Raising a shikoku pup
Hey Nihon-ken lovers,
We have two Siberian Huskies, Reno and Rico. They are brothers and all their life together. Not always easy but they cannot be without each other. Meanwhile they are past 11 years and luckely still very fit. But one day…
Now we are considering a shikoku for the future, not in a hurry. Just thinking, does it make sense to wait to start from scratch with a new puppy or is it very helpful to have two adult (and very obedient) Huskies to help with the raise of a Shikoku puppy. What about the temperament; is it okay to add a third male to the pack?
We have two Siberian Huskies, Reno and Rico. They are brothers and all their life together. Not always easy but they cannot be without each other. Meanwhile they are past 11 years and luckely still very fit. But one day…
Now we are considering a shikoku for the future, not in a hurry. Just thinking, does it make sense to wait to start from scratch with a new puppy or is it very helpful to have two adult (and very obedient) Huskies to help with the raise of a Shikoku puppy. What about the temperament; is it okay to add a third male to the pack?
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Any reason you would want a third male?
Your huskies are beautiful.
Lovely Siberian boys you have.
Ah, so the your Sibs are still intact then, I would assume?
Really, it depends on how well your current males do with other males. I have 2 intact Shikoku: 1 male and 1 female. My boy (nearly 2 years of age) does well with both genders. His thing is just a size issue. He does well with dogs of both genders so long as they are his size or smaller. He does not do very well with dogs larger then him.
If your Siberians are great with other dogs, especially males, both puppies and adults. Are your Sibs very welcoming to strange dogs that come to their house?
I don't forsee your young male Shikoku puppy causing any issues for the other boys. So long as he grows up with your boys, he should repect them. There is such a vast age difference as well, which I find really helps. The real question is, how will your boys react to him?
I wouldn't expect your male Shikoku puppy to get along with other males as an adult, aside from your current boys. Though, it is quite possible with socialization as a puppy that he can - my Shoushuu is an example of this. However, he is kind of an "odd ball" anyways, lol.
I believe "Edgewood's" boy, Kuma - also intact, can also get along with other males.
If you're planning on getting a female as a canine pal to you and your new Shikoku boy, after your Siberian boys move on in life. I don't see any issues, just be sure to socialize your new puppy to other dogs and teach him proper manners.
I think you'll be fine.
So...how are the Sibs with other males?
We live with 2 Shikoku, and some other breeds. We have 3 intact males and 2 intact females (and some fixed males and females). The only time having intact males together is an issue for us is when our females are in season, otherwise the intact males act pretty much the same as the fixed males.
Shikoku are tough dogs, even the small females. Our smaller female Shikoku (Loa) plays roughly and effortlessly with our Ovcharka who out weigh her by 90+ pounds.
My concern would be that your 11 year old dogs may not be very excited about a Shikoku puppy jumping on them and being crazy. Shikoku puppies are VERY crazy little puppies and play hard. If you had a situation where your current dogs didn't want to play with your new puppy (because of the drastic age difference) you could end up creating a play deficit in your Shikoku puppy that would later lead to some pretty bad impulse control issues as well as barrier frustration.
I'm no expert, but that's my opinion. Hope it helps!
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Jen, irregardless is not a real word. ;P
Pronunciation:
\ˌir-i-ˈgärd-ləs\
Function:
adverb
Etymology:
probably blend of irrespective and regardless
Date:
circa 1912
nonstandard : regardless
usage Irregardless originated in dialectal American speech in the early 20th century. Its fairly widespread use in speech called it to the attention of usage commentators as early as 1927. The most frequently repeated remark about it is that “there is no such word.” There is such a word, however. It is still used primarily in speech, although it can be found from time to time in edited prose. Its reputation has not risen over the years, and it is still a long way from general acceptance.
Jen, irregardless is a real word. But not an accepted word;)
Jess. I appreciate that we can conversate about this;)
thx for discussioning grammar on my question & answer list :-) Since I'm from the Netherlands, English is not my native language. Although it wasn't addressed to me, I do like this type of conversations, very educational. There must be some spelling mistakes (and more) in my text as well, feel free to help me correct it! In this way the forum adds even more than just knowledge about nihon ken and getting to know more friendly dog lovers over the world! Keep up the good work…
I also forgot to mention to OP that my two shiba inu (neutered, male and female) also have an American Akita pal that we meet on hikes now and then, they play marvelously together!
What means "OP"?
We both love Akita's as well, thinking about one in the future. But not for now, growing to big in our little house. But one day a shukoku and an akita might be a nice couple. I think an Akita is a bit less crazy and more quiet than a shukoku or shiba right? Just to balance it out a bit. To many dogs makes traveling a bit to complicated. We prefer to take them along with us on our trips within Europe in the car. The huskies do really well in the car, can't get enough from it, get in by them selves. Sometimes we miss them in he house, and see we left the front door open. But outside they didn't run off, just jumped in the car for their next ride to some nice holiday location. Like the Italian alps or Corsica.
thx for your extended answer. Our neighbours own a Belgium Malinois, female, she loves to play with both our huskies, mostly with Reno since he had a crush on her. The most beautiful thing was watching how both were digging a tunnel underneath the fence to reach each other and play or more…
Just wondering with the dog management, if the pup would be upset if he/she was put in a bench while the big brothers are walking around freely.Wondering how much noise we would have to stand. Probably a must anyway since I don't want him/her to ruin my furniture. The two biggies sleep inside, mostly in the bedroom. They are smart, very smart. If you just mention "sleeping" in a full sentence they pick it up and walk to the door to go upstairs. This happens with many things. They also don't need one word for one thing, they do understand so much. That's why we hope this rubs off to the pup to make him/her learn all that in so much shorter time.
Can you ever walk a shukoku free from the leash? Ours couldn't before but now it's no problem at all.
I owned two female huskies and their play is very similar to the Nihon Ken (I have two shibas now). I think your Huskies would teach an addition well, but like Brad said at 11 years old, they may not want a crazy puppy all over them!
Good luck though! I love Shikoku!