Kishu Rescue
I have a 2.5 y.o. neutered male Kishu Inu. His name is Aisu. He is a great dog and is wonderful with our four kids. I live in New England.
But…
He has defensive issues and has always been resistant to new men. He also has issue with biting other dogs. He has some neighborhood friends that he plays very rough with. But when he meets new dogs, he has a 50/50 chance of snapping at them. And it’s not a little snap. He is also bad with puppies (I don’t know why, but he seems to hate them).
He has a very strong prey drive. He will chase a deer for 3 miles. He has caught and killed three foxes that have had the misfortune of roaming into our yard. He is a hunting breed and if you want to hunt with a finishing dog, this could be the dog for you.
But the bad news is that he has recently bit a child. This wasn’t one or our kids, but a stranger. It was a young kid that came up to the dog and got in his face. The dog was lying down and was cornered. The dog bit the kid on the hand pretty hard. For this reason, I have to give this dog up. I have four kids and while I feel no threat to my family, I have new kids coming and going around my house all the time. I cannot live with the risk that the dog might bight another child. I sincerely believe that this biting incident was not the dog’s fault, but that doesn’t really matter for my situation. If the dog ever bites another person, it would be my fault.
So, I am giving up a heck of a dog. I am doing this as an alternative to penning him up in our yard or putting him down. But this dog would have to go to a person in the right situation. I would say that kids would be out of the question. I would also say that other dogs are a challenge. He would likely be fine with other dogs if he was part of a pack, but you would have to manage the introduction properly. And you would have to be ok with rough play. If you have not ever watched Kishus play, watch this video because it looks like they are trying to kill each other.
Ideally, I would like to see this dog to a hunter because this is what the dog was bred to do and what he really loves.
So if you are interested in adopting an adult Kishu, I have a great dog. But I don’t want to sugar coat the situation. You have to be able to handle owning a Japanese breed (no small challenge on its own). He has killed a bunch of small animals. This dog has bitten at least ten other dogs at the local dog park. And now this dog has bitten a child.
On the up-side, this dog is a tracking and hunting machine. He is very well trained and responds like clockwork to a list of verbal commands.
some pics
But…
He has defensive issues and has always been resistant to new men. He also has issue with biting other dogs. He has some neighborhood friends that he plays very rough with. But when he meets new dogs, he has a 50/50 chance of snapping at them. And it’s not a little snap. He is also bad with puppies (I don’t know why, but he seems to hate them).
He has a very strong prey drive. He will chase a deer for 3 miles. He has caught and killed three foxes that have had the misfortune of roaming into our yard. He is a hunting breed and if you want to hunt with a finishing dog, this could be the dog for you.
But the bad news is that he has recently bit a child. This wasn’t one or our kids, but a stranger. It was a young kid that came up to the dog and got in his face. The dog was lying down and was cornered. The dog bit the kid on the hand pretty hard. For this reason, I have to give this dog up. I have four kids and while I feel no threat to my family, I have new kids coming and going around my house all the time. I cannot live with the risk that the dog might bight another child. I sincerely believe that this biting incident was not the dog’s fault, but that doesn’t really matter for my situation. If the dog ever bites another person, it would be my fault.
So, I am giving up a heck of a dog. I am doing this as an alternative to penning him up in our yard or putting him down. But this dog would have to go to a person in the right situation. I would say that kids would be out of the question. I would also say that other dogs are a challenge. He would likely be fine with other dogs if he was part of a pack, but you would have to manage the introduction properly. And you would have to be ok with rough play. If you have not ever watched Kishus play, watch this video because it looks like they are trying to kill each other.
Ideally, I would like to see this dog to a hunter because this is what the dog was bred to do and what he really loves.
So if you are interested in adopting an adult Kishu, I have a great dog. But I don’t want to sugar coat the situation. You have to be able to handle owning a Japanese breed (no small challenge on its own). He has killed a bunch of small animals. This dog has bitten at least ten other dogs at the local dog park. And now this dog has bitten a child.
On the up-side, this dog is a tracking and hunting machine. He is very well trained and responds like clockwork to a list of verbal commands.
some pics
Comments
I hope everything works out well for Aisu.
Jesse
but, that said... @shishiinu is right - I'd love an adult Kishu to rescue! I love puppies, but I know puppies tend to be a little easier to place than adults (especially if they have history or behavior issues). I was looking for a female, since I have two boys already (one is a little more combative, the other is "bombproof")... but if you think my home would be a good fit, we can always try introductions for all the boys. I'm open to answering any questions or... whatever application process you've decided is best for Aisu.
