Two questions about Shikoku Ken...

jhartenbach

Hello all, I am glad to recently joined the forum. I have been researching the forum and decided that it was a must to join such a knowledgeable community.

I met a Shikoku Ken a few months ago and absolutely fell in love with the dog. Although the meeting was brief, it was enough to convince me to do some research and see if a Shikoku Ken could be addition to my family. This forum has answered several of my questions, but there are a few that I could not answer. One, how much do they shed? I have read that they change coats up to twice a year but I am curious to see how much fallout there is between the change of coats. Also, how much does a puppy cost from one of the few breeders from North America. I know price should not matter, but I need to know if purchasing this dog would financially possible. I read the article about exporting dogs from Japan. That is a possible option but I would like to support the North American breeders if I can.

Thank you in advance and glad to be a member,
Jay

BradA1878

Welcome to the forum!

I hope you don't mind, I edited your post and moved it to the "Shikoku Ken" category instead of the "General" category.

Which Shikoku did you meet? That's great you had a chance to meet one in person! )

As for your questions...

1) how much do they shed? I have read that they change coats up to twice a year but I am curious to see how much fallout there is between the change of coats.
>> Yes, they blow their coat twice a year and during that time it is surprising how much hair comes off them. In between the coat-blows, assuming your are feeding a top-quality diet, the shedding is minimal. Keep in mind tho, a coat-blowing can last a few months as there is an initial build-up before the main blow and then a slowdown as they grow their new coat. So the time between coat blowing is really only 3-4 months, which can make it feel like they are always blowing their coat. This also depends on your climate, if you are in a climate where the weather doesn't change much (like LA or Florida) you may notice a much shorter coat-blowing season. For us, where we have a short summer and a long winter, our Shikoku tend to be blowing their coat the entire summer and then not at for 6-9 months during the cold period.

2) how much does a puppy cost from one of the few breeders from North America. I know price should not matter, but I need to know if purchasing this dog would financially possible.
>> I would expect to pay $2000+ for a Shikoku pup. Shipping from a breeder will usually run an additional $300 or so.

3) I read the article about exporting dogs from Japan. That is a possible option but I would like to support the North American breeders if I can.
>> I would expect to pay, including shipping, $3000+ (probably closer to $5k) to import a Shikoku Ken from Japan to North America.

----

jhartenbach

Thank you for such a detailed response. The pricing you listed seems very reasonable especially for such a rare breed of dog. I currently have a Portuguese Water dog and she was around the same price for a pup. I met the Shikoku Inu in Tampa, Fl. He seemed to be handling the heat quite fine and was very active. This of course was a concern of mine being that most of the pictures I see of the Shikoku Ken are playing the in the snow. I have started out filling out a questionaire for a North American breeder and hope to be on the waiting list soon. Keep your fingers crossed!

Heidi

Brad gave really good answers, but I'll but my $0.02 in, too, for what it's worth.

One, how much do they shed? I have read that they change coats up to twice a year but I am curious to see how much fallout there is between the change of coats.
Well, that does depend on climate, like Brad said. I live in Southern Alberta, and I find that Rakka sheds very, very heavily for a couple weeks in late spring/early summer, and then it tapers off over a couple months. This year, she was shedding heavily in March, then it slowed down, and she more or less stopped by June. I don't find that she sheds much during the rest of the year, but a couple times, the weather got weird (Southern Alberta = inconsistent weather and weather extremes) and she shed at a weird time, but it was pretty short-lived.

As for cost of pups and exporting, that's not really something I know about. My shikoku was adopted from people who couldn't keep her anymore, so I didn't buy her.