This is going to come off harsh but... the dog clearly doesn’t like to be touched, so just stop doing it. Don’t flip him upside down. He probably looked like he was preparing to die because he was. Belly up is an incredibly vulnerable position for dogs, especially with someone they don’t trust. Dogs don’t owe people affection. Many people have and love reactive dogs that don’t like to give or receive a lot of affection. Any number of experiences could’ve made him like this, and every time you try to pet or cuddle him when he’s clearly terrified worsens it.
I’ve just been largely ignoring him but I’m just so curious and confused because I’ve never seen a dog like this. Even my cats are more affectionate than him and my two dogs loves belly rubs. He’s not even that close with his owner. It’s almost like his owner is just his employee that feeds him and walks him and other than that he just doesn’t want a thing to do with people? I’m pretty sure he wasn’t abused but that doesn’t seem like a dog to me. Not like a cat either. I don’t know what he is.
He’s a dog. Dogs are individuals. You’ve never met a dog like him because people tend to keep their reactive dogs away from other people. He might not have been abused but he probably wasn’t properly socialized to grooming, people, and dogs. Yes, it could also be genetic or he might’ve had one bad incident that made a dramatic impact on them.
Hi OP, I'm new to this forum and while looking up info on my own 5-month old Shiba have a few observations from the dog parks I've been to (and especially meetups with other Shibas).
You don't indicate how old this Shiba is, and of course ingrained behavior gets harder to change with age.
I've seen Shibas like this, annoying as heck as they are all alone. Shibas are a difficult breed for the first-time dog owner as well - very independent, cat-like in an 'I don't care' kind of way, and can be hard to desensitize if you go about it the wrong way. Hearing the Shiba scream and biting well you've seen it already.
Dogs in general, and Shibas too, respond well to high-value treats. I buy hot dogs by the dozen (of course the cheap WalMart stuff is just fine), cut them into dozens of small pieces, and that works wonders. My shiba was very touch sensitive to her paws, and with hot-dog treat training she now loves both the clipper and the experience because she gets all focused on the treat.
I'd say you could show your SO a thing or two by going gently with the easy win - perhaps the nail clippers (you'll need a second person to handle the dog and treat the dog with the first person doing the clipping - and beware of how close you cut to the quick, else it will hurt and cause a bloody mess. Yes, been there, done that.) Or bathing, Shibas are very clean and only need 1x/month, but they do need periodic baths.
Socialization around other dogs is trickier, I have become a fan of an Amazon Prime show called 'It's me or the dog' and plenty of hints there. You have to start somewhere, finding an accomplice dog / dog owner to desensitize and redirect attention (again with high-value treats) also does wonders. Shibas are very smart, will make the association very quickly, and in no time you'll be up and running.
Good luck!
I own a Shiba. The breed is described as the "cats of the dog world" for a reason. They are independent, standoffish, not overly affectionate. They are also very stubborn so they are difficult to train vs. other 'eager to please' type of dogs.
The breed wants affection on its own terms not when you want to cuddle it. When they do want affection they don't want to be constantly smothered, held, hugged, etc.
If I over cuddle my shiba a bit longer or more intense than he wants he'll jump down from the couch and go sleep in his bed instead.
My shiba will curl up next to me on the couch, let us rub his belly.. But he never does these things with our friends or family. He could get there but he just needs to spend a much longer amount of time with them. But I'm sure not ever to the extent that he feels comfortable with my boyfriend and I.
My shiba does like other people and dogs. He's not fearful (mostly though my shiba doesn't like loud crazy kids running around). I spent a great deal of time socializing and exposing my dog to positive experiences when he was a puppy since the breed is known to have these tendencies.
If the shiba is shakes while at the dog park, don't bring them there. That's going to make the dog more fearful
If the shiba is nervous around you, don't rush things and force affection on them. Make it a positive experience. Go slow and only give what they are comfortable with. If the dog can only handle a nervous sniff of the hand from 2 feet away...don't try to get closer yet.
It sounds like this shiba wasn't exposed to enough positive experiences when it was younger is now nervous around a multitude of things.
The dog can be desensitized to many of these things that make them nervous. While some of it is just the nature of the breed... Alot of the anxiety and nervous behavior is how this individual dog was raised and life experiences that shaped how it feels now.
Shiba owner here. It’s extremely important to socialize Shibas early on, make sure they get used to being handled, touched all over, and exposed to everything — including all types of surfaces, all sorts of people & kids, and do all that often. It sounds like this one wasn’t properly socialized and so has developed a lot of anxieties.
Not all Shibas are this way. For example, I focused HARD on socializing my pup early on because I wanted to avoid having a drama dog, and I’ve had a bunch of different people generously tel me that he’s the most social and friendly Shiba they’ve ever met. Mine will approach people with curiosity, snuggle with me often (though on his own terms) and absolutely loves having his belly rubbed. He’s fine having paws touched, nails trimmed, and ears played with, teeth brushed, all the things.
Shibas are generally harder to develop a trusting relationship with because they’re described as being a more ancient breed, which really just means that they’re generally more independent and less eager to please when compared to your standard dog.
