I agree with quality interaction over prolonged exposure. Rollo is still in his puppy 'I love every dog!' stage. We bring him to the off leash dog park near home a couple times a week, and we let him wrestle with his best friend who lives in our building everyday. We keep the interactions short and he usually just starts up a 'chase me' game at the park. I'm kind of waiting for the switch to hit where he loses interest. Right now he loves the dog park though. He gets excited when we get close.
We were at the Calgary stampede for a couple of days, and we left Rollo at a doggy daycare centre which was an open-play kind of concept with no cages. They separated the dogs by energy levels and size. Rollo did very well, bouncing from one group of dogs to the next, sniffing, then moving onto the next group. According to the staff he played hard for half of the day and then slept right in the middle of a big dog pile the rest of the day.
He plays with toys at home, but most of the time he is very relaxed and calm, I'd almost say lazy. Outside we have just started to run him a couple times a week for short distances, and he gets a lot of long walks.
Either he has a lot of puppy left in him, or we hit the jackpot with this dog as he has done very well in every situation we've had him in. Even when we were in lake Louise and Banff surrounded by huge crowds of tourists he did great. I don't think he's a typical Shikoku going by pretty much anything I've read about the breed!
@Lolo24, socialization and training help for sure, regardless of what breed you have. If I were you though, I would really look into the parents and ask a lot of questions about them and really try and get an understanding for how they are with strange dogs and people, etc.. Their personalities are going to be a huge part of it as well. It's not one or the other, but I think it helps to know what the parents are like, then (of course) add good quality socialization and training.
Again, this is not just Kai, this is any breed you decide to go with. I have an example of a Kai who was taken out, socialized (albeit I think I took her to the dog park too often like @WrylyBrindle mentioned about her Sage), and she just does not particularly like small dogs especially, and has trouble with others as well. She can be around them just fine, but doesn't care to say hi. My other Kai I only really took her to puppy play time at the petco where she had her obedience training, she had Kona (the older kai), and a couple other friends. She's amazing with other dogs and people, etc.. and she's just over 2 yrs old now. But I could tell she was less high-strung than my other girl even as a puppy. I did about a 1/8 of the amount of exposure to other dogs. I really think a lot of it is just her personality. My two just have completely different personalities. Not one better than the other (the older one is much more obedient and doesn't cause trouble in the house, etc.. while the younger one is NAUGHTY lol), they're just their own doggies
ETA: Even though my younger one is very tolerant of other dogs, she even gets overwhelmed at dog parks or around large groups of dogs in general...I've taken her a total of three times and really don't want to again.. she prefers to say hi to one or two, she LOVES to say hi, check them out, and occasionally there's something about one that will really bring out the sillies in her. Other than that she just likes to say hello
@Hinata has both a Shikoku and a Kai, and they are both adults. I said this in another thread recently, but - get information about ADULT dogs, be wary of "Well my dog isn't like that- she loves everyone in the dog park, etc" and realize that puppies change and it is definitely the exception to the rule for adult NK of any breed to enjoy meeting lots of new dogs. I would even argue that most adult dogs of any breed really, truly enjoy best just having a small circle of good friends, and while many adult dogs in general will tolerate a hectic social life, very few are the socialite characters that we humans often impose upon them reactively.
I'll be sure to note when Rollo's attitude changes and he isn't quite so excited about meeting strange dogs. He has been great so far and I'll definitely be surprised if he stays this way. Lots of puppy in him yet still.
Big favor to ask...does anyone on this forum own or know anyone in the western WA area with a Kai Ken?? I'd really love to meet one...or more than one ideally if I can.
I suppose I could try to add to the already extensive comments about Kai Ken, so I will try, based on my own limited experience.
Rika-chan, my 3 year old Kai, I adopted over a year ago from her previous owner because she matured to become quite aggressive against other females (as a dedicated member of KKA, K-san has multiple other Kai). So much so that she chewed a bit of lip off. She was intolerant of other dogs to the point of violence. (I'll note: if it might be pertinent, she is intact, and I have no plans of changing her.)
She's been with me for about a year and a half, and I can echo the previous comments, Kai bond deeply with the human "top dog". While she is either friendly or indifferent to others based (like my wife, son, or people we may sometimes meet) on her mood, she will absolutely try to attack anyone coming close to "our space", i.e., next to our open windows. That includes people she's shown friendly behaviour to outside of our home space. She protects "our zone".
