@cdenney haha I wish they would quietly coexist. Right now Yezo likes to be in Hana's face, and all Hana wants to do is quietly cuddle with me, or quietly roll up into her little Kai ball and relax, so I think he's too much of a puppy for them to hang out peacefully yet. Sometimes tho, while Hana's laying on the couch beside me, Yezo will lay down on the floor by my feet, playing with a toy or fall asleep. I like that he likes the ground. Possibly because it's cooler. His coat is ridiculously thick. It's like wearing a down filled winter coat 100% of the time.
@whobitme Oh we have to double cover his crate at night. One blanket is a super thick blanket to muffle the sound. I also stuff a kong with some kibble in it, but as soon as he's done with it, it's screaming time. For now, my husband takes him to a separate room to sleep with him at night because we don't want to piss off our landlords. We just crate him during the day when no one's home to hear it. Haha. (Except poor Hana) But I assume he's not screaming 100% of the time because when I get home, he's not screaming.
@losech Wow, Yezo doesn't scream as much as Katana. Not that I've seen yet anyway. I'm able to play with Yezo's toes, give him a bath and check his teeth without too much struggle. He's also doesn't eat "stuff" the way Katana seems to do. Yezo is currently only into edible things, and knows not to eat toys. He plays with them pretty well. I can see maybe with soft toys, he likes to rip up the fur, (he also likes to rip up carpet, so we rolled that away for now) but with socks or toys laying around, he just chomps and death shakes. Very appropriate the way I imagine most puppies would play with toys and socks and things.
I think as long as there isn't any food near the edge of tables, or kibble bins out in the open, and garbage lids closed and secure, he can stay out of trouble. We definitely have to be vigilant about that.
Yezo seems to know to go into the crate when it's feeding time. He just automatically went in, which is pretty cute. But he literally INHALES his food, so I started feeding him his meals with the Kong wobbler, which is pretty amazing for him. Hana only used it a couple times, but lost interest quickly. She's not as food motivated and gets stressed easily so gives up faster. With Yezo though, he's gotten pretty good at handling it. Rolling it with his paws, nudging with his muzzle, it keeps him occupied for a good 10 minutes keeping him out of trouble, and it slows down his eating, and since I can hear him working it, I can get ready to go to work with ease.
Also, this morning, I started capturing his sits a little, and he quickly got the hang of it. Yay!
Then I did sits with both of them.
Yezo eats his treat too quickly, and Hana likes to gently sniff and then take it (if it's not actual meat, she doesn't eat it quickly) so he'd try to chomp on my hand and steal Hana's treat, so I started throw his treat away a little so he could chase it down and that seems to work better with the timing. By the time they're both done, they're ready for another round.
Hana snarls at Yezo sometimes when they're outside because Yezo likes to run into her. I don't think it's a bullying thing, most likely a rude puppy thing, but she doesn't like that. She used to run around like crazy when we go out, but now she just freezes, all weary of Yezo, so I started to let Hana have some 1 on 1 time with me, and she returned to her silly self and was all crazy again doing her invisible obstacle course.
Yezo, like I mentioned before is still a little shy of strange people and strange places, but as long as you have treats, he warms up quickly or forgets that he's somewhere scary. I really really appreciate how unphased he can get, and even the little things like a large kibble bag crumpling over, for Hana that's something super scary, and she'll run to the end of the room to stay away from it, but Yezo will approach and smell it. (Possibly also because he smells food) but they are night and day in that sense, and it's interesting, and I appreciate more and more how bold he is.
We went to Petsmart last night to get him a harness and he did well. I totally forgot to bring treats so he'd shy away from strangers, but he followed me well, sometimes he needed encouragement, but he didn't seem too stressed. Sometimes a barking dog will make him antsy, but he recovered well. 1000000x better than what we experienced with Hana. Ohhh man. That was a really tough day... to be fair tho, that was a tough week for her with the construction and fire alarms going off and living closer to a busy street... poor girl. I don't think we'll go to Petsmart with her again, but she's improved a ton since then, so I'm really hoping with this bold guy, some of the boldness will rub off on her a little more.
@WhoBitMe - Help me remember, where did Meitou come from? A show kennel?
I've noticed a trend with pups from hunting kennels - they generally suck at potty training. Anya (WSL), Yezo & Genko (Hokkaido), and Caz (Dogo Argentino) have all SUCKED with potty training and all where/are from hunting kennels or individual hunters.
