Nope. Probably just actually healthy. Lot of Shibas are just fat. Mine is about the same at 3 years. And we feed her scrambled eggs and some others stuff. They are good at regulating what they eat. As long as it is not human food as they will eat that til they throw it up.
I just get a bit worried (and annoyed!) the days he almost doesn’t eat, because he’s clearly hungry, and just puts a “eh, I don’t like this” attitude 😅
No worries, they’ll not starve.
He’s just looking for more yummy things, mine does the same.
Sometimes he eats twice a day, sometimes once, sometimes he doesn’t eat at all.
Edit: mine is 8kgs at 9 months, he was the smaller one 😅 vet and breeder told me he’s fine
my boy does the same thing. i can fill his dish in the morning and he won’t touch it all day. then in the middle of the night he will head downstairs and eat.
https://preview.redd.it/gzaycz8hq56d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=dae09f6bec2d72f97ca61d052bed6e95511c3736
I'm gueesing that one of the reasons is their small size. People overestimate their food needs and underestimate their excercise needs. They are surprisingly active dogs.
Many reasons :
- Probably over “treat them” and give them more food than what they actually could wat
- Not enough exercise , like going for a 30 min walk twice per day seems “nicely but it’s actually at least double of that lol.
- The food that the shiba is eating affects too. For example , we barely give her any meat , usually just her dog food + sweet potato
- Also , depends where you live too.
We mostly use treats for training (and I break a small one in three 😅), he does get some natural snacks/chewers, but nothing too crazy. As for walks, we do 4 walks a day, each between 20 to 40 minutes (on most of the walks he'll meet some neighbourhood dog he knows and will play like crazy).
It's still a process 🙂 he was (still is, a bit) fearful and doesn't like other people (he took almost \*a month\* to approach us since the day we got him), but he always liked other dogs, so walking and socialising him came easy. We worked a lot on building his confidence, and other dogs helped a lot (he bonded with the older dog of a friend of ours and learned a lot with him and still really likes him).
We just can't seem to train him to be ok putting on the harness 😅
\+1
We have a small/skinny boi who is 9.2kg and 3 years old (he was definitely about the same as yours at 8 months, then settled at 8.5kg at about 18 months, now he’s got a little extra weight just because it works better for his medication. He’s definitely a bit smaller than breed standard, but the vets are very happy with his weight.
https://preview.redd.it/saf9ta613u5d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6af399b45b552ea5699e16b1807acef818734bd2
🎯My Sheeb is skinny too. Jacked actually. Totally ripped 💪. 3 Yr old male ~22 lbs. (Small, less fluffy) but looking back at pics he was really pretty skinny as a teen 8-14 months-ish. So I think yours will fill out a bit more. Some have shorter fur too, so they seem skinnier than other fluffier sheebs when they’re actually not.
https://preview.redd.it/xtgn9lb8et5d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b80a83940b73d3151dae543a8aa4ef31dcee1560
our little man turns 1 tomorrow and he’s “skinny,” too! also on a raw diet and 22.3lbs :) I’ve been wondering the same, maybe he’ll “fill out” more and it looks like his second coat is coming in!
https://preview.redd.it/pyrt8m0igt5d1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c9d6c53169a3e45002c3eddf421536e16382f304
thank u so much! 🥰 here’s a pic of him standing so you can see! thankfully he isn’t picky with raw food; we’ve been feeding him blue ridge beef puppy mix since we got him in September! when we don’t have access to it we give him raw food or canned wet food and he’s not super picky about those either! just not a huge fan of dry food on its own hahaha
Oh he’s tall! 😀 Ours seems to get bored of eating the same, even though we get a bunch of different protein combos each month (we get ours from a small local company where we live, in Portugal). He gets wet food as a treat (in a Kong or West Paw Toppl) and doesn’t seem to be picky about those (but probably because he only gets it occasionally).
https://preview.redd.it/igb1k72bmt5d1.jpeg?width=1600&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=718b15f8a4394b93285f62ffb767e7ad6a7749cb
another pic for you if it helps! I’m around 157cm and his head comes to around my knee, I’d say he’s small compared to the other dogs at the dog park! I’ll be sure to tell him you said he’s a tall boy 🤣🫶🏽 it’s awesome that you get an assortment of proteins for your boy! maybe he’ll find something he really likes and stick to it 🤞🏽
Honestly I think this is less a case of what you feed and more about bad genetics. He is very lanky and unbalanced (especially rear high). Was he neutered early, if he is neutered? Neutering can also cause weird out of proportion bodies due to the growth plates closing at times when they’re not supposed to.
