Hi, I'm Shibashiba.

In 2019, a Shiba puppy came into our lives, and my world changed forever.

Of course, my life had changed before—when my child was born, when I got married, when I moved to France, when I started my career, during adolescence, and more recently, when I returned to Japan. But all those transitions were, in a way, predictable.

I had dreamed of living with a dog for decades, yet I never imagined how truly life-altering it would be. Maybe it was because he was a puppy… a Shiba… or simply because he was him! I realized instantly that we had welcomed a small bundle of wildness into our Tokyo home.

Since then, I have learned so much, my son has learned so much, and our dog has learned enormously along with us.

Early on, I reached out to a "professional dog trainer" for help. He came to our house, grabbed our puppy, and pinned him to the floor. He told me I had to do the same, warning that otherwise, he would grow into a dangerous, aggressive dog. Fortunately, I had already been studying dog behavior and training principles, so I knew in my heart this was wrong. I never called that trainer again.

From that day on, we guided our puppy ourselves—never using force or aversive methods. Today, we share deep mutual trust and understanding, and he is one of the best-behaved dogs in our neighborhood.

While there are undoubtedly fantastic trainers out there, I firmly believe that ultimately, dog parents need to truly understand their own family members. If I had had a Dog Parent Coach back then, our journey would have been so much smoother.

He is seven years old now. While part of me wishes he could live forever, what I want most is for him to live fully as himself, right until the very end. And I want to be truly prepared to honor and respect him every step of the way.