@thegela - When Yezo got here he had no calming signals and no understanding of them. I worked hard with a clicker and treats to reinforce the calming signals I saw him do. You may want to try the same thing - click+treat when you see an appropriate social behavior. It doesn't have to be when he's with Hana, if you see him stretch, shake, lick his lips, etc... in any context, if you can, mark the behavior with a click and then treat him for it. You should notice he stretches a lot - this is because I've reinforced that a LOT with him since it's like one of the only stress-reducing behaviors I've ever seen him do.
@brada1878 Yeah, I'm pretty sure he is from a show kennel. That's interesting about the dogs from hunting lines. Any idea why they might have more trouble at housebreaking?
@thegela Ah, I wondered if it might be something you had already tried, but I thought I would suggest it just in case. I'll try to think of something else that might help.
So clicker training is pretty smooth with Yezo. His focus is pretty good. Sometimes he'll wait long enough he eventually lies down because he gets bored, but he's still focused on me.
Also, @brada1878 I noticed his dislike for energetic dogs today. I mentioned that Hana doesn't like doing zoomies when she's outside with him, and there might be a reason for that. Yezo seems to charge at her to "block" her path so she stops. I thought it was rude puppy behaviour, and maybe sometimes it is, but I think sometimes it might actually stem from his dislike for energetic dogs because today she was so excited to be outside that she "forgot" about Yezo and started to act silly when Yezo actually growled at her, which made her stop. Poor Hana. I think he wants to be the only energetic one.
Besides the click-treating, which I continue to do, does anyone have any tips on helping these dogs associate each other's happy energy to good things? With Hana, I assume it's just a matter of time and getting used to the idea of him and maybe waiting for him to mature a little. I can see she can be patient with his jumping and rudeness and bumping into her and jumping over her and stuff. I don't let it happen often, but sometimes it does and she just takes it, but for Yezo, he only seems to be okay with her when she's calm, but when she gets excited, he doesn't like that. I'm going to try and take them on a hike this weekend and maybe we'll see how it goes.
@thegela - Flickr changed their embed code. You now need to select the "HTML" radio button to get the correct code. This forum doesn't allow iframe embeds for security reasons.
Yezo is pressuring Musashi (Tosa pup) the entire time. He blocks Musashi from exerting any energy. He did this to Genko too, and a few other dogs.
So, yes, you are probably correct about Hana being "blocked" by Yezo. Yezo is not comfortable with dogs moving fast around him, so he stops it.
The good news is, with time, he will become more comfortable with her and start to feel ok about those behaviors. That was the story with him and a number of our dogs.
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@WhoBitMe - My guess is selection pressure and husbandry differences between hunting owners and show owners. Hunting breeders probably pay little attention to the bathroom habits of their dogs since many times they're kept outside all the time. So selecting for easy housebreaking is low on their list of selection criteria.
Yup totally thought of this video. What a punk! I think I'm mostly worried about him "practicing" the behaviour and I'm not sure what I can do to discourage it (if I can) while he adjusts to Hana.
My guess is selection pressure and husbandry differences between hunting owners and show owners. Hunting breeders probably pay little attention to the bathroom habits of their dogs since many times they're kept outside all the time. So selecting for easy housebreaking is low on their list of selection criteria.
I'd have to agree with that assumption. Titan (husky), who comes from a racing kennel where it's common practice for dogs to stay outside, was a pain to housebreak. He seriously did not care about going in the house, took lots of heavy management and outside time to get it through his head.
@brada1878@Calia Thank you for your input and insight. I've not known many hunting dogs (or dogs from lines like a racing kennel), so this is very interesting to me.
@thegela They're so cute together! Hana has such an adorable face and expression. And her ears, they slay me with cute. And of course Yezo is majorly cute, too. He looks so fluffy! Everyone else's Hokkaido seem so much more fluffy than Meitou, and I don't know if it is just because he's just finishing up another coat blow or not.
Here's a video of Hana and Yezo becoming friends. They love playing outside. Hana is ridiculously fast so chase games are usually Yezo chasing Hana. I don't think he'll ever be faster than her.
Yezo is relentless. Reminds me of what I read from the Shikoku's personalities. He will sometimes bug her and bug her. Sometimes she doesn't care, but when she's inside she usually wants to just chill out. It's outside when she wants to have fun. Also Hana will sometimes growl or yell at Yezo when he gets close to her while she's cuddling with one of us. It depends on her mood.
Nail clippings, were difficult because of his mouthiness, but thank GOODNESS for his love of food and stuff. My husband basically holds on to one end of a bully stick so that keeps Yezo's mouth occupied, and that leaves me to freely cut his nails. I'm crossing my fingers that Yezo doesn't get wise.