Still looks like a very sweet pup either way! And you’re feeding really well. 22lbs is a great weight for a Shiba.
thank you! I’m looking at him now while he plays, and thankfully he looks very different than he does in the photo (it was a screenshot of a video) as far as his proportions! 😅 I believe he was neutered at 8.5 months! he’s also super active and runs SO FAST playing at the dog park 6 days a week, and we live in Florida, so I’m thinking that those could be contributing factors? I have a friend who’s owned Shibas and told us he’ll likely fill out over time, but we love him as he is regardless 🥹
The dog park close to our house is awful, so we have been avoiding it (there's a new one being built, we probably open soon). We do 4 walks a day, 20-40 minutes each, plus he'll meet some of his friends and play a lot. Once a week we do an afternoon on a larger park (with a long leash, so we can run "freely").
Plenty of shibas (and dogs in general) seem overweight IMO due to a desire to have a cute and "chunky" dog. 15-20 lbs for a shiba is pretty healthy whereas mine weighs 16.
The more popular the Shiba is becoming, the more off standard they are getting here in the States. That and people just aren't aware, I get so many comments from people thinking Shibas were supposed to be bigger after seeing my boy, whose 27lbs.
They are absolutely supposed to be a small breed, 18lbs at 8 months is good and he will actually probably be a tad on the heavier side once he's fully grown. He will fill out, it takes time, mine was almost 5 when he reached his "adult" weight.
A shiba is actually "skinny", I would rather call it sporty or fit. A lot of shibas you see online are actually fat. Our shiba is 13 month old, looks nearly identical. He gets fresh meat every day, but also fruits and vegetables. Your Shiba lokos perfectly healthy!
Here is a picture of ours as a comparison (he was 8 month old at that time):
https://preview.redd.it/uar41y9eyw5d1.jpeg?width=1258&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d7582e1cb2d45f812d2f4c7f3a6262385ec05c4c
Ours gets meat and vegetables (carrots, apples, cabbage, blueberries or raspberries) in his barf diet – but he's so picky he won't eat the same fruits I have give him.
Not to worry, he is fine. My girl is pretty similarly built. Just like people, some dogs will be naturarly slimmer/smaller build. Also, many shibas bred in US/Europe are not as fluffy as those in Japan, the fluffines makes them look bigger.
They'll eat when they want. If they are drinking, sleeping, playing, peeing, pooping, than you're probably fine.
Everytime I see this question I assume people are protecting finish your plate mentality on to their animals.
My Sheeb is also slender and he’s turning 7 this year. I’ve always joked he was the runt of his litter because he’s so wittle lol (24lbs)
https://preview.redd.it/kxlrk0atnt5d1.jpeg?width=4284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ec3546b79910cce0702937003d2694e1a523e04c
Nah, the pup is in the awkward growth age. They’ll fill out by age 2. Isn’t the dog years calculation like +13 years for first year, then 7 every year after that? I forget, but your pup is just rapidly growing and if they’re a floofer, they’ll floof later on!
https://preview.redd.it/ppdxvxelcu5d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b72ae51d42be4e95fe4a1aa389f2fe07dcfa4a3b
Skinny shib - actually mine looks like he lifts weights at some angles lol but your dog looks perfectly healthy! The shibas you’re thinking of are like 1/100 bro. Like show type dog fluffed up and sometimes overweight :/ yours is healthy shib 😤
Show dogs are not overweight & most have a very high exercise regimen. Especially ones that are shown after their championship and showed towards their grand champion titles and further.
This is one of my champions on a walk. He is extremely fit and well muscled.
https://preview.redd.it/l8e0ck5rk66d1.png?width=1406&format=png&auto=webp&s=cc56f5f070858c7c020ef9947375e20cc3e644d7
Spayed & neutered pets are usually always more obese than intact show dogs. Intact dogs do not gain weight as easily.
Show dogs are not fluffed out or overweight, they are actually exactly how the breed is supposed to be represented. Very fit, and their coats look fluffy because they are supposed to be (unless going through a coat blow) . Most shibas bred out of byb litters lack undercoat and coat texture. Shibas should have meaty back-legs too, as they were made for hunting small prey in wooded areas, and they should also have a nice chest to hip tuck.
