I think it is an over statement to call the shikoku breeders in North America irresponsible at best as one kennel or even a few doesn't reflect all (taking into account there might be five that I know of?). I disagree with the idea of breeding dogs pre health checks and since I don't know all of the reasoning behind this I find it hard to draw a conclusion on what is best for a tiny accessible breeding population.
That being said from reading the comments I think alot of us are raising an eyebrow at this and hopefully speculative owners of any pup will read this and remember to ask for health checks for the parents (hell grandparents too if there is access to it).
As interesting as this conversation is (and im freaking fascinated) i think we have to recognize that we may have entirely derailed the point of this thread of helping Shogun find his forever home. Could we continue in a new thread? Just my thoughts.
Your explanation is absolutely correct. I was referring specifically to the development of Shikoku in the US though, which I probly didn't full explain. My bad. With how many abnormalities there are, it makes more sense, at least in my mind, to breed for health as the priority, and then bring the coat back up a few notches in priority once they're not full of physical oddities (extra toes, rear dews, etc) and issues (neuro, joints). It's not as if the US dogs are the only ones around. There's a good number available for import, and the Japanese are certainly breeding to appearance standards as well as attitude. So it would seem a good match to breed out the health issues with less coat emphasis to get things fixed structurally, then bring in coat-exact imports to get that coat back up to Standard.
Then again, that may just be me tired of seeing physically screwed up young dogs that look pretty at 4 months to a year, yet are destined to be arthritic five years, walking into my vet office on a daily basis :-q (not speaking of this Shikoku btw, these are mainly Goldens, GSDs, and other popular show breeds)
@cdenney Irresponsible is breeding without doing physique checks, so it's not an overstatement, and a weak criticism on the scale of criticism terms. Irresponsibility can be something as insignificant as not doing walks often enough :P
You're right though, this can definitely be it's own topic.
It did need pointing out though, since there was not a single mention or pointing out of that rather important fact for 4 days, on top of the lack of answers.
So it would seem a good match to breed out the health issues with less coat emphasis to get things fixed structurally, then bring in coat-exact imports to get that coat back up to Standard.
Problem with this is that you run the risk of adding back in those health issues you worked so hard to breed out. Even if the imported stock tested healthy, without several generations of testing you still run the risk of bringing those health problems back into the breed.
Part of the issue with Shikoku in this state of the game is that if you breed too scrupulously you run a greater risk of bottle necking and causing hidden health issues to pop up. There are many things that concern me with what I've been seeing in the breeding of Shikoku in the US (and even in other countries), but in the end not being a breeder myself does severely restrict what I can do.
I am a co-owner of Shogun, although I was not the breeder of the one litter that he had (bred by my co-owners -- their decision, I said it was up to them). However, I will address that speculation that he was bred for "his coat color", which is totally false. He was imported from a famous kennel in Japan, bred by Yano-san, who has bred more shikoku champions than most breeders in Japan.
Yano-san's breeding program is very well respected. We were very happy to import Shogun as a 3 month old puppy as Yano-san puppies are hard to come by. Due to personal circumstances, we were able to purchase Shogun as a puppy. Obviously, as a puppy, you do not have a good idea of how they will mature. But he was purchased because of the stellar nature of his parents and the fact that he had good structure, from what we could tell as a puppy. We did NOT purchase him for his coat color and would have been happy with other coat colors as well. We purchased him because we felt his bloodlines would compliment the dogs that we had in North America.
Needless to say, each of the co-owners spent a lot of money importing him to North America. We are also devastated to have this diagnosis, but felt for the health of shikoku, that it would be best to place him in a home for a happy life and not use him for breeding. Most certainly, we would have preferred that he had a good hip rating as we could have used his genetics in NA.
Some of you may wish to read Shigeru's @TheWalrus post on his blog about breeders in Japan. Health testing as we do it in US/Canada/Europe is not done in Japan. So there is always a risk when you import.
As breeders, we are trying our best to work with the Japanese and preserve this breed who has really low numbers, and try to maintain genetic diversity. In contrast to Japan, we are doing formal health testing on the dogs. As we do this, we are discovering health issues in shikoku, which is really not too dissimilar to a lot of dog breeds. As such, even if we have a lot of money/time invested into a dog, we are trying to be responsible and cull those from the breeding population if there are health issues, while still trying to maintain genetic diversity.