One one hand, she shows complete indifference to any dogs we may come in contact with, and on the other, when they get too close, her hair fluffs and she takes a quite aggressive stance against any other dog, male or female. She refuses to tolerate them in "our space". I'm not sure why, but other dogs seem intimidated, and she seems to respond aggressively towards that.
She seems to enjoy the company only of other Kais - but a specific few other male ones.
Outdoors, she has a different personality. Her instincts go to work, and she's often in her own little world, though she "checks-in" with me often to verify that we're still working as a team. Together, we've come in contact with boars, tanuki, pheasants, snakes, moles, cows, and unfortunately, her favourite target, cats.
As I believe has been stated before, here or elsewhere, you don't teach a Kai to hunt, you merely teach it to cooperate with your own techniques. The breed is a natural born hunter. They love the outdoors more than anything. If I could just break her of her "cat lust", things would be better.
Inside, she has her own private space, though she often likes to stay close to me in the evenings. In the winter we cuddle under the blankets together, but in the summer she prefers her own space close by.
Kai need to build a relationship of trust with you. When she first came here, she was skittish, to the point she wouldn't even enter my kitchen to eat or drink water.
To say the transformation after this past year and so is profound is an understatement..
So... Kai, unique. Yes. They require attention, patience, trust, and reassurance. You need to bond with them in order to gain their trust and build a positive relationship, IMHO. This requires time, perspective, and patience.
It seems some previous comments indicate that they have a more social Kai than my Rika, but each dog has a unique personality, and overall, while there are generalities, we all have unique stories to tell.
Kiba's owner username is @jwallwalrus and Tavi's owner username is @omgtain They both have thread on their kai ken with some nice pictures and videos.
I wish I could help ya I've only met one shikoku and not enough time with her to really give much info on the breed. I'd love to meet a kai ken one day.
@ayk I live in Redmond and have my Kai ken Kiba, but he is still adjusting from his rehome so he isn't the best to showcase their behavior because he is still building his confidence but he is very friendly and affectionate.
@Lolo24 Kiba was rehomed from Kim Fairbanks who was a breeder in Portland, OR. She had decided to retire from breeding but she has too many dogs and it was getting overwhelming and the dogs weren't getting the individual attention they needed (on top of both her and her husband are getting old).
She tried to rehome about 6 dogs, but I think only Kiba and Clara Bell (now named Kona) were actually rehomed.
hellllooo. i'm tavi's owner! (253) 334 - 6270 , texting works better for me. im lazy.
tavi goes to work with me at a dog daycare x3 days a week for 8 hours each day. we constantly use her to interview new dogs because she is so reliable. however i am also present all the time. i strongly stick by what Brad said as their 'owner' is kind of like their rock. i think if i left her she'd sit in the corner and wait for me, not necessarily have fun or anything. I also take her to Petsmart and leave her in the break room while working and she sits on top of the table and waits for me, you can try to move her but she won't move (however will also follow me around the store off leash lol).
she has her stubborn streaks tho too. can be quite the sass pants. she does NOT enjoy running (on leash). and she sleeps all day if inside the house. has an on/off switch definitely.
Comments
We were at the Calgary stampede for a couple of days, and we left Rollo at a doggy daycare centre which was an open-play kind of concept with no cages. They separated the dogs by energy levels and size. Rollo did very well, bouncing from one group of dogs to the next, sniffing, then moving onto the next group. According to the staff he played hard for half of the day and then slept right in the middle of a big dog pile the rest of the day.
He plays with toys at home, but most of the time he is very relaxed and calm, I'd almost say lazy. Outside we have just started to run him a couple times a week for short distances, and he gets a lot of long walks.
Either he has a lot of puppy left in him, or we hit the jackpot with this dog as he has done very well in every situation we've had him in. Even when we were in lake Louise and Banff surrounded by huge crowds of tourists he did great. I don't think he's a typical Shikoku going by pretty much anything I've read about the breed!
