@Kaja, you're right in the sense that if you were to say Shikoku-ken or "Kochi" ken, some Japanese people would think of the Tosa. I've had it happen to me before when I'ved talked to some Japanese people. Shikoku (and the other region-specific dogs) are just that unknown/rare.
I was recently walking downtown and after I told some young men that Meitou wasn't friendly for petting they decided his name was Killer and he was training to get into the military.
Everyone who has seen Akira has thought he was beautiful, and a girl , but none of them had ever heard of a Kai Ken before. I get "he's a husky/shepherd/wolf/cat/fox/akita" mostly. This guy across the street thought i was pronouncing 'Akita' wrong in saying Akira is a 'Kai Ken'.
Went to a dog fair recently, and Kaja got a lot of attention. Some folks thought she was an akita puppy. Some figured she was a big shiba. Most comments were like, "she looks like a fox!" or "like a coyote crossed to a shiba".
One woman just straight came up to me and asked how I managed to get a coyote as a pet. At least that was better than the young woman who asked if Kaja was a fox mix. I gently explained that foxes can't breed with dogs. xD
Ive had a lot of 'aww what a cute little wolf' and 'is he a fox?' Over the past week. I've had him out lots around other people over the past few days. There have been a few to whip out their phones, take a picture of him and write down the spelling of 'shikoku'. He gets lots of attention.
@TheYeti That too! Spelling out the shikoku part for people on their phones, I mean.
My partner and I are debating getting Kaja a bandana or vest that says something like "I'm a shikoku" on it. Or "Not a fox, not a coyote, not a shiba!". Just for events like dog fairs or whatnot, rofl
These anecdotes are great. It's interesting to read about how Nihon Ken are perceived in America (and I presume other localities).
I don't have these kind of stories to share. But most of the few other dogs around here are either Western breed hounds, toy-type "yappy" dogs (sorry for the prejudice), or the occasional Shiba-Inu. So when there is any conversation about my girl Rika (Kai Ken) it's either "Otonashii" （meek, quiet, reserved）or "kakko ii" (Cool!)。(All of the above, in my humble opinion).
There was an interesting thing when we went last year to register at the local municipal centre. Kai Ken are so rare, even in Japan, that when the City clerk first saw her he asked if she was a Shiba. I told him she was in fact a Kai. He actually had to Google the breed to get the proper kanji to write in for her registration papers.
So yes. Your stories (I loved reading the posts). Things like that can happen even in Japan.
Oddly, at the new vet clinic we are the first shibas, but the vet was familiar with kai ken. Apparently one of his college friends had two ten year old kai!
But yes we get the same fox, coyote, baby wolf comments plus mini husky, mini akita, and basenji and corgi guesses too. At least the first three seem to be popular guesses for nk. But my favorite all time reaction was the little kid who told his mom to look at the baby deer (in response to my daintily built shiba girl who looks like a shiba with a sighthound build). Strangely we hear the deer/fawn comparisons in response to her on a semi-regular basis.
I also like that the new google photos app categorizes them as both dogs and cats.
@emi802 - you would laugh even harder if you had ever met my girl. You know how adolescent nk sometimes hit that gangly stage where they've gotten tall and leggy but haven't filled out yet? My girl is permanently physically stuck at that stage. She's got a deep, narrow chest, long legs, and a teeny tiny waist. We jokingly call her the supermodel, and our breeder has referred to her as the little giraffe. We figured she would fill out in adulthood but she never did (and she's six years old now). I think corgis are super cute, but they have short stumpy little legs and that barrel body which is pretty much the polar opposite of our girl. The fawn/deer thing I think is because she's got those long legs.
The second best comparison I've heard was from my partner who got to play with some adolescent cheetahs during a business trip to South Africa. I believe the cheetahs had been found essentially abandoned as babies on the reserve due to the death of the mom (by poacher unfortunately) so they were raised by the staff. They were quite people friendly so you could pet them and interact with them. When my partner returned he was showing me photos from the trip and mentioned that the cheetahs really reminded him of our girl dog in terms of mannerisms and behaviors, and even play patterns. I was surprised and said, "really?" and looked over at her and she was literally in the exact same pose as the adolescent cheetah in the photo he was paused on at the moment.
The worst thing I've heard in response was after I explained to some woman that they are a native japanese breed, she said "oh yes, she looks japanese. After all she's got those slanted eyes." My partner thought that the woman's stupidity eclipsed the offensiveness, but to be honest I've never quite been able to let that one go.
@violet_in_seville Little giraffe is such an adorable way to refer to her. Ours is just getting out of his gangly stage (a little over a year old now). Id love to see what she looks like it's really interesting that the baby cheetahs play like her and she happened to be in the same pose hahaha
Hehe. Kaja is lanky, too, and while strangers haven't said it, we say she looks like a kangaroo. Try taking a photo of them when they have their paws up against your legs and you might see it too, haha
On the big cats and mannerisms -- yes! We were watching a documentary on lions and we couldn't help but notice similarities to the way our girl behaves.
