Siberian Shiba

The origin of the Siberian Shiba is very recent, since they are born from a Siberian Husky and a Shiba Inu parent. The latter is a fairly recent breed themselves, and were only introduced to America around 60 years ago, and are still gaining popularity. They are native to Japan and, even though they are small, they were used to flush birds and hunt small prey, along with boar and bear. The breed gets their name from the Japanese word Shiba, meaning brushwood and small, whereas Inu translates to dog. The breed had a hard time during World War II, but were brought back thanks to several breeding programs. Siberian Huskies come from Yatsuk, which is an isolated region of the extreme northeastern Siberia. They were developed by the inhabitants of this region, called the Chukchi people. They were mainly used as endurance sled dogs, as they were the most common source of transportation. The Siberian Husky was perfect for the job, as they were capable of running at a moderate speed for long distances and could pull the weight of the sleds, even in the cold weather. In order to genetically improve the dogs throughout generations, all but the best were castrated. They were never crossbred, and therefore for over 3000 years the pedigrees were kept pure. This breed was cared for by the women, which gave the dogs experience around children as well. These dogs were introduced to America in the 20th century by an explorer and fur trader named Olaf Swenson. Siberian Huskies ran the All-Alaska Sweepstakes, where a team of this breed driven by Norwegian Leonhard Seppala won in 1915, 1916 and 1917. During the winter of 1925, the same man was driver for one of the several teams of Siberian Husky used to deliver serum to Nome, Alaska, which was used to avert a diphtheria epidemic.