KF, perfect explanation of the last pic. Brad, man do you have a good looking pack, Loa is a stunner. I'm in love with her happy faces, angry faces. Your action shots are fantastic. MAN she's a looker.
Jen - If you give her a minute to warm up to you she will mos def let you hug her. Loa is super cute, she is currently licking my leg and wagging her tail at me. )
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That's a great description of that last shot, it does look like she is telling Kona a secret... like they are planning something. LOL
That's a one in a million picture. Much better than finding a pot of gold and a smelly leprechaun at the end of the rainbow. I always knew that the Lucky Charms leperchaun was a hoax and the version portrayed in the movie Leprechaun was more realistic. To any leperchauns reading this, I'm just joking. Please don't kill me.
Seriously, what better yet to find a Shikoku Ken at the end of a rainbow! Awww...and Miss Loa at that!
I love Loa's "stocky" build...Miss Kotomi is looking rather gangly right now...can't wait until she fills out and gets her build. Atlas...I have another year to wait. I should enjoy and appreciate Komi's teenager and puppyishness now though.
Off to the Shika Clan thread...there are obviously not enough Loa photos in this one -grins-.
Quick question - Loa's temperament seems incredibly different from Ahi's at that young age, and now as adults. What is the "ideal" temperament for a female Shikoku? Does it matter if its show/working/pet?
Talking with a long time shiba breeder/foster mom about Tsuki's allergies recently, she told me Tsuki's temperament is too "soft" for a Shiba (because she was emotionally fragile when her most sick, I guess). Because she's not fearless? She's boldly spirited, when she's feeling well. It just struck me as interesting how temperaments are perceived through different observations or key points.
Quick question - Loa's temperament seems incredibly different from Ahi's at that young age, and now as adults. What is the "ideal" temperament for a female Shikoku? Does it matter if its show/working/pet? >> I think that is up to the owner. Both our Shikoku show the "typical" Shikoku temperament just in different way. Honestly, Loa may be a bit shy but I think that is due more to socialization than temperament. Both girls are very sweet, they just show it differently.
The perfect temperament for me is Ahi, I prefer a high-drive pain in the ass kinda of dog... but I don't think that's the ideal temperament for the average owner. For the average owner it would probably be closer to Loa, for the average hunter I think it would be somewhere in the middle between the 2 girls.
Both our girls have insanely powerful prey drives.
Lindsay said: It sort of seems the female Nihon Ken on this forum anyways, have much more prey drive, or desire to exercise their drives, than the boys do.
I would tend to disagree with that comment. Kuma has an incredibly HIGH prey drive and now has handily killed many small animals (he excludes cats because we told him so, but all other small animals beware). When he is in his HIGH drive mode, it is almost impossible to get him to listen to me. And yet usually he is incredibly obedient. So, at least my male, has a very very high prey drive. And because he has caught and killed animals (which he likes), it only serves to strengthen his drive even more (most of the animals have been ground hogs).
"It sort of seems the female Nihon Ken on this forum anyways, have much more prey drive, or desire to exercise their drives, than the boys do." >> I certainly can see why you would think that, but I feel it probably has more to do with how inactive the owners of male Shikoku are on this forum. We just hear more about the females, that's all.
Comments
She is adorable.
Brad, man do you have a good looking pack, Loa is a stunner. I'm in love with her happy faces, angry faces. Your action shots are fantastic. MAN she's a looker.
Jen - If you give her a minute to warm up to you she will mos def let you hug her. Loa is super cute, she is currently licking my leg and wagging her tail at me.
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That's a great description of that last shot, it does look like she is telling Kona a secret... like they are planning something. LOL
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Loa's Rainbow pic:
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New desktop bg, YAY!
I love Loa's "stocky" build...Miss Kotomi is looking rather gangly right now...can't wait until she fills out and gets her build. Atlas...I have another year to wait. I should enjoy and appreciate Komi's teenager and puppyishness now though.
Off to the Shika Clan thread...there are obviously not enough Loa photos in this one -grins-.
*Baby Loa.... so cute.
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Quick question - Loa's temperament seems incredibly different from Ahi's at that young age, and now as adults. What is the "ideal" temperament for a female Shikoku? Does it matter if its show/working/pet?
Talking with a long time shiba breeder/foster mom about Tsuki's allergies recently, she told me Tsuki's temperament is too "soft" for a Shiba (because she was emotionally fragile when her most sick, I guess). Because she's not fearless? She's boldly spirited, when she's feeling well. It just struck me as interesting how temperaments are perceived through different observations or key points.
What is ideal for a Shikoku?
>> I think that is up to the owner. Both our Shikoku show the "typical" Shikoku temperament just in different way. Honestly, Loa may be a bit shy but I think that is due more to socialization than temperament. Both girls are very sweet, they just show it differently.
The perfect temperament for me is Ahi, I prefer a high-drive pain in the ass kinda of dog... but I don't think that's the ideal temperament for the average owner. For the average owner it would probably be closer to Loa, for the average hunter I think it would be somewhere in the middle between the 2 girls.
Both our girls have insanely powerful prey drives.
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It sort of seems the female Nihon Ken on this forum anyways, have much more prey drive, or desire to exercise their drives, than the boys do.
I would tend to disagree with that comment. Kuma has an incredibly HIGH prey drive and now has handily killed many small animals (he excludes cats because we told him so, but all other small animals beware). When he is in his HIGH drive mode, it is almost impossible to get him to listen to me. And yet usually he is incredibly obedient. So, at least my male, has a very very high prey drive. And because he has caught and killed animals (which he likes), it only serves to strengthen his drive even more (most of the animals have been ground hogs).
Kuma's temperament was marvelous - you must be very proud, Kris!
>> I certainly can see why you would think that, but I feel it probably has more to do with how inactive the owners of male Shikoku are on this forum. We just hear more about the females, that's all.
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^Stick on my head!
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Doesn't get too hot where you're at?