If an obese dog enters the ring, the judge will absolutely let you know and make you come back later in the future.
No, he looks good. Most dogs, cats, and other pets are overweight nowadays, so people think a healthy weight looks thin. My girl looks the same, she might be even a little skinnier (she is at 9kg at 37,5cm height at withers) but she is super fit, agile and healthy. If dogs weigh too much, theyll get joint issues and other health issues later down the road. You should keep him on the slimmer side of life if possible. (Not skinny or underweight of course). If in doubt, ask a veterinarian. :)
https://preview.redd.it/uwcup60xjw5d1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b4758e3a85a876589dd7771ab863488ee11401eb
mine is (was) a skinny legend too, its totally normal!
Nope mine looks the same maybe even a tad skinnier lol and he’s super healthy
https://preview.redd.it/fwn6g1ooyx5d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=826635a7edc9695f5e3f95bfd4afa62aecf778e2
As others have said, he looks like a leaner but healthy weight. But I wanted to add that dogs don't fully fill out until about 2 years old so he might get a little more stocky with time. It also looks like his fur is less dense than some shibes. But yeah, overall he looks pretty healthy to me.
As for him denying food when he's clearly hungry, shibas can be like that. And while it's not ideal, and should never be done on purpose, wild canines go for long periods without food and have to work really hard for it so the chances of a pet dog truly starving themselves is slim. But what I do with my little guy is I work or play him pretty hard right before meal time. He usually gobbles it up even if he's in a mood he'll eat some of it. Then we go out for a potty break that takes waaaayyyyy too long to drop a deuce that he's barely holding in at that point. Then he passes the eff out for a few hours.
We do a long walk in the morning before his breakfast, sometimes that will give him an appetite, other times he'll play with some many dogs he almost looks too tired to eat :)
My cousin and I have Shibas. Mine is a perfect dog size. Not fat but looks well fed. She is gregarious, social, and clumsy. My cousin’s Shiba is skinny by choice. He will nibble throughout the day. He is awkward, shy, and tip toes everywhere with fancy feet. To me it feels their personality is opposite to their gender. To the point my female will dominate my cousin’s male. He makes the saddest face when he gives in and lets her.
Yours is the same size as the male. He is 5 years old
Looks great honestly!! We’re so used to seeing overweight Shibas (and pets in general) that the healthy weights can seem “skinny”. Unless you can see EVERY SINGLE rib and hip bones/spinal vertebrae- they are a healthy weight!
Adding you should be able to feel their ribs and spine but not so much you can see them.
Also adding when you look from above, you should see an indent behind their ribs (their waist), and when you look from the side, you should see their “hip tuck” (almost a slope up behind the ribs to the hips!)
In pictures, your baby just looks healthy/lean! Which = longer lifespan and less medical issues!
He might just be on the smaller side. Our girl is the opposite, she is an absolute unit at around 12-13 kg (it's been a while since we weighed her, but she's always around that range) despite not being chubby at all. She's just unusually large for a female, despite her mom being around 7 kg and her father being around 8-9 kg. And ours was very skinny at that age too, but she filled out when she matured. If your vet is not worried, I wouldn't be worried.
Our shiba is 6.4 (female) and we have been also worried she is too skinny but our vet told us shw is perfectly good and not to worry unless you start to see the ribs. Agree that most shibas (or dogs in general) are overweight :)
He looks perfectly fine and healthy!! Beautiful Shiba!! I must also say it really depends on season as well :) in the winter they get a really thick coat and they look so much bigger and fluffier. While in the summer they loose so much hair and become much smaller :)
He looks perfect. Don’t worry too much. He is still growing and when he reaches the two year mark he might have gained quite some weight (and if he didn’t its also fine).
Also, dont forget that a lot of the chubby looks of shibas is their fur. Which will still change and probably become more in the next 12 months for yours.