@cezieg You seem to have a very bad taste in your mouth to North American breeders (not US, because 2 of the breeders are in Canada) . You are welcome to import a Hokka/Shikoku from Japan, but most likely there will not be health checks done on the parents/offspring in Japan. The breeders in North America, and some in Europe, are actually doing the health checks on shikoku and learning the issues that they have.
It's kind of a null point to say that there are no health checks in Japan, but breeders are doing them here, when Shogun was bred before his health tests checked out.
Considering what I paid for Fate, between his actual cost + shipping, I could've imported from Japan, and apparently it's the same, when a fatal health issue happened, I didn't get anything for it anyway. [ oh right, sorry, I got an offer for another puppy, because I really want to go through the heartbreak of having a dog barely able to walk, with constant seizures, that won't make it to 3 years old again, that's fun. ]
At least had I imported, I could've chalked it up to "Oh, well that's the risk when you import."
& FTR, I would gladly trade the shittiest hips or elbows for whatever the hell Fate has.
At least had I imported, I could've chalked it up to "Oh, well that's the risk when you import."
I kind of chalk up the whole thread to "Oh, well, that's the risk when you don't insist on seeing the parents' health clearances and knowingly purchase a puppy sired by an underage male." My .02 :P
@poeticdragon - I think the problems experienced by @sangmort's Fate are of a much more serious nature than what is being discussed in this thread. My presumption is that Osy did all the normal checks that due diligence calls for (especially since she is the author of one of if not the oldest "what to look for in an ethical breeder" articles). What @sangmort has had to go through with Fate is not something I would wish on any owner, nor should it be addressed so lightly, imo.
As for the topic of the puppies from the kimi/shogun litter, an owner not doing all the checks that they should on a breeder doesn't clear the breeder of their part in this, nor should the owners have had to find out from a forum or third party.
@violet_in_seville I think you misunderstood me. I wasn't making light of Fate's condition, but still addressing the original topic. The owners of Shogun's puppies knew the risks of buying a pup with underaged parent(s) without health clearances. The situation hasn't changed in any way since Shogun's later diagnosis; in fact, we don't even know how any of the pups' hips are.
@poeticdragon -- I definitely didn't know. I inquired about the health of the parents and was told they were both in excellent condition. I should have asked explicitly about hips, but honestly I'm not an expert (first time buying from a breeder) and I just didn't. That's on me, but it was not deliberate. I felt like I did a lot of research on my breeder and took the time to get to know her and her kennel, but I missed the hip thing. There was no discussion of risks or mention of it in our contract. Next time I will not assume (because we all know what that does) that just because a breeder has a great reputation and has produced tons of great pups for folks that every litter is up to the same health standards.
The suggestion that now I'm going to get what I deserve when my puppy, who I love and adore and is such a wonderful little creature, has to potentially deal with debilitating joint problems leaves a gross taste in my mouth. ick.
@Edgewood thanks for putting everything into perspective. @Calia yes, I will neuter him and definitely do xrays then and start him on supplements now
Thanks to those who have offered up suggestions and advice.
Take what you have learned and what people have said with a grain of salt @twobirds. People tend to get very heated and have strong opinions when it comes to these kinds of topics and things get said that im not sure they meant. You didn't deserve this by any means (that would leave a bad taste in my mouth too btw), and there is nothing wrong with how you made your decision to buy from the breeder...I can guarantee you did more research than SOO many other dog buyers do! Unless you're a breeder looking for dogs to breed, i think it's not fair to say things along the lines of "you didnt think of every possible scenario and problem, so you deserve what comes." That's not fair at all. So start him on supplements, and i know he's going to have the best life because he's being taken care of by someone who cares about him and his health good you found this out now too while he's so young, rather than when he gets much older!!! BTW, I want more pictures of him!!
@cdenney - yes I heard back. I got a no because I already had too many dogs in their opinion, we live too far away, and the cat posed a problem for them.
@violet_in_seville I think you misunderstood me. I wasn't making light of Fate's condition, but still addressing the original topic. The owners of Shogun's puppies knew the risks of buying a pup with underaged parent(s) without health clearances. The situation hasn't changed in any way since Shogun's later diagnosis; in fact, we don't even know how any of the pups' hips are.
