Shiba Inu puppies

I have been wanting a dog for a very long time. But because of the constant travel i had to do for work, i had shelved that idea until i finally changed to a non-traveling job for the first time in my 11-year career.

Initially, we visited the Seattle Animal Shelter, hoping to find one that will suit our lifestyle. Most of the dogs at shelter were either pit bulls or pit bull-mixed. Since i have not had a dog since i was about 15, i really didn’t think i could handle a pit bull-like breed.

Smelly then suggested getting a Shiba Inu, a breed that is native to Japan. After doing some research on this breed and visiting a few breeders, including a very questionable backyard breeder in Arlington, we decided to get a puppy from Leslie Engen of San Jo Shibas back in March. I had not visited any breeder prior to deciding on getting a Shiba and i learned a great deal from Leslie. If there is a standard for dog breeder, Leslie should be it. She basically interviewed us to make sure that we were suitable owners of Shibas. She explained to us tirelessly almost everything we need to know about raising a breed like the Shibas, including the potential pitfalls.

Two weeks ago, i sent an email to Leslie asking her for news on her Shiba breeding this summer. She told us the good news. There was a litter of four puppies born on 5/29 and we would be able to visit the puppies in a week or two.

So Smelly and i went over to Leslie’s gorgeous wetland-filled compound yesterday to visit the puppies.

One of the four Shiba puppies.

The Shiba mom is KD. She’s the daughter of Taro, another of Leslie’s Shibas that has sired many Shibas with good temperament.

Protective KD with two of her puppies.

Leslie left us in a fenced area with KD and her four puppies. We were able to interact with most of the puppies – one of them fell asleep as soon as it arrived in the pen. It was very obvious to me that KD was very protective of her puppies. She would chase after flies as perceived threats to her puppies. She showed no sign of aggression toward us but she would not lose sights of all her puppies.

Showing affection to one of the puppies.

Leslie told us that we will be able to pick up one of the four puppies in about three weeks. I can’t wait for the arrival of that day.