He's very mouthy. VERY mouthy, and maybe it's because he didn't learn proper play biting when he was younger, but sometimes it hurts. He's the ultimate puppy shark. He tends to play bite Hana's legs and neck, (one time I heard her actually choking) and sometimes Hana is patient, and sometimes she is not. Sometimes he also likes to nip at your legs and ankles when you're walking. It's gotten a little better because give him a stern "no" and stop giving him attention when he's being mouthy. I also had to teach him "sit" and "leave it" right away because he'll eat anything that's been dropped to eat. He doesn't even CARE what it is. Plastic, metal, tissue, everything. I usually have to pry whatever it is out of his mouth. His leave it still sucks but we're working on it. Next is "drop it".
His potty training is up and down. He has accidents in his crate sometimes (even poop once). When he's free in the house, he's learned to let us know when he needs to go out, which is pretty freakin often because he drinks a helluva lot of water during the day. I think he drinks at least 2L of water a day, probably even a little more. But he will stare outside or sit by the door and whine to let us know that it's time to pee, so he's learning! (The worst was when he peed on our bed. The husband NOT amused..) He still does excitement pee sometimes but that's okay because it's not everytime someone comes home. It only happens sometimes. Speaking of pee, I have a question!
How can I get him to start lifting his leg when he pees? I looked it up and it seems like I can't really teach him, and I'll just have to hope and wait until he does, but meanwhile he's peeing all over his front legs and I never noticed it till now. I was wondering why Hana smelled like Yezo's pee and all the blankets he lays on smells like pee, but it's cause the back of his front legs have pee all over them! I was pretty grossed out, and we'll have to now wipe his legs every time he comes in, but is there a way to help fix this??
Also, he knows to eat in the crate, but he still screams like crazy when he's left in there... not much improvement in that area.
Our Yezo woes are mostly his pee issues/potty training and his mouthy ness. He's a pretty normal puppy, but it's like he's got 3 puppies inside him. Does that make sense?
Oh and he also has a little bit of separation anxiety. He whines even when he CAN see me, but he can't get to me because he passage way is blocked. So ridiculous.
All in all, he's doing well, he came to us a little smaller than Hana, (even with all the fur) but now he's noticeably bigger. I'm curious to see his final form.
Awwweeeee it's SOOO cute to see them playing together!! They'll be best buds, I know it!! And LOL to the 3 puppies inside him. Hahahaha. I wish I had some advice on some of these..don't boy dogs usually learn to lift their legs from seeing other boy dogs do it (or am i totally off?)
Other than that, glad that the two have each other!
If it makes you feel better, Kimber has been REALLY slow to potty train. She's been ok here, then we left for our 2 week trip and she had i'd say about an accident a day at someone's house (there may have been a few accident-less days..and I would quickly have to catch her sniffing around and pacing). Now that we're back home, she's completely fine lol! She knows how to give us the signal here, which helps...maybe that was the problem at other people's houses? But ugh. My pee-monster. :P
ETA: I just read that most male dogs don't begin lifting their legs until they're 6-12 months of age. So he's still got some time hehe.
Katana doesn't lift a leg when he pees, but he doesn't hit his feet or he'd never come inside. That is just nasty. I haven't figured out how to get hi to lift a leg yet, I'd prefer he do simply because he looks like a wuss when he pees. Katana drinks a lot also. I found that he'll drink a full large bowl whenever I fill it if that is all that is available, so I've got several large buckets in the yard for him to choose from. He still drinks a lot but he's not overwhelming himself with it. Katana will also eat everything. He's learning to leave and drop things, but he inhales stuff so quick it's hard to stop him. I usually have him sit a ways off or lay on the couch while i am doing food stuff, if he isn't kicked out entirely. And, Katana does that whining in the crate thing too. I can BE IN SIGHT and he'll whine at. He doesn't scream as much, but he still does when I leave and will howl randomly while I'm gone. I've been able to curb his biting a lot by telling him NO! and stopping what I'm doing with him. He gets obnoxious when I ignore him but he stops biting.
He's a huge work in progress, but it just takes time and consistency. Also, don't teach Yezo to shake. I taught Katana to do it (using treats) and now he's constantly whapping me with his feet to get my attention.
Yucca was really slow to potty train too. Well slow compared to dogs I've owned in the past but she is my first kai so idk how she compares to other nihon ken. I think I could say she was fully potty trained at 4 1/2 months and by 5 months she was completely accident free. She had only had 2 accidents since; one was at a friends house & the other was due to an upset stomach. Back when we were still potty training we thought she would never catch on but then we trained her to ring a bell when she needs to go and that worked like a charm (of course now she rings it whenever she wants to play outside)
Kouda has only started lifting his leg in the past month or two, and he is over a year old. We were actually hoping he wouldn't lift, because with it comes the crazy marking! He's starting to do that a bit now too, but more often than not, he will lift his leg and get in position... and not pee, then find a nice flat spot and let it all out. And sometimes he raises too high and loses his balance. Derp.
