The Shiba Inu is the smallest of the eight spitz breeds native to Japan. Can you name all the Japanese breeds? The answer appears below the image credit.
Shiba Inu by badakbcula1
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Answer: In addition to the Shiba Inu, Japan’s native dog breeds include the Kai Inu, Hokkaido Inu, Kishu Inu,Shikoku Inu, Akita Inu, and Kai Ken. If you named the Japanese Chin, Japanese Spitz, Japanese Terrier, Tosa Inu or Sakhalin Husky, you should know that some purists regard these breeds as having been “imported” into Japan at some point in history and not qualified to be true natives. We leave that to the purists to “slug out.”
We’ve shared the map above before, and though it doesn’t include *all* the Japanese breeds (you know, those “imported” ones) it’s interesting nonetheless.