Genko's Blog Thread :)

Genko's finally hanging out with Ren and I! It *only* took half a year since agreeing to take her, and I couldn't be any more happy with how things have been going. Overall, the wait for a Hokkaido has been around 3 years, so it's pretty amazing to finally have her with me.

I drove from Texas to Colorado to pick her up from @brada1898 and @creativejen, where we then drove through Utah, Nevada, California, and then finally Oregon to reach our destination of Portland. Along the way we stopped at quite a few stops, state parks, and national parks/forests. There are quite a few pictures. So I'll be updating this every few days until we catch up :)

Genko is an absolute sweet heart, and, as I described her in the "Perspective On Hokkaido" thread, she quickly decided that she liked our pack and was All-In. She follows me everywhere, she's the first one back to the glass door to be let inside after bathroom/yard time, and right away jumps up to give kisses after reuniting, whether it's the first thing in the morning or after being let out to use the bathroom. I think she's going to get along just fine with @WhoBitMe's Meitou when they finally meet, and especially @thegela's Yezo whenever we have the two hang out!

Oh and something physical that I thought was really interesting... her paws are HUGE. They're very round "bear" paws compared to other NK's more oval shaped "fox" paws. They're easily wider than Ren's. Genko is also very dense! I'll be taking her to the vet shortly and getting her weight, but I'd guess she's easily heavier than Ren's 24 lbs. Genko is seriously all muscle, and when she whaps with her paws it's very solid. Also, when she plays she's like a little boxer. She keeps her head low and "checks" the other dog with her shoulder like a hockey player, while using that shoulder's paw to sweep the other dog's legs or to reach around their neck to pull their head down. She's like a little hockey brawler Hokka!

Anyhow, here are some pics from when we had a bunch of fun in Utah and California :)
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Puppy wasted after a hot "play break" :)
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Ambushing at Bolinas Beach, CA
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Such a cool forest! The dogs couldn't walk around, but they enjoyed the sights and smells from the window
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Dog park near Walnut Creek, CA. Genko loved my uncle's Carolina Dog, Dali
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Comments

  • Awesome! She is so well built!
  • Genko! I love her. Have I said that enough? Meeting Genko, Meitou, and Katana has kind of made me want one - which is weird because I never thought of them as a dog I might like to own.

    Glad you're having fun with her! Waiting that long can be torturous sometimes, but it's was so worth it in the end for me (with Nami). It's been fun watching you and Genko!
  • edited April 2015
    Aww! You were in my area. Wish I could have met Genko.

    I hope you enjoyed your road trip!! 3 years wait?!? Patience pays off ;)

    Edit: my post got cut :(
  • She's beautiful! :) I'm really impressed you managed to get her over your shoulder. Glad she looks so happy.
  • Yay! Finally some Genko spam! Now we just need some new Ren spam in her thread.

    Genko looks pretty good in the Utah scenery. And her pose is funny to me...because Meitou will stand the same way, with his back legs all stretched out. Reminds me of him. I'm also impressed you got her up on your shoulder. Meitou would be way too wiggly.

    I'll be interested to hear how much Genko weighs and what her height is. I've always been thinking of Meitou as pretty small, but I think that is because I've been under the impression he's smaller than his brother. So in my mind that became "Meitou is a small Hokkaido." But then I started hearing how Genko is pretty little and talking with @Crispy, and in some of your pictures based on how she fits on the seat of the car...I'm starting to wonder if Meitou is actually a bigger Hokkaido. I have no idea any more, lol.

    I want to meet Genko! (And Ren! Can't forget her).
  • edited April 2015
    @lindsayt Dude... Genko is like solid muscle and definitely weighs more than Ren. She JUDO FLIPPED a 55lb Kai boy today. She tucked her head and shoulder checked him while using that shoulder's arm to hook his head and pull it down, then at the same time grabbed his outside arm with her mouth, then pushed herself upwards with her back legs and rolled him on his back, where she then jumped on top lmao. It was the craziest thing I've ever seen, like canine MMA. I wish I had it on video!

    @Crispy It was totally worth it, and you should consider one! ;) I can't wait to meet your pups! Let's make it happen!

