Shiba Inu

The smallest of the six and the one most people actually meet. Its name is usually read as brushwood dog, after the scrub it hunted birds and rabbits in, and today's breed was pieced together from the Shinshu, Mino and San'in lines after wartime hunger and later distemper outbreaks nearly ended it. It was declared a natural monument in 1936. The cheerful face online hides a dog that is alert, clever and thoroughly independent: stubborn about training, often unimpressed by strangers and in need of early socialisation and proper exercise. In return it is one of the longest-lived breeds, averaging nearly fifteen years in UK data. Allergic skin disease, slipping kneecaps and glaucoma are the problems to screen for.