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Shiba Inu Rottweiler Mix: Everything You Need To Know

Shiba Inu Rottweiler Mix

Although most people prefer a purebred dog, there are all kinds of good mixed-breed dogs. Like the ingredients in a stew, their qualities mix to create something new. In many cases, mutts can be some of the best dogs around, but it’s not always easy to do your research on them.

With that in mind, we have put together an in-depth look at a specific mix of breeds. Those who own this kind of dog will save a little bit of time by getting all the information from one place. Today, we will be discussing a mix of the Rottweiler and the Shiba Inu.

About The Rottweiler

The Rottweiler is probably familiar to most of you, as they are a very common breed. The AKC ranks them as the eighth-most popular breed in the United States. There are many good reasons for their popularity, as they are both intelligent and highly protective of their masters.

Rottweilers range in size from 80-135 pounds with an average height of 22-27 inches. They have a life expectancy of 9-10 years and will normally have a thick and muscular frame.

They are especially common for use as guard dogs, and this has given them a fearsome reputation that is not entirely deserved. While they can be quite savage in defense of their pack (that means you), that is not always a bad thing.

Still, that is only one side of their personality. When raised normally, Rottweilers tend to make excellent family dogs and companions.

About The Shiba Inu

The Shiba Inu is Japan’s most popular breed of dog and is fast becoming one of the more popular breeds in the United States.

The AKC lists it as the forty-fourth most popular breed in the United States, which is pretty good when you consider its fairly recent introduction.

Descended from ancient hunting dogs, the name of this breed translates to “brush dogs.” Their weight ranges from 17-to 23 pounds, and their height ranges from 13.5 to 16.5 inches.

The Shiba Inu has a life expectancy of 13-16 years, making it one of the more long-lived breeds. Their appearance is something like a cross between a fox and a husky, with their coloration being similar to the latter.

Most are either red and white or black and tan. They are known for being very stubborn, which is caused by a mixture of intelligence and stubbornness.

All About Your Rottweiler Shiba Inu Mix

Of course, we could write a lot more about these two breeds, but we think you have enough information to get a general picture of them. Now, let’s think about how their qualities look when the two breeds are mixed.

Appearance

A Rottweiler Shiba Inu mix will obviously inherit a little bit from the appearance of both its parents. Let’s start with color. Rottweilers are black and tan, and there are no color variations.

The Shiba Inu will either be a rusty red color or a mix of black and light tan. Thus, a black and tan color scheme is the most likely outcome when the breeds mix.

That being said, if your dog is descended from a red Shiba, you might get something that looks kind of like a red Rottweiler. Still, this is not the norm. most of them have a black and tan color pattern. This dog is a very typical example.

Moving on to physical features, these dogs will probably look like a slimmer, more fox-like version of the Rottweiler. It will probably have the rigid upright ears that are associated with the Shiba Inu rather than the floppy ears of the Rottweiler.

Your mix will be shorter and slimmer than a Rottweiler, but taller and thicker than a purebred Shiba Inu.

Pups of this particular mix tend to go for a medium-high price, and it isn’t too hard to see why that is the case. The short nose of the Rottweiler combines with the perpetual smile and fluffy coat of the Shiba Inu to create a very cute and photogenic dog.

Height And Weight

As we mentioned earlier, Rottweilers have an average height of 22-27 inches, so let’s use the middle number and put their average height at 25. For the Shiba Inu, that average height would be about 15 inches.

Assuming that their offspring will conform to the averages, you’re looking at a dog with a height of roughly 19-21 inches at the shoulder. Of course, this height will also vary between the sexes.

For both of these breeds, and for most canines, the males are slightly taller than the females. For instance, the average height for a Shiba Inu female is 13.5-15.5 inches. For males of the same breed, the average height is 14.5-16.5 inches.

Thus, we can count on roughly one inch of height difference between the sexes. For Rottweilers, there is a larger difference between male and female height, and it’s about two inches.

As a result, you can expect to see these differences reflected in a mixed-breed dog. Your males will likely be 1-2 inches shorter than your females.

Weight is a little bit harder to estimate, as it will partly depend on the habits of the dog and the diet that they are fed. If we average the weight of an adult male Rottweiler and an adult male Shiba Inu, we get a rough figure of 59 pounds.

For females, our average is 48.5 pounds, so you’re looking at a medium-sized dog. Considering that this is a mixture of a large breed and a smaller one, that shouldn’t be surprising to anyone.

You should understand that a mixed-breed dog might have any of the traits associated with their parent breeds.

However, this mixture of traits is not random and follows a definite set of scientific rules.

