"Sheba inus, samurai, and ninjas" Topic

So, I was out walking around, and a guy who was putting air in his tires stopped me to show me his sheba inu dog (a small, rather handsome Japanese breed). He talked about the history of the breed, and explained that samurai used them at their castles for watch dogs: akitas and other, larger dogs would be in the outer perimeter to sound the alarm if the castle were attacked, while the small sheba inus would be in the inner areas, and were very good at detecting stealth attacks, the sort of things one could expect from ninjas.

It all sounds quite interesting, but a bit confusing. Can anyone provide additional information? I've even wondered if he might have been thinking legendary, movie, invisible, totally silent ninjas or something like that so that the dogs have some sort of sixth sense to detect them. I haven't turned up much, probably because we are operating on the boundary between historical and legendary here.

It was a handsome dog, and very friendly and well behaved.

Grelber

They are pretty dogs: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shiba_Inu

Jim

I had never heard that but who knows. I imagine both the ancestors of Shiba Inu and Akita were used for hunting game and also as companion dogs. I've seen photos of both breeds posed with samurai.

In my experience the Shiba Inu is very close to those in it's family and house and less so around strangers. It also has a distinctive bark when alerted or feeling threatened.

Dogs can hear, smell, and feel things that people can't, and patrolling their territory at night is normal, instinctive, dog behavior. That's a great combination, and is among the reasons people have kept dogs for thousands of years.

Ninja were and are people, and they can be highly skilled at and equipped for intrusion, but even they can only be aware of their own sounds down to levels of volume and pitch that are still detectable by dogs.

Similarly for their own scents, maybe more so.

Dogs' whiskers can detect very subtle movements in the air, such as those caused by someone moving, even slowly.

So while I haven't heard of this specific situation, I do know that dogs have guarded and still guard temples and palaces throughout Asia.

My parents had a Lhasa Apso. He was not a very smart dog. However, he detected prowlers and a break-in attempt, and once made the entry person of a home invasion so nervous and flustered by barking and running circles around her that she literally ran out of the house. So he may have had some canine telepathy going.

We have a Shiba Inu – had two, brother and sister, but we lost the female this last December. Yes, Prince Alberts Revenge, they are very close to family.

We got these two when they were 10 years old which will be 6 years ago this August. The previous owner died of cancer – and had a previous bout of cancer – in both cases the male dog detected something was wrong before the doctors did. So, perhaps they do have a sixth sense.

The bark is more a scream….the (in)famous Shiba scream.

Some tidbits about training a Shiba – make them think its their idea and if that fails be prepared to negotiate. Lovely dogs.

Shadow: I can believe that about your dogs and that 6th sense is probably the dog's nose. They have cancer sniffing dogs in use now anf they also have covid sniffing dogs.

Truly amazing what they, the most noble of creatures, can do. Also, my hats off to you for adopting those dogs and my condolences on the loss of the female and hope the male is coping as best he can. I have two females (sisters) and the bond between them is something else.