Grooming a Shiba Inu: the double coat and how to care for it

The coat is the Shiba Inu’s calling card: dense, crisp, with the urajiro drawing the cheeks and chest. The good news is that the Shiba is among the cleanest and simplest breeds to manage — it has an almost feline relationship with its own hygiene. There is only one specificity to understand: the double coat. Those who understand it get simple grooming and a dog that always looks tidy; those who ignore it find the house full of clouds of hair twice a year.

How the double coat works

The Shiba has two coat layers with different functions: the guard hair — stiffer, waterproof, protecting from rain and dirt — and the undercoat, short and woolly, holding warmth in winter and insulating from heat in summer. It is why the Shiba adapts well to living both indoors and outdoors, a dog for all seasons.

Shedding twice a year

The Shiba changes its coat twice a year, usually in spring and autumn, losing the undercoat over 3–6 weeks. At peak shedding the undercoat comes off in clumps; during that period our friend looks like a cushion a grenade went off in. In any case, brushing daily with a medium-length slicker and washing every 4–5 days with specific detangling coat products keeps the fall under control and prevents inextricable mats and dermatitis. Outside shedding season, one or two weekly brushes with a pin brush are enough to remove dead hair and dirt and distribute the sebum that keeps the coat glossy and protected.

The bath: less than you think

The Shiba has one great virtue: it is an extremely clean dog. It never relieves itself where it lives — it would rather burst — and when it does, it isn’t feeling well. It avoids puddles and mud, at times refusing to go out when it rains; it has none of the typical “dog smell” and grooms itself in long, almost feline self-cleaning sessions. A bath is needed about every 3 months, barring exceptional cases, and serves only as a hygienic routine for the care of skin and coat. A bathtub works fine, but you can wash your dog in the shower cubicle too — in the cubicle you will avoid flooding the bathroom when, despite your shouts, it decides to shake and splash everywhere. I recommend water at body temperature, 38–40°C, it makes the bath more pleasant, plus a keratin-based shampoo combined with a disinfectant one containing chlorhexidine. In a single pass you will clean and disinfect coat and skin. Take a bowl of warm water, dilute the shampoos in it, then start massaging the dry dog with a sponge or a net! Lather well all over, let the product sit for a few minutes, then rinse and, if needed, go for a second pass. Rinsing must be thorough: residues irritate the skin. Drying is the most important part — the undercoat holds moisture, and a coat left damp is the doorway to dermatitis and hot spots. To speed things up, I recommend buying a dog blaster dryer with adjustable speed and temperature: effective, inexpensive ones are available on the main e-commerce sites. Towel the dog with a microfibre cloth, then dry it thoroughly, blow-drying against the coat. Ears and head are sensitive areas: to avoid loud protests, cover the ears with a hair band so air cannot get into them, and shield the eyes with the back of your hand. When the dog is almost dry you can apply a volumising product — there are plenty on the market — it gives that extra touch that will make it the most admired dog in the neighbourhood. Once the volumiser is on, cream or spray, keep drying. You must remove every trace of moisture. To be sure, sink your face into the coat: if you feel any dampness, keep going, paying particular attention to the area under the armpits, the inside of the thighs and between the toes. Moisture can promote fungus and bacterial growth.

Never clip a Shiba

Clipping is the most widespread and most harmful practice on a double coat: deprived of its guard hair, the dog loses its thermal and UV protection, and the coat can regrow unevenly, with a risk of alopecia. Shedding is managed by brushing, not with clippers: if a groomer offers clipping “to get it done faster”, change groomer!

Nails, ears and teeth

Nails

Check them every 3-4 weeks: dogs that live in the garden or are very active usually wear them down on their own, dogs that live mostly in apartments do not. Nail trimming is one of the most invasive procedures on a dog: this is why our puppies are used to trimming before delivery, and we advise owners to continue with weekly practice sessions, even “fake” ones where it is only simulated, so they do not lose the habit. In any case, get a clipper — you will find it in pet shops or at a discount store — put the dog on a grooming table (if you have one) or in a comfortable, relaxed position and proceed. Take the paw firmly but without squeezing, and start trimming the nails. If you have trimmed regularly you will not have to remove more than one or two millimetres; if the nails are long and you must cut more, pay attention to the vein inside: the cut is painful and bleeds copiously, and above all the dog will suffer a small trauma and be less cooperative next time. The vein is a thin dark filament inside the nail: cut until you stop about one millimetre short of it. The problem is when, as happens, our Shiba has black nails. In that case trim a couple of millimetres at a time: looking at the nail you will notice that the “core” at a certain point changes, from dead keratinised tissue to a living pulp: that is the moment to stop. Do not forget the dewclaws: if long, even in play they can scratch and hurt.

Ears

They are not cleaned: a healthy ear needs nothing. They must instead be checked by looking at and sniffing the inside. If you see traces of dark discharge, smell a bad odour, the dog walks with its head bent or in an unnatural position, or scratches the base of the ear frequently, it may be the beginning of an infection. Go to the vet, they will know what to do.

Teeth

Tartar in the Shiba is not a health problem: it may be an aesthetic one, and that concerns the owner, not the dog. We have 16-year-old senior dogs with tartar, still with all their teeth. Tartar, as in humans, depends on diet, saliva production, and the conformation of mouth and teeth. Of two dogs on the same diet, one may have tartar and the other none. Tips? Keep it under control; if it becomes very evident, go to the vet, who will make the assessments of the case. Today it is also possible to use dental instruments to clean the teeth where necessary.

What makes it possible to perform all these operations at home, independently and without stress, is a puppy that accepts them without argument because it has been used to them. That is the point: the different phases of grooming are taught during socialisation, as part of daily handling. A puppy that in its first sixty days has learned to be handled — paws, ears, mouth — will accept nail trims, baths and cleaning without stress for life.

In short

Regular brushing, a routine during shedding, a bath when needed, never clipping, and a puppy trained to handling: this is the whole grooming programme of a well-bred Shiba Inu. If you have specific questions, see the FAQ, look at the available puppies or meet the breeders.