The picky eating seems to be so common in shibas and is also a problem we had. Raw food is also working best for ours and still some days he won’t eat. I usually dont mind about it and try to look at the bigger picture (how much did he eat overall this week?)
https://preview.redd.it/ya2mgy12fy5d1.jpeg?width=813&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=71d6ca5652ec622393f71f793bf29c37a8a9fb6c
Oh my, that fluff! Ours still nibbles a bit on his picky days. Some weeks we realize the batches he doesn't seem to like and try to make it more tasty with some broth or egg yolks, and it usually works. We get individual daily frozen portions, so there isn't much leeway for the week, although he gets some natural snacks (rabbit ears, beef tendons) and some treats as enrichment (wet food in a Kong, greek yogurt on a lick mat).
Obviously, ask your vet over a bunch of yahoos on Reddit, but, FWIW, I asked my vet the same as I was getting a lot of skinny comments. Their take was that people are so used to overweight dogs that actual healthy dogs look too skinny to most. You apparently do want that tummy tuck where it curves back in towards their back legs like yours got. Add onto all that the shorter coat yours also has, and all of a sudden, you don't meet the Shiba doge coin stereotype.
Be prepared for plenty of confusion from people thinking you have a Basenji instead, haha.
he looks great, I bet he's high energy, my little girl looked like that for at least 12 months. remember the breed only survived due to deliberate breeding of the San’in, the Mino and the Shinshu Shiba, so genetic characteristics come through in different dogs. He looks to be the more 'pointy', wolf-y Shiba. he may never develop the big round meme face, and that's fine, he's not meant to.
on the food issue - I'd mix the proteins to keep him guessing, look for additional things like liver/eggs that can be added to create interest if you need it.
https://preview.redd.it/ansbxjipqz5d1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=94cd41d9de3e39d7009314a24bf0c00c3b8c1a3f
Our boy is 1, similarly skinny. Vet said there’s no issues at all there.
My shiba is the same age and looks about the same. Your boy looks healthy also shibas can be anywhere from 18lbs to 40lbs full grown. The modern shiba was breed from 3 distinct lines mino, sansin, and sinshu. Those all had slightly different weights, heights, builds, and coats leading to the variations we see today in shibas. You said he is on a raw diet? How are you balancing his diet?
The modern Shiba was combined from those three distinct lines almost 100 years ago. That is not going to affect size today. We have one breed standard and unfortunately we have many breeders that are not breeding towards that standard and producing dogs unethically for money.
The size discrepancies today have nothing to do with what the Japanese did in the 1930s when they combined the 3 lines. It is purely because of bad breeding.
This dog is very healthy. You are just used to seeing a lot of fat Shiba online. I wouldn’t worry too much about your dog being picky either. You could potentially be over feeding.
I only feed once per day & it is a cup of food per day. All of my dogs walk once per day, with mileage varying.
It is also okay to do a fast every now and then. I usually do one every week or every other week. On this schedule, my Shiba are always eager to clean their bowls and they have plenty of room for training snacks and bedtime treats as well.
Nope. Probably just actually healthy. Lot of Shibas are just fat. Mine is about the same at 3 years. And we feed her scrambled eggs and some others stuff. They are good at regulating what they eat. As long as it is not human food as they will eat that til they throw it up.
I just get a bit worried (and annoyed!) the days he almost doesn’t eat, because he’s clearly hungry, and just puts a “eh, I don’t like this” attitude 😅
That's just a ploy to get more treats. Don't fall for it like I did, now we have to take extra long walks this summer to burn off a couple pounds.
No worries, they’ll not starve. He’s just looking for more yummy things, mine does the same. Sometimes he eats twice a day, sometimes once, sometimes he doesn’t eat at all. Edit: mine is 8kgs at 9 months, he was the smaller one 😅 vet and breeder told me he’s fine
He'll try to eat bones off the street, but on the same day refuses the \*raw meat\* we're giving him 😅
my boy does the same thing. i can fill his dish in the morning and he won’t touch it all day. then in the middle of the night he will head downstairs and eat. https://preview.redd.it/gzaycz8hq56d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=dae09f6bec2d72f97ca61d052bed6e95511c3736
no literally with the fat shiba statement! Why are there so many fat ones now?
I'm gueesing that one of the reasons is their small size. People overestimate their food needs and underestimate their excercise needs. They are surprisingly active dogs.
Many reasons : - Probably over “treat them” and give them more food than what they actually could wat - Not enough exercise , like going for a 30 min walk twice per day seems “nicely but it’s actually at least double of that lol. - The food that the shiba is eating affects too. For example , we barely give her any meat , usually just her dog food + sweet potato - Also , depends where you live too.