@Kaja - When my oldest (Bella) was a younger she was incredibly leggy (she still is, just not as much). I always called her my little kangaroo when she was pooping. ;-)
Okays I've now heard 2 people say, 'is that a cat she's got on a lead' about my Akita pup. I seriously think people need to invest in glasses around here lol.
People either gush over my akita girl or they cross the street when they see us coming. Very opposite extremes.
A lot of people ask if she's a chow mix. Or assume that she's a malamute. That doesn't bother me. What bothers me is all the people with leash reactive dogs who shoot me dirty looks and mumble about aggressive dogs when their dogs start going bonkers.
There was a guy walking down the street with a garbage bag full of cans making all sorts of noise as I was walking my Shikoku across the street from him on the sidewalk:
*dogs bark at him and lose their shit*
Guy: "I thought huskies were supposed to be friendly?"
Me: "I'm sure they are, but these aren't huskes! They're Japanese Hunting Dogs!"
There was a guy walking down the street with a garbage bag full of cans making all sorts of noise as I was walking my Shikoku across the street from him on the sidewalk:
*dogs bark at him and lose their shit*
Guy: "I thought huskies were supposed to be friendly?"
Me: "I'm sure they are, but these aren't huskes! They're Japanese Hunting Dogs!"
We get "OH! HUSKIES ARE MY FAVORITE DOG! " every once in a while. And in my head, I go "well, it's great you can identify your favorite dog." and in reality I go "oh, well that's cool."
This happens most often when I go in to pet stores, I've noticed... even if I mention she is a shikoku, people will say things like: "Oh my friend has three of these! One even looks and acts exactly like yours does!"
And I think to myself -- really? Your friend has three of these? Shikoku? I don't have the nerve to ask them if it's a shikoku for reals or if it's a shiba or something. Sometimes I'll mention how there aren't very many in North America and then they give me a look like I'm absolutely nuts. Like their eyes are saying... yes there are, my friend has three.
I presume people are mistaken when they say that sort of thing... more often than not I just assume they are thinking of a shiba or a husky variant. But I do wonder, sometimes!
We actually had a battle with our veterinary secretary over what breed Rollo was. She made up an ID card that said Rollo was a Shiba inu. We had to convince her that a Shikoku is a real breed, and the veterinarian straightened her out haha. The card is now corrected!
This happens most often when I go in to pet stores, I've noticed... even if I mention she is a shikoku, people will say things like: "Oh my friend has three of these! One even looks and acts exactly like yours does!"
And I think to myself -- really? Your friend has three of these? Shikoku? I don't have the nerve to ask them if it's a shikoku for reals or if it's a shiba or something. Sometimes I'll mention how there aren't very many in North America and then they give me a look like I'm absolutely nuts. Like their eyes are saying... yes there are, my friend has three.
I presume people are mistaken when they say that sort of thing... more often than not I just assume they are thinking of a shiba or a husky variant. But I do wonder, sometimes!
I have only had ONE person confirm that they were talking about a Shikoku (the lady like, whipped into a Dunkin Donuts parking lot to talk to me and TK when she saw me walking him and asked me "OH MY GOD WHERE DID YOU GET HIM???"
We actually had a battle with our veterinary secretary over what breed Rollo was. She made up an ID card that said Rollo was a Shiba inu. We had to convince her that a Shikoku is a real breed, and the veterinarian straightened her out haha. The card is now corrected!
Auugggh, painful. I actually have been giving my vets my Kishu Ken cards. For TK, I write his breed and give the North American Shikoku Club website.
@TheYeti That happened to us too! The vet secretary ignored what we told her and put shiba inu. Then, the vet said "This is a pretty large shiba, especially for his age... and he's the calmest shiba I've ever met!" Then we had to explain he's not a shiba At least he fixed it afterwards.
When we first got our two shibas years ago no one knew about shibas so we got husky, fox, wolf, etc. Now a days shibas are super popular so we no longer have that issue.
Well now we have our Kai Ken baby and not even the vet knew what he was, they had to look it up, they assumed he was a mixed breed shiba and on his records it says "mixed" under breed because the vet office only has a limited list of breeds to choose from and Kai isn't one of them..According to them they cant manually input a new breed. I said boo to that lol! Strangers have asked if he is a chow, shiba, German Shepard... once I tell them he's a Kai Ken they say oh wow that's cool and some ask more in-depth questions and others say oh ok yeah he's cute and walk away.
It is what it is. Doesn't bother me much, its kinda neat to be able to educate people on the breeds especially to the ones that show a genuine interest.
No one has come up to me knowing she's a shikoku, but I did have someone (with a shiba) ask recently if she was a kishu! I was really surprised by that. Was the most decent guess I'd heard.
