Culture & the meme
Doge and Cheems: the meme is a Shiba Inu
The internet's most famous dog, the sadder one beside it, and the coin named after both, are all Shiba Inus. Here is the real story, and the gap between the meme's cuddly image and the actual dog.
Nelson and Kim, Curious Tails · AVS licence AS24J00046
Is the Doge meme a Shiba Inu?
Yes. Doge, the internet's most famous dog meme, is a Shiba Inu, based on a real Japanese rescue Shiba named Kabosu. The sadder-faced Cheems is also a Shiba, and the SHIB cryptocurrency takes both its name and its logo from the breed. So the meme, the coin and the breed are all the same dog, but the cuddly, agreeable image the meme projects is very different from the aloof, independent real Shiba.
You know the Doge · meet the dog
One breed, three internet phenomena
If you know the Shiba Inu at all, you probably met it as a meme first. Doge, the Shiba with the knowing side-eye and the Comic Sans captions, became one of the defining memes of the 2010s, and it is based on Kabosu, a real Japanese rescue Shiba whose owner's blog photos went viral. The more melancholy Cheems is another Shiba, and the SHIB cryptocurrency borrowed the whole aesthetic, name and logo included.
So the Shiba is unusual: a genuine breed that most of the world knows through internet culture rather than through the dog itself. That fame is exactly what makes honest information matter, and it is the founding idea of this whole site: you know the Doge, meet the dog.
The gap between the meme and the dog
The meme projects an agreeable, expressive, faintly ridiculous companion, and the real Shiba is a good deal more complicated: aloof, independent, cat-like, opinionated, with a high prey drive and a famous scream. The internet made the Shiba look like the friendliest dog alive; in reality it is one of the more self-contained popular breeds, as our temperament page lays out.
This gap is not harmless. Meme-driven impulse buying puts a difficult, high-commitment breed into homes expecting a cuddly cartoon, and the mismatch is a real welfare issue. The best thing the meme's popularity can do is send people to accurate information before they buy, which is what we try to be.
Meme vs dog
- Doge: based on Kabosu, a real rescue Shiba
- Cheems: also a Shiba Inu
- SHIB coin: named and branded after the breed
- Meme image: agreeable, cuddly, silly
- Real Shiba: aloof, independent, high prey drive
Loving the meme responsibly
There is nothing wrong with falling for the Shiba because of the meme, plenty of wonderful owners started exactly there. What matters is that the meme is the beginning of the research, not the end of it. If you read the honest temperament, HDB and cost pages and still want a Shiba, you are precisely the informed owner these dogs need.
And if the reality turns out not to fit your life, that is a good outcome too: better to learn it from a page than from a mismatched dog. Start with the breed guide, and if the heritage interests you, the Shiba's Japanese heritage.
Keep reading
Frequently asked questions
Is Doge a Shiba Inu?
Yes. The Doge meme is a Shiba Inu, based on a real Japanese rescue Shiba named Kabosu. Its owner’s blog photos went viral and became one of the internet’s most recognisable memes.
Is Cheems a Shiba Inu?
Yes. Cheems, the sadder-faced meme dog often paired with Doge, is also a Shiba Inu. Both are the same breed, presented with very different internet personas.
Is the SHIB cryptocurrency named after the dog?
Yes. Shiba Inu (SHIB) is a cryptocurrency that takes its name and its logo from the Shiba Inu breed, riding on the Doge meme’s popularity. It is unrelated to the actual dog beyond the branding.
Is the real Shiba Inu like the Doge meme?
Not really. The meme suggests a cuddly, agreeable dog, while the real Shiba is aloof, independent and cat-like, with a high prey drive and a famous scream. Buying a Shiba off the meme is a common mismatch.
Meet your Shiba Inu
Come say hello at Balestier
2 Balestier Road #01-701, Singapore 320002 · Weekdays 12pm–6pm · Weekends 10am–6pm. Or message us first: tell us about your home and whether you have researched the scream, the prey drive and the shedding, and we will tell you honestly if a Shiba fits.
Meet the real dog
If the meme drew you in, let the honest pages decide it. Then come and meet a real Shiba.
Read the breed guide