Shiba Inu

Shiba Inus can do well with children who already know how to be calm and gentle. Expect a medium-sized dog that is moderately active, sheds heavily and needs very little grooming. Copes with a working day.

Source: American Kennel Club breed standard.

The Shiba is the smallest and oldest of Japan's native breeds, developed to flush birds and small game in mountainous terrain, and it nearly died out after the Second World War. It is the most cat-like dog most people will meet: fastidiously clean, self-grooming, reserved with strangers and entirely capable of deciding your instruction does not apply. Shibas are famous for two things online — the "Shiba scream", a startling shriek of protest at being handled in ways they dislike, and an escape-artist streak that makes recall unreliable. They shed their dense double coat dramatically twice a year. Independent, dignified, unusually clean and not remotely interested in obedience: a wonderful dog for the right person, a frustrating one for anybody expecting a retriever.

Day to day. Moderately active — a proper daily walk plus some play in the garden or the hallway keeps this breed happy. On noise, it is quiet.

The coat, honestly. This breed sheds heavily and needs very little grooming. That is the opposite trade: almost nothing to do to the animal, but hair on the sofa, the car and your school uniform, all year.

Being left alone. Copes with a working day. That makes it one of the more realistic choices for a family where everyone is out during the day, as long as the walks still happen.

Training. Needs an experienced handler. That does not mean badly behaved — it means this breed thinks for itself, and it will not do something just because you asked. First-time owners often find it frustrating.

• You want a dog whose coat looks after itself
• Your house is empty for part of the working day

• You cannot live with hair on the sofa, the car and your clothes
• You want a dog that does as it is told the first time

Rough running cost: $$ (middle of the pack) — because there is no single expensive thing about it — just the normal food, vet and insurance costs every dog brings.

Those are relative bands, not live prices. For real numbers across every pet we cover, see the pet cost study and the cost calculator.

Rescues do have Shiba Inus and Shiba Inu crosses, usually adults whose size, coat and temperament you can see rather than guess at.