He's only peed on himself a couple times, when he decided to poop and pee at the same time. Then it gets all over his belly.
We do wipe his paws after walks regardless. But we also don't wear shoes in the house, so that was a personal requirement when we got him.
Kouda also eats ANYTHING, especially on walks. We've had the most success curbing this by wearing a treat bag and sporadically doing training, and offering tastier trades when he does pick stuff up. I pretty much had to walk with a treat in one hand to keep his nose off the ground! He also does this less when he's properly tired, so plenty of exercise and games help keep him mentally stimulated and less likely to forage.
Gela writes: "Hana is ridiculously fast so chase games are usually Yezo chasing Hana. I don't think he'll ever be faster than her."
Response: It's tough for the bigger bulkier dogs of the same general range to out run them, so I feel that you are right. Ours is right up there with the coursing dogs.
Gela writes: "How can I get him to start lifting his leg when he pees? he's peeing all over his front legs and I never noticed it till now."
Response: It's not something you teach. They do this when the get more coordinated and start really focusing on the height marks on objects in general from other dogs competing for a notch on the smell rung and leaving a calling card. As far as untidy peeing, a lot of intact dogs will do this. Once neutered it diminishes. I would keep unscented baby wipes and clean up the front legs before you let him back in the house. If he is kept tidy he won't spread the residual smell onto your stuff.
I would not leave him loose in the house if you are having problems with random urination…. Be prepared, if he is not so great now he may have a spell where it gets worse as he matures. Get a belly band to help yourself out.
It does look like Hana is happy! I really do think Kai do much better with another play buddy....even if she does growl....she's just voicing her opinion.
@thegela - He never played that well with any dog here. Always just kinda on guard and overwhelmed with the environment. So, this was the right choice for him. Thanks for giving him a perfect home.
As for he reminding you of a Shikoku, I have said this too. Both Yezo and Genko remind me more of young Shikoku than any of the other NK breeds.
About lifting his leg, enjoy it while he doesn't. That's not something I'd want to happen soon. When it does, he'll start marking all over your yard.
None of our boys have ever lifted their legs [ unless a bush was in the way or something ] Even Fate, who was a crazy marker.
They did all hit their front legs tho -_- SO what we did was when they were peeing, to "re-adjust" them. [ basically turn them, or move their front legs, etc. ] After a while they all get the idea, and stand properly so they don't hit themselves. Maybe you could try that with Yezo? ~
They are so bouncing together! They remind of of ChoCho and Goro playing Glad he's working out and Hana is getting along. Boys will be boys, I guess, always bothering the girls. Thanks for posting the video! Keep us posted!
Interesting input...... is it worth reaching over trying to deal with pushing him or moving front legs to the correct step when male dog eliminates, seems like it would be rather odd or startling....I see elimination as an independent activity from owner, maslow lowest level I need not partake in ...sort of see the reposition method as akin to being pushed or tapped while at the urinal ....donno though since I am not a guy...
@gela: for Yezo I would not want to add one more factor/distraction (human) into potty training particularly if he isn't 100% with that at this point. If he is peeing on something you don't want him too I can see moving him but for normal everyday not so much. Also, depending on the situation, if in fact you don't have him on leash at all times I would think distance may be an issue as well.
It's not a big deal, it takes all of two seconds. It's a win-win, they don't pee on themselves, we don't get peed on, the house doesn't get pee all over it, etc. It's hard to describe but it was just a nudge, and they all continued peeing, just not on their front legs. Neither Wraith, nor Fate, nor Aggro cared lol
ETA: to be clear, we are not touching their, uh, "parts" we just nudge them by the shoulder enough to change the...uh..."trajectory" lol ~
@thegela - To give you some hope, Fate & Aggro were both AWFUL when it came to potty training! Both boys royally sucked until they hit around a year old. Aggro especially was bad, he would happy pee, scared pee, pee randomly, etc. But, after all was said & done, they are / were the most trust-worthy in the house once they got it down Also, after a week or so of "nudging" them, they all stopped peeing on themselves 99% of the time. Occasionally, I guide them away [ with the leash ] but that's about it.
