black spots on tongue

Comments

• TheWalrus

  May 2011

  Yes, Nippo is not fond of spots on NK tongues. It is a points deduction, though they did change judging guidelines a while back to allow Kaiken to have a little more spotting.
  
  In KKA spotting is also not preferred, but as long as it doesn't cover a majority of the tongue it's all right. Most KKA Kai have tongue spots, as do Nippo Kai for that matter.
  
  I've seen spotting in Shikoku as well, but they generally don't show them if the spot is bigger than the tip of a human pinkie.
  
• Heidi

  May 2011

  My shiba Tojo had a big spot on his tongue, about the size of a loonie (a $1 coin a bite larger than a quarter, for those non-Canadians). I bet I could have shown him and gotten away with it, though, because it was on the back of his tongue. I owned him for a month or more before I even noticed it.
  
  Anyway, I'm surprised they don't like it, but I guess that's just because I like the spotting. It's cute. Sosuke's tongue was all pink when I got him, but now he's got some spots.
• jujee

  May 2011

  Kyuubi's tongue is almost all spots lol
• kaikenone

  May 2011

  I was quite surprised, I guess I thought it was a Kai trait, since almost everyone I can recall has had some degree of spots. I am also at a loss as to why UKC would put it in the standard if its not desired, but then again they have accepted the yellow dogs. Any idea what JKC or FCI says about it if anything? Last year it was short dogs and this year it was tails and spotted tongues : )
  Can't keep up.
• lindsayt

  May 2011

  What's up with the yellow dogs? I can't see any brindle on them at all and some look they have urajiro like a Shiba.
• Edgewood

  May 2011

  My black sesame female shikoku has a black spot on her tongue, about the size of the tip of your pinky, but it is really far back on her tongue, so you don't see it unless she yawns with a really open mouth
• ayk

  May 2011 edited May 2011

  @lindsayt
  
  There was a previous thread about Kai coat colors and their possible gene combinations. Daiichi, the original cream Kai in the US, was also mentioned.
  
  One thing that separates Daiichi from say a red Shiba with white urajiro is that he's not genetically a red (Ay-). A red Shiba (Ay-) has black hairs, particularly on the whiskers. According to Marian on the same thread, Daiichi has tan whiskers and a dark brown nose. Elsewhere offsite, she has mentioned that it's possible to see apricot stripes when viewed in person. As a pup, he looked like this:
  
  
  
  I think there is still a fair amount of uncertainty with regards to Kai coat color genetics like what exactly causes an akatora (red brindle) like Musashi. But I postulate that there is something that controls dosage of stripes, another that controls reddening, and a third that controls regular vs. cream. I tried to summarize it here:
  
  http://www.jindos.com/kai/kai_colors.html
  
  Keep in mind that yellow labradors and golden retrieves are all "ee" like a cream Kai, but there is some reddening factor in them as well that creates a range from "white" to "fox red."
  
  
  (Notice the fox red lab has cream whiskers instead of black.)
  
  
  
  As for Kai standards and intepretation of Kai standards in the US, I feel a big portion is driven by US Kai politics. ie. Past animosities and competing breeding programs. Though I used to stay informed about this and that, it's just not very interesting to me anymore.