I really am considering making cards, it seems like such a good idea.
lol, @Kaja! I wonder if it's because there are more sesame Kishu in the USA/North America, now. When I first started sharing Nami, people would guess or ask if she was a Shikoku Ken (online, where people generally have more access to random breeds), but now no one questions her breed - and most people get that she's a Kishu right away.
Tho come to think of it, someone has asked if TK was a Kishu... I don't remember where or when... but it was right after I got Nami.
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Jesse
One woman just straight came up to me and asked how I managed to get a coyote as a pet. At least that was better than the young woman who asked if Kaja was a fox mix. I gently explained that foxes can't breed with dogs. xD
My partner and I are debating getting Kaja a bandana or vest that says something like "I'm a shikoku" on it. Or "Not a fox, not a coyote, not a shiba!". Just for events like dog fairs or whatnot, rofl
I don't have these kind of stories to share. But most of the few other dogs around here are either Western breed hounds, toy-type "yappy" dogs (sorry for the prejudice), or the occasional Shiba-Inu. So when there is any conversation about my girl Rika (Kai Ken) it's either "Otonashii" （meek, quiet, reserved）or "kakko ii" (Cool!)。(All of the above, in my humble opinion).
There was an interesting thing when we went last year to register at the local municipal centre. Kai Ken are so rare, even in Japan, that when the City clerk first saw her he asked if she was a Shiba. I told him she was in fact a Kai. He actually had to Google the breed to get the proper kanji to write in for her registration papers.
So yes. Your stories (I loved reading the posts). Things like that can happen even in Japan.
But yes we get the same fox, coyote, baby wolf comments plus mini husky, mini akita, and basenji and corgi guesses too. At least the first three seem to be popular guesses for nk. But my favorite all time reaction was the little kid who told his mom to look at the baby deer (in response to my daintily built shiba girl who looks like a shiba with a sighthound build). Strangely we hear the deer/fawn comparisons in response to her on a semi-regular basis.
I also like that the new google photos app categorizes them as both dogs and cats.
The Google photos app does the same with my dog
The second best comparison I've heard was from my partner who got to play with some adolescent cheetahs during a business trip to South Africa. I believe the cheetahs had been found essentially abandoned as babies on the reserve due to the death of the mom (by poacher unfortunately) so they were raised by the staff. They were quite people friendly so you could pet them and interact with them. When my partner returned he was showing me photos from the trip and mentioned that the cheetahs really reminded him of our girl dog in terms of mannerisms and behaviors, and even play patterns. I was surprised and said, "really?" and looked over at her and she was literally in the exact same pose as the adolescent cheetah in the photo he was paused on at the moment.
The worst thing I've heard in response was after I explained to some woman that they are a native japanese breed, she said "oh yes, she looks japanese. After all she's got those slanted eyes." My partner thought that the woman's stupidity eclipsed the offensiveness, but to be honest I've never quite been able to let that one go.
On the big cats and mannerisms -- yes! We were watching a documentary on lions and we couldn't help but notice similarities to the way our girl behaves.
Also with our Akita Inu I've already had a lot of comments asking if she's a Husky and someone insisted that she isn't a pure Akita.
I don't argue, I just go right along with it, of course they know best!
Um....
Very opposite extremes.
A lot of people ask if she's a chow mix. Or assume that she's a malamute. That doesn't bother me. What bothers me is all the people with leash reactive dogs who shoot me dirty looks and mumble about aggressive dogs when their dogs start going bonkers.
*dogs bark at him and lose their shit*
Guy: "I thought huskies were supposed to be friendly?"
Me: "I'm sure they are, but these aren't huskes! They're Japanese Hunting Dogs!"
This happens most often when I go in to pet stores, I've noticed... even if I mention she is a shikoku, people will say things like: "Oh my friend has three of these! One even looks and acts exactly like yours does!"
And I think to myself -- really? Your friend has three of these? Shikoku? I don't have the nerve to ask them if it's a shikoku for reals or if it's a shiba or something. Sometimes I'll mention how there aren't very many in North America and then they give me a look like I'm absolutely nuts. Like their eyes are saying... yes there are, my friend has three.
I presume people are mistaken when they say that sort of thing... more often than not I just assume they are thinking of a shiba or a husky variant. But I do wonder, sometimes!
Well now we have our Kai Ken baby and not even the vet knew what he was, they had to look it up, they assumed he was a mixed breed shiba and on his records it says "mixed" under breed because the vet office only has a limited list of breeds to choose from and Kai isn't one of them..According to them they cant manually input a new breed. I said boo to that lol!
Strangers have asked if he is a chow, shiba, German Shepard... once I tell them he's a Kai Ken they say oh wow that's cool and some ask more in-depth questions and others say oh ok yeah he's cute and walk away.
It is what it is. Doesn't bother me much, its kinda neat to be able to educate people on the breeds especially to the ones that show a genuine interest.
I really am considering making cards, it seems like such a good idea.
Tho come to think of it, someone has asked if TK was a Kishu... I don't remember where or when... but it was right after I got Nami.