    @Bootz Doh! I'll be visiting the Bay Area often though, so we can definitely meet up at some point in the near'ish future! The Bay Area is where the biggest group of my family lives, so we'll be visiting for holidays and other meet ups. It's only a day's drive so it's not a big deal to go down for a 3 or 4 day weekend. Did you go to Pet Expo?

    @emi802 She's pretty chill and let's me hold her, but a few seconds after this she felt off balance and we had to take a break lol. She's a pretty unshakeable little champ though! Did you ever start a thread for your Shikoku by the way? Let's see some recent pics!
  • @WhoBitMe I'll post up a bunch of recent Ren pics too! We went to a California state park just before heading up into Oregon, and there are some awesome pictures of both dogs. I'll get more posted up in a few hours. Meitou does the streeeetch forward to get as "into" what he's smelling or looking at too huh? Genko does pull, but sometimes she's just leaned fully into the direction of interest and sort of leaning on the harness, which is held up by the leash pressure lol.
    My roommate has a measuring tape and a nice scale, so I'll get measurements in tomorrow too. I'm interested to find out as well :)

    From what I understand, white are the tallest, red are in the middle, and B&T/B&W are the smallest. Meitou is most likely in that large category, which will probably start evening out within a few generations of mixing coat colors and genes. Personally I'd like to gear towards a middle ground between the medium and large Hokkas. The temperament and instincts of Genko's lineage combined with the larger size would out quite well I think, as they'll still be super agile if upped towards the middle-large end of the size spectrum.
    I'll pm you about meeting up! I have this whole week and next weekend semi-free, since I'm primarily job hunting right now.
  • LOL judo flipped. She sounds spunky! I've heard hokkas are sticky. How long did it take for her to get used to you and decide to stick to you? Do they generally like human strangers?

    And yes. I should update katsu's thread sometime :) I've just been lazy.
  • @emi802 I know the question wasn't directed at me, but I'll answer anyway. Perspective, right? ;) Meitou doesn't like human strangers. Mostly he ignores people. Sometimes he will alert bark if he thinks someone is behaving suspiciously (often this is single men walking toward us, but has also been women and small groups of people). He takes a long time to warm up to people and people trying to pet him freaks him out until he knows someone well enough and decides he really likes them. But other Hokkas seem like they may be different. That's just my experience with Meitou. He is usually fine around strangers, just does not handle being touched by most strangers. Until he likes you and then he wiggles and begs for pets and jumps all over people... :-S
  • @cezieg

    Yes! I went this year and last year. I brought my shiba Bootz and mutt Jackie. I saw other shibas, Akitas and JAs but have yet to see the other NKs (Kai, Kishu, Shikoku).

    Have you brought your dogs to Fort Funston?

    Definitely should do a NK meet up! Been wanting to organize one but I got lazy... And just gave birth to a newborn, so I'll have to wait a month or so before his immune system is good to go
  • @Bootz Doh! We were there on Sunday from about 1pm to 3pm :) Well then, some time in the near'ish future we'll have to have a meet up. I don't know what Fort Funston is, but I'll definitely look it up!

    @emi802 She's an absolute riot :P She decided that we were her pack within about 48 hours. We were doing a lot of fun things though, like exploring rest stops and parks though. So I'm pretty sure that had something to do with it, as I was "the guy who takes me to do lots of cool stuff!". I was figuring on a pretty fast bonding period though, as every couple of hours we were in a new place, with the only constants being Ren, myself, and the car. Well then, we're all looking forward to pictures!
  • 48 hours. That's quite fast! Good for you guys :) And let me know if you guys ever head to Fort Funston. We'd definitely be up for that too. It's a great dog friendly area with a beach :)

    @WhoBitMe Thanks for the perspective! Meitou sounds a lot like Katsu. He really doesn't like being handled/touched by strangers either (unless they bring lots of treats).
  • I think Genko is the most photogenic dog ever and I want her :) Yay for visiting the Bay! :D
  • Oh yay!!! Future NK meet up at fort Funston and I'll get to see all the NK in one go!

