The Western tracking type breed dogs have a more advanced sense of smell than Japanese dogs, and will surely follow the animal trail according to remained scents of the odor glands. On the other hand, Japanese dogs are better at hearing and vision, so they have a unique hunting technique different from Western dog breeds, such as they corner the prey and block the escape route.
Especially in the winter season when plants and trees die, the sound of fleeing caused by a boar, which is stepping on dead branches falling in the animal trail, reverberates well in a quiet mountain. Therefore, it is easy to confirm the position of the wild boar by hearing. In addition, because of the withering winter, the visibility is good and the vision works well. And the three points of smelling, hearing, and vision works as strong advantages in hunting for Shiba Inu, so they won't lose track of the prey. Japanese dogs have a well-balanced features. The bag-shaped ears that are advantageous for sound collection, sunken eyes that are less likely to get injured, and excellent sense of smell. Also, Japanese dogs have double coats, which are also suitable for hunting in Japan, because they keeps body warm and protect from injury and enhance buoyancy in water. Japanese dogs return from hunting in about 2 hours, and are easy to retrieve without being lost due to their excellent homing instinct.