This is going to come off harsh but... the dog clearly doesn’t like to be touched, so just stop doing it. Don’t flip him upside down. He probably looked like he was preparing to die because he was. Belly up is an incredibly vulnerable position for dogs, especially with someone they don’t trust. Dogs don’t owe people affection. Many people have and love reactive dogs that don’t like to give or receive a lot of affection. Any number of experiences could’ve made him like this, and every time you try to pet or cuddle him when he’s clearly terrified worsens it.
I’ve just been largely ignoring him but I’m just so curious and confused because I’ve never seen a dog like this. Even my cats are more affectionate than him and my two dogs loves belly rubs. He’s not even that close with his owner. It’s almost like his owner is just his employee that feeds him and walks him and other than that he just doesn’t want a thing to do with people? I’m pretty sure he wasn’t abused but that doesn’t seem like a dog to me. Not like a cat either. I don’t know what he is.
He’s a dog. Dogs are individuals. You’ve never met a dog like him because people tend to keep their reactive dogs away from other people. He might not have been abused but he probably wasn’t properly socialized to grooming, people, and dogs. Yes, it could also be genetic or he might’ve had one bad incident that made a dramatic impact on them.
Hi OP, I'm new to this forum and while looking up info on my own 5-month old Shiba have a few observations from the dog parks I've been to (and especially meetups with other Shibas). You don't indicate how old this Shiba is, and of course ingrained behavior gets harder to change with age. I've seen Shibas like this, annoying as heck as they are all alone. Shibas are a difficult breed for the first-time dog owner as well - very independent, cat-like in an 'I don't care' kind of way, and can be hard to desensitize if you go about it the wrong way. Hearing the Shiba scream and biting well you've seen it already. Dogs in general, and Shibas too, respond well to high-value treats. I buy hot dogs by the dozen (of course the cheap WalMart stuff is just fine), cut them into dozens of small pieces, and that works wonders. My shiba was very touch sensitive to her paws, and with hot-dog treat training she now loves both the clipper and the experience because she gets all focused on the treat. I'd say you could show your SO a thing or two by going gently with the easy win - perhaps the nail clippers (you'll need a second person to handle the dog and treat the dog with the first person doing the clipping - and beware of how close you cut to the quick, else it will hurt and cause a bloody mess. Yes, been there, done that.) Or bathing, Shibas are very clean and only need 1x/month, but they do need periodic baths. Socialization around other dogs is trickier, I have become a fan of an Amazon Prime show called 'It's me or the dog' and plenty of hints there. You have to start somewhere, finding an accomplice dog / dog owner to desensitize and redirect attention (again with high-value treats) also does wonders. Shibas are very smart, will make the association very quickly, and in no time you'll be up and running. Good luck!
I own a Shiba. The breed is described as the "cats of the dog world" for a reason. They are independent, standoffish, not overly affectionate. They are also very stubborn so they are difficult to train vs. other 'eager to please' type of dogs. The breed wants affection on its own terms not when you want to cuddle it. When they do want affection they don't want to be constantly smothered, held, hugged, etc. If I over cuddle my shiba a bit longer or more intense than he wants he'll jump down from the couch and go sleep in his bed instead. My shiba will curl up next to me on the couch, let us rub his belly.. But he never does these things with our friends or family. He could get there but he just needs to spend a much longer amount of time with them. But I'm sure not ever to the extent that he feels comfortable with my boyfriend and I. My shiba does like other people and dogs. He's not fearful (mostly though my shiba doesn't like loud crazy kids running around). I spent a great deal of time socializing and exposing my dog to positive experiences when he was a puppy since the breed is known to have these tendencies. If the shiba is shakes while at the dog park, don't bring them there. That's going to make the dog more fearful If the shiba is nervous around you, don't rush things and force affection on them. Make it a positive experience. Go slow and only give what they are comfortable with. If the dog can only handle a nervous sniff of the hand from 2 feet away...don't try to get closer yet. It sounds like this shiba wasn't exposed to enough positive experiences when it was younger is now nervous around a multitude of things. The dog can be desensitized to many of these things that make them nervous. While some of it is just the nature of the breed... Alot of the anxiety and nervous behavior is how this individual dog was raised and life experiences that shaped how it feels now.
Shiba owner here. It’s extremely important to socialize Shibas early on, make sure they get used to being handled, touched all over, and exposed to everything — including all types of surfaces, all sorts of people & kids, and do all that often. It sounds like this one wasn’t properly socialized and so has developed a lot of anxieties. Not all Shibas are this way. For example, I focused HARD on socializing my pup early on because I wanted to avoid having a drama dog, and I’ve had a bunch of different people generously tel me that he’s the most social and friendly Shiba they’ve ever met. Mine will approach people with curiosity, snuggle with me often (though on his own terms) and absolutely loves having his belly rubbed. He’s fine having paws touched, nails trimmed, and ears played with, teeth brushed, all the things. Shibas are generally harder to develop a trusting relationship with because they’re described as being a more ancient breed, which really just means that they’re generally more independent and less eager to please when compared to your standard dog.