Mei Mei's Thread (With Pics 12.27)
I thought I would give everyone a little Mei update (with the correct spelling of her name). Yes, May is really Mei Mei. When I first got her I wanted to change her name saying Mei Mei over and over again was a bit annoying, but in Mei's true fashion she proved me wrong on that notion by having perfect 100% recall to her name. She would never come to Maya, Meya, Mia, May, etc. So, I am going back to the correct spelling of her name.
Mei is doing great! This past weekend my family and I went up to Tahoe for Christmas. My sister, brother in law, and niece live up in Reno. My parents have a cabin in Tahoe, so we spend most of the winter holidays up there. The dogs love the snow!
I am really proud of my little girl. (She's still mine in my heart). We did a lot of hiking and walking around. Both dogs do pretty well off leash. Although Mei will chase after any rabbit that runs, she comes right back when called. We also went down to the off leash park. It's a huge field where the dogs just love to run. She did so well with all the dogs. She was kind've the star of the show. This is a huge change from when I first got her. She was timid and scared with other dogs and liked to start arguments. Now, she properly greets all dogs and loves it when they chase her.
No one on here knows what truly horrific condition that she came to me in, both physically and emotionally. I'm proud to say that all her wounds have healed and that she is a very happy go lucky little girl. She's also the fastest dog I have ever seen! I have yet to meet another dog that can keep up with her, even in the snow.
Without further adieu...here's Mei.
Mei's red stripes are now turning white.
Both dogs like to sit up on top of things and watch the world.
The girl is all muscle. She is now 40 pds. When she got here, she was only 27 pds.
Her hair still stands up from when she was collared and chained up. Poor girl. One day I am going to dye her mohawk tip red. he he
And lastly a little video. I was trying to get how loud she is when she plays with Koda. She is such a growler. She is also a total punk. Koda is trying to dig a hole, which Mei is trying to steal.
Mei is doing great! This past weekend my family and I went up to Tahoe for Christmas. My sister, brother in law, and niece live up in Reno. My parents have a cabin in Tahoe, so we spend most of the winter holidays up there. The dogs love the snow!
I am really proud of my little girl. (She's still mine in my heart). We did a lot of hiking and walking around. Both dogs do pretty well off leash. Although Mei will chase after any rabbit that runs, she comes right back when called. We also went down to the off leash park. It's a huge field where the dogs just love to run. She did so well with all the dogs. She was kind've the star of the show. This is a huge change from when I first got her. She was timid and scared with other dogs and liked to start arguments. Now, she properly greets all dogs and loves it when they chase her.
No one on here knows what truly horrific condition that she came to me in, both physically and emotionally. I'm proud to say that all her wounds have healed and that she is a very happy go lucky little girl. She's also the fastest dog I have ever seen! I have yet to meet another dog that can keep up with her, even in the snow.
Without further adieu...here's Mei.
Mei's red stripes are now turning white.
Both dogs like to sit up on top of things and watch the world.
The girl is all muscle. She is now 40 pds. When she got here, she was only 27 pds.
Her hair still stands up from when she was collared and chained up. Poor girl. One day I am going to dye her mohawk tip red. he he
And lastly a little video. I was trying to get how loud she is when she plays with Koda. She is such a growler. She is also a total punk. Koda is trying to dig a hole, which Mei is trying to steal.
Comments
I have thought of Nordic breeds, but none of them match her. She may have a Shiba in there. That does explain the coloring, although she acts nothing like a Shiba. She does have some Kai stripes. It's just her hocks that are odd.
Oh well, she's my little girl anyways.
her pedigree says Kai but her vet paperwork always says Japanese Hunting Dog which I found odd. I have Kai on Kodas. In fact I always make sure people get it right.
There are a few reasons why I don't trust her previous owners for one supposedly they had just found her in the snow and had only had her for two months but she came with everything including all her vet records dating back to her 8 week old shots and spay at 5 months old. I think they were just trying to get out of being in trouble for abusing her.
