From her part, the dog immediately showed an affectionate disposition. Grows at home and I noticed some qualities of this little dog that excited me: cleanliness, obedience and character; so I decided to import another puppy, which I started to participate in the exhibitions. I immediately saw that it met with the favor of both Italian and foreign judges and from that moment I began to consider the possibility of breeding and improving SHIBA. Today also the dog’s world, like many other activities, is placing itself on an increasingly professional level. This implies above all a profound sense of responsibility on the part of those working in this environment.

BREEDING CRITERIA

The Shiba "del Biagio" are selected not only with the aim of excelling morphologically, but also to become excellent members of the family in which they will live. For this reason that all breeding subjects are evaluated both for their nature and for their behavior and that is why it is our concern that all dogs live and grow in a peaceful and family atmosphere. The selection of our stallions is to possess and transmit to their offspring an affectionate, lively and playful temperament, keeping the natural balance of the breed unchanged, without changing its character peculiarities: pride, nobility and a certain independence. Our females must strictly meet the requirements of "good mothers", that is to be affectionate and first true educators of the offspring: an essential gift for a correct imprinting of the puppies, which to be honest, in this breed is particularly marked. Our dogs live in particularly modern structures, not only because they are guaranteed an ideal growth from the health point of view, but also because the correct development of their character can be carefully followed. It is for this reason that all our Shiba interact continuously with each other and with the welcome guests of the farm, having ample space to play: activity, this which allows them to take their first steps in the surrounding world serenely. In addition all the dogs present in the kennels, from our "pensioners" to our puppies, live in a family environment and climate: they are all great companion dogs. We do this, not only for the great pleasure of having them around, but also because this positively affects the correct character development of all our Shiba. Our primary purpose is to raise healthy, balanced and very well socialized puppies, who above all become excellent members of their future families.

HISTORY, ORIGINS AND OBJECTIVES

The Shiba “of the dogs present in the breeding descend from the best American and Japanese bloodlines. The first imports were made choosing from the best American farms: the shiba which are the foundations of the "Del Biagio" kennels, therefore, are born from lines already fixed correctly both in terms of morphology and character, relying on the oldest and most solid American tradition in the breeding of this breed, compared to the much more recent European one. In a second time, subjects from Japan were imported to further enhance and improve the quality already present in the US lines, obviously with the intention of further raising the already excellent standard of the first dogs, thus bringing new qualities in the type, and with the aim to maintain and develop a purely Japanese model. The choice fell in particular on the dogs of the Ichisuke line (also called Korotama) which is, if not the most important Japanese line and the most appreciated by Japanese breeders.

This line is most expressed in the famous Japanese stallion Ichisuke of Inoguchi (foto 1). This subject presented all the morphological qualities desirable in the breed, inherited from the mother Michihime who belonged to an old and noble strain: the Korotama line, in fact, whose peculiarities then passed on widely to all its descendants. This bloodline that originates in the Shinshu region, has had considerable weight in the Japanese breeding, has, in fact, the advantage of fixing and transmitting great expressiveness in its subjects and an almost perfect cut and position of the eyes: triangular and oblique to thread of the base of the ears, and not almond-shaped as sometimes erroneously we tend to believe. Furthermore, the subjects belonging to this line have the typical deep red of the shiba: a highly sought-after color highly appreciated by the Japanese. These are just some of the most important and appreciated qualities of the Korotama. From Ichisuke, we said, they derive among the most important Japanese sire and dam. From the branch of his nephew Fukuryu (foto. 2), his most important descendant is in the pedigrees of the stallions of the "del Biagio" kennel, this is TOYONISHIKI of Toyohashi Onoda (foto. 3). Some Japanese scholars believe that, among all the many and very famous dogs belonging to the Korotama lineage, Toyonishiki is its true and excellent heir: maximum harmonious expression of all the qualities sought after by Japanese breeders in these shiba. This stallion is of such prominence in the land of the rising sun, that the breeders have renamed the "Ichisuke / Korotama" line with the names of the two most famous branches in which it developed: "Beniryu / Jouji" and "Fukuryu / Toyonishiki" from names of the most important progenitors in the Japanese breeding of modern Shiba Inu. And as you can see one of the two branches is called Toyonishiki. The children and grandchildren of Toyonishiki are still active in Japan with brilliant results both in terms of exposure and breeding: the breeding of "Biagio" with the world champion Jinriki Go Imabari Myiakosow, direct grandson of the famous Toyonishiki, is no exception . The Biagio stallions and mares, therefore, retrace and develop the most popular Japanese models, merging US and Japanese lines, also contributing to the development towards an increasingly appreciated quality of Italian breeding: our most promising young Shiba, in addition to distinguishing themselves in exhibitions of national and international importance, above all they possess, express and develop these great dogs and their history.