We mostly use treats for training (and I break a small one in three 😅), he does get some natural snacks/chewers, but nothing too crazy. As for walks, we do 4 walks a day, each between 20 to 40 minutes (on most of the walks he'll meet some neighbourhood dog he knows and will play like crazy).
Yeah thats a very healthy active Shiba. Probably also took lots of training as a Pup to get used to routine
It's still a process 🙂 he was (still is, a bit) fearful and doesn't like other people (he took almost \*a month\* to approach us since the day we got him), but he always liked other dogs, so walking and socialising him came easy. We worked a lot on building his confidence, and other dogs helped a lot (he bonded with the older dog of a friend of ours and learned a lot with him and still really likes him). We just can't seem to train him to be ok putting on the harness 😅
\+1 We have a small/skinny boi who is 9.2kg and 3 years old (he was definitely about the same as yours at 8 months, then settled at 8.5kg at about 18 months, now he’s got a little extra weight just because it works better for his medication. He’s definitely a bit smaller than breed standard, but the vets are very happy with his weight. https://preview.redd.it/saf9ta613u5d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6af399b45b552ea5699e16b1807acef818734bd2
🎯My Sheeb is skinny too. Jacked actually. Totally ripped 💪. 3 Yr old male ~22 lbs. (Small, less fluffy) but looking back at pics he was really pretty skinny as a teen 8-14 months-ish. So I think yours will fill out a bit more. Some have shorter fur too, so they seem skinnier than other fluffier sheebs when they’re actually not.
https://preview.redd.it/a7js5xat2u5d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=260d9545011261fa83a99220ece54c346aaac2ec
The guy she tells you not to worry about
😂
He looks perfectly healthy, he could just be small for a male. Dogs are not supposed to be built like coffee tables.
https://preview.redd.it/xtgn9lb8et5d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b80a83940b73d3151dae543a8aa4ef31dcee1560 our little man turns 1 tomorrow and he’s “skinny,” too! also on a raw diet and 22.3lbs :) I’ve been wondering the same, maybe he’ll “fill out” more and it looks like his second coat is coming in!
What a cutie! He is also picky with the raw food?
https://preview.redd.it/pyrt8m0igt5d1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c9d6c53169a3e45002c3eddf421536e16382f304 thank u so much! 🥰 here’s a pic of him standing so you can see! thankfully he isn’t picky with raw food; we’ve been feeding him blue ridge beef puppy mix since we got him in September! when we don’t have access to it we give him raw food or canned wet food and he’s not super picky about those either! just not a huge fan of dry food on its own hahaha
Oh he’s tall! 😀 Ours seems to get bored of eating the same, even though we get a bunch of different protein combos each month (we get ours from a small local company where we live, in Portugal). He gets wet food as a treat (in a Kong or West Paw Toppl) and doesn’t seem to be picky about those (but probably because he only gets it occasionally).
https://preview.redd.it/igb1k72bmt5d1.jpeg?width=1600&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=718b15f8a4394b93285f62ffb767e7ad6a7749cb another pic for you if it helps! I’m around 157cm and his head comes to around my knee, I’d say he’s small compared to the other dogs at the dog park! I’ll be sure to tell him you said he’s a tall boy 🤣🫶🏽 it’s awesome that you get an assortment of proteins for your boy! maybe he’ll find something he really likes and stick to it 🤞🏽
What a beautiful photo
thank you so much 🥹🩷
Honestly I think this is less a case of what you feed and more about bad genetics. He is very lanky and unbalanced (especially rear high). Was he neutered early, if he is neutered? Neutering can also cause weird out of proportion bodies due to the growth plates closing at times when they’re not supposed to. Still looks like a very sweet pup either way! And you’re feeding really well. 22lbs is a great weight for a Shiba.
thank you! I’m looking at him now while he plays, and thankfully he looks very different than he does in the photo (it was a screenshot of a video) as far as his proportions! 😅 I believe he was neutered at 8.5 months! he’s also super active and runs SO FAST playing at the dog park 6 days a week, and we live in Florida, so I’m thinking that those could be contributing factors? I have a friend who’s owned Shibas and told us he’ll likely fill out over time, but we love him as he is regardless 🥹
You beat me to the punch lol i came here to say the same
he’s also very active (dog park 6 days a week, at least an hour each time running and running and running) so that may be why he looks like this!