Thanks everyone for your input! For now, I'll let him be when he's peeing, and hope he starts lifting his leg when he gets older. Also, his potty training is still improving! He consistently let's us know he needs to go out with a little whine.
He's also chilled out A LOT since he got here, which is nice. He's not 3 puppies in one puppy anymore. That's probably a Hana influence. She's super calm in the house, so maybe he picks up on that. I also don't give him as much "happy attention" to get him to relax. He also started to stop opening his mouth whenever I reach over to pet him. He would instantly want to wrap his mouth over my hand whenever I or anyone tried to pet him, but he's started to not do that anymore and just get petted.
He's easier to train than Hana, his recall is better, he doesn't get "sad" when I talk to him sternly - and seems to understand that when I talk like that, he should stop doing what he's doing, and sometimes he'll stop/put it down but sometimes he'll still do it because he's a little punk. He's a good dog. I find that with time, he gets easier to handle, and eventually get to a point where he'll be more reliable and be lower maintenance than Hana, but Hana gets away with a lot more because she's a little "special".
He influences her a lot! She's definitely more friendly to our friends who come over. She even chills on the couch with friends and will subtly ask to be petted. She's started barking and being more vocal because of him. So where we had no barking, now we have 2 occasional barkers. She also whines a little more "aggressively" than she used to. I know it's weird, but before she used to whine soft little whines, and sometimes it would escalate so that it's a little louder and more "open" sounding, but now it sounds like "yelling whining", like a mix between barking and whining? She's also learned to go on her hind legs and jump up on us now because Yezo does it. So she's also picked up some bad habits along the way.
I've also heard him sing once! I was in the bathroom with the door closed, and my husband left for work in the morning, and I think he thought he was alone, so he started singing this low, slow and sad sounding howl. It was hilarious.
Also they sometimes like to share toys. There's no resource guarding. Hana and Yezo will give and take from each other. That also extends to food and treats. Sometimes Hana will lose interest in a treat and won't mind Yezo taking it, or sometimes Yezo will leave a bully stick unattended and Hana will take and chew on it, and he'll come back and see her and just stand there at a loss. I can picture him saying "damn.. " but he won't try to approach her to take it. Then I give him a fresh one for himself. Then Hana will stop chewing on Yezo's old bully stick, then Yezo will leave his new one and go back to his old one. They're very good for things like that.
Things are going so well! It's really great Yezo came to you and Hana- they both look more comfortable than before they lived together.
Boy, Yezo is a thick fellow. I love his thick fur, big paws and little ears! His singing is a good story! Im imagining it in a little movie in my head.
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@whobitme Oh we have to double cover his crate at night. One blanket is a super thick blanket to muffle the sound. I also stuff a kong with some kibble in it, but as soon as he's done with it, it's screaming time. For now, my husband takes him to a separate room to sleep with him at night because we don't want to piss off our landlords. We just crate him during the day when no one's home to hear it. Haha. (Except poor Hana) But I assume he's not screaming 100% of the time because when I get home, he's not screaming.
@losech Wow, Yezo doesn't scream as much as Katana. Not that I've seen yet anyway. I'm able to play with Yezo's toes, give him a bath and check his teeth without too much struggle. He's also doesn't eat "stuff" the way Katana seems to do. Yezo is currently only into edible things, and knows not to eat toys. He plays with them pretty well. I can see maybe with soft toys, he likes to rip up the fur, (he also likes to rip up carpet, so we rolled that away for now) but with socks or toys laying around, he just chomps and death shakes. Very appropriate the way I imagine most puppies would play with toys and socks and things.
I think as long as there isn't any food near the edge of tables, or kibble bins out in the open, and garbage lids closed and secure, he can stay out of trouble. We definitely have to be vigilant about that.
Yezo seems to know to go into the crate when it's feeding time. He just automatically went in, which is pretty cute. But he literally INHALES his food, so I started feeding him his meals with the Kong wobbler, which is pretty amazing for him. Hana only used it a couple times, but lost interest quickly. She's not as food motivated and gets stressed easily so gives up faster. With Yezo though, he's gotten pretty good at handling it. Rolling it with his paws, nudging with his muzzle, it keeps him occupied for a good 10 minutes keeping him out of trouble, and it slows down his eating, and since I can hear him working it, I can get ready to go to work with ease.
Also, this morning, I started capturing his sits a little, and he quickly got the hang of it. Yay!
Then I did sits with both of them.
Yezo eats his treat too quickly, and Hana likes to gently sniff and then take it (if it's not actual meat, she doesn't eat it quickly) so he'd try to chomp on my hand and steal Hana's treat, so I started throw his treat away a little so he could chase it down and that seems to work better with the timing. By the time they're both done, they're ready for another round.
