The Shiba Inu Border Collie Mix is an energetic mixture of a purebred Border Collie and a purebred Shiba Inu.
Combining two purebred dogs together results in puppies that are considered "designer dogs". There is some controversy over the breeding of designer dogs due to the fact that most breeders are inexperienced - or worse, puppy mills.
Read on to learn more about the Shiba Inu Border Collie Mix and the designer dog controversy.
Personality of a Shiba Inu Border Collie Mix
A Shiba Inu Border Collie Mix can expected to be a high energy, intelligent, and stubborn dog.
If you are considering a Shiba Inu Border Collie Mix, you must be able to give the dog lots of exercise and mental stimulation. Otherwise, you could be dealing with a bored and frustrated dog that could get into a lot of mischief.
Border Collies are working dogs and bred to herd livestock. They enjoy work and need to have tasks to fulfill in order to be content. Border Collies are one of the smartest dog breeds in the world and are easy to train.
Shiba Inus, on the other hand are non-sporting dogs and do not have as much exercise needs a Border Collie.
Shiba Inus are intelligent but are typically quite stubborn and not as easy to train as a Border Collie.
Both breeds are rather sensitive when it comes to reprimanding, so harsh correcting is not recommended during training sessions.
A properly socialized Shiba Inu Border Collie Mix will get along fine with behaved children and most other dogs.
Because Border Collies were bred to herd and Shiba Inus used to be small game hunters, a Shiba Inu Border Collie Mix may need to socialized and supervised around other small animals.
If the Shiba Inu Border Collie Mix takes on more of a Shiba Inu temperament than expect the mix to be more aloof and wary of strangers. Aggression is also a possibility though early socialization training can minimize this.
Because designer dogs are the combination of two completely different dogs, it is quite difficult to accurately predict a designer dog's temperament.
Daily high energy walks, obedience training, and games are important to making sure that your Shiba Inu Border Collie Mix does not become bored and display this boredom via destructiveness to your personal belongings.
Left: Border Collie, Right: Shiba Inu
Physical Characteristics of a Shiba Inu Border Collie Mix
A typical Shiba Inu Border Collie Mix will be a medium sized dog weighing between 20 - 40 pounds and measuring approximately 16-19" tall.
Body size will be around 15-25 inches, and the weight range will be anywhere from 20 to 40 pounds. The size depends largely on how much Australian Shepherd features your dog exhibits, as the Aussie is larger than the Shiba Inu.
The Shiba Inu appearance tends to dominate the Border Collie features, resulting in a 'foxy' looking dog with a narrower, sleek face than a Shiba Inu but with moderately pointed ears and a slightly longer body.
The body of a Shiba Inu Border Collie Mix should be well proportioned, balanced and slightly muscular through the front and hind quarters.
Usually, the coat of a Shiba Inu Border Collie Mix takes on the shorter hair coat of the Shiba Inu versus the longer coat of the Border Collie. Heavy shedding of the undercoat will occur once or twice a year. Year-round moderate grooming is required.
The coat color possibilities of Shiba Inu Border Collie Mixes is plentiful. They include Black, tan and white, red, tan and white, liver, and cream. Coat color possibilities seen less frequently include blue, merle, lilac, brindle and blue merle. Shiba Inu Border Collie Mix coats can be either smooth, rough, or sometimes curled.
Health Issues of Shiba Inu Border Collie Mixes
A Shiba Inu Border Collie Mix is a fairly healthy dog that has an average lifespan of 11 - 13 years.
Because this mix is particularly active and energetic, high quality nutrition should be provided. Learn more about quality nutrition here.
The most common health issues affecting this dog are Hip dysplasia, luxating patella, Collie eye anomaly (CEA), and epilepsy.
Eye issues such as cataracts and glaucoma also occur occasionally in this type of dog - especially at advanced ages.
Hearing loss could also be an issue with this mix due to the fact that Border Collies are susceptible to hearing issues.
The Issues With Designer Dogs
The main issue with designer dogs is the fact that most of the breeders of these types of dogs are breeding simply for profit.
Because of the fact that many celebrities in the past have promoted designer dogs the demand as well as the price tag of these dogs skyrocketed.
Often times, inexperienced backyard breeders are lured into breeding designer dogs because there is little oversight in judging both the quality and health of the puppies they produce.
Designer dogs do not have esteemed organizations like the AKC or UKC to monitor and judge the quality of the breeder's stock. Moreover, reputable and experienced breeders would never think of crossing their dogs with another dog breed. With the amount of dedication and time it takes to perfect one purebred line, to them, it would seem ludicrous to bring another line that have no experience with into the mix.
Backyard breeders and puppy mills have no problem with this. In fact, they relish the fact that their mixed dogs do not have to be scrutinized to such high standards.
Proponents of designer dogs claim that breeding two different breeds of dogs increase hybrid vigor or "heterosis".
While this claim may or may not have merit (no definitive scientific evidence yet), the fact still stands that most of the breeders do not even have the experience and knowledge to understand the complexities of breeding for specific genetics.
Should I Get a Shiba Inu Border Collie Mix?
The Shiba Inu Border Collie Mix is not a dog for a first time dog owner or for someone that does not have the time and capabilities to exercise this dog on a daily basis.
This dog may not be that big in size, but it does have explosive energy that needs to be released on a regular basis. Couple that with a somewhat difficult and stubborn nature - results in a dog that is not for every owner.
We here at My First Shiba Inu never advocate for the "purchasing" of designer dogs. We do not want to support backyard breeders or puppy mills. There are just so many other wonderful dog mixes waiting to be rescued from shelters across the country.
However, we do advocate for rescuing dogs in need. We provide information on Shiba Inu mixes to those that already have this type of dog or are thinking about rescuing a Shiba Inu mix in need.