My Canine Crew - Mini Adventures
Big Bear, California
The Forest:
The Back of my Truck:
The Malinois - Lynxiene:
The Shikoku:
Kotomi
Kotomi and Shuran
Shuran
Shoushuu
Video:
The Forest:
The Back of my Truck:
The Malinois - Lynxiene:
The Shikoku:
Kotomi
Kotomi and Shuran
Shuran
Shoushuu
Video:
Comments
@shishiinu - Gen, very soon! My schedule is kinda unpredictable with the filming and all, so I'm supposedly "busy" all next week. I'll call or text you and we can schedule a day. Maybe within the next 1 or 2 weeks?
@yiasthoj - Kotomi is my hunting dog. I plan on hunting small game such as Rabbits with her. She's already had a successful hunt and kill in the backyard (the poor unsuspecting rabbit).
Thinking about trying Shoushuu on boar just to see how he reacts but I'm not sure I will actively pursue hunting with him. He's more of my Obedience (and Agility) dog. I don't know that I need more then 1 or 2 hunting dogs anyways, lol.
I still need to test out Shuran, if he shows any potiental I'll probably start him out with small game and work up to larger game.
@hondru - Heidi, I usually have 1 dog in each crate in the back (2) and 1 dog in each crate (small or soft) in the cabin (2). If I have larger crates, then I'll secure extra crates in the back (3 or 4 total crates/dogs). The dogs that don't get carsick (Lynxiene and Shoushuu) are the lucky ones that are allowed to ride inside cabin without a crate (if they are clean - not wet or dusted with dirt).
@tjbart17 - Tara, Shuran has gotten BIG! I've noticed because he is so heavy now when I carry him, lol. Over 21 lbs! And almost as tall as Kotomi.
@yiasthoj - I don't mind at all, I'm pretty open and honest about everything I do (it's no secret, lol). Trying to sum it up briefly will be difficult for me, I'm often way too detailed, lol. There's a backstory to it. I'm gonna attempt to be brief as possible.
Backstory
To the beginning:
I wanted to add a Japanese breed dog because I loved the Japanese animation, their language and culture. I also wanted a dog that might be a bit more challenging to train then my Malinois. I did research. Found out I had more options then just Akita and Shiba. I contacted Katja and inquired information about Shikoku. I wanted to be sure that the Shikoku would be a breed suited to my lifestyle. So Lynxiene and I booked a trip to Canada. Met Katja and her Shikoku. I immediately fell inlove with this breed. Originally I was suppose to get a puppy from Katja but she had limited breeding stock. Turns out she was going to Japan that year and I asked if I could tag along. Done deal. A few months after my visit with Katja and her dogs...we met up with each other again in Japan. We met with a breeder for me to reserve my male puppy from in 2006. He is going to be my dog but would contribute to Katja's (and Peggy's) breeding efforts.
Fast forward to a year later:
We still have a shortage of available breeding stock for Shikoku Ken in North America. So I'm like, "Hey, why don't I just import a female? Perhaps start a breeding program of my own to help out with bloodlines?" So after I picked up Shoushuu in 2007, I made a reservation for a female (Kotomi) for that following year of 2008. It all started from there, lol. Then along came Shuran and Kurenai. I will be expecting more imports in the near future as well.
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Where did my dogs come from?
My Shikoku came from Japan.
How did I acquire them?
- Hard work & dedication to produce enough extra income to afford my dogs, my travels and cover other additional expenses.
- Having the support of my family and friends (both old and new friends): taking care of my existing animals in my absence, paying for or providing my food expenses, providing me with a place to stay (while in Japan), sometimes even driving me around Japan (so that I don't always have to take public transportation), language translation (My Japanese isn't quite up to par and most Japanese breeders don't speak English well or at all) and so much more. It's thanks to their support that I have my Shikoku.
- An understanding job that allowed me time off during the Holiday season to "run off" to Japan for 1-2 weeks. And still have job stability and security when I come back home.
Which Hunting line are they from?
I wanna say the Hongawa Line because my Shikoku tend to be taller, longer and thinner. This goes for Shoushuu, Kotomi and Jesse's pup, Kurenai, as they are from the same family line. Shuran is a complete outcross, he is a different type...I would think more Hata Line with him or perhaps a blend. His coat is much longer and he appears to be more stockier in body then my other Shikoku. We'll see how he matures. I'm still working on acquiring more information about the dogs/history behind their pedigrees.
Lynx will come into heat in April or May this year, so *hopefully* she'll pull Kotomi in along with her. Past experience shows that has not been the case. However, I'm hoping that since this will be Kotomi's 4th cycle that she'll start to regulate.
So does Kotomi still get carsick? She didn't grow out of it? Sachi still gets car sick at a year...long after Kuma grew out of it. He is great in the car. She dislikes the care still because of sickness, but likes to go on hikes.
Interesting about Kotomi's heats. So far, Sachi has had 2 heats, both 6 mo apart within a day or two.
Thank you for sharing your amazing story with me. In the near future I'm really shooting to do the same thing you did with the Shikoku with the Kishu Ken too. I really love the Shikoku too and it was so hard for me to decide which breed I really want. I decided on the Kishu because they are stronger big game hunters and that's why I had to go with the Kishu instead of the Shikoku. But who knows, my mind could change after experiencing the two breeds first hand. I really love the looks of your Shikokus...they do have a slimmer and taller look to them. I really like that alot! I also love the wild look on the Shikoku very much too!!!
Before I discovered the NK...my favorite dog breed was the Belgian Malinois. I was so locked on getting the Malinois and starting a breeding program for them. I love the looks of the Malinois. They are also very smart/intelligent dogs. I also love their beautiful dark mask. I love them so much that I was even thinking about training them to hunt and the Malinois would be my hunting dogs. But I know nobody that uses the Malinois for hunting so I really have no idea on their hunting abilities. I was so fortunate to find the NK breeds. Although every time I see a Malinois or hear about a Malinois I would still be fascinated by them.
Thanks again! I'm just so glad that I was able to find this wonderful NK Forum. I wasn't expecting to meet and be friends with such a nice group of people like everyone in this forum. I never knew that I was going to take my love for dogs to this level where I would have a network of dog owners/breeders from all over the world, and even have social meetings together with our dogs. I can't tell you how happy I am to join this forum. So thanks for sharing your story with me @ShikokuSpirit. I'm really hoping to meet everyone in this forum someday in the near future. Thanks!
@Edgewood - Kris, she is inconsistent with that too, lol! Sometimes she throws up and sometimes she doesn't. So far she's gone 2 months in a row without throwing up but then her car sickness came back =/. Same thing with Shuran, he went a couple of weeks without throwing up but then his car sickness came back as well. If at possible, I try not to feed them meals or too many treats beforehand. I'll even feed earlier or later if necessary.
Kotomi's last heat cycle was such a relief! Since it was 10 months after her previous cycle. I really wanted to breed her then but with working so many hours during the Holidays, my trip to Japan & New Mexico roadtrip...I decided it would be best to just wait.
@yiasthoj - Actually, Lynxiene would make an excellent hunting Malinois! With the exception that she'd probably track, run down and kill her target prey...then run off somewhere to eat it, LOL. I know of someone who went duck hunting or did a field trial and had her Mali retrieve the duck for her. I think it would be very hard though to teach a Malinois a "soft mouth" on smaller prey. I suppose large game is fair play =].