Advice on training

Does anyone have any advice or tips to train your dog to not put everything in its mouth? It's a constant battle for me and my nearly year old shiba with him trying to eat anything and everything he sees on the ground!

You should teach him "leave it" and "drop it." I've been hoping someone else would post advice on how to do that. (I'm a bit too brain dead to formulate complicated posts these days...)

First of all, how old is your shiba exactly?
Depending on the age, a lot is going on in your dogs mouth. Most dogs get their last teeth between 9 and 11 months of age. This can lead to a ton of chewing and placing things in their mouths. Practicing leave it and drop it can help but also try carrying a toy around with you when you have your dog out and give it to him when he starts looking for something to chew.
Also don't forget to "Trade" your dog for what he has in his mouth. This will help keep him from developing resource guarding issues.
Bully sticks, ice cubes, nylabones, and other long hard objects and cold things will also help with this stage. The teeth coming in are the far back molars so anything long that he can chew on back there will help.

I second Molly's post with the exception that baby teeth start falling out anywhere starting at six-seven months sometimes... And some dogs are always chewers. I used to carry small squeaky soft toys with me and would use it to distract and "exchange" for innapropriate interest in other things. You can also distract with a clicker too, if you're into that type of training. Chewing is a behavior that has to happen. It just needs to be taught when where and what, so giving your dog cues to do it is a good idea :-)

It is true that the molars in the back of the mouth can cause much pain and swelling as they come in and are know to cause a spike in chewing in young dogs. If the back of the mouth, gums, or back lip area is swollen, ice can be a big help in making them feel better.

To teach "drop it" I like to start with a toy and a game of tug. As soon as your dog latches on to the toy, tell him to "drop it" and stop pulling. When the dog opens his mouth, immediately either give the toy back or reward with something higher value. For "leave it" I start with some treats and in a high friendly voice, invite the dog to "take it" a few times. Then, in a stern voice, I tell them to "leave it" and do not allow them to get the treat until they sit politely. Then, and only on my command are they allowed to "take it"

For both commands, there is a bit more involved, but those are the basic steps and it works with young puppies as well as older dogs. Sorry, I would be more detailed, but I am exhausted. If you need more information, email me at sara.newman *at* nycshibarescue.org and I can run you through some detailed steps to the exercise...

Thanks everyone for their suggestions. I will try to implement some of these techniques. My shiba is 13 months old now I adopted him at 7 months. So its still a learning process for both of us (this being my first dog and me being his second owner)