And this should be highlighted. There are breedings where 2 dogs have very good hips, yet produce HD, and there are breedings where one may have mild HD and the other good hips, and all offspring could be fine. And plus, the shikoku has such a limited gene pool -- that is really an issue with the breed.
Even though I co-own Shogun, I was not planning on breeding with him yet (and now will never breed with him). But it isn't as clear cut as it may seem, as shikoku are so limited (300 registrations/year in Japan), and almost should be treated as an endangered dog breed. Plus, there is some feeling that jumping up and down (ie, straight up and down) in a kennel situation during the formative years can affect the hips -- and shikoku can be dogs who bounce up and down when they see their people (think standing on hind legs hopping straight up). Again, possibly an environmental influence outside of any genetic influence.
@twobirds - you may also want to inquire about the fate of any previous litters from the dam. Hopefully, if this was a "test" litter to see what sort of puppies Shogun might produce, the dam should have excellent ratings and her previous litters be free of issues.
I know of a show dog that was retired because he didn't pass the hip check that was run before a planned breeding. He went to a companion home and has not exhibited any issues or discomfort. Mild hip dysplasia shouldn't impede your pup's quality of life as long as you keep an eye out for it and ensure that it doesn't get worse, which I'm confident you will. There's also a distinct possibility that it won't show up in your pup. There are a whole host of factors that contribute to HD, and genetics is just one of (though an important) variable.
Oops. Cross-posted on possibility of hd with @edgewood.
Though I do have a question born of ignorance. It seems to me unlikely that hd can be developed entirely from activities with no genetic contribution. I can see going from a fair to mildly dysplastic with the wrong activities, but not going from a good or excellent to dysplastic.
@twobirds I am sorry you were not made aware of the risks. Buyers should ask to see the health clearances but many don't know that. Many don't know that there is a difference between a dog deemed healthy by a general vet and actual health clearances from CERF/OFA. It falls upon the breeder to inform the buyers of what they should be looking for and asking about if the buyers fail to ask all the right questions. It is disappointing that that didn't happen.
For what its worth, I bred one litter without health clearances. (Sort of -- Bijo was offered to me to purchase after she had been bred to the male, and I agreed to buy and import a pregnant dog.) I informed all of the puppy buyers that neither parent had been health tested and was understanding of anyone who wished to wait until a different litter. I basically look at those four puppies from that litter as four imports, with the same amount of risk as importing a puppy but much lower price. Once all the pups were gone to their homes and Bijo's body was back to normal, we did her health clearances. I lucked out in that both hips and eyes are fine. But it wasn't entirely luck; I only took the risk on Bijo because of her age (if she had major health issues they'd be apparent already), because she previously had very healthy productive litters, and because I had the guarantee of a breeder in Japan I trust that he'd make it right if there was a problem. The sire was later sold to Argentina and still has not been tested, however.
As it turns out, two of those puppies had Entropion -- neither parent have it and so CERF testing would not have screened it out. I found out well after the fact that the sire's brother had surgery to correct Entropion. The squint of the sire's eyes is quite exaggerated, as well as the wrinkle of his brow and eyelids... so I believe he was a major contributing factor. For Bijo's next litter I chose a dog with rounder eyes and nice tight skin, and so far none of these pups show the early signs the other two did.
@twobirds - you may also want to inquire about the fate of any previous litters from the dam. Hopefully, if this was a "test" litter to see what sort of puppies Shogun might produce, the dam should have excellent ratings and her previous litters be free of issues.
I have a female that is 3 years old out of the dam of this litter by Shougun -- the dam's name is Kimi (AKASHIMA'S KOCHI-KEN CHIGUSA) and she has good health clearances and has had other litters of healthy puppies. http://www.offa.org/display.html?appnum=1352044#animal
@twobirds - Just to complicate things even more, here's a study where neutering before 1 yr of age increases the chances of hip dysplasia in breeds prone to it:
@ayk, according to the puppy thread, all 4 pups were sold. Though one may not have been shipped yet? I wonder if any of this has affected @koyuki's decision.