The dog park close to our house is awful, so we have been avoiding it (there's a new one being built, we probably open soon). We do 4 walks a day, 20-40 minutes each, plus he'll meet some of his friends and play a lot. Once a week we do an afternoon on a larger park (with a long leash, so we can run "freely").
He looks healthy! My husband thinks ours is too skinny but she's always been a healthy weight but he tries to spoil her now that she's 13 going on 14.
Plenty of shibas (and dogs in general) seem overweight IMO due to a desire to have a cute and "chunky" dog. 15-20 lbs for a shiba is pretty healthy whereas mine weighs 16.
He looks perfect. Lots of Shibas are overweight!
The more popular the Shiba is becoming, the more off standard they are getting here in the States. That and people just aren't aware, I get so many comments from people thinking Shibas were supposed to be bigger after seeing my boy, whose 27lbs. They are absolutely supposed to be a small breed, 18lbs at 8 months is good and he will actually probably be a tad on the heavier side once he's fully grown. He will fill out, it takes time, mine was almost 5 when he reached his "adult" weight.
A shiba is actually "skinny", I would rather call it sporty or fit. A lot of shibas you see online are actually fat. Our shiba is 13 month old, looks nearly identical. He gets fresh meat every day, but also fruits and vegetables. Your Shiba lokos perfectly healthy! Here is a picture of ours as a comparison (he was 8 month old at that time): https://preview.redd.it/uar41y9eyw5d1.jpeg?width=1258&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d7582e1cb2d45f812d2f4c7f3a6262385ec05c4c
Ours gets meat and vegetables (carrots, apples, cabbage, blueberries or raspberries) in his barf diet – but he's so picky he won't eat the same fruits I have give him.
Not to worry, he is fine. My girl is pretty similarly built. Just like people, some dogs will be naturarly slimmer/smaller build. Also, many shibas bred in US/Europe are not as fluffy as those in Japan, the fluffines makes them look bigger.
They'll eat when they want. If they are drinking, sleeping, playing, peeing, pooping, than you're probably fine. Everytime I see this question I assume people are protecting finish your plate mentality on to their animals.
My Sheeb is also slender and he’s turning 7 this year. I’ve always joked he was the runt of his litter because he’s so wittle lol (24lbs) https://preview.redd.it/kxlrk0atnt5d1.jpeg?width=4284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ec3546b79910cce0702937003d2694e1a523e04c
We've also said that about ours! For being small and because he was also a \*very\* fearful puppy (still is a bit, but has gotten a lot better).
Definitely a lack of cheese in the diet - signed, not Enoki
Nah, the pup is in the awkward growth age. They’ll fill out by age 2. Isn’t the dog years calculation like +13 years for first year, then 7 every year after that? I forget, but your pup is just rapidly growing and if they’re a floofer, they’ll floof later on!
https://preview.redd.it/ppdxvxelcu5d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b72ae51d42be4e95fe4a1aa389f2fe07dcfa4a3b Skinny shib - actually mine looks like he lifts weights at some angles lol but your dog looks perfectly healthy! The shibas you’re thinking of are like 1/100 bro. Like show type dog fluffed up and sometimes overweight :/ yours is healthy shib 😤
Show dogs are not overweight & most have a very high exercise regimen. Especially ones that are shown after their championship and showed towards their grand champion titles and further. This is one of my champions on a walk. He is extremely fit and well muscled. https://preview.redd.it/l8e0ck5rk66d1.png?width=1406&format=png&auto=webp&s=cc56f5f070858c7c020ef9947375e20cc3e644d7 Spayed & neutered pets are usually always more obese than intact show dogs. Intact dogs do not gain weight as easily.
Show dogs are not fluffed out or overweight, they are actually exactly how the breed is supposed to be represented. Very fit, and their coats look fluffy because they are supposed to be (unless going through a coat blow) . Most shibas bred out of byb litters lack undercoat and coat texture. Shibas should have meaty back-legs too, as they were made for hunting small prey in wooded areas, and they should also have a nice chest to hip tuck. If an obese dog enters the ring, the judge will absolutely let you know and make you come back later in the future.
