Do Shiba Ken Bark?

I bought a Shiba puppy a little over a month ago while I was in Hiroshima and brought it home to California.

She's been...well, very mischievious. But anyway something odd that I've noticed about her is that she has NEVER barked. She is 4 months old now and growing steadily. While at the vet, I had mentioned about her not barking and the vet said it may be a serious problem, but then said maybe the breed itself was quiet.

Seeing that Shiba Kens are very rare in America, it's hard to confirm that. I've seen plenty of Shibas in Japan but have never heard them bark.

She can whimper, however.



Some other info:
She's an energetic, red medium-sized Shiba.
I got her from a pet shop for $500... at the time she was sick, the pet shop owners didn't even TELL me until I was already signing the papers to pay. Before I even fully paid I took her to the vet and they diagnosed her with flat worms. Also her back legs were very terrible, she couldn't even walk correctly (she's fine now, might have been due to being in a cage so long).

Also, I'd like to know some tips on raising Shibas if you have any. I have raised dogs and puppies throughout my life since childhood (about 10), but this dog is far different then the others, and has quite a few behavioral problems.

Any help appreciated!

I cannot tell you if your dog has physical problems or not but in general Shiba is known a "quiet" dog. Good shiba don't bark (I don't mean "never," though!) and are regarded one of the best dog types for beginners. They are also easy to keep indoors because of quietness.

If you search for Shiba Ken breeder (no quotes) on Google, there are lots of information sites to look at. One of which might be particularly useful is the Natianal Shiba club of America
http://www.shibas.org/
They might give you some grief about having purchased a dog from a pet shop, so be prepared for that.

Our nephew and his wife have a Shiba, and when visiting them we noticed that the dog was active, but quiet. It didn't bark when we arrived, but was very friendly and inquisitive. It did bark briefly when one of their children fell, but that was it.

Our Shina Inu makes all kind of nosies - yodelling, whistling, growling and barking as well.
When he was very young, we would keep him at home while walking the other two dogs ( a mixed breed and a Lab Retriever ), he shocked us by making loud nosies like a crying baby. He continues to do so even today when he was kept separately in his room in the evening. When we took away his bowl he would give a menacing growl to show his anger. He whistles when he is happy to see us in the morning or when we are back from work. When he is older he picks up the "bad habit"of barking from the other two. We live in a neighborhood where people walk their dogs often. He would run after the dogs and bark at them.
He is the youngest among the three but already established himself as the top dog in the pack. He is good at disappearing and hiding himself inside the drains. Knowing that we were searching for him, he kept very silent and only gave up by a slight whisper when the game was over. It took us hours to search for him and thought he was lost.
A wonderful dog to own. He is so different from others. He is playful, a big dog in a small dog's body with a huge ego and personality! We just adore him and love them all!

I grew up with a Shiba when I was a child :) The dog never understood why I got so big and tall while the dog himself remained pretty much the same size no matter how much he grew lol

Barking seems to depend on the individual dog - ours was kept in the yard, so to get our attention he would (not incessantly but) bark moderately. When fireworks and other strange noises cropped up, there was no way to stop his barking. Any alarming sound, strangers, etc. were all "alarm!" to him, to which he faithfully reacted by barking. For the rest, he was quiet.

One thing to keep in mind with Shiba is that (this is common among traditional Japanese breeds, but I believe it is prominent with Shiba) they respect the pecking order. For example, sometime after coming home to us, the dog established that the order among us "humans" was: my father, my mother, then me. So if all three of us were at home, the dog would only listen to/obey what my father told him. If my father was not at home, he listened to my mom. Now only when I was the only human at home, he would listen to me! If there is no order among the family members, the dog could even feel confused, I've heard.

About the health condition, pet *shops* sometimes do that - not tell you the exact condition before you've made up your mind about bringing that dog home to you. I hope you find a good Shiba owner community or a vet who is familiar with this breed near you! :)

I know this question hasn't been posted in for a year but I noticed it googling shiba ken. I own a 1 year old Shiba Ken. He barks a lot and he once made a baby crying sound. When I went to get him from the breeder they had about 10 Shiba kens and they were all barking at us. But it could just be that your dog is quiet.