After she got here I found a gentleman in Taiwan who has Kais. I emailed him pics and her pedigree info with the help of my friend's mom who translated it all for me. He contended that she was a Kai but that he knew the breeder and they mix their Kais to get a higher hunting drive. He said that she probably had Kishu or another Japanese breed in her since he felt that Kais don't have a strong enough drive. I said Shiba but he wasn't to keen on that idea. I think he just wasn't partial to Shibas. All around from her owners to her breeders it was just a shady deal.
Hey atleased your dogs aren't classified as a Shiba mixed. I hae it, the humane society and the vet has my dogs classified as a Shiba mixed cause they dont want to make a new breed category just for my dogs.
I don't think the Japanese dogs are very popular. I think it's equivalent to here a small community. My assumption is that her owner wasn't well educated on her breed and that's where his frusterations were with her.
IMO Mei is more personality type than Koda. She reminds me a lot of the first Kai I met Akiko who was from Japan. I love her smarts and total insanity. Don't get me wrong I love Koda. She is just everything people warn you about when you are looking into getting a Kai and those are all the qualities I love about the breed. Neither one of my dogs could ever do any wrong in my eyes even if people might not understand them.
The reason I'm asking is because I'm wondering if instead of black brindle, she's what's called a "seal." Solid black, but the black is weakened so it allows the underlying base color to show through. Here's an example of a seal Akita (referred to as "dark brown" in Akitas):
http://zmagsite.zmag.org/Dogs/Score/Score2.jpg
Anyway, Tara, Mei Mei's story is so intriguing (and sad that she wasn't cared for). She doesn't look like an Elkhound at all, though, that's for sure! I wonder if there is something else in there? Not that it matters--she's wonderful anyway! I'm so glad you were able to rescue her!
Bel also perked right up when she heard the video--actually jumped up and barked. She didn't look like she wanted to play though....
Is she now bigger than Koda? It is hard to tell from the video.
ETA - Time needs to hurry up so I can get my Kai! You guys are all killing me with these pictures and videos!
@lindsayt She is growly but only with Koda. I used to think that she was too growly for a Kai too, but I'm learning that she's not from other owners with females. Maybe it's a female thing? Also what you don't see in that video is that she's been trying to play with Koda for about 40 min. while he guarded his precious mound. She's actually been really patient with him. Then he starts digging a hole instead of playing with her and she loses it a bit. That's about as worked up as Mei gets. Not mean or snappy just growly with excitement.
After that video stops, Mei actually lies on the hole to try and stop Koda from digging anymore.
@shibamistress I have researched every spitz breed possible for Mei's mix. She kind've looks like a Finnish Spitz too. But a lot of Spitz breeds are bark and point hunters. Mei is so not a barker. Koda barks more than her. She's more of a silent stalker. She's very quiet unless she's singing. She still sings a lot in her crate and looking out the front window watching the world go by.
I'm still at a loss for her mix, if there is one. I may be creating something out of nothing and she may have just been poorly bred when it comes to color. I've seen Kais on flickr who have no stripes, and that was from a US breeder.
I also noticed that curly tail and coloring, how interesting. Specially in that last pic she looks kinda spitz or something.. I don´t know.
She looks beautiful
I honestly have spent a lot of time trying to figure out her mix because I love her personality. If she is something else, then I would certainly consider adding that breed to my home in the future.
Also, Mei has been identified by people who have either owned or met Kais as a Kai. I mean people from Japan who grew up knowing Kais and a UKC judge who knows Marian really well. They have said she is a total Kai, and then when I say Koda is too they look at him like no way.
I actually had that UKC judge tell me that he knew Marian really well and that Koda was NOT a Kai. He was very adament in insulting me and Koda. ha ha ha. Poor guy. That didn't go over very well for him.
I know the Akita in the photo. I see it all the time at the dog shows. The picture does not do it justice.