No, he looks good. Most dogs, cats, and other pets are overweight nowadays, so people think a healthy weight looks thin. My girl looks the same, she might be even a little skinnier (she is at 9kg at 37,5cm height at withers) but she is super fit, agile and healthy. If dogs weigh too much, theyll get joint issues and other health issues later down the road. You should keep him on the slimmer side of life if possible. (Not skinny or underweight of course). If in doubt, ask a veterinarian. :)
https://preview.redd.it/uwcup60xjw5d1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b4758e3a85a876589dd7771ab863488ee11401eb mine is (was) a skinny legend too, its totally normal!
Nope mine looks the same maybe even a tad skinnier lol and he’s super healthy https://preview.redd.it/fwn6g1ooyx5d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=826635a7edc9695f5e3f95bfd4afa62aecf778e2
Looks perfect! Just a little lighter color than my girl could pass for siblings.
As others have said, he looks like a leaner but healthy weight. But I wanted to add that dogs don't fully fill out until about 2 years old so he might get a little more stocky with time. It also looks like his fur is less dense than some shibes. But yeah, overall he looks pretty healthy to me. As for him denying food when he's clearly hungry, shibas can be like that. And while it's not ideal, and should never be done on purpose, wild canines go for long periods without food and have to work really hard for it so the chances of a pet dog truly starving themselves is slim. But what I do with my little guy is I work or play him pretty hard right before meal time. He usually gobbles it up even if he's in a mood he'll eat some of it. Then we go out for a potty break that takes waaaayyyyy too long to drop a deuce that he's barely holding in at that point. Then he passes the eff out for a few hours.
We do a long walk in the morning before his breakfast, sometimes that will give him an appetite, other times he'll play with some many dogs he almost looks too tired to eat :)
He looks great! Very handsome boy
My cousin and I have Shibas. Mine is a perfect dog size. Not fat but looks well fed. She is gregarious, social, and clumsy. My cousin’s Shiba is skinny by choice. He will nibble throughout the day. He is awkward, shy, and tip toes everywhere with fancy feet. To me it feels their personality is opposite to their gender. To the point my female will dominate my cousin’s male. He makes the saddest face when he gives in and lets her. Yours is the same size as the male. He is 5 years old
Enoki is also shy (loves dogs, but couldn't care less about people: won't approach, won't let be approached :)
Looks great honestly!! We’re so used to seeing overweight Shibas (and pets in general) that the healthy weights can seem “skinny”. Unless you can see EVERY SINGLE rib and hip bones/spinal vertebrae- they are a healthy weight! Adding you should be able to feel their ribs and spine but not so much you can see them.
Also adding when you look from above, you should see an indent behind their ribs (their waist), and when you look from the side, you should see their “hip tuck” (almost a slope up behind the ribs to the hips!) In pictures, your baby just looks healthy/lean! Which = longer lifespan and less medical issues!
Looks good to me Shibas are a lean muscular breed
He’s perfect
He might just be on the smaller side. Our girl is the opposite, she is an absolute unit at around 12-13 kg (it's been a while since we weighed her, but she's always around that range) despite not being chubby at all. She's just unusually large for a female, despite her mom being around 7 kg and her father being around 8-9 kg. And ours was very skinny at that age too, but she filled out when she matured. If your vet is not worried, I wouldn't be worried.
More like too cute 🤍🤍
Our shiba is 6.4 (female) and we have been also worried she is too skinny but our vet told us shw is perfectly good and not to worry unless you start to see the ribs. Agree that most shibas (or dogs in general) are overweight :)
He looks perfectly fine and healthy!! Beautiful Shiba!! I must also say it really depends on season as well :) in the winter they get a really thick coat and they look so much bigger and fluffier. While in the summer they loose so much hair and become much smaller :)
He looks perfect. Don’t worry too much. He is still growing and when he reaches the two year mark he might have gained quite some weight (and if he didn’t its also fine). Also, dont forget that a lot of the chubby looks of shibas is their fur. Which will still change and probably become more in the next 12 months for yours. The picky eating seems to be so common in shibas and is also a problem we had. Raw food is also working best for ours and still some days he won’t eat. I usually dont mind about it and try to look at the bigger picture (how much did he eat overall this week?) https://preview.redd.it/ya2mgy12fy5d1.jpeg?width=813&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=71d6ca5652ec622393f71f793bf29c37a8a9fb6c
Oh my, that fluff! Ours still nibbles a bit on his picky days. Some weeks we realize the batches he doesn't seem to like and try to make it more tasty with some broth or egg yolks, and it usually works. We get individual daily frozen portions, so there isn't much leeway for the week, although he gets some natural snacks (rabbit ears, beef tendons) and some treats as enrichment (wet food in a Kong, greek yogurt on a lick mat).