Where in MA are you? I mentioned in your intro post that I'm a little north of Providence, RI, but I work in Bellingham, MA.
Do you guys really consider this playing?
Nami (yushoku kishu pup) was a little aggressive toward other puppies but she gets along great with other dogs but probably due to my brothers excellent work on her social skills.
That video looks more like arguing/bullying than actual play, it did start with them both wanting a high valued item (a glove I think). Wasn't necessarily a fight either, as there doesn't seem to be any punctures or blood. My pups rough play all of the time, so rough in fact where people think they are fighting, and it doesn't look nearly as intense as what those two pups are displaying. Heck, my one pup got to play with a Kishu and it didn't get nearly that intense (and that Kishu comes from prey driven hunting lines).
That video does not look like play. Some of it does at times, but most of it, no. Looks more like disagreements/bullying. I wouldn't have let puppies go on like that, regardless of the breed or "how they play".
About the video....Oh ick.....That's just ridiculous bullying, the entire 7 minutes amounted to sparing until exhaustion sets in. They should have had intervention and been broken apart and redirected within the first minute(s). This type of behavior does not serve any purpose to benefit training. As they mature it probably won't be pretty and make it pretty darned difficult for socialization with other dogs. Hope they found homes where it was less of an issue.
Snf
I agree they should been stopped and redirected and if persisted separated for a bit.
I hope Aisu gets a good home he is a handsome kishu.
Sad he got pushed to bite by the kid. I'm always strict with hyper kids who are kind to get in dogs face if they can't calm down they can't see my dogs.
Saya loves kids, but I'm not taking chance if the kid decides to punch or get too rough with her..
Jesse
So yeah, I see that as a fight too, and I also wouldn't have let it go on, because dogs can get really hurt. And many dogs have long memories--a few squabbles that are really heated like that, and they keep escalating, and dogs get hurt. Or killed.
But I do hope Aisu gets a home....
I too agree the video doesn't look like playing... well, the two in the background that are mostly just chasing each other look like they're playing to me, but the tussle looked like it probably started as play before the video started, but quickly turned into a power/resource struggle.
Nevertheless, he's a good-looking dog and it has to be a hard decision to rehome him, but I think you came to the right place to find people knowledgeable about the breed. I'm certainly not, but I'm just here to learn haha.
I don't know the complete history. But we were offered the dog when he was a little over five months old. My guess is that he was returned, but that's not the story we got.
Do you have a sibling from that litter?
Maybe this is part of my problem, in that I let him play too rough. But we do a lot to socialize him with other dogs. He's just hit or miss. And this is dramatically different than when he fights with another dog. That usually involves a clamp-down bite on the neck, growling and shaking the other animal. It is totally different. It is violent and aggressive. And that is pretty much what happened when he bit the kid (described above).
I love the video they look like best buddies.
It's a hit and miss with my dogs on what strange dog they get along with. Some dogs they like and others they don't. I feel like I did a ok job on socializing my dogs but I know my dogs aren't dogs I take to dog runs, they are strictly boar hunting dogs.
I'm really sorry that Aisu isn't working out for you, I hope there is a place for him soon. Have you talked to Carleen at all? I wonder if she might know a better home for him.
Carleen was not a ton of help with my issue. She essentially presented two solutions: pen him up or put him down. Neither of those are going to work for me. But if I cannot find a more suitable home for Aisu, I can just totally limit his exposure to new dogs and new people. That's complicated but I can do it. Reading Shishiinu's comments that he knows not to take these dogs to the dog park is encouraging.
We'll see how it goes, but the situation is still workable while we figure it out. Thanks for all the support.
I do think Aisu IS certainly playing in the second video, but I think Bosun is not reciprocating equally, and seems to be trying to get away from Aisu. He seeks his owner a couple times, Aisu persists. There are breaks, but only Aisu shakes off- Bosun is not relaxing or destressing. Bosun is almost always on the ground, on his back, backing up, seeking the humans or moving away then whirling around when Aisu bites his leg & keeps going for him.
I dont think Aisu wants to hurt the terrier at all, but I think Aisu enjoys this play a lot more than the Wheaten does. I dont think the Wheaten has the weight of personality to tell Aisu to tone it down and have him listen. Bosun is overwhelmed but cannot stop Aisu except by trying to avoid, look away, follow the people away- he is not 'safe' enough to shake off for a sec.
I disagree that Aisu shows much social respect, I dont think Aisu give a flying fig that Bosun is uncomfortable and if I were Bosun's owner I wouldnt let this continue. I dont think Aisu will hurt the terrier, unless Bosun finally cracks and sticks up for himself.