Misc questions about the Nihon Ken.
Though I love the Akita and Tosa Inu of the Nihon Ken the most, I do also enjoy the other breeds. However, my fave breed are Labradors. Brad and anyone else, from your experience, which dog type would be the closest to a Lab in temperament. I know the Shiba is the Lab of Japan in terms of dog population though.
Also, I know the Akita Inu is the "real Akita", however, are the American Akitas just as good of a spitz-type dog. Hey Brad, why did you close your YouTube account?
Finally, if I was to name my future Akita Inu and Tosa Inus after Greek mythology, what would be best? I think Athene for the Akita and Poseidon or Heracles for the Tosa.
Also, I know the Akita Inu is the "real Akita", however, are the American Akitas just as good of a spitz-type dog. Hey Brad, why did you close your YouTube account?
Finally, if I was to name my future Akita Inu and Tosa Inus after Greek mythology, what would be best? I think Athene for the Akita and Poseidon or Heracles for the Tosa.
Comments
I have a 4 year old hunting lab and three Kishus and they are soo far apart in temperments that it drives me nuts cause labs always want attention and my Kishus could care less if I go out and play fetch with them.
So, I agree with Gen, the NK breeds are just about the furthest thing from a Lab one could pick. I think the Shiba is as popular in Japan as the Lab is here (in the US) but that doesn't really mean the Shiba is similar to the Lab.
If I was forced into a corner and had to pick the NK breed most similar to a Lab, based on my experience, I would pick the Akita Inu - today's version of the Akita Inu, not the breed description found on Wikipedia or other sites. I don't feel the Akita Inu of today fits the breed descriptions published online or in books. JMHO.
As for the question about the American Akita, I think you can find a GREAT example of the Spitz-type dog in a nicely produced AA. I say the same for the JA. I also think you can find horrible representatives of both varieties of Akita. It's my personal opinion that the majority of the AAs out there fit more closely to the Akita breed description than the of the JAs I have met.
As for your naming question, I think "Heracles" is an apt name for (arguably) the world's strongest dog breed, the Tosa Inu. I like that name for a Tosa Inu a lot, actually. "Atlas" would be a good one too. As for the Akita Inu, was their a Greek god that was very pretty and lazy? If so, I'd go with that name.
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Regarding my YouTube channel...
Well, my channel got a lot of traffic and a lot of attention when it was just NK.
When I added Ovcharka and Corso to my videos I got even more traffic, and with that traffic came a lot of negativity, trash talk, and jealousy.
That eventually lead to YouTube members using my videos dishonestly and illegally, and it even lead to negative, dishonest, slanderous attacks on me and my family. I don't have time or tolerance for that type of low-class nonsense, so I removed my channel and deleted my videos.
If I could go back I would never have made so many Ovcharka vids, the Ovcharka community sucks... But that is hard given our dogs are always together and the "theme" of my videos was unstructured, real-life, uncut dog interaction.
To make the vids w/o the Molossers in them I would need to stage a lot of them, and that goes against what I wanted to accomplish (showing these breeds as they really are). So I dunno that I will ever bring the channel back. If YouTube would provide better security and a tighter leash on the YouTube community then maybe I would consider it.
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@Kadmos....I'm with everyone else here....I don't think any of the NK are like labs, at all. (Which is probably why I like them....no offense meant to anyone, but labs are among some of my least favorite dogs, at least as pets--I suspect hunting labs are different in some ways). I've only had Akitas (American) and Shibas, but it's pretty clear from other people's experiences that the other NK aren't like labs at all either!
My dogs are independent, willful, don't particularly have a strong drive to please (the Akita does more than the Shibas), don't need to have tasks, don't take well to too much repetition in training. They're not clingy at all. They're generally not very friendly, and certainly not easy going dogs.
My Akita is six months old. I can't really compare him to a Japanese Akita, as I've not met one in person (though he certainly is much bigger! almost 90 pounds now). He's got what I think of as a very good American Akita temperament so far, (though he is going through a phase of being slightly timid with strangers). He's curious about other people, and will accept strangers if introduced...if not, he tends to get in between me and them. He's a good watch dog (alarm barking, but not too much, and not at everything). He's watchful. He is not aggressive with other dogs, though he will not back down from them either. He doesn't need to be near me all the time, and he plays well on his own (or with my Shiba). In training, he's learning well with positive reinforcement, but he's a fairly cautious dog, and likes to think things out for himself, and likes to have a reason for doing things. He can be stubborn--trying to force him to do something is fruitless. He's not like the GSD I had, who would do whatever I wanted, just because it was a task.
He's a great dog, but I also spent a long time trying to find a good breeder who bred for a solid, even temperament. A lot of the AAs were overly aggressive/reactive, I thought, and I didn't want that. I've also had other spitz breeds years ago (elkhound, husky/malamute mixes) and to me the AA are like other spitz breeds in many ways, maybe with a bit more trainability and with more aloofness and protectiveness. Just my thoughts, though!
Honestly (and Brad please correct me if I am wrong on this!) if you are familiar with the Anderson pack and have seen Blue, I would put him at a closer temperament to my labs than any of the Nihon Ken.
In general, there are certain things one can just expect from a well bred and decently trained lab.
- They basically believe what you say and do what you tell them
- They may run when given the opportunity, but they will typically come back home (Our labs on the farm were rarely inside and never fenced in or tied up; yet, we knew they could be counted on to stay home)
- They tend to be "people pleasers"
- They can be clingy and/or needy (they expect lots of attention and prefer to be right beside you if given an option)
- They love Frisbee and Fetch and other activities where they can interact a great deal with their person
- They could be considered "open-minded" and "accepting" when it comes to meeting people
The reason I looked into the Kai Ken (and Nihon Ken in general) was actually because my time with our labs allowed me to learn my temperament and a lab's are not a good match. The Nihon Ken are quite different. They are much more independent. When I met the Anderson's dogs, most were happy to greet me, investigate a little and get some attention; then they were just as happy to go find something else to do
Hope that helps a little!
Oh, and don't get me wrong, our labs were amazing dogs and I loved them. I just know what they need and what I need are too far apart for either of us to ever be happy of I were to get one as a pet now that I am on my own and off the farm.
If you are looking for a laid back NK, then I would look at the Kai Ken or maybe Akita Inu (my impression is they are good laid back couch potatoes a bit.) But you seem like you have a rather high energy intense personality. My gut tells me that the Akita Inu may be too laid back for you.