I don't particularly agree with the breeding before 1.5 year with X-rays personally. But i knew beforehand that he was from good lines because i remember some excitement before him being imported. So far my girl is 10 months with no health issues.... she has some tiny rear dewclaws but i dont consider them a health defect just a cosmetic one. Her mother had them and they were removed, her mother won best of breed at the NK Ohio show and her daddy is the infamous Kaiju. So im very happy with my puppy, her breeder is Corina from California and we keep in touch and she ask for updates all the time. Also she is CAR SICKNESS FREE and @sangmort im sorry about your baby my kitty has seizure sand it sucks I am fortunate that they are not constant. But i do have to have furniture protectors now just in case she has a seizure and pees her meds help
@zandrame - I really hope that @koyuki was informed (and sent a copy of the x-rays and evaluation ) because previous posts indicate that it was @koyuki's intention to keep her girl intact and that there were some sort of possible breeding plans for the future.
@cezieg You seem to have a very bad taste in your mouth to North American breeders (not US, because 2 of the breeders are in Canada) . You are welcome to import a Hokka/Shikoku from Japan, but most likely there will not be health checks done on the parents/offspring in Japan. The breeders in North America, and some in Europe, are actually doing the health checks on shikoku and learning the issues that they have.
I do, and it's unfortunate. I didn't wake up one day to be struck by the thought of "You know what, today I'm going to have a poor opinion NA breeders... starting right now!". My opinion is such because of the poor business practices/ethics of a particular kennel (gleaned through various owners, not you @Edgewood), the myriad physical ailments/mutations aka extra toes, and breeding methods.
If this were Shibas then it wouldn't be that big of a deal, since they're not practically endangered (as you said). So this breed a special case. This case only backs that opinion up since, as @sangmort said, the lack of Japanese health checks makes little difference when the ones with the mantle of responsibility, NA breeders, breed the dog anyways without doing the checks.
In the real world, titles don't mean very much. I've had Grand Champion dogs come into the vet at age 6 who are riddled with arthritis and other health issues that only show past their ideal show age. A good portion of show breeders will breed for the show ring, and unless it's a NIPPO show ring then they're going to be judged upon the US judge's standards. US standards generally reward feature exaggeration, rather than a balance. That's my issue. The breeding for profit, prestige, or titles as a higher tier of importance than health. After all of the puppies, of titled show parents, that I've examined who've had terrible health... I'm going to critique it if a poor practice, without explanation, is helping Shikoku get to the health standard of GRs and GSDs. Two great breeds which are practically a 100% chance of premature joint and hip issues.
For the record, you've actually been the most recommended breeder for good practices
@twobirds Don't get scared off. This is honestly more an issue of "end game" breeding, where the direction of the breed is taken as a whole, and ethical breeding practices as well. I understand your concerned, and legitimately too! However, it's FAR from a "ohhh noooo this litter is dooooomed!" thread
In my opinion, you should actually hold off on neutering until age 2+. It's only US vets, afaik, who push the neuter by the third month. This is largely due to how much easier it is to get clients to pay for surgeries on their first visits when the dogs are young and the vaccine series can be bundled with the surgery for a discount. It's much harder to get an owner to pay for a $150-300, or more, surgery when they've had the dog for two or three years and there's nothing wrong with him. This is verbatim from corporate veterinarians and their bosses.
Many studies are coming out that show neutering males is much more health once they've fully grown. Males and females have very different structure, and it's the male hormones that dictate a good portion of his development. Without them he'll develop more feminine legs and hips, which can definitely cause issues. A good number of male urinary issues are caused by "micropenis" as well, the symptom of which is pretty self explanatory lol. Issues involve not being able to retract "themselves" back into the sheathe due to the sheathe being too small, not being the proper length so infection will happen at the tip from constant moisture, etc etc. I had a two year old un-neutered male Shiba and, as long as you're not too dead set on the dog park, it's not a big deal to handle unaltered males.
HOWEVER, use your judgement. If you don't trust yourself or your dog to maintain that constant leash discipline, or plan on having other people take care of the dog on a regular basis (who wouldn't be as responsible as you), then neutering beforehand is definitely your prerogative. This is the same thing I tell *responsible* clients, so that they can make informed decisions. With wishy washy clients I don't even tell them about this issue tbh... most people simply aren't responsible enough for an intact dog down here in South FL lol.
I'm fairly new to this forum, so I might have a slightly skewed perspective. From what I know Shikokus are very rare, practically endangered, hard to obtain (waiting lists for years). And very expensive.
It is also basically a lottery health-wise to import a dog from Japan because they don't do health checks. This is akin to backyard breeding. (side question - has any of the prominent importers offered to pay for testing the Japanese stock before accepting a dog?)