Again, this is not just Kai, this is any breed you decide to go with. I have an example of a Kai who was taken out, socialized (albeit I think I took her to the dog park too often like @WrylyBrindle mentioned about her Sage), and she just does not particularly like small dogs especially, and has trouble with others as well. She can be around them just fine, but doesn't care to say hi. My other Kai I only really took her to puppy play time at the petco where she had her obedience training, she had Kona (the older kai), and a couple other friends. She's amazing with other dogs and people, etc.. and she's just over 2 yrs old now. But I could tell she was less high-strung than my other girl even as a puppy. I did about a 1/8 of the amount of exposure to other dogs. I really think a lot of it is just her personality. My two just have completely different personalities. Not one better than the other (the older one is much more obedient and doesn't cause trouble in the house, etc.. while the younger one is NAUGHTY lol), they're just their own doggies
ETA: Even though my younger one is very tolerant of other dogs, she even gets overwhelmed at dog parks or around large groups of dogs in general...I've taken her a total of three times and really don't want to again.. she prefers to say hi to one or two, she LOVES to say hi, check them out, and occasionally there's something about one that will really bring out the sillies in her. Other than that she just likes to say hello
Rika-chan, my 3 year old Kai, I adopted over a year ago from her previous owner because she matured to become quite aggressive against other females (as a dedicated member of KKA, K-san has multiple other Kai). So much so that she chewed a bit of lip off. She was intolerant of other dogs to the point of violence.
(I'll note: if it might be pertinent, she is intact, and I have no plans of changing her.)
She's been with me for about a year and a half, and I can echo the previous comments, Kai bond deeply with the human "top dog". While she is either friendly or indifferent to others based (like my wife, son, or people we may sometimes meet) on her mood, she will absolutely try to attack anyone coming close to "our space", i.e., next to our open windows. That includes people she's shown friendly behaviour to outside of our home space. She protects "our zone".
One one hand, she shows complete indifference to any dogs we may come in contact with, and on the other, when they get too close, her hair fluffs and she takes a quite aggressive stance against any other dog, male or female. She refuses to tolerate them in "our space". I'm not sure why, but other dogs seem intimidated, and she seems to respond aggressively towards that.
She seems to enjoy the company only of other Kais - but a specific few other male ones.
Outdoors, she has a different personality. Her instincts go to work, and she's often in her own little world, though she "checks-in" with me often to verify that we're still working as a team. Together, we've come in contact with boars, tanuki, pheasants, snakes, moles, cows, and unfortunately, her favourite target, cats.
As I believe has been stated before, here or elsewhere, you don't teach a Kai to hunt, you merely teach it to cooperate with your own techniques. The breed is a natural born hunter. They love the outdoors more than anything. If I could just break her of her "cat lust", things would be better.
Inside, she has her own private space, though she often likes to stay close to me in the evenings. In the winter we cuddle under the blankets together, but in the summer she prefers her own space close by.
Kai need to build a relationship of trust with you. When she first came here, she was skittish, to the point she wouldn't even enter my kitchen to eat or drink water.
To say the transformation after this past year and so is profound is an understatement..
So... Kai, unique. Yes. They require attention, patience, trust, and reassurance. You need to bond with them in order to gain their trust and build a positive relationship, IMHO. This requires time, perspective, and patience.
It seems some previous comments indicate that they have a more social Kai than my Rika, but each dog has a unique personality, and overall, while there are generalities, we all have unique stories to tell.
I wish I could help ya I've only met one shikoku and not enough time with her to really give much info on the breed. I'd love to meet a kai ken one day.
So far I've met Nio, Akashi, Kona, Kimber, Kyuubi (Haru x Riki), Ritsu, Shakko, Koda, and two more that I don't remember the names of. :-)
@Lolo24 I live in Redmond and you can come meet my Kai ken Kiba sometime.
She tried to rehome about 6 dogs, but I think only Kiba and Clara Bell (now named Kona) were actually rehomed.
(253) 334 - 6270 , texting works better for me. im lazy.
tavi goes to work with me at a dog daycare x3 days a week for 8 hours each day. we constantly use her to interview new dogs because she is so reliable. however i am also present all the time. i strongly stick by what Brad said as their 'owner' is kind of like their rock. i think if i left her she'd sit in the corner and wait for me, not necessarily have fun or anything. I also take her to Petsmart and leave her in the break room while working and she sits on top of the table and waits for me, you can try to move her but she won't move (however will also follow me around the store off leash lol).
she has her stubborn streaks tho too. can be quite the sass pants.
she does NOT enjoy running (on leash). and she sleeps all day if inside the house. has an on/off switch definitely.
@ayk ily ayk.