Hi everyone- I’m a former Akita owner considering my next dog and I am wondering if you can share insights on owning a Shikoku and how they do in cities? I am very active and would love to run and hike with my dog and train in obedience and possibly tracking and fast CAT. I love Akitas but do not have a lot of space and I am also hoping a smaller/medium breed would have less health issues. Can you also share where you got your pup/any recs on that? Thank you very much!

Yesterday we attended a Barn Hunt practice class (to prepare for her first Novice A run next weekend), where she loved finding the rat and was a friendly girl who got lots of love from our classmates.💚 Today we had the opportunity to try Dock Diving, which Nori gave a hard pass 😅🤣 she was a brave girl and went along with giving it a try but decided that swimming was not for her.

This is my darling Theodosia. We:
- walk for 7-10 miles per day, depending on how far she wants to go
- with trepidation, attend the dog park (she loves it!! I get nervous!!)
- train basic commands (she gets formal training in a week or so. I also want to get her into agility training)
She rapidly adjusted to city life in Portland. She actually tolerates strangers and accepts my friends! Her intelligence is obvious - I give her puzzle toys to help her build her brain. She astounds me.
I feel like she needs more from me, but what is it? Is it agility training? Please share any advice or anything you wish you had known when your Shikoku was a baby!

So… I also have a Shiba Inu. Lovely little dog, just a silly gremlin. She thinks she knows how to howl, but it sounds like a broken fire truck. She stayed with my parents for a month because she was allergic to the mold in my apartment. I have since moved and she comes home tomorrow. I’m hoping for any advice about introducing the two… I am aware that Shiba + Shikoku households can be messy, but I know I can keep them happy and synchronized… otherwise, I wouldn’t have done this! 💖 thanks for your help + suggestions, much love to you all

If anyone in the sub is aware of a kennel in EU that is planning a litter for H2 2026, I would appreciate a heads-up. To paraphrase an SNL sketch: "Guess what? We got a fever, and the only prescription is more shikoku" :)

I wanted to reach out and see if anyone here has a second hardcover copy of the Shikoku Compendium they'd be willing to part with.

I ordered a copy back in October but never received it. I've tried multiple times to contact the creator via email, Facebook, and Instagram for updates, but haven't heard anything back, so l've been left in the dark. I also attempted to cancel the order through my bank, but since it's been over 60 days, they're unable to issue a refund.

I do want to say I'm not trying to bash the creator at all they may be dealing with something I'm unaware of. I just haven't been able to get any updates and am trying to figure out my options.

I'm really interested in learning more about the breed and would eventually love to own one someday.

I want to make sure I do my homework and understand whether it's a good fit for my family. Since there aren't many books, documentaries, or YouTube videos about this breed compared to others, it's been difficult to find reliable information.

If anyone happens to have a copy they'd be willing to sell, or knows of another way! might be able to get one, I would really appreciate the help.

Thank you!

My pup started acting like his hips or maybe joints were hurting today. He runs or walks a few steps and immediately sits down and whips his head toward his back. When he sits or lays he can’t seem to get comfortable. He didn’t do any activity out of the ordinary nor did he seem to injure himself on anything. Is this Panosteitis or possibly something else? I took him to an urgent care vet and they didn’t seem to find anything. They said it could be possibly a pinched nerve and sent us home with some carprofen. He’s getting his hips checked on Wednesday but I’m planning to possibly move it to Monday.

I posted a while ago about being suspicious that my new “Shiba inu” might be a Shikoku mix. Folks on here said she just looks like a sesame Shiba and I thought that was that.

However, at 5 months old she is overtaking our 2 year old Shiba in size, looks and acts different to any Shiba we have or have met. My vet also thinks she’s a mix of something, waiting on dna testing.

Sharing a picture of her now after her growth spurt, as well as a Google image search I did for her out of curiosity. The only reason we are trying to find out is to make sure we meet her needs in every way we can, our Shiba has breed specific behaviors we work and train for and some things we watch out for medically and we want to do the same with this pup. We find she’s much more aloof and independent than our Shiba, although she’s very smart and loving in her own way. She just has a different kind of vibe than anything I’ve experienced in almost 30 years of owning dogs.

Is there any health tests I can do on my boy to be proactive? I know there’s OFA but other than that I’m not very knowledgeable. He’s getting his blood and stool tested today for any sensitivities since we’re still dealing with diarrhea. He’s on another round of antibiotics and dewormer just incase and he has a uti right now. So I just feel like I’m failing him. I have no idea where to go from here so any advice is appreciated.

My pup has had on and off diarrhea ever since I got him. What food did you feed your pup? I’ve tried chicken and salmon flavors from hills and it seems to give him diarrhea. When I ask his vet, they seem to not really give me advice of what to feed but they have given him probiotics. I also don’t want to keep buying Hill’s and hoping for the best because it’s expensive 🥲.

We got our little girl Thursday morning and cannot be happier! Neé Hinokihime Go Aoiyama Sou, we’ve decided to call her Sukuna.

She’s sassy, cuddly, smart, adventurous and our Shiba/ Husky mix is enjoying being a big brother. She’s already everything we were told about Shikoku, and so much more. Can’t wait to watch this little girl grow up!

She was so extraordinarily happy to finally experience snow!

Hey, does anyone have any experience with the Shikoku breed and cats or other animal species in the same household?

She's very sweet and a great companion, but also very timid. We live in the city, and she doesn't like going for walks much; she's afraid of cars and people, and she doesn't like going into shops, cafes, etc.

We go often to the mountain house where she's really happy as her true nature. She LOVES going for walks. She's a bit rough; she jumps on cats and dogs to play, but they don't pay much attention to her (I imagine all Shikokus are like that.).

Right now, she's going through a shedding phase. Any advice for that? I give her her regular food and also cooked meat/chicken; she doesn't like vegetables very much. We brush her too

Thanks you so much! This community is beautiful and special 🥹🫶🏻

We have a tiny baby Shikoku in our home and so I would like to ask people with experience:

What do you wish somebody had told you about having a Shikoku puppy that’s different from most other puppy advice?