@cmpteki - Mac - that is interesting, I didn't know that Kimi was registered red sesame. Katja and I did speak about Kimi's daughter (Sachi) turning so dramatically, but she did not mention that about Kimi. Interesting. The FB album I posted of Sachi shows the most dramatic back and forth changes in color. The photos that Jessika had from Katja's, Sachi was light, then she seemed to get a bit darker, then at about 4 months, she was very light again, and by 9 months she was the color she is now (black sesame).
5 is a big litter! Usually they seem to be about 2-3. But my Kuma came from a litter of 6, so it is not unheard of.
I wonder if the people who have shikoku out West get more "wolf" vs those of use out East, who get more "coyote/fox" because there are more wolves out west. I have never gotten "wolf", but have gotten the other two. As well as shiba (for Kuma, who is red), and GSD (for Sachi, especially as a puppy), and Siberian cross for both. :-)
@jikjak - I make the drive to Akashima every few months, and plan to be there in another month or so when the pups hit the seven to eight week mark. If all goes well I will be taking some video footage of Kimi with the latest litter. I am guessing the pups will end up looking closer to Yamato; but I didn't exactly check the coloring in the anus area of each pup to see if indicated red or black...was just happy to see them so soon after birth, all nice, consistent size, and healthy. If you haven't seen Yamato yet, the Akashima site has a decent pic of him in the "Our Dogs" section. He looks darker than most red sesame Shikoku I have seen; atleast in that image, but I really have no preference, so far I like every example of the breed I have seen.
I am also anxious to see what Hana looks like after 1yr; she has some very nice softer grey coloring, much more like a grey wolf. She now looks quite different from the pictures posted on the Akashima site only a few months back.
As for a pup...I will be keeping a puppy from Kimi's next litter; though with this being a larger batch, she will definitely need a skipped cycle for some extra recovery time before being bred again.
Regardless of which pup you choose; congrats on adding a Shikoku to your life, if you put some time in, the experience pays dividends.
@Edgewood - I was surprised at Kimi's registration as well; the only spot that has any red at the moment is the top/back of the head. During a coat change she did have a wonderful patch of softer brown fur at the shoulder, but it quickly darkened, and she is back to black.
the other interesting this is that they are all male.
@edgewood, does sachi have a much darker skin color compared to kuma?
@cmpteki - thanks! ive been waiting for quite a while for a shikoku. ive seen a few pics of yamato and hes a good looking dog and ive always liked kimi. i also really like the look of hana and im actually looking forward to meeting her when i make my way over there again. i didnt know that she had that grey wolf type of coloring, but that would be the color id like the most!
@JikJak - skin on her body is the same color. At the anus, it is slightly darker, but not hugely different. It kin of has more of a black ring where his does not. (until you asked I had never examined their butts so closely -- haha!)
When Kurenai was younger I thought she might be sesame instead of a dark sesame (I hadn't seen pictures of her sire and dam yet). However, the markings on her face (and around her butt) had dark rings so I knew she would grow into her coat. Who knew that looking around their anus was actually the way to better ascertain their adult coat color.
I've noticed all the "black sesame" dogs appear to be agouti patterned and all the red sesames are light or clear sable patterned. The medium sesames seem to be a grab bag: dark sable or light agouti.
London (my mal) is an agouti patterned dog. When he was young, he looked almost solid black and white and his markings on his face and back and tail extended a lot further than they do now. I think the only before and after pictures in here that really surprise me are Miko's! Her face has changed so much since she was a puppy!
...and not to play favorites, but I really love @ShikokuSpirit's Katomi and @Brada1878's Kaiju. Also - how old is Cho Cho? Does she have a mask or will that black nose fade?
Comments
5 is a big litter! Usually they seem to be about 2-3. But my Kuma came from a litter of 6, so it is not unheard of.
I wonder if the people who have shikoku out West get more "wolf" vs those of use out East, who get more "coyote/fox" because there are more wolves out west. I have never gotten "wolf", but have gotten the other two. As well as shiba (for Kuma, who is red), and GSD (for Sachi, especially as a puppy), and Siberian cross for both. :-)
Inbreeding depression may be taking a hit on the breed to make 2-3 the norm.
I am also anxious to see what Hana looks like after 1yr; she has some very nice softer grey coloring, much more like a grey wolf. She now looks quite different from the pictures posted on the Akashima site only a few months back.
As for a pup...I will be keeping a puppy from Kimi's next litter; though with this being a larger batch, she will definitely need a skipped cycle for some extra recovery time before being bred again.
Regardless of which pup you choose; congrats on adding a Shikoku to your life, if you put some time in, the experience pays dividends.
@Edgewood - I was surprised at Kimi's registration as well; the only spot that has any red at the moment is the top/back of the head. During a coat change she did have a wonderful patch of softer brown fur at the shoulder, but it quickly darkened, and she is back to black.
@edgewood, does sachi have a much darker skin color compared to kuma?
@cmpteki - thanks! ive been waiting for quite a while for a shikoku. ive seen a few pics of yamato and hes a good looking dog and ive always liked kimi. i also really like the look of hana and im actually looking forward to meeting her when i make my way over there again. i didnt know that she had that grey wolf type of coloring, but that would be the color id like the most!
Jesse
btw what are the markings on the face? the fur color or markings on the skin under the fur?
Miyu has a very black anus area, but her color isn't as complicated as all these normal sesame colors.
Look at 12 second mark and 20-second mark into the second video on this link.
http://www.nihonken.org/forum/index.php?p=/discussion/6062/we-now-have-a-pack-introducing-kurenai/p1
You can kind of see the dark hairs around her vagina more than her anus.
Jesse
3.11 years of age
~ Kotomi ~
2.11 years of age
~ Shuran ~
1 year of age (his birthday was yesterday, the 19th)
London (my mal) is an agouti patterned dog. When he was young, he looked almost solid black and white and his markings on his face and back and tail extended a lot further than they do now. I think the only before and after pictures in here that really surprise me are Miko's! Her face has changed so much since she was a puppy!
...and not to play favorites, but I really love @ShikokuSpirit's Katomi and @Brada1878's Kaiju. Also - how old is Cho Cho? Does she have a mask or will that black nose fade?
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