Akashima Visit updated with pics.
Well what a weekend it was. Katja introduced Jess and I to all of her dogs and everyone had a great time! We got doggy hugs from all of them and have now officially fallen in love with Shikoku. All the pictures and videos we have looked at do not do Shikokus justice. They are truly an amazing breed. We saw Kuma in mid coat-blow and then fully combed out the next day! The rest of the pack was, mostly, holding on to their winter coats. It was nice to be able to see dogs with and without their winter undercoat. Yamato was there too and oh my goodness he looks amazing. Well they all! look amazing, but Yamato's red is so striking against his black. Oh, and she has one female black sesame pup there who is absolutley lovable! So cute!
Katja was so hospitable and helpful. She answered all the questions we had regarding the breed. Her love for her dogs is clear within moments of talking with her. Everything she does is in the best interest of the dogs. The weekend was a thoroughly enjoyable weekend for sure! In the end, we placed a deposit on a male Shikoku pup. Hopefully our number will come up next spring after we obtain our degrees.
We did take pictures and will be posting them as soon as possible. I just need to find the transfer cord for my camera and then email pics to Katja to make sure I have the names right for each of the dogs. We have pics of Yamato and the new girls Hana and Hima(spelling?) to post.
Katja was so hospitable and helpful. She answered all the questions we had regarding the breed. Her love for her dogs is clear within moments of talking with her. Everything she does is in the best interest of the dogs. The weekend was a thoroughly enjoyable weekend for sure! In the end, we placed a deposit on a male Shikoku pup. Hopefully our number will come up next spring after we obtain our degrees.
We did take pictures and will be posting them as soon as possible. I just need to find the transfer cord for my camera and then email pics to Katja to make sure I have the names right for each of the dogs. We have pics of Yamato and the new girls Hana and Hima(spelling?) to post.
Comments
I'll be picking her up next monday, and you can be sure I'll have a ton more photos for you guys.
Nadia are you in the lower mainland as well? I see a lot of Shibas but never any Kochi
i think it was me that passed on her.
the timing was off for me because im flying out tonight for over a month and i dont want to miss a day of puppyhood!
cant wait to see more pics of all of them and im keeping my fingers crossed the next litter to be soon!
Here's to big litters :-)
Below should be Yamato.
Awesome it worked! He just loved to shake a paw. Although he felt that every time he offered up his paw he was deserving of a treat. It was so funny, he would wave his paw at Katja and then cock his head to the side as if willing a treat from Katja.
Next up is Hana, she was so lovable and playful. She was the huggiest of them all. She just loved to stand up on you and be loved.
And last but not least is Hima, who is Hana's sister. These 2 girls are Katja's most recent imports.
Awaiting an email from Katja confirming that we have the names right. Found my tranfer cable this morning though and just couldn't wait to share. We would have liked to have taken more pictures but in the excitement of the 1st day the camera was totally forgotten. These pictures are from the morning of day 2 and both Katja and ourselves were on limited time, and we had a contract to sign : D, so we only had time to shoot these 3 dogs as she was eager to showcase Yamato and the 2 new girls.
I know that Peggy (who co-owns Yamato) said that he was so cute and such a clown/ham when she recently visited me. I guess he had just left for Katja's a few weeks before Peggy came to see me.
Mason is pretty much the same way. He is in your face with kisses as much as you let him.
Yamato did leave quite an impression. We would love it if he were the sire of our future pup but I don't think he will be with Katja next spring. There is talk of using his seed for AI but previous attempts have not been successful thus far.
I really like Hana aswell. She was just so bold and playful and lovable all rolled into one.
I suppose only time will tell who the sire and dam of our future pup will be.
Yeah, I guess we could "wait it out" for a litter sired by Yamato but not sure if we can stand to wait longer than we must.
T minus 1 year-ish and counting.
Bradnjess - where you able to visit all the dogs?
We spent most of a Friday evening there which is when we met all the dogs and played with them. This is when we had forgotten about the camera
Sigh, soon-ish we will have a pup of our own. A year and a bit seems longer now than it did before we met all the dogs. hahah C'est la vie
I'm glad to hear you had such an amazing time! If you really want a Yamato pup, don't you think it'd be worth the extra wait for a Shikoku puppy? Or maybe...you can get 2 Shikoku puppies from Katja! =p
Now a second pup, on the other hand, and one of Yamato's at that! Now there is a great idea!!