I am looking for a Shiba Inu and Icewind Farms seems to have healthy-looking puppies but I have read reviews on other sites that claim their puppies have behavioral problems. Please only answer this question if you have had experience with their dogs.
Please give me more answers to work with. Anyone with experience or who owns one of their dogs?

How to Choose a Breeder - National Shiba Club of America
http://www.shibas.org/newstand/how_to_choose_breeder.html

A search of the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA) site only shows 4 Shibas with Icewind in their registered names. http://www.offa.org/

A couple of things that stood out on the breeder's website were non-refundable deposits, using PayPal, preferring cash payments, no health testing information, and they do not appear to be members of their breed club (a sign of dedication, minimum standards being met, and educational opportunities).

Spend more time at http://www.shibas.org/ and talk to many breeders to find one that offers the best fit for you and can back up that are making an effort to produce healthy wonderful Shibas with good temperaments.

We have a pug, who is very spoiled and stays inside most of the time, and we would like another dog. We would love a Shiba Inu, but we aren't sure if one would be fine in the hot climate in Georgia.

Yes it is fine. I have one who before I adopted him lived in FL & TX & now in GA. They shed enough coat to keep themselves cool & protected. Do a lot of research before buying/adopting one. They are a difficult bred - nothing like a pug. Shiba would be dominant over your dog so you need to take into consideration how your pug will react.

My wife and I really would like to get a Shiba Inu. However, the dog will be alone for 8 hours a day. With some training, is it practical to leave them in an isolated room (12' x 10')? I don't want to go the cage route, but am not sure if this is an OK option.

A dog can be left alone that long, a puppy can't. It is usually 1 hour for each month of age, plus one hour, so a two-month-old puppy can only be alone/hold its potty for 3 hours at the most. A dog would be fine, but not a puppy.

My 8 month old Shiba Inu gets plent of exercise so why does he run away every time I let his leash off? Any training tips?

You need to train him in the art of recall.
Get a really long leash, you could use those kind that wind out and back in. You could use a recall word or a whistle that way he can hear you for sure no matter how far he is. Youll need a pocket full dog treats or dry dog food to get his attention.
You start with ur dog on the leash with a short lead so hes really close to you and you blow the whistle or say the recall word and give him a piece of a treat right after.( make sure not to give him whole treats just small pieces that way he doesnt fill up and you wont have a fat pooch) Do it about 3-5 times so he associates the word or whistle with food.
Well after that you just give a little bit more of slack on the leash and blow whistle or say recall word and PRAISE him and give food right after.
Repeat process every time giving him a little more slack on the leash.
When he hears the word or whistle he'll come running back to get his tasty treat.
If you practice and work hard with him soon enough he'll be coming back and you wont have to even give him food just PRAISE but make sure to keep him on the leash until your confident that he'll come back if not then youll have to chase him down and it could undo all of your training and hard work.
Hope this helps a little!

Oh and by the way Shiba Inus are beautiful and intelligent dogs!

Some dogs have an overwhelming amount of energy. I understand terriers for example require an enormous amount of exercise to keep them from becoming bored and destructive. Other dogs are content with more couch time. Clearly all dogs require some amount of exercise. Where does the Shiba Inu fall relative to other dogs in energy level and exercise requirements?

Daily walks, and mental stimulation play or training.

read more here.
http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/shiba.htm

I am looking to adopt a young Shiba Inu but I currently live in a 1 bedroom apartment with a cat.

The Shiba will do okay in an apartment if is sufficiently exercised. It is moderately active indoors and will do best with at least an average-sized yard. The Shiba's waterproof, all-weather coat protects it in both cold and hot conditions, so it can live outdoors if you have a secure yard of reasonable size. However, it does regard itself as part of the family and does not like to be left alone outside. This breed would be much happier living indoors with its family.

A friend of mine bought a shiba inu from a couple that was moving and could not keep him. A few days later, she decided that she could not keep the dog, and my fiancée and I took the dog so that she would not have to pay the pet deposit on her apartment.

We have two other dogs, a crazy, small, brown who-knows-what mix named Baker, and a somewhat larger black labrador mix named Brewer. The shiba inu came with the name Prince, but my fiancée and I and my friend and her fiancée all don't like that name. However, none of us could come up with anything better on which we all agreed.

What should we name this poor dog?

We have a 2 year old Shiba and you will LOVE this dog! They take alot of work and need alot of socialization, but they form such a solid bond with "their people" and can develop the sweetest, funniest personalities. I think that ours thinks he's people too! They love to be part of the family!

Ours is named Guiness, because he's black and tan. But we also really liked the names "Oso" and "Summit".

I have a shiba inu dog and where ever I take her people will come up to me and tell me "Your dog looks like a fox!" I usually just say "yeah" and smile and leave. Its a very awkward moment.

How can I respond to this statement with out sounding like an a-hole?

Well you could maybe say something like, and he's cunning like one too. Or you could say something like yeah, he's a shiba inu. I know I was first attracted to the Shiba inu because of this resenblence so ou might spark some intrest in the breed if you actually tell people the breed name. Just an idea.

As you should know most purebred dogs today were made up of other pure bred dogs and putting them together etc. etc.-NOT important to my question

What I want to know is if the shiba inu is made up of other breeds or if it is it's own breed. I cant seem to find information on that. All I can find is that they have been around for a long time and are one of the oldest breeds around.

Shed some light?

This is a very interesting but long article how they evolved
http://www.shiba-dog.de/shiba-klub/urtyp-en.htm

I really really really want a shiba inu, but I really want the average price and care tips about them. Please help?

The average price thru a good breeder will be $1500+ easily.

The average price thru crappy breeder will be $600+.

No dog should be bought as a bargain especially a difficult one like shibas. Their personality & drive is nothing like their cute exterior. Do a lot of research into the breed & spend time with one before even considering buying one. Just buying a dog based on appearance is only setting yourself up for disappointment & the poor dog being re-homed as many shibas end up.