Shibas: Japanese mountain dogs

After seeing my two shibas navigate the massive snow, I realized why shibas make great Japanese mountain dogs. Prior to owning shibas, my mental image of a "snow dog" was a husky.  That's what most people think of. Shibas are little dogs. But when you need to climb through snow that is higher than you, being little is a huge benefit. Shibas are light enough so that they don't sink all the way down. They sink down only to their chest, and can easily climb up and proceed forward again. This was how Jujube was able to plow her way through our backyard and make all sorts of paths for herself and Loki. It doesn't matter that the snow is taller than she is; she's light enough so that she doesn't sink down and get stuck. No wonder shibas are little, double-coated dogs. They are perfectly built for the snowy mountain terrain of Japan.