Shiba Inu, a famous Japanese dog breed, is very popular these days. They are very cute, alert, clever, cunning, crafty and bold dogs. If you’re thinking about getting a Shiba Inu dog, you may wonder how smart Shiba Inus are? Here are some cool Shiba Inu intelligence facts. 

Are Shiba Inus smart? Measuring the Shiba Inu’s Intelligence

Shiba Inus are known as average intelligent dogs. But knowing which parameters are used to measure Shiba Inu’s intelligence is essential. They may be average when it comes to obedience and working intelligence, but there are intelligent in other ways. 

The most common way of measuring Shiba Inu’s intelligence is with Coren’s intelligence test. This test is designed by Stanley Coren. Results from this test place Shiba Inus as 93rd out of 138 on the smartest dogs list. The list is composed of dog breeds that are officially recognized by the American and Canadian Kennel Clubs. 

Coren’s test measures obedience and working intelligence. It analyses the performance of a dog when it comes to learning commands and retraining. 

199 judges evaluated and ranked dogs based on the number of repetitions before the dog learns a command. Another behavior they tested was how often the dog breed obeys the command which is shown in the success rate. Fewer repetitions before they learn a command meant high ranking. The same goes for obeying the command on the first try which also resulted in higher results. 

Shiba Inus vs other dogs in Coren’s test

In the mentioned Coren’s test, Shiba Inus got average results. This does not fully answer the question “Are Shiba Inus smart breed?” but let’s see how was their performance measured. 

The first test was how many repetitions it takes for Shiba Inu to learn a new command. Shiba Inus learned a new command with 25-40 repetitions. This is very good. The reason the rank is low is the fact that the smartest dogs did it in less than 5 repetitions. 

The second was testing how many attempts it takes for Shiba Inu to obey a known command. This is measured in success rate and Shiba Inu’s result is around 50%. The smartest dogs reached a 95% success rate when it comes to the following command on the first try. 

In the same intelligence category as Shiba Inus are Australian Shepherds, Boxers, Dachshunds, Siberian Husky and many more.

If you’re curious about the top 10 most intelligent dogs we have an answer for you. In this category are German Shepards, Golden Retrievers, Dobermans, Australian Cattle Dogs, Labradors, Poodles, Rottweilers and Border Collies. 

Why Shiba Inus Rank Low in Dog Intelligence?

As we already mentioned, only obedience and working intelligence were tested in Coren’s test for dog intelligence. It is the same problem as with human intelligence tests. It’s always a question of which parameters you choose for analysis. 

The lack of parameters like how much are Shiba Inus crafty, cunning or clever lowers their score. What mostly affects Shiba Inu’s intelligence results is the fact that they are very stubborn. If you consider how often they challenge their owners, imagine them with strangers. Expecting them to challenge the strangers even more, is a legit assumption. 

Like other stubborn dogs, Shiba Inus can sometimes understand your command but refuse to obey it on the first try. This explains Shiba Inu’s intelligence score on Coren’s dog intelligence test, right?

What makes Shiba Inu smart?

If they didn’t perform so well on Coren’s test, what actually makes Shiba Inu smart? It’s the two other parameters mentioned by Stanley Coren. Adaptive and instinctive intelligence.

There are the two that Shiba Inus are much better at. Instinctive intelligence is how much instinct the dog has for what they were bred for. Did you know that Shiba Inus were bred for hunting? Yes, they were hunting dogs in Japan’s mountain regions. 

Sneaking is one of the traits of the hunting instinct. Shiba Inus had to learn how to quietly sneak up on their pray. Shiba Inus’ job was also to flush their pray towards traps or hunters. They are great at this with little to even no training at all. 

Adaptive intelligence refers to Shiba Inus’ ability to learn lessons from previous situations. Evan from their own mistakes. This includes solving problems, learning how to stay safe, avoiding mistakes and similar learning. Adaptive intelligence also means that they will learn how to get what they want from you. It can’t be guaranteed that all Shiba Inus will have this kind of intelligence but most of them have shown to have it.

Shiba Inus can also communicate in a very vocal way. Did you hear about the high-pitched “Shiba scream”? Yes, they quickly learn how to communicate with humans. 

How to Make your Shiba Inu smarter?

You can raise your Shiba Inu’s IQ but you can make them use it better. We already established that their stubbornness is the reason for low results when it comes to Shiba Inu’s intelligence. 

Here are several steps you can take to ensure that your Shiba Inu’s intelligence is put in a working state.

1. Train your Shiba Inu puppy as soon as possible. If you start training from a young age, better are chances for a more obedient dog. 
2. Socialize Shiba Inu puppy at all opportunities. Changing the environment and situations will help them develop greater intelligence.
3. Challenge their mind from a young age. Give your puppy tasks like finding a hidden treat or playing hide and seek with your Shiba Inu. There are also puzzle easting bowls that make dogs use their intelligence to reach food. (ovde mozes da linkujes ako imamo takve cinije)
4. Keep teaching them new tricks and commands. It’s like muscle training. Shiba Inu’s brain needs to stay active to make progress.
5. Stay consistent with sanctioning bad behavior and rewarding good behavior. 
6. Find the right motivator. What motivates Shiba Inus differs from dog to dog. It may take some time until you find the right motivator for your Shiba Inu. But when you find it it will make training so much easier.
7. Build trust with you Shiba Inus. How to do that? Be the one who feeds them, plays with them, takes them for a walk and is calm when they are not. 

Conclusion

Shiba Inus’ intelligence can not be properly measured only by obedience and working intelligence. There is more to it, like adaptive and instinctive intelligence.

How smart is Shiba Inu shouldn’t be a very important question for you when getting a Shiba Inu puppy. More important is their character and temperament and if they fit yours. Their intelligence is more than enough for regular pets.

They do take patience, so make sure to double-check if this is the kind of temperament that fits you. Shiba Inus can be very loving and affectionate and that’s what matters. In the end, that’s all we want from our canine companions, isn’t it?