Oh, and I should add that only people who are trainable should have these dogs. Yup... people who are trainable.
That is because it is a rare Shiba that listens to anyone, whether it's to come when called, go outside, come inside, etc. They only do things if they feel like it, so that's one of the reasons why it is never good to have a Shiba off-leash.
They are very adept at training their humans, however. If my female decides she wants something, she will find you sit in front of you and stare at you. If you do not get up within 10 seconds to follow her, she'll let out a big catlike "Yowl" of protest. Then she'll stop, stare, and wait another 10 seconds and yowl until you do her bidding. See? Very trainable.
As for the yowling noise, I've only been around one other dog that sounds like that - the Siberian Husky. It's a weird sound.