    Cezieg can bring the Hokka.
    @emi802 a Shikoku @sukiandluna her Kais
  • Great pictures of Genko! You have the spectacular scenery! I'm jealous @-)
  • @Kitsusi I'm sure Finland is just as beautiful! You have great pictures with your Hokka boy too :)
  • So yesterday I had the opportunity to meet up with @WhoBitMe and go on a great hike! I got completely lost for a few hours, as the trailhead is MUCH deeper into the park than I had thought it would be. Anyways, we got there in time to do the tough part of the trail and reach the peak of the ridge. Then we ran into @WhoBitMe and Meitou on their way back! The park is amazing and we'll be going back (I got a season pass) for more hikes. At least every other weekend is the plan for hiking.

    Meitou is an absolute man-dog, and he reminds me of Akashi quite a bit in terms of temperament. I didn't see any reactive behavior from Meitou, and he seemed quite interested in the ladies haha. He didn't even mind when Genko's paws landed on his face when she was begging for treats from @WhoBitMe :P Him and Genko were licking the same moss, peeing on the same things, and giving each other kisses. So I'd say it turned out pretty well! Also, I LOVE Meitou's tail! He has the best Hokkaido tail hands down. It's like a longer, more over-the-back Juno tail (@WrylyBrindle)

    Ren got to be off leash the entire time as she's a good listener and gave Meitou his space when they all first met. Genko was off leash until we met up with Meitou, and then she was on leash to make sure she didn't get to be too much for him. Ren was extra silly on the way down the ridge. She would go far ahead to scout things out, then circle back and pop out of bushes to say hello and check back in lol. She walked with Meitou and @WhoBitMe for bits of time, scout ahead, come back and walk with Genko for a while, then go off, and then returned to walk with @WhoBitMe's friend for a while. Everyone had a blast! The girls LOVED @WhoBitMe's treats too. I thought they were going to climb in her car and leave with her ;)

    Here are some pics from the day!

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    Fuzzy butts leading the way!

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  • I didn't see any reactive behavior from Meitou, and he seemed quite interested in the ladies haha. He didn't even mind when Genko's paws landed on his face when she was begging for treats
    Haha, he actually growled a little at Genko when she got close the first time, before she was put on leash. I didn't notice that she had actually hit him in the face, but looking at your photo...yup, totally face-smacked. I liked how Meitou gave Genko kisses before we all got into our vehicles. That was precious.
    He has the best Hokkaido tail hands down.
    Everyone loves his tail. ;)

    The girls LOVED WhoBitMe's treats too. I thought they were going to climb in her car and leave with her.
    All your NK are belong to me. ;) I did not expect my chicken or the fish fudge to be such a big bit with either of them, lol. My fingers got sharked several times by Genko. Ren was more gentle, but both of them were perfectly willing to jump up on me to try and get closer to the treats. I think at one point Genko even nipped at the baggie the treats were in. For a second I was worried she was going to steal the whole bag. :)

    I think I may have some camera envy. I really like that picture of Meitou by himself. If only my camera took such nice pictures.
  • @WhoBitMe Here is a direct link to his "close up" in full resolution! :)
    http://i.imgur.com/dRCU7xm.jpg

    I don't have my desktop yet, which I do my photoshopping on for erasing unwanted details etc. I think the little leaf on his head is kind of cute though haha. A lot of quality comes from photo editing software to pull out details from the highlights/shadows/white balance/re-adjusting exposure & contrast/etc. GIMP is a good free program to play around with! Phone pics and point n shoots can make great printworthy shots too!
  • @WhoBitMe OH and Pixlr Express on www.pixlr.com is the best simple editor imo. I use it for everything that I don't need to be in top, printworthy quality at mega resolutions :P
  • Looks like a fun time! I love the picture of the fuzzy butts leading the way, hehe. And the one where Ren is popping out of the bushes. Too cute! Actually, I love all the pictures. It's nice to see the two Hokkas becoming friends.
  • How AWESOME!! Looked like it was an awesome hike, lots of happy faces! ♥
  • Lol, Genko.. Such a treat fiend! She totally mobbed the treat bag off me at the expo and almost got away with it.

    What a great hike! I wish we had forests here!
  • Here's a photo my friend snapped of Genko devouring my flesh. ;)

    DSCF4412

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