We own a Shiba Inu. She's three years old and I love her to pieces. She is the perfect dog in the house; doesn't bother anything that isn't hers.
If you like cats but can't have one for some reason or other, a Shiba Inu is the dog for you. They are very cat like; the bathe like cats, play with toys like cats, are aloof like cats.
They shed badly twice a year because they are double coated.
Outdoors they are a totally different story. We can never take our Shiba into the front yard without a leash. It's that way with all Shibas they tell us. She will not come when called once off leash (except in the house). Thankfully we have a fenced backyard and we can let her run loose there.
We talked to some people before we bought her and they had had one for 9 years. They had company come to the front door and the dog shot out the door when they opened it and was hit by a car.
Thankfully our Shiba walks very well on a leash. She also travels very well and since there are so many hotels that allow pets now, it works out great.
Oh, she also doesn't bark. She yips once in a while, yawns out loud and even burps after eating, but we have not heard her actually bark in the three years we've owned her.
She loves cold weather and was enchanted by the snow the one time we actually had some that she could play in. When it was all gone the next day, she looked at us like "What did you do with it?"
Except for not coming outdoors when called, she's the perfect dog for us.
Shiba Inu Dogs 
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