Feeding habits

Saya

I was wondering are Shikoku like shiba inu in the terms of eating that they'll eat what they need, but they won't over eat like say like some other breed that tends to over eat?

I dunno why but I just wanted to know out of curiosity is this a shiba inu thing or do all Nihon Ken eat what they need and not over eat?

Eventually I'd like to have a Kai ken or a Shikoku ken as my next dog not any time soon, but I thought I'd ask this question though the question isn't really a good one, but I really like it that Saya eats, but won't act like she wants more food.

JessicaRabbit

My Shikoku self regulates very well. Better than my shiba ever did. Miko will skip a meal every now and again if we feed her too much.
We discovered this when Jay was still feeding Miko like she was still 6 months old.

dlroberts

I've heard a lot of Shikoku owners talk about how skinny their dogs are and how they don't have much interest in food. So it would seem that Shikoku would tend toward self-regulators; however, that's a blanket generalization that's probably not useful to make. Especially since the population of Shikoku on this forum are all relatively closely related.

BradA1878

Our Shikoku have good appetites and self regulate their diets - actually all our our Nihonken except Hilo and Kaia will self regulate.

I have come to the conclusion that male Shikoku tend to be pickier eaters and stay on the thinner side - the only one I know of that doesn't fit this theory is Kuma, I think.

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TheWalrus

Haru self regulates, Baron definitely does not. He'll eat till he pukes, every time (if I let him).

Could just be a puppy thing, but Haru used to leave food if she wasn't hungry even when she was younger.

tjbart17

Koda leaves food and skips meals if he eats more than normal one day. He actually skips a lot of meals. Sometimes I feel like I am throwing more food away than he eats. He's also very picky and when he gets sick of something it's done.

tini

Kekko is very good eater, he always eats everything I give him. Not with such speed as mu huskies but it might be the pack thing. They all eat together and all of them eat always everything, maybe just not to let others have their food . Kekko was picky when I got him as a small puppy, but this changed in a few weeks. And he is not skinny at all either. But he is still very young, will see how he will eat during summer. When its cold outside they always tend to eat better than in very hot weather.

Heidi

Rakka definitely self-regulates, which is good, because I've been free-feeding for convenience lately and none of the pups overeat. Rakka least of all.

Edgewood

Hmm...Brad were you talking about my Kuma? Because if so, yes, he definitely self regulates. He has free choice dog food 24/7 (I tried the time meals, but he ate even less) and he eats as he pleases but only a little at a time. And he could gain weight IMHO. He is on the skinny side.

And it doesn't matter what kibble it is -- he even self regulates on raw if I give him that (trying to bury what he does not want at that moment).

Saya

Saya she self regulates pretty good and she even chews her kibble and she also tries to hide her kibble when I fed her in her crate she'd bury the bowl with the blankets or would move the kibble out of the bowl and then nose the kibble until it was buried under her blankets reminds me of a fox burying it's food for later it's cute..

Thanks guys for the information I don't intend to put my name on any waiting lists for awhile now I'm working on going to a local school and once I'm done with school and get a decent job I'll do it by then I'll have made my decision on Kai ken or Shikoku Ken since I'll have met at least one of the breeds.

Yamiska

I'll just continue this thread rather than staring a new one.
What about shikokus being picky with their food? My older shiba Sada is very picky on what she eats. I had rough time with her as she was a puppy. Sometimes she would go weeks with only few bites in a day. Luckily her daughter is not like that.
Has anyone experienced anything like this with your shikokus?

JessicaRabbit

My Shikoku is very picky with her food. VERY. We feed raw so our experience will be different than kibble folks. But whenever we change proteins, especially if it is a new one, she won't eat it the first day. She will watch to see if my pit bull Ruby eats it (which she always does, pit bulls are NOT picky eaters normally) and then the next meal will eat her food. But she won't touch a new protein day one. With the exception of pheasant. She loves pheasant.
If we feed her a protein she doesn't like, she just won't eat it. She hates venison (weird I know), and lamb. She would skip meals entirely if we feed her those proteins.

So in a long winded response, in my experience Shikoku ARE picky eaters.

Two Socks

Granted Koshi is only 6 months at this point. I feed kibble 1 cup in the morning & 1 cup late afternoon. I don't know if I would call her picky , but she is definetly a slow eater. It takes her twice the time to empty her bowl compared to my shibas.

ShikokuSpirit

My Shoushuu varies with his eating habits. As a general rule he is selective on his tastes and won't eat just anything. His amount of food intake increases and decreases all the time. Before I was feeding him 2 cups of kiblets per day then 2 1/2 cups and then 1 1/2 cups and then back to 2 cups. Now he has been eating 3 cups of kibble consistently for the past month or couple of months now. I have noticed a change and increase with his food drive...but he never bites off more then he can chew or in this case...crunch.


Kotomi on the other hand has never been very selective on her tastes. Food is food! She's always had a high food drive. I've been feeding her 1 1/2 to 2 cups of kibble. I've noticed these days she no longer devours her meals...she has now slowed down and takes her time eating. Normally she eats her entire meal but on rare occasions when she deems herself content she'll leave a handful of kibble to save for the next day.


So yeah...I would think based on my 2 Shikoku that they tend to self-regulate.

Edgewood

My Kuma definitely is a picky and slow eater. He eats when he wants too and then eats a bit at a time (probably about 2-3 times per day). But some days he may only eat once and then only a few kibbles at that. And I wish he would eat more because he is a bit on the thin side.

I feed kibble but do on occasion give him raw and he will eat it pretty well, but only so much. If it is more than he is hungry for, he goes and buries it.

Sangmort

Lisa - We don't know either, hence all the questions! LOL

I mean...sure, I could drive 45 minutes out to the rescue & help out there, but we'd much rather give a homeless pup a nice place to stay & find him his forever home with an owner who will really love him.

[ plus, I'm not going to lie. I think it's a great way to "experience" a dog, & I'm sure there's no better feeling than having a homeless puppy find an owner who will love him / her the rest of their life! ] ~

BradA1878

Loa is not very picky, tho some days she doesn't eat one of her meals. Ahi is pretty picky and she tends to skip her breakfast but she never starves herself. Shikoku seem to have a natural ability to eat the right amount of food for their system, not too much and not too little.

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Heidi

I am really, super appreciative of my dogs' ability to self-regulate, because I've been getting away with free-feeding for the past little while to make my life easier.

Yamiska

Thank you all for your answers! So I guess I have to brace myself that it might be something similar to Sada. I wish I could do free-feeding but my girls won't eat kibbles and I can't leave raw lying around for all day.

shibamistress

Interesting--sounds like the Shikokus do tend to self-regulate. My girl Shiba does this, but I think my boy might eat til he exploded....Or at least eat til near that point and guard the rest!