Niji Shibas Home Page

L-R : Rachel, Mr. Miyagi, Ariel & Jessica

The History of Niji Shibas

I guess the history of Niji Shibas really began when I saw a picture of a Shiba in a pet supply catalogue that my Dad was
mailing out back in 1994. I fell in love with their unique look. Since Shibas had just been recognized by the Amerincan
Kennel Club in 1993, there wasn't that much published information on them yet. However, what I found, I read and
quickly fell in love with the breed as a whole and not just their appearance. I decided that when I was ready to get my
first dog, the Shiba was it.

By October of 1994, my husband, Bruce and I had moved into a condo and we got Midori, my first Shiba. Midori was so
much fun!! Her breeder had convinced me to show her in confirmation - even though I really wanted to compete in
obedience with her. After our first show together, I had the "show bug." I showed her just about every weekend for about
2 1/2 yrs. Much to my dismay, I realized that Midori wasn't quite the show prospect I had hoped for. She had gotten
many points during her show career, but never the "major" wins that she needed to become a Champion. I knew she'd never
get them, so I retired her from the show ring and decided to get another Shiba to show and hopefully, eventually breed.

That's when Mr. Miyagi came into my life. It was October 1997 when I brought him home from his breeders in WA.
Always the sweet boy, he fit right in with our family. He and Midori quickly became best friends.

We started show handling classes and soon started showing. By 1999, Miyagi still wasn't a Champion yet. He wasn't
winning as much as I had hoped because he still looked like a gangly teenager. So, I decided Mr. M and I needed to take
some time off from showing for awhile.

We moved into a house in Rockaway NJ in December 1999. Our last dog show before our hiatus was in March 2000,
with my wrist in a cast. At the end of March, my husband and I left for China to adopt our daughter, Rachel. I knew
then, I had made a good decision to take the year off from showing to spend more time with my new daughter and give
Mr. M some time to fill out. By the end of Oct/early November we had finally fenced our back yard. Within 3 months,
Mr. Miyagi had blossomed into a gorgeous, physically matured, adult male Shiba.

In July 2001, Miyagi, Midori and I took our tent and went up to Bainbridge NY to a cluster of dog shows for the
weekend. There were shows Friday, Saturday & Sunday. On Friday, Miyagi took 2nd in his class and then went on to
beat 4 other 1st place males in their class winners for Reserve Winners Dog. (RWD-this is similar to a runner up)
Saturday, Mr. M took 2nd in his class. Sunday though, Mr. Miyagi took his first major by going Winners Dog (WD)and
Best of Winners (BOW).

A month later, on a hot day in August, Mr. M took BOW again for a 4 pt.major win and his AKC Championship!! Niji
Shibas first Champion, Ch. Taichung Kokoro of Niji!!

I wanted to breed Miyagi. His breeder, Laura, told me I had to purchase a bitch first since Midori was spayed and not
show quality. That's when Essie (my pokey little puppy monster) joined our family. Unfortunately, she didn't turn out to
be show quality either because she was just too small. At 7 months old she was spayed and put up for sale.

On August 2nd, a day after her first birthday, I shipped Essie back to her breeders in Arkansas. They have since placed
her with a loving family in Texas. She is doing very well and the queen of her castle.

The weekend after Thanksgiving 2003, I came home with Ariel, the newest addition to Niji Shibas. For more info about
this little cutie, please visit Ariel's Page.

Welcome To Niji Shibas Home Page

Please check back as the site is updated often. If you have any questions about our dogs or puppies, please contact us
either by snail mail or email.

S H I B A S

N I J I

The Niji Shibas line now continues... On January 16th, 2007, Ariel gave birth to two little Shiba babies. A girl and a boy
- our FIRST litter!! Look for Saphira, (Niji's Queen of the Dragons) the little girl puppy in the show ring come August
2007. Niko, the little boy, went to a pet home in Dallas TX. For more pictures of these sweet puppies, please visit our
Puppy Page.

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