There are a total of 4 North American kennels, Akashima being one of them.
Health issues are extremely common given the limited stock. (I must say, I fell in love with @Sangmort's Fate as a casual lurker, and it breaks my heart to see what they are going through now.)
To me it is inexcusable to risk further damaging the breed by using untested animals. To say it is up to the buyer to cover all the bases is asking a lot, especially when an otherwise decent breeder decides to cut corners when their spot comes up on the waitlist.
What especially irks me about Shogun's case is the short period of time between when he was bred and then tested. They couldn't wait until Kimi's next heat to be safe?
To preserve the breed, only the qualified best should be bred. No shortcuts. Is that too much to ask?
For me, I just want to understand the reasoning and thought process behind the breeders. I might shy away from the risks taken, but I want to understand.
ie. Did they rush because Kimi was getting old and it might be a now or never pairing?
I'm glad @Edgewood explained a bit that the Shogan co-ownership was "turn-based" rather than a "consensus majority", and that health is still among her top priorities.
@zandrame In the culture it's very insulting to ask the Japanese for the health testing, even offering to pay for it. It would pretty much destroy any hope you had of importing that dog or ever working ith that breeder again. Though a really good friend of the breeder, who could phase it as delicately as possible, it might work. (I was ready to insist upon it for my next import, but it became moot when Bijo was bred and I had to make a decision Right Now.)
Comments
And the dog with the good coat/bad hip and the dog with the bad coat/good hip were full siblings? @-)
And sometimes the only solution to finding/encouraging better breeding is to do it yourself...
That being said from reading the comments I think alot of us are raising an eyebrow at this and hopefully speculative owners of any pup will read this and remember to ask for health checks for the parents (hell grandparents too if there is access to it).
As interesting as this conversation is (and im freaking fascinated) i think we have to recognize that we may have entirely derailed the point of this thread of helping Shogun find his forever home. Could we continue in a new thread? Just my thoughts.
@myabee09 did you hear back yet?
With how many abnormalities there are, it makes more sense, at least in my mind, to breed for health as the priority, and then bring the coat back up a few notches in priority once they're not full of physical oddities (extra toes, rear dews, etc) and issues (neuro, joints). It's not as if the US dogs are the only ones around. There's a good number available for import, and the Japanese are certainly breeding to appearance standards as well as attitude. So it would seem a good match to breed out the health issues with less coat emphasis to get things fixed structurally, then bring in coat-exact imports to get that coat back up to Standard.
Then again, that may just be me tired of seeing physically screwed up young dogs that look pretty at 4 months to a year, yet are destined to be arthritic five years, walking into my vet office on a daily basis :-q (not speaking of this Shikoku btw, these are mainly Goldens, GSDs, and other popular show breeds)
@cdenney Irresponsible is breeding without doing physique checks, so it's not an overstatement, and a weak criticism on the scale of criticism terms. Irresponsibility can be something as insignificant as not doing walks often enough :P
You're right though, this can definitely be it's own topic.
It did need pointing out though, since there was not a single mention or pointing out of that rather important fact for 4 days, on top of the lack of answers.
Part of the issue with Shikoku in this state of the game is that if you breed too scrupulously you run a greater risk of bottle necking and causing hidden health issues to pop up. There are many things that concern me with what I've been seeing in the breeding of Shikoku in the US (and even in other countries), but in the end not being a breeder myself does severely restrict what I can do.
Yano-san's breeding program is very well respected. We were very happy to import Shogun as a 3 month old puppy as Yano-san puppies are hard to come by. Due to personal circumstances, we were able to purchase Shogun as a puppy. Obviously, as a puppy, you do not have a good idea of how they will mature. But he was purchased because of the stellar nature of his parents and the fact that he had good structure, from what we could tell as a puppy. We did NOT purchase him for his coat color and would have been happy with other coat colors as well. We purchased him because we felt his bloodlines would compliment the dogs that we had in North America.
Needless to say, each of the co-owners spent a lot of money importing him to North America. We are also devastated to have this diagnosis, but felt for the health of shikoku, that it would be best to place him in a home for a happy life and not use him for breeding. Most certainly, we would have preferred that he had a good hip rating as we could have used his genetics in NA.