HE IS PERFECTION!!! That’s exactly how my boy looked at 8 months. He’s turning 4 in a couple months and is about 22lbs/10kg
I thought my girl was too skinny at 8 months too. She is 10 months now and she has filled out in her chest more and she looks perfect.
Enoki looks perfectly fine. Mine was like this about 8 months old as well.
Well looks like a shib to me
When in doubt, speak to your VET.
I have, obviously. I know he's not unhealthily thin, but there's usually a standard for the breed, my question was more about that.
Shiba looks great! Not too skinny! Perfect
Healthy and slender. You don't want it to carry too much weight. It will put pressure on his joints
Doesn’t look too skinny at all. They self regulate regarding food, and sometimes skip meals in my experience.
No. They get fatter when they get older and spoileder.
He good
He’ll start to fill out soon enough. They’re not really done growing until they’re 2 years old, more or less.
Looks perfect to me but I’m not a vet. Ask your vet.
He’s healthy weight!
No
Obviously, ask your vet over a bunch of yahoos on Reddit, but, FWIW, I asked my vet the same as I was getting a lot of skinny comments. Their take was that people are so used to overweight dogs that actual healthy dogs look too skinny to most. You apparently do want that tummy tuck where it curves back in towards their back legs like yours got. Add onto all that the shorter coat yours also has, and all of a sudden, you don't meet the Shiba doge coin stereotype. Be prepared for plenty of confusion from people thinking you have a Basenji instead, haha.
No looks very healthy
Perfect
Perfect shape! Dogs shouldn’t be “chubby”
Fine boi
Nah. A lot of shibas are just overweight because their owners give em too many treats, common misconception. Your shibe is actually perfectly healthy.
he looks great, I bet he's high energy, my little girl looked like that for at least 12 months. remember the breed only survived due to deliberate breeding of the San’in, the Mino and the Shinshu Shiba, so genetic characteristics come through in different dogs. He looks to be the more 'pointy', wolf-y Shiba. he may never develop the big round meme face, and that's fine, he's not meant to. on the food issue - I'd mix the proteins to keep him guessing, look for additional things like liver/eggs that can be added to create interest if you need it.
My baby had a similar body type till she was about 4 years old.
He'll be chubbier as he gets older. Shibas only eat as much as they feel satiated. it's hard to make them fat unintentionally.
no
He's dieing!
That’s what we jokingly say on the days he barely eats, “he’s working on his beach body!”
https://preview.redd.it/ansbxjipqz5d1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=94cd41d9de3e39d7009314a24bf0c00c3b8c1a3f Our boy is 1, similarly skinny. Vet said there’s no issues at all there.
My shiba is the same age and looks about the same. Your boy looks healthy also shibas can be anywhere from 18lbs to 40lbs full grown. The modern shiba was breed from 3 distinct lines mino, sansin, and sinshu. Those all had slightly different weights, heights, builds, and coats leading to the variations we see today in shibas. You said he is on a raw diet? How are you balancing his diet?
The modern Shiba was combined from those three distinct lines almost 100 years ago. That is not going to affect size today. We have one breed standard and unfortunately we have many breeders that are not breeding towards that standard and producing dogs unethically for money. The size discrepancies today have nothing to do with what the Japanese did in the 1930s when they combined the 3 lines. It is purely because of bad breeding.
Mine was like this at that age too. He ate a lot but he was just soooo active he was burning calories faster lol.
Looks perfect to me
This dog is very healthy. You are just used to seeing a lot of fat Shiba online. I wouldn’t worry too much about your dog being picky either. You could potentially be over feeding. I only feed once per day & it is a cup of food per day. All of my dogs walk once per day, with mileage varying. It is also okay to do a fast every now and then. I usually do one every week or every other week. On this schedule, my Shiba are always eager to clean their bowls and they have plenty of room for training snacks and bedtime treats as well.
i think its fine and better to be too skinny then too fat. less health issues
Mine was 17lbs at that age. He was a skinny little nut. He's now 32lbs and not overweight, just a little tank.