Well, I finally made it up to the Hokkaido ken show. Promise to fill in everybody on the details and post a bunch of pictures soon. Here a quick pic for now.
OK, OK, here are a few of my thoughts and I will update the pictures tonight. This was the biggest show of the year but compared to NIPPO shows I have attended it was quite small, they had a bear though!! They told me the Hokkaido association is only registering 600 dogs per year, less than I thought. The dogs were a bit smaller than I thought especially the females. It seemed everyone was favoring the white dogs but there were some very good looking reds. I was told people tend not to want the reds because people mistake them for Shiba. Also, I saw a lot of off-spec(?) dogs, black and white, black and tan with bad markings, reds with heavy patches of black ect.. These dogs were being shown which I don't think would happen at a NIPPO show. Most of the people I met keep their dogs outdoors but a few said they were good indoor pets as long as they get their exercise. They do seem really attached to their owners and people said they are extremely loyal. The one thing I can say for certain is there is no cuter creature than a white Hokkaido puppy!! If you have any questions please ask me and I will get the pictures up when I get home tonight.
The main Hokkaido ken association, Hozenkai(?) will double check the name tonight. I think they were a tad smaller than the Shikoku, the females especially seemed smaller than I thought they would be. There were a few reactive dogs and for some reason the brindles seemed to be the worst culprits. I will say they were much better than the Kishu and Shikoku I have seen at Nippo shows. A few face offs but they were generally pretty good around each other. After seeing them and talking with the breeders and owners I want one more than ever. I hope you will be better able to judge the size from the photos I put up tonight.
@jeffnkazuko "The one thing I can say for certain is there is no cuter creature than a white Hokkaido puppy!!" Amen to that.
I'm looking forward to seeing the rest of the photos! And I'm glad to hear your experience has made you want a Hokkaido all the more. That is always a good thing.
Comments
This was the biggest show of the year but compared to NIPPO shows I have attended it was quite small, they had a bear though!!
They told me the Hokkaido association is only registering 600 dogs per year, less than I thought. The dogs were a bit smaller than I thought especially the females. It seemed everyone was favoring the white dogs but there were some very good looking reds. I was told people tend not to want the reds because people mistake them for Shiba. Also, I saw a lot of off-spec(?) dogs, black and white, black and tan with bad markings, reds with heavy patches of black ect.. These dogs were being shown which I don't think would happen at a NIPPO show.
Most of the people I met keep their dogs outdoors but a few said they were good indoor pets as long as they get their exercise. They do seem really attached to their owners and people said they are extremely loyal. The one thing I can say for certain is there is no cuter creature than a white Hokkaido puppy!!
If you have any questions please ask me and I will get the pictures up when I get home tonight.
- Which Hokkaido club sponsored this event?
- How did the dogs seem in size compared to the other NK? Smaller than a Shikoku?
- How were the dogs around the other dogs there? Reactive? Did they do "face-offs"?
- After this, do you still want to get one?
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I think they were a tad smaller than the Shikoku, the females especially seemed smaller than I thought they would be.
There were a few reactive dogs and for some reason the brindles seemed to be the worst culprits. I will say they were much better than the Kishu and Shikoku I have seen at Nippo shows. A few face offs but they were generally pretty good around each other.
After seeing them and talking with the breeders and owners I want one more than ever. I hope you will be better able to judge the size from the photos I put up tonight.
I'm looking forward to seeing the rest of the photos! And I'm glad to hear your experience has made you want a Hokkaido all the more.
noooo, the brindles just looked the most ferocious doing it!
(really, tho- darn...)