Kaja the Shikoku Ken!

Kaja

Hi guys! For those of you interested, here's a thread dedicated entirely to my little girl, Kaja! I'll share photos of her as she grows, as well as experiences. I'll be responsible with the photos and not add too many, just enough to keep tabs on her.

This forum as well as the Nihonken blog were SO useful as I was researching the breed. And now I get to contribute, too!

So to start things off! Kaja came to me from Katja's Akashima. Her dad is Ch. Akashima’s Kochi Ken Shigeru (Shiggy)... and her mum is Ch. Chiharu Go Nidai Iwahorisou (Hana). She flew in all by herself and she was SO timid when she first arrived! But as soon as she settled down from the motion sickness and got some food in her, her personality started to come out. She's such a loving and lovable fluff of fur. She's about 10 weeks old, now! Something I've noticed: when I talk to her and her head cocks to the side, like she's trying really hard to figure out what I'm saying. So cute.

I took these photos after our first 'serious' training session today (first time with the clicker). I was REALLY impressed by her retention of 'sit' and 'come'! Kaja hesitates every time she has to walk by the fridge... it's like she thinks it's booby trapped or something, haha. It's pretty adorable. Anyway, without further ado... 10 week old Kaja photos!

GrayJJ

Great pictures! Is Kaja fine with the Christmas tree? I haven't had one the last few years with dogs in the house.

sukiandluna

She is so so cute! Great pictures of her

Myabee09

She's adorable!!

Kaja

GrayJJ: haha no... I wouldn't trust her around it. At the moment she is only allowed on that floor of the house (with the tree) during training. Our corgi mix is fine with it but Kaja is way too curious right now.

Allison

shes gorgeous!! @kaja

WhoBitMe

If you looked in the dictionary for the definition of "adorable" I'm pretty sure Kaja's picture would be in there.

I totally understand not trusting a puppy around a Christmas tree. Thankfully I lucked out with Meitou and he's always been pretty good around the tree.

Kaja

Round 2! Kaja is now about 12 weeks old. She'll be getting her second set of shots in a few more days. She's incredibly smart, and she catches on to commands very fast. In fact, she has officially learned more tricks than her older sister (corgi-mix). Alas, she still gets car sick. A five minute drive won't make her puke but it will make her drool up a storm. In time I'm sure it'll go away. She has fit in quite well to the house and gets along really well with her older sister (who is 5 years old). They chase each other like race cars around and around. Since her sister is a corgi-mix (and therefore has rocket boosters)... she hasn't managed to catch her. Yet. As for other dog socialization, not TOO much yet since she only has her first set of shots... but she has met two other dogs during Christmas. She always wants to play and be active with them... but got a big telling off from my aunt's black lab the other day. Put her in her place, so to speak -- and she was quiet the rest of the day, hahahaha. Oh! Speaking of quiet... we're still working on her not wailing when I leave her alone. Work in progress. The NOISES she can make! Like a hyena! Haha

Also, you get a photo of the adorable spot on her tail.

I don't know if it'll be there when she is older, but you might notice she has this three split 'fork' of dark fur on her forehead and it makes her look like she's furling her brow, hahaha. It's a cool little mark xD

Crispy

Happy New Year to Kaja! She's looking very cute!

Sorry to hear about her car-sickness. That seems pretty common in the breed, but I lucked out with my boy.

All of my Nihon Ken and my Malamute have that spot, too. It marks their precaudal gland. It isn't as obvious on my white Kishu Ken, but I have a sesame Kishu Ken, a black sesame/sesame Shikoku Ken, and a grey Malamute that all have the spot marked obviously by their coat color. On the white dog, it's a difference in texture more than color of the coat.

Kaja

Ooh is that what it is! Good to know, @Crispy !! Our other family dogs don't have a mark there (just some courser hair, if anything).... I'm glad Kaja's is a different colour. Gives her tail some personality

Now whenever I meet a new dog I'm going to find myself curiously drawn to their tail....

Crispy

Here's my Shikoku's!


My sesame Kishu has more black hair in general on her tail, so it's not as obvious as TK (Shikoku)

Kaja

Ohh, I see it though! Pretty dogs too xD

CrimsonO2

My Shiba has that marker on his tail...I think my male Shikoku does too....never bothered to really look at my kurogoma Shikoku female...it's faint but it's there.

Jesse

Kaja

I had wondered what the area was... I'd seen it on other dogs too! Now the mystery is solved! Though I gota admit, I like the very obvious dark on light

Kira_Inu

I absolutely love that spot on Kaja's tail! It makes for a great identifying mark too. Great pictures, she is turning out beautifully.

Kaja

And she loves the snow



I'm excited for seeing how her coat changes as she gets older! It's like every day I look at her she changes, haha.