Some of you may wish to read Shigeru's @TheWalrus post on his blog about breeders in Japan. Health testing as we do it in US/Canada/Europe is not done in Japan. So there is always a risk when you import.
http://nihonken.blogspot.com/2013/06/good-breeders-vs-bad-breeders.html
As breeders, we are trying our best to work with the Japanese and preserve this breed who has really low numbers, and try to maintain genetic diversity. In contrast to Japan, we are doing formal health testing on the dogs. As we do this, we are discovering health issues in shikoku, which is really not too dissimilar to a lot of dog breeds. As such, even if we have a lot of money/time invested into a dog, we are trying to be responsible and cull those from the breeding population if there are health issues, while still trying to maintain genetic diversity.
@cezieg You seem to have a very bad taste in your mouth to North American breeders (not US, because 2 of the breeders are in Canada) . You are welcome to import a Hokka/Shikoku from Japan, but most likely there will not be health checks done on the parents/offspring in Japan. The breeders in North America, and some in Europe, are actually doing the health checks on shikoku and learning the issues that they have.
Considering what I paid for Fate, between his actual cost + shipping, I could've imported from Japan, and apparently it's the same, when a fatal health issue happened, I didn't get anything for it anyway. [ oh right, sorry, I got an offer for another puppy, because I really want to go through the heartbreak of having a dog barely able to walk, with constant seizures, that won't make it to 3 years old again, that's fun. ]
At least had I imported, I could've chalked it up to "Oh, well that's the risk when you import."
& FTR, I would gladly trade the shittiest hips or elbows for whatever the hell Fate has.
My .02 cents. ~
As for the topic of the puppies from the kimi/shogun litter, an owner not doing all the checks that they should on a breeder doesn't clear the breeder of their part in this, nor should the owners have had to find out from a forum or third party.
The suggestion that now I'm going to get what I deserve when my puppy, who I love and adore and is such a wonderful little creature, has to potentially deal with debilitating joint problems leaves a gross taste in my mouth. ick.
@Edgewood thanks for putting everything into perspective. @Calia yes, I will neuter him and definitely do xrays then and start him on supplements now
Thanks to those who have offered up suggestions and advice.
Even though I co-own Shogun, I was not planning on breeding with him yet (and now will never breed with him). But it isn't as clear cut as it may seem, as shikoku are so limited (300 registrations/year in Japan), and almost should be treated as an endangered dog breed. Plus, there is some feeling that jumping up and down (ie, straight up and down) in a kennel situation during the formative years can affect the hips -- and shikoku can be dogs who bounce up and down when they see their people (think standing on hind legs hopping straight up). Again, possibly an environmental influence outside of any genetic influence.
I know of a show dog that was retired because he didn't pass the hip check that was run before a planned breeding. He went to a companion home and has not exhibited any issues or discomfort. Mild hip dysplasia shouldn't impede your pup's quality of life as long as you keep an eye out for it and ensure that it doesn't get worse, which I'm confident you will. There's also a distinct possibility that it won't show up in your pup. There are a whole host of factors that contribute to HD, and genetics is just one of (though an important) variable.
Though I do have a question born of ignorance. It seems to me unlikely that hd can be developed entirely from activities with no genetic contribution. I can see going from a fair to mildly dysplastic with the wrong activities, but not going from a good or excellent to dysplastic.
For what its worth, I bred one litter without health clearances. (Sort of -- Bijo was offered to me to purchase after she had been bred to the male, and I agreed to buy and import a pregnant dog.) I informed all of the puppy buyers that neither parent had been health tested and was understanding of anyone who wished to wait until a different litter. I basically look at those four puppies from that litter as four imports, with the same amount of risk as importing a puppy but much lower price. Once all the pups were gone to their homes and Bijo's body was back to normal, we did her health clearances. I lucked out in that both hips and eyes are fine. But it wasn't entirely luck; I only took the risk on Bijo because of her age (if she had major health issues they'd be apparent already), because she previously had very healthy productive litters, and because I had the guarantee of a breeder in Japan I trust that he'd make it right if there was a problem. The sire was later sold to Argentina and still has not been tested, however.