Hana snarls at Yezo sometimes when they're outside because Yezo likes to run into her. I don't think it's a bullying thing, most likely a rude puppy thing, but she doesn't like that. She used to run around like crazy when we go out, but now she just freezes, all weary of Yezo, so I started to let Hana have some 1 on 1 time with me, and she returned to her silly self and was all crazy again doing her invisible obstacle course.
Yezo, like I mentioned before is still a little shy of strange people and strange places, but as long as you have treats, he warms up quickly or forgets that he's somewhere scary. I really really appreciate how unphased he can get, and even the little things like a large kibble bag crumpling over, for Hana that's something super scary, and she'll run to the end of the room to stay away from it, but Yezo will approach and smell it. (Possibly also because he smells food) but they are night and day in that sense, and it's interesting, and I appreciate more and more how bold he is.
We went to Petsmart last night to get him a harness and he did well. I totally forgot to bring treats so he'd shy away from strangers, but he followed me well, sometimes he needed encouragement, but he didn't seem too stressed. Sometimes a barking dog will make him antsy, but he recovered well. 1000000x better than what we experienced with Hana. Ohhh man. That was a really tough day... to be fair tho, that was a tough week for her with the construction and fire alarms going off and living closer to a busy street... poor girl. I don't think we'll go to Petsmart with her again, but she's improved a ton since then, so I'm really hoping with this bold guy, some of the boldness will rub off on her a little more.
Funny to see Bella and Saya's different ways of using the kibble dispensers.. Bella uses her mouth to move it mostly and Saya used her paws.
I hope things go well with Hana I'm sure it will take time.
I've noticed a trend with pups from hunting kennels - they generally suck at potty training. Anya (WSL), Yezo & Genko (Hokkaido), and Caz (Dogo Argentino) have all SUCKED with potty training and all where/are from hunting kennels or individual hunters.
@thegela Ah, I wondered if it might be something you had already tried, but I thought I would suggest it just in case. I'll try to think of something else that might help.
lol, I already want more Yezo pictures.
Also, @brada1878 I noticed his dislike for energetic dogs today. I mentioned that Hana doesn't like doing zoomies when she's outside with him, and there might be a reason for that. Yezo seems to charge at her to "block" her path so she stops. I thought it was rude puppy behaviour, and maybe sometimes it is, but I think sometimes it might actually stem from his dislike for energetic dogs because today she was so excited to be outside that she "forgot" about Yezo and started to act silly when Yezo actually growled at her, which made her stop. Poor Hana. I think he wants to be the only energetic one.
Besides the click-treating, which I continue to do, does anyone have any tips on helping these dogs associate each other's happy energy to good things? With Hana, I assume it's just a matter of time and getting used to the idea of him and maybe waiting for him to mature a little. I can see she can be patient with his jumping and rudeness and bumping into her and jumping over her and stuff. I don't let it happen often, but sometimes it does and she just takes it, but for Yezo, he only seems to be okay with her when she's calm, but when she gets excited, he doesn't like that. I'm going to try and take them on a hike this weekend and maybe we'll see how it goes.
@whobitme you got it
Here's a nice comparison of the two for size and shape.. This arrangement didn't last long. Hana moved away pretty soon after this. Hahah
Yezo is pressuring Musashi (Tosa pup) the entire time. He blocks Musashi from exerting any energy. He did this to Genko too, and a few other dogs.
So, yes, you are probably correct about Hana being "blocked" by Yezo. Yezo is not comfortable with dogs moving fast around him, so he stops it.
The good news is, with time, he will become more comfortable with her and start to feel ok about those behaviors. That was the story with him and a number of our dogs.
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@WhoBitMe - My guess is selection pressure and husbandry differences between hunting owners and show owners. Hunting breeders probably pay little attention to the bathroom habits of their dogs since many times they're kept outside all the time. So selecting for easy housebreaking is low on their list of selection criteria.
Now to actually coordinate that...
@thegela They're so cute together! Hana has such an adorable face and expression. And her ears, they slay me with cute. And of course Yezo is majorly cute, too. He looks so fluffy! Everyone else's Hokkaido seem so much more fluffy than Meitou, and I don't know if it is just because he's just finishing up another coat blow or not.
Here's a video of Hana and Yezo becoming friends. They love playing outside. Hana is ridiculously fast so chase games are usually Yezo chasing Hana. I don't think he'll ever be faster than her.