Behavior And Personality

On the subject of behavior, we can say that you are in for an interesting ride. Rottweilers, being members of the molossoid family, are known for their rowdy and energetic nature.

This is the kind of dog that can become a problem if they are not properly disciplined and controlled. The molossoid family also includes all mastiffs and most bulldogs, including Pit Bulls, American Staffordshire Terriers, English Bulldogs, and American Bulldogs.

The Shiba Inu is sometimes regarded as one of the most difficult dogs to train. Where the Rottweiler is known for its rowdiness, this kind of dog is known for its crafty intelligence.

Indeed, this makes us wonder if the Shiba Inu is descended from some type of fox, but we may never know the answer to that one.

Although Shiba Inu can learn very quickly, their strong will and high intelligence can make them feel less compelled to obey.

At the same time, both the Shiba Inu and the Rottweiler have been trained for a variety of different purposes. From this, we can see that the challenge is far from impossible.

The most important thing is to establish good habits while your mixed dog is still young. If you have acquired a mix like this, and they are more than a year old, you are going to have an uphill battle.

Should you find yourself in this kind of uphill battle, there are several pointers that we can offer. First, don’t try to teach your dog a lot of commands until they are at least six months of age.

Prior to this, their ability to comprehend verbal commands will be a little bit more limited. Second, Don’t rely too much on the use of treats for training. After a while, your dog will not want to obey without them.

The keyword here is “control.” an intelligent animal like this may feel that it can outsmart you, and there is only one way to deal with such a problem: You have to outsmart them first!

For instance, if you are worried about your dog tearing up the house when you leave (a very common problem for puppies), put them in a cage or crate while you are gone. Make sure it is fastened tightly, and they will have no opportunity to misbehave.

In all, a Shiba Inu Rottweiler mix is likely to be intelligent, agile, playful, and highly devoted. They will probably be very good with children and should be able to get along with most other dogs.

Health Issues

For a start, let’s take a look at the health standards that exist for both the source breeds. We will once again turn to the AKC as an authoritative source, as you couldn’t really ask for a better source of information on this subject. Here are the standards for Rottweilers, and here are the standards for the Shiba Inu.

We can see that the Rottweiler is particularly vulnerable to hip dysplasia. This is a bone disorder of the hip area that often afflicts large dogs. Since they are carrying more weight, it makes sense that they are more prone to hip joint issues.

Because a large dog’s heart also has to work harder, they are also slightly more prone to cardiac problems. Eye diseases also seem to be a little more common, so Rottweilers should be monitored for all of these issues.

The Shiba Inu, on the other hand, has a frequent problem with allergies. In fact, the problem is so bad that Shiba Inu breeders will usually refrain from breeding a dog with allergies. Hip problems can also occur with this breed, but it is more common for Shiba Inu to have issues with their knees.

Bearing this in mind, we can expect that a Shiba Inu/Rottweiler mix is somewhat more likely to have hip problems as they get older.

We can also expect that such a dog will be more prone to allergies, so watch them closely for signs of negative reactions.

Knee problems are another concern, as are eye diseases and cardiac problems. Of course, your dog is not likely to have all of these problems, and may not develop any of them. Still, these will be the most likely health issues.

It is worth noting that mixed-breed dogs may be less susceptible to health problems than purebred ones. Due to the frequent problem of inbreeding, many purebred species have developed genetic disorders, and this problem is less common in mixed-breed dogs.

According to this study, mixed-breed dogs were found to have much less chance of inheriting a genetic health problem.

Who Should Have This Kind Of Dog?

We would say that the owner of a Rottweiler Shiba Inu mix must have a lot of patience. As we talked about in the behavior section, this is a mixture of an energetic guard dog and an energetic hunting dog.

As a result, you could end up with some aggression problems, especially during early life. This is not a certainty, of course, but it’s something you need to watch.

This would be a great dog, on the other hand, for someone who wanted a relatively small protection dog. Their nature would be perfect for this kind of thing, as they will likely have the feistiness of a small dog with a little more muscle to back up that attitude.

These animals would also be great for those who like to include their dog in their travel activities, as they are sure to have an inquisitive and outgoing nature.

These dogs will be intelligent enough to learn just about anything you want to teach, but only if you can keep them calm enough to pay attention.

Conclusion

In many ways, it is true that the dog should fit the owner. However, it is also true that the owner should fit the dog. If not, you end up with a bad match, and that will never work.

We hope that this short article has given you a better idea as to whether or not a Shiba Inu/Rottweiler mix would be the right dog for you.

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