As it turns out, two of those puppies had Entropion -- neither parent have it and so CERF testing would not have screened it out. I found out well after the fact that the sire's brother had surgery to correct Entropion. The squint of the sire's eyes is quite exaggerated, as well as the wrinkle of his brow and eyelids... so I believe he was a major contributing factor. For Bijo's next litter I chose a dog with rounder eyes and nice tight skin, and so far none of these pups show the early signs the other two did.
http://www.offa.org/display.html?appnum=1352044#animal
My female is 3 years old and also has good OFFA results.
http://www.offa.org/display.html?appnum=1510177#animal
http://news.ucdavis.edu/search/news_detail.lasso?id=10498
http://www.nihonken.org/forum/index.php?p=/discussion/8463/puppies-born/p1
If this were Shibas then it wouldn't be that big of a deal, since they're not practically endangered (as you said). So this breed a special case. This case only backs that opinion up since, as @sangmort said, the lack of Japanese health checks makes little difference when the ones with the mantle of responsibility, NA breeders, breed the dog anyways without doing the checks.
In the real world, titles don't mean very much. I've had Grand Champion dogs come into the vet at age 6 who are riddled with arthritis and other health issues that only show past their ideal show age. A good portion of show breeders will breed for the show ring, and unless it's a NIPPO show ring then they're going to be judged upon the US judge's standards. US standards generally reward feature exaggeration, rather than a balance. That's my issue. The breeding for profit, prestige, or titles as a higher tier of importance than health. After all of the puppies, of titled show parents, that I've examined who've had terrible health... I'm going to critique it if a poor practice, without explanation, is helping Shikoku get to the health standard of GRs and GSDs. Two great breeds which are practically a 100% chance of premature joint and hip issues.
For the record, you've actually been the most recommended breeder for good practices
@twobirds Don't get scared off. This is honestly more an issue of "end game" breeding, where the direction of the breed is taken as a whole, and ethical breeding practices as well. I understand your concerned, and legitimately too! However, it's FAR from a "ohhh noooo this litter is dooooomed!" thread
In my opinion, you should actually hold off on neutering until age 2+. It's only US vets, afaik, who push the neuter by the third month. This is largely due to how much easier it is to get clients to pay for surgeries on their first visits when the dogs are young and the vaccine series can be bundled with the surgery for a discount. It's much harder to get an owner to pay for a $150-300, or more, surgery when they've had the dog for two or three years and there's nothing wrong with him. This is verbatim from corporate veterinarians and their bosses.
Many studies are coming out that show neutering males is much more health once they've fully grown. Males and females have very different structure, and it's the male hormones that dictate a good portion of his development. Without them he'll develop more feminine legs and hips, which can definitely cause issues. A good number of male urinary issues are caused by "micropenis" as well, the symptom of which is pretty self explanatory lol. Issues involve not being able to retract "themselves" back into the sheathe due to the sheathe being too small, not being the proper length so infection will happen at the tip from constant moisture, etc etc. I had a two year old un-neutered male Shiba and, as long as you're not too dead set on the dog park, it's not a big deal to handle unaltered males.
HOWEVER, use your judgement. If you don't trust yourself or your dog to maintain that constant leash discipline, or plan on having other people take care of the dog on a regular basis (who wouldn't be as responsible as you), then neutering beforehand is definitely your prerogative. This is the same thing I tell *responsible* clients, so that they can make informed decisions. With wishy washy clients I don't even tell them about this issue tbh... most people simply aren't responsible enough for an intact dog down here in South FL lol.
It is also basically a lottery health-wise to import a dog from Japan because they don't do health checks. This is akin to backyard breeding. (side question - has any of the prominent importers offered to pay for testing the Japanese stock before accepting a dog?)
There are a total of 4 North American kennels, Akashima being one of them.
Health issues are extremely common given the limited stock. (I must say, I fell in love with @Sangmort's Fate as a casual lurker, and it breaks my heart to see what they are going through now.)
To me it is inexcusable to risk further damaging the breed by using untested animals. To say it is up to the buyer to cover all the bases is asking a lot, especially when an otherwise decent breeder decides to cut corners when their spot comes up on the waitlist.
What especially irks me about Shogun's case is the short period of time between when he was bred and then tested. They couldn't wait until Kimi's next heat to be safe?
To preserve the breed, only the qualified best should be bred. No shortcuts. Is that too much to ask?
ie. Did they rush because Kimi was getting old and it might be a now or never pairing?
I'm glad @Edgewood explained a bit that the Shogan co-ownership was "turn-based" rather than a "consensus majority", and that health is still among her top priorities.