Yezo is relentless. Reminds me of what I read from the Shikoku's personalities. He will sometimes bug her and bug her. Sometimes she doesn't care, but when she's inside she usually wants to just chill out. It's outside when she wants to have fun. Also Hana will sometimes growl or yell at Yezo when he gets close to her while she's cuddling with one of us. It depends on her mood.
Nail clippings, were difficult because of his mouthiness, but thank GOODNESS for his love of food and stuff. My husband basically holds on to one end of a bully stick so that keeps Yezo's mouth occupied, and that leaves me to freely cut his nails. I'm crossing my fingers that Yezo doesn't get wise.
He's very mouthy. VERY mouthy, and maybe it's because he didn't learn proper play biting when he was younger, but sometimes it hurts. He's the ultimate puppy shark. He tends to play bite Hana's legs and neck, (one time I heard her actually choking) and sometimes Hana is patient, and sometimes she is not. Sometimes he also likes to nip at your legs and ankles when you're walking. It's gotten a little better because give him a stern "no" and stop giving him attention when he's being mouthy. I also had to teach him "sit" and "leave it" right away because he'll eat anything that's been dropped to eat. He doesn't even CARE what it is. Plastic, metal, tissue, everything. I usually have to pry whatever it is out of his mouth. His leave it still sucks but we're working on it. Next is "drop it".
His potty training is up and down. He has accidents in his crate sometimes (even poop once). When he's free in the house, he's learned to let us know when he needs to go out, which is pretty freakin often because he drinks a helluva lot of water during the day. I think he drinks at least 2L of water a day, probably even a little more. But he will stare outside or sit by the door and whine to let us know that it's time to pee, so he's learning! (The worst was when he peed on our bed. The husband NOT amused..) He still does excitement pee sometimes but that's okay because it's not everytime someone comes home. It only happens sometimes. Speaking of pee, I have a question!
How can I get him to start lifting his leg when he pees? I looked it up and it seems like I can't really teach him, and I'll just have to hope and wait until he does, but meanwhile he's peeing all over his front legs and I never noticed it till now. I was wondering why Hana smelled like Yezo's pee and all the blankets he lays on smells like pee, but it's cause the back of his front legs have pee all over them! I was pretty grossed out, and we'll have to now wipe his legs every time he comes in, but is there a way to help fix this??
Also, he knows to eat in the crate, but he still screams like crazy when he's left in there... not much improvement in that area.
Our Yezo woes are mostly his pee issues/potty training and his mouthy ness. He's a pretty normal puppy, but it's like he's got 3 puppies inside him. Does that make sense?
Oh and he also has a little bit of separation anxiety. He whines even when he CAN see me, but he can't get to me because he passage way is blocked. So ridiculous.
All in all, he's doing well, he came to us a little smaller than Hana, (even with all the fur) but now he's noticeably bigger. I'm curious to see his final form.
Other than that, glad that the two have each other!
If it makes you feel better, Kimber has been REALLY slow to potty train. She's been ok here, then we left for our 2 week trip and she had i'd say about an accident a day at someone's house (there may have been a few accident-less days..and I would quickly have to catch her sniffing around and pacing). Now that we're back home, she's completely fine lol! She knows how to give us the signal here, which helps...maybe that was the problem at other people's houses? But ugh. My pee-monster. :P
ETA: I just read that most male dogs don't begin lifting their legs until they're 6-12 months of age. So he's still got some time hehe.
Katana doesn't lift a leg when he pees, but he doesn't hit his feet or he'd never come inside. That is just nasty. I haven't figured out how to get hi to lift a leg yet, I'd prefer he do simply because he looks like a wuss when he pees.
Katana drinks a lot also. I found that he'll drink a full large bowl whenever I fill it if that is all that is available, so I've got several large buckets in the yard for him to choose from. He still drinks a lot but he's not overwhelming himself with it.
Katana will also eat everything. He's learning to leave and drop things, but he inhales stuff so quick it's hard to stop him. I usually have him sit a ways off or lay on the couch while i am doing food stuff, if he isn't kicked out entirely.
And, Katana does that whining in the crate thing too. I can BE IN SIGHT and he'll whine at. He doesn't scream as much, but he still does when I leave and will howl randomly while I'm gone.
I've been able to curb his biting a lot by telling him NO! and stopping what I'm doing with him. He gets obnoxious when I ignore him but he stops biting.
He's a huge work in progress, but it just takes time and consistency.
Also, don't teach Yezo to shake. I taught Katana to do it (using treats) and now he's constantly whapping me with his feet to get my attention.
He's only peed on himself a couple times, when he decided to poop and pee at the same time. Then it gets all over his belly.
