A friends young puppy just 6 months. His name is Gabe. The Shiba Inu has been identified as a basal breed that predates the emergence of the modern breeds in the 19th Century Originally, the Shiba Inu was bred to hunt and flush small game, such as birds and rabbits. Despite efforts to preserve the breed, the Shiba nearly became extinct during World War II due to a combination of food shortage and a post-war distemper epidemic. All subsequent dogs were bred from the only three surviving bloodlines. These bloodlines were the Shinshu Shiba from Nagano Prefecture, the Mino Shiba from Gifu Prefecture, and the San'in Shiba from Tottori and Shimane Prefectures. The Shinshu Shibas possessed a solid undercoat, with a dense layer of guard-hairs, and were small and red in color. In 1954, an armed service family brought the first Shiba Inu to the United States. In 1979, the first recorded litter was born in the United States. The Shiba was recognized by the American Kennel Club in 1992 and added to the AKC Non-Sporting Group in 1993. It is now primarily kept as a pet both in Japan and abroad. In the United States, the growing popularity of the Shiba Inu is evident as the American Kennel Club Registration Statistics ranked the breed in 44th place in 2016; a rise from 50th place in 2012. Info Wikipedia. Thanks for all the lovely comments & favs, so, so appreciated. x