Remember - these dogs have a REALLY high prey drive

EdgewoodEdgewood
edited September 2008 in Shikoku Ken (四国犬)
Just wanted to reiterate that as more people are becoming aware of Shikoku. I think that the drive is higher than in my Siberians, who also had a high drive. So if you do not want your dog to kill small animals, you must socialize the dog and train them to accept the small animals.

For instance, although my Shikoku lives in peace with 5 house cats, other small animals beware.

He is now approaching his 1 year birthday (next week) and to date he has caught and killed 2 rabbits, 1 squirrel, and 1 ground hog in my FENCED yard. On walks (on a flexi leash) he has caught and killed 2 other ground hogs (the last one was 13 lbs, my dog only weighs 34 lbs). I am sure that he could catch many more things if he was off lead.

So just be aware that if you are considering this breed, make certain to socialize them with the small animals that you might also want to have (ie, cats) and that the dog might very well catch and kill a lot of small animals. Admittedly, I do live more rurally (although right outside of a decent size town). But these dogs are amazingly quick and can grab and kill a small animal is short order.
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Comments

  • LeonbergerLeonberger
    edited November -1
    It doesn't hurt to remind people about the responsibilities of living with a dog.
    Good heads up!
  • SangmortSangmort
    edited November -1
    Is it strange that one of the reaoson I love the shikas [ & the other Nihon Ken ] is because of their high prey drive? :o

    I think it's pretty cool...it makes for a more primitive dog breed. Even though it also means if I ever get a nihon ken my six cockatiels have to go back to living with my dad for their own safety. :) `
  • HeidiHeidi
    edited November -1
    Well, out of my three dogs, the shikoku was the only one who saw the little spikey porcupine and thought, "I bet I could eat that."
  • SangmortSangmort
    edited November -1
    Heidi~ Along with Hilo, I plan on stealing Rakka. [ porcupine-quil nose & all ] Just thought I'd let you know ;p

    lol~
  • JessicaRabbitJessicaRabbit
    edited November -1
    Osy, get in line for Hilo....a few of us have been waiting a LONG time to steal him
    :D
  • SangmortSangmort
    edited September 2008
    That's ok Jess, I'll just abduct Miko in the meantime ;p [ though I will admit, Piglet is really starting to grow on me! She might be the first to come live with me in Doggy Paradise :D! ]

    lol~
  • JessicaRabbitJessicaRabbit
    edited November -1
    Even my husband can't take Piglet away from me. We are like Kang and Ang. We are disturbingly bonded. And getting Miko from Jason... you would have an easier time removing his leg...
  • MommyofNikoMommyofNiko
    edited November -1
    Sounds like my girls. Sasha is my shadow and Niko is Chads.
  • SangmortSangmort
    edited November -1
    That's too cute :o ~
  • j_nestingenj_nestingen
    edited November -1
    kayden really does a good job with our cats (fingers crossed) he is a great dog he was apparetly well socialized prior to us best to keep an eye tho, things could get out of hand quickly, i would not leave kayden unsupervised witih our cats, i think that would be disatourus, he is a sweetie tho he is trying to find his place in the pack, dont leave hight prey drive animals with potential prey until they area socialized, if not too much heart ache
  • ShikokuSpiritShikokuSpirit
    edited November -1
    Kei-kun is too sweet, he is very good with other dogs, cats and people. I'd imagine the same is true for other small but larger animals, with him anyways. I'm certain I could introduce a rabbit or a chinchilla and he would become friends with 'em. Something as small as a mouse or a hamster would most likely become a play toy. He loves to jump a lot, but yet at the same time he is somewhat gentle. He's just so laid back. He has his "zoomie" moments, but he is "unusually" always so calm and relaxed (except when excited). Doesn't mean that he doesn't get into trouble, cause he does but he is very sneaky and quiet about it. The little stinker, lol.

    The only problem I have is sheep. He likes to chase and bite them! His hunting instinct must have a hungar for much larger prey, lol.
  • ShikokuSpiritShikokuSpirit
    edited November -1
    Oh I forgot to add, he showed aggression at 11 weeks of age. And I corrected him for that. Ever since then he has been such a sweet little man. I have my suspicions though that if he had been allowed to get away with things, he'd be a totally different dog today, in the worse way.

    He still loves to pester the cats though, Mia specificly, it's their annoying little "brother", lol.
  • LeonbergerLeonberger
    edited November -1
    As I posted on his thread, Kuma's "prey of choice" seems to be horses. With other dogs and cats he's fine. At most, he'll stop and stare at a cat like he's trying to decide if it's worth chasing. he once tried to make a run for it at a swallow (delusion, probably, hehe).
  • JessicaRabbitJessicaRabbit
    edited November -1
    Miko licks my chinchilla. And like Corinas Kei, she will pester the cats but has never hurt them. She is an annoying baby sister.
  • EdgewoodEdgewood
    edited September 2008
    My Kuma is very good with the cats (all 5 indoor cats and the 10 outdoor barn cats). And I think that he would be good with other small animals if socialized to them. But in the case of the wild animals that entered the yard, he did have a strong hunting drive (remember I live in the country).

