Your dogs are really cute. Are they full grown? DH and I both want a dog. But we are having the same dilemma as you. He wants a big dog. I want something more manageable. But not an ankle biter(as DH calls them).
How big do the Shibas get? Are they good around other animals(esp. cats)? Do they bark? How are they around kids? Thanks for any info you can give me!
Sorry for hijacking your thread Op.
Well these may be perfect for you! They are called "big dogs in little bodies".
To answer your questions-
Full grown they are about 25 lbs, my male, the black and tan one, is full grown and he weighs exactly 25 lbs. My female is only 5 months old so she has a little more growing to do. They are really a great size, I guess about the size of a beagle would give you a good estimate. They definitely appear like they should be large dogs, just in a small package! Kona is often called a miniature german shepherd by people that meet him, or he is mistaken for an Akita or Husky puppy.
All of our other dogs have been at least 50lbs, we had 2 100 lbs. and a 55 lb dog at the same time. My husband is really crazy about these dogs which has really surprised me as he really never has been a dog person, he just put up with them for me. It is much cheaper feeding smaller dogs and are so much easier to handle. I really do love big dogs but after our collie passed in September I vowed not to have any more big dogs because if my husband had not been home the night the collie had to be rushed to the emergency vet there isn't any way I could have gotten him to the car by myself as he couldn't walk at all. I know I never want to be in the position that I could not get my animal to the vet when he/she needed it.
I have 2 cats also and they get along great! My oldest cat Bob has never really been fond of our other dogs but he loves Kona. Until we got Kali, Kona played with our youngest cat all the time, now he is too busy with his sister. It is said they will not do well with smaller pets like rabbits or rodents as they have a strong hunting instinct.
They are typically not "barkers". Kona will bark if someone knocks on the door but other than that he hardly makes a peep. Kali does like to make noise when she plays but she seldom ever barks. They do make a little squealing sound when they are really excited, it is called the Shiba scream, but it's not loud. Don't let the word scream scare you off! It's more like an excited whine.
I don't have children but they seem to love them when they are around them. My cousin has a 2 year old and they are great with him, and they have been around kids under 10 and are great with them as well. I have not seen an ounce of aggression towards people at all, they are very sweet and affectionate.
Mine are not hyper, the female is more active than the male but still not an annoyingly hyper dog like some small dogs are. Kona is very "chilled out" as my husband calls him, he was from the moment we got him. They do love to play but are happy playing inside or out.
They are much cuter than can be told from their pictures. Kona prances when he walks and just has such a wonderful disposition, you can't capture that in a picture. Kali is very sweet. They are both very smart and have been easy to train.
They are easily housebroken as well as they are a very clean breed. They don't require much grooming and don't have a typical "doggie" odor.
Here is a link to the wikipedia about them
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shiba_Inu
I love talking about them as you can tell so feel free to ask away.
Kali came from a breeder near you, a small town near Lancaster, I'm trying to remember the name of it. She was only a couple of miles from the Shady Maple buffett. She's a very sweet lady, if you want her name I will pm it to you.
It's constant barking that I can't handle. 