We do wipe his paws after walks regardless. But we also don't wear shoes in the house, so that was a personal requirement when we got him.
Kouda also eats ANYTHING, especially on walks. We've had the most success curbing this by wearing a treat bag and sporadically doing training, and offering tastier trades when he does pick stuff up. I pretty much had to walk with a treat in one hand to keep his nose off the ground! He also does this less when he's properly tired, so plenty of exercise and games help keep him mentally stimulated and less likely to forage.
Response: It's tough for the bigger bulkier dogs of the same general range to out run them, so I feel that you are right. Ours is right up there with the coursing dogs.
Gela writes: "How can I get him to start lifting his leg when he pees? he's peeing all over his front legs and I never noticed it till now."
Response: It's not something you teach. They do this when the get more coordinated and start really focusing on the height marks on objects in general from other dogs competing for a notch on the smell rung and leaving a calling card. As far as untidy peeing, a lot of intact dogs will do this. Once neutered it diminishes. I would keep unscented baby wipes and clean up the front legs before you let him back in the house. If he is kept tidy he won't spread the residual smell onto your stuff.
I would not leave him loose in the house if you are having problems with random urination…. Be prepared, if he is not so great now he may have a spell where it gets worse as he matures. Get a belly band to help yourself out.
It does look like Hana is happy! I really do think Kai do much better with another play buddy....even if she does growl....she's just voicing her opinion.
Snf
As for he reminding you of a Shikoku, I have said this too. Both Yezo and Genko remind me more of young Shikoku than any of the other NK breeds.
About lifting his leg, enjoy it while he doesn't. That's not something I'd want to happen soon. When it does, he'll start marking all over your yard.
They did all hit their front legs tho -_- SO what we did was when they were peeing, to "re-adjust" them. [ basically turn them, or move their front legs, etc. ] After a while they all get the idea, and stand properly so they don't hit themselves.
@gela: for Yezo I would not want to add one more factor/distraction (human) into potty training particularly if he isn't 100% with that at this point. If he is peeing on something you don't want him too I can see moving him but for normal everyday not so much. Also, depending on the situation, if in fact you don't have him on leash at all times I would think distance may be an issue as well.
Just some thoughts....
Snf
ETA: to be clear, we are not touching their, uh, "parts" we just nudge them by the shoulder enough to change the...uh..."trajectory" lol ~
So have hope!
He's also chilled out A LOT since he got here, which is nice. He's not 3 puppies in one puppy anymore. That's probably a Hana influence. She's super calm in the house, so maybe he picks up on that. I also don't give him as much "happy attention" to get him to relax. He also started to stop opening his mouth whenever I reach over to pet him. He would instantly want to wrap his mouth over my hand whenever I or anyone tried to pet him, but he's started to not do that anymore and just get petted.
He's easier to train than Hana, his recall is better, he doesn't get "sad" when I talk to him sternly - and seems to understand that when I talk like that, he should stop doing what he's doing, and sometimes he'll stop/put it down but sometimes he'll still do it because he's a little punk. He's a good dog. I find that with time, he gets easier to handle, and eventually get to a point where he'll be more reliable and be lower maintenance than Hana, but Hana gets away with a lot more because she's a little "special".
He influences her a lot! She's definitely more friendly to our friends who come over. She even chills on the couch with friends and will subtly ask to be petted. She's started barking and being more vocal because of him. So where we had no barking, now we have 2 occasional barkers. She also whines a little more "aggressively" than she used to. I know it's weird, but before she used to whine soft little whines, and sometimes it would escalate so that it's a little louder and more "open" sounding, but now it sounds like "yelling whining", like a mix between barking and whining? She's also learned to go on her hind legs and jump up on us now because Yezo does it. So she's also picked up some bad habits along the way.
I've also heard him sing once! I was in the bathroom with the door closed, and my husband left for work in the morning, and I think he thought he was alone, so he started singing this low, slow and sad sounding howl. It was hilarious.
Also they sometimes like to share toys. There's no resource guarding. Hana and Yezo will give and take from each other. That also extends to food and treats. Sometimes Hana will lose interest in a treat and won't mind Yezo taking it, or sometimes Yezo will leave a bully stick unattended and Hana will take and chew on it, and he'll come back and see her and just stand there at a loss. I can picture him saying "damn.. " but he won't try to approach her to take it. Then I give him a fresh one for himself. Then Hana will stop chewing on Yezo's old bully stick, then Yezo will leave his new one and go back to his old one. They're very good for things like that.
Boy, Yezo is a thick fellow. I love his thick fur, big paws and little ears! His singing is a good story! Im imagining it in a little movie in my head.