Kaja

Almost four months old, so here's an update on Kaja!! This is her and her older sister, my corgi/chihuahua. As you can see, they like to wrestle! Haha. We also run in to other dogs when we go to this field (you can see someone's Brittany Spaniel below). She just got her final shots yesterday, so pretty soon she'll have her first adventure at the dog park.


^She gets called a wolf, a tiger and a fox. rofl. Got built in eye liner, this one.

^Her older sister is 5 years old but they still like to rough house.

^This is what her crazy face looks like. In this instance it was because she just landed after trying to grab my mitten, but it's also the face she makes when she's happy and meeting someone hahahaha.

^Just their usual antics. Colors look pretty though!

^Observing the mitten before deciding to jump for it.

^I don't know what Kaja is doing with her leg. But these three had a good time playing in the snow.

She begins her puppy/social classes in a week or so (they're FREE so I expect to see a lot of puppies), and after that gets her intro at the day care/hotel. It's a great concept for a kennel : no locked cells, just open areas and constant supervision. They even sleep together with all the other dogs! Both should be pretty good for improving her socialization... though as of yet I have no complaints on that, either.

cezieg

She's such a pretty Shikoku! It looks like you live in the perfect place for her as well The NK breeds sure love their snow. Kaja outgrew her "big sis" pretty quickly too haha

Kaja

Thanks!! Haha @cezieg yes... she DOES love the snow! Take her outside to go bathroom and it's playtime every step she takes. Or that I take. Anything that makes snow move. Oh, and footprints become fox holes. Yup.

She also found a squirrel's stash hidden in the lawn beneath snow... I was wondering where she managed to get seeds and corn from. rofl

I just hope her older sister thinks she's fun to play with when Kaja gets even bigger xD

WhoBitMe

Awwwwww! Kaja looks perfect in the snow.

roninshiba

Pretty girl and very nice pictures!

Kaja

Thanks! Haha it is pretty fun to whip out the macro lens and get photos of them in the snow.

Kaja

Took Kaja and her 'big sis' to the field nearby, and we ran in to a Australian Shepherd pup. Found her in a very compromising position!

Also she's been going to puppy classes/socialization classes for a while now. She does well, but sometimes we are asked to get our puppies 'excited' and I wonder... do any other shikoku owners find it hard to get their dogs excited? She'd rather look at me very stoic-like, and give kisses, than jump around with me. Well, unless I have an awesome toy in hand. rofl

Saya

Love the pics such cute pup.

jigzzor

If our instructor asked us to get katsu excited, she would regret it. He tends to run all over the apartment in a frenzy like state and becomes an unstoppable force. It's one of my most favorite experiences i have with katsu. Try jumping up and down with a toy that makes noises and say her name.

TheYeti

Just saw these shots now. Great camera work. She is so cute!

Kaja

@jigzzor Yeah! I love it when Kaja runs around the house like a cat on fire. We can get our older dog to do it just by stomping our feet a little. I want to condition Kaja to feel the same way -- fun doesn't just have to be with toys! You know?! I'll try that :P

@TheYeti Thanks! She's so tiny compared to your Rollo though, hahaha. It's interesting to see the photos. And I think they're close to the same age too? xD

Kaja is shedding a ton right now. I think that a recent chinook here tricked her body in to thinking winter was over.

TheYeti

I did that with Rollo in the woods yesterday. I did a 'sumo stomp' then chased him around and tackled him.

Rollo is a big boy, but good things come in all sizes. Kaja is as cute as a button!

Kaja

Kaja has graduated from puppy class, though I don't know if I will enroll her in further dog classes. I feel the things they taught were things we already knew ... and she sees other dogs quite often anyway. I dunno, we will see! xD

Welp she gets to wear the silly looking cone soon! Spaying is scheduled for next month. Also was flipping through some photos and omGOSH it's hard to believe how much she sprouted. Can't believe she used to be that little fluffball. Also as you can see she greyed out a bit after blowing some of her coat. She gets coyote comments as often as fox comments now, rofl.

jigzzor

Ooo puppy classes are great, especially for shikoku. I'm realized that the 4 different classes katsu has taken has helped him in socialization and focus. It really depends on the dog I guess but it could ultimately be the difference between having the best sit/down stays. which ultimately translates to the best experience you can have with your pup when she's an adult.

Kaja

^this is totally true. I think a Shikoku is a breed that really has to be trained -well- for the best happiness of you and your dog. And it's the entire reason I enrolled her for puppy class (none of my dogs have ever had that pleasure before, haha). She gets trained by me all the time anyway (everything is a training exercise).... but more classes might provide that extra push. We'll have to see how well she does sans class for a week or two! But I have a feeling I'll enroll her in another one ;P