    My Kuma is also fine with my horses, does not chase them. So again, I think it is socializing them to what is appropriate actions towards other animals. If I wanted him to ignore a rabbit or chinchilla (neither of which I own) I am sure that I could teach him that they were not to "hunt" just like I taught him to be good with cats.

    Honestly, I certainly do not mind that he killed ground hogs (on a horse farm they are pests who create holesin the pastures, which are dangerous to horses).
  • BradA1878BradA1878
    edited November -1
    Today, while on the trail, we stopped to give the dogs some water. While getting out the bowl and water BAM Ahi pounced into a bush - not 2 feet from Jen - and killed some type of rodent.

    She does this all the time...

    They mos def have high prey drives!

    ----
  • EdgewoodEdgewood
    edited November -1
    Yeah, Brad, that is exactly what I am talking about. Kuma does the same thing, jumps in a bush and comes out with something in his mouth. That, I guess, was my point. They are quick and they have a talent for hunting - but they are very loyal and observant to their owner - so you can "train" away some of the hunting drive (ie, with cats or other small pets). But it is still always there (like on walks in the woods!).
  • grandemugrandemu
    edited November -1
    Sora hadn't been exposed to cats until she was 10 months old, and while she wanted to play with them, she didn't show any aggression to them. She loves my bird...not that the bird is ever out of the cage with Sora loose, but she doesn't jump up at the cage to get the bird, or go after her feet. Although Hannah could have bribed Sora into good behavior. She passes food through the bars to Sora. We would love for Sora to start catching moles...holes allll over the place.I would def say Shikoku are adaptable to small pets.
  • SangmortSangmort
    edited September 2008
    Really Tommy? WHat kind of birds do you have? *curious* Are they small like parakeets...or are the like macaws? :)~
  • BradA1878BradA1878
    edited November -1
    They are big - I have met one. :o) I think they are Cockatoos... maybe? [I don't know much about birds]

    ----
  • BradA1878BradA1878
    edited November -1
    I forgot to mention this - last weekend we took Ahi and Kona on a 10 mile hike [climbed 2000 feet!] and I counted how many things Ahi killed on the hike - and don't get me wrong, we were actively trying to stop her from hunting on the hike, she was on lead too...

    In the 3-4 hours we hiked she caught, and killed, 3 lizards and 1 rodent!

    Interesting thing is Kona didn't hunt small things like that while hiking, but he was crazy about getting some Ravens that we saw [Ahi was too].

    ----
  • EdgewoodEdgewood
    edited November -1
    Yeah, that was what I have experienced with Kuma too. He is incredibly quick and even on lead he can catch things. Looks like he and Ahi are cut from the same mold.
  • Honey's momHoney's mom
    edited November -1
    I've heard that Shiba's have the same High prey drive.....but Honey doesnt even seem to care about the birds or any of the fuzzy little things that run through our yard. She see's them but turns around and goes back to whatever she was doing?! But she LOVES to shake and "kill" a rather large stuffed teddy my daughter let her play with. lol
  • tobyshibatobyshiba
    edited November -1
    Toby killed a rabbit a few weeks ago. :) He's a beastly Shiba.
  • dlrobertsdlroberts
    edited September 2008
    Give her a few months. Joey's prey drive didn't really kick in until a few weeks ago (around 7 months old). Don't forget that historically puppies never had to hunt. They would get to eat whatever the pack had to eat. Once they mature is when they join the pack on the hunt. It'll come, don't worry. For now, enjoy the fact that your arm doesn't get torn off whenever a squirrel wanders by. :-)
  • grandemugrandemu
    edited November -1
    We have African Greys. They don't fly around though (wings trimmed...if not, they can fly from their cage, and over the gate protecting them from the dogs), they're pretty quiet birds (in terms of quick, fluttery movements). Sora is very interested in birds flying around outside. She's never caught and killed anything, although I'm sure with the zeal with which she is monitoring the gopher holes that she will get one eventually. And, Sora LOVES stuffed animals...she gets a particular look in her eye when you're playing with one. She'll even fetch and bring them back...but she doesn't watch like Tag. Her eyes get a little wider, veeery focused, her body is tense, and she makes much quicker movements than she normally does. It's pretty cool to watch. And, despite her intensity in going for the toy (if we're letting her chase it), she has a gentle mouth, and has never caught our hands with a tooth (nails sometimes though).
  • SangmortSangmort
    edited November -1
    Oh! Thanks :) [ I love African Greys :) My dad use to have one that cursed haha ] ~
  • animaladdictanimaladdict
    edited September 2008
    Last summer I went to take Tommy for a walk and as soon as we walked out the front door, he dove off the front steps to the side by the house and when his head came back up he had a CROW in it! I couldn't believe it. He just bit and killed it, I told him to leave it immediately and he dropped in on the stairs. It was really incredable that he manged to catch it, i think he was even surprised about the look on his face was hilarious, pride and amazement all at the same time. He's a Newfie golden mix, pretty well domesticated, I can only imagine the prey drive of a shika. Its gotta be like 10x's stronger.
  • cas12cas12
    edited September 2008
    who want's my Ozzy he's trying to sit on my lap at the moment but he's huge
    here he is at 4 months
  • MommyofNikoMommyofNiko
    edited November -1
    Ill take Ozzy!!!!
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