sounen now has a great backyard which he shares with Ms. Tenka!

Doushi, who now goes by Koci, is a Corgi/Shiba mix whowas transfered all the way from Montrose, Colorado. Koci had been through two homes in a matter of months before coming into rescue Koci showed signs of being severely abused and would urinate just by someone making eye contact with him. Koci found his new home just in time for Christmas! Koci shares his parents with his big brother Gryffon, an Australian Shepard mix.

Kingu, another of the Puppy Mill 7, just found his forever home! Like the others, Kingu struggled with adapting to life in a home. Now, he is thriving and enjoying being a domesticated pooch!

Saki came from the Castle Rock Buddy Center after being relinquished for urinating in the house. Come to find out this sweet girl had a Urinary Tract Infection which is easily treated with antibiotics. Saki is doing great and just found her forever home in March 2010!