In a hilarious Instagram video from @gunner.shiba, one Shiba Inu owner thought they spotted a dent on their dog’s back, but what they actually discovered was just a very fluffy tail. The video shows Gunner, the titular Shiba Inu, with a noticeable “dent” in his fur along his back. In the on-screen text, the owner notes, “Why does my dog have a dent in his back???” They add that the dog has “No injury” and “No pain.”
Shiba Inu’s fluffy tail problems is too cute
The video dramatically reveals the culprit behind the Shiba Inu’s back “dent” — “Turns out it’s his TAIL,” ending the video with, “Fluffy tail problems” on the screen. And it checks out. In the video, Gunner’s thick, curled tail sits right on top of his back like a plush swirl, pressing down the fur underneath and leaving a clear little dip where it rests.
In Shibas and many similar breeds, such as Spitzes, the tail curl can act like a paperweight. The fur gets flattened in the same spot over and over, especially when they sit or lie down, so it can look like a permanent crease even though nothing is wrong.
The owner captioned the post with a question: “Is this a Shiba thing or all fluffy dogs?” and asked fellow dog owners to “Show me your dog’s tail dents?”
Under the video, the comments were like a support group for households with a tail dent. One commenter joked, “We call it ‘the landing pad,'” while another admitted they went down the worry spiral first, too, writing, “Here I was worried he had some hip issues or skin problems but turns out, it’s just all fluffy business.”
Maybe the best proof this is a real phenomenon came from a story, where the viewer wrote, “The vet called us to say she was ready to pick up, but also that they wanted to take to me about some of her fur, they were worried she had been chewing the spot. I got there and they showed me… I said, yeah that’s just where her tail sits ?”
In other words, Gunner doesn’t have an injury — he just has a very stubborn tail.
