How do strangers see your Nihon Kens?
My Akita mix is rather polarizing. Strangers often stop me on the street and ask if he is an Akita. Either they hate him immediately and tell me off for walking him in a neighborhood or they gush and tell me how beautiful he is. Even after I explain he is a mix no one ever changes their tune, he's wonderful, or they hate him.
Do Akitas specifically and Nihon Ken in general, always get such extreme reactions, or is it just the people in my area?
Do Akitas specifically and Nihon Ken in general, always get such extreme reactions, or is it just the people in my area?
Comments
Streets/Walks: Usually comments of "Aww she's so cute/dainty!" and little kids will always want to pet her. Ren's not all that comfortable with strangers, much less hyper kids. So that doesn't always go that well, but if they're polite and actually listen then I'll hold Ren while they can gently pet her neck.
Actually, I haven't had any negative responses outside of one lady with an aggressive anklebiter asking me to pick up Ren so that her dog doesn't get in a fight with her... while her dog was offleash... lol
I sense a little hesitation once in a while, especially after comments such as "she looks like a coyote"... but overall it's been ok. Mostly just generous compliments. There's no real baggage with the shikoku breed, though, so I don't expect any negative attitudes going her way. Mostly just lots of questions and "awwwwe she's like a long legged fox!".
Once in a while I feel obligated to tell people she's talky when she plays. Some people aren't used to that and it freaks them out.
I've seen people with stigma against American Akitas, but not so much the Japanese Akita. Weird!
Also, any adults who engage me fall under 1 of 2 conversations
Conversation 1:
Them: "Are they Shibu Emus?"
Me: "Shiba Inu? Well, that one is. These two are cousins of a Shiba."
Them: "Oh, well they're beautiful!"
Me: "Thank you."
Conversation 2:
Them: "Oh they're beautiful, what are they?"
Me: "Thank you. These are Japanese hunting dogs/huskies."
Option 1:
Them: "Well they're just beautiful."
Option 2:
Them: "Oh, what are they called?"
Me: "They're called Shikoku."
Them: "they're what?"
Me: "Shikoku. Like the Japanese island of Shikoku?
Them: "...."
Me: "Just do a google search for 'Japanese husky'"
Jesse
- wolf
- husky
- elkhound
- coyote
- German Shepherd
- or any of their mixes
People try to pet TK without asking ALL the time. I have to constantly be on guard because he WILL bite them.
With the Kishu...
- wolf
- husky
- coyote
- German Shepherd
- "what breed is that?"
People tend to not stop me about the Kishu as much. I think they assume they are mixed breeds because they aren't as obviously refined as the Shikoku.
We get Akita and Shiba Inu for both breeds, too.
Although, I love it when people are very determined and say that he 'is a mix'. Even after going through the spiel of Japanese etc.
So common ones are - Shepard, Akita
and then my favorite - "Is that a Hyena!?" "He isn't? He sure looks like one" "Oh, well that's cool"
Although, I do get the occasional "He is GORGEOUS"
I even have a neighbor who will stare at him (and my shiba) when they are on the balcony, because she cannot get over who amazing they look. Yea, she's creepy.
If I'm getting the sense that explaining what she is would be difficult, I resort to saying she's a "Japanese Wolfdog' and leave it at that. That way they can at least google it if they want, and shikoku will come up on wikipedia xD
'A bigger breed than a Shiba but smaller than an Akita' just seems kind of clumsy. Everyone thinks he is an awesome looking dog though. I've only been asked if he was a coyote once.
We have an ID card for Rollo for when we travel but the vet tech put on the card that he was a Shiba inu. We actually argued with her and had her do a google search for her to actually believe that a shikoku is an actual breed!
to which I think it's not worth it to correct and just kindly reply..."Thank you!"
But on our Sunday evening walk we passed a gentleman who paused and exclaimed like a statement, not a question, "Oh, a fox terrier!" He seemed very proud of himself, but we had to tell him the truth.
With, Kuma and Kiyomi on leash most people tend to steer clear. I think Kiyomi looks a bit intimidating to most folks.
THEN we get down to "looks like a fox" or "pretty sure that's a coy dog."
but only if it's Juno.
Matsu is easily accepted as a "dog" and most people ID him as a young akita or akita mix. Nobody ever says he looks like a fox or a coyote.
person: What breed is that
me: Shikoku
person: Shibu-what?
me: It's a Japanese hunting dog, related to the Akita.
person: Oh, it's an Akita. How Kawaii!! (*yes, after that they sometimes pretend to be Japanese*)
If I feel that the person make get dollars signs in their eyes, I just go straight to saying she's a Japanese hunting dog or miniature AKita, and often they just assume she's a pretty mutt.
Then again I'm the sort who gets irked at the mispronunciation of 'sake'. So 'shikuukuu' about does me in ... and correcting people more than once just makes me feel rude xD
You want Shibu? I'll give you Shibu (thanks, Google):
People always ask if she's a fox, wolf, or coyote. I've learned the word for "wolf" in Spanish because of her. The most common assumption is that she's a husky mix and although we don't get it nearly as much as when she was a puppy, basenji was commonly thrown in there. Also,most folks assume she is going to be super friendly, maybe because she's got such a cute face, but she mostly ignores them. Some people are pretty relentless with trying to get her attention so we have to body block and run away.
If not, I tried! :P
I think you'll just learn not to care at some point.. ex: at a brewery a little while back, a man in crutches quickly approached my older kai girl.. she got a little scared, and took some time to warm up to him and be comfortable. His friend said "you know, you just gotta take your dog out more and expose them to things, otherwise they'll be fearful of anything like that"... anyone who knows how kona grew up would laugh (she literally has always gone everywhere with me...class, parks, schools, breweries, walks everywhere, hikes, etc...) Old me would've gone on the defensive explaining everything. With this guy I just said "you know, you're probably right" .. smiled, and ignored him the rest of the night
Care about those who care and seem interested, shrug everything else off. not worth it bugging you :P
I just tell people he is a cat.
The biggest problem is that most people can't spell Shikoku, let alone pronounce it, so I made business cards for Kiyoshi with his breed info and fb page link on it
Also @Oakland thank you for totally understanding my pain, haha. Shibu emu and shikookoo are the ones I hear the most. Though this whole 'card' thing would totes solve that problem...
I usually just say "Japanese hunting dog" and more often than not that's all they care to know. The rest of the time I just said "Kai" and "Hokkaido Inu, from the Hokkaido area of Japan"... since the Ken part just creates more problems than answers lol.
@Kaja Shinkookoo LOL first time I've heard that one.
Katsu gets the usual fox, wolf, coyote, akita, shiba inu, weasel face comments. Quite a few people think he's a basenji too--must be the curly tail.
Most people also respond with "shikoko" so I often also say Japanese wolf dog or Japanese hunting dog. There are a handful of Japanese people we've met that get really surprised when they hear he's a Shikoku haha. They usually think a little, ask again, then have a shocked look.