Kishu behaviour: issues & hobbies
I have a lovely Kishu named Kimi. She is a little over 1.5 years old.
I got her at 10 months. Unbeknownst to me at the time, she came with lack of socialization and training. (This breed takes a lot of time and patience to raise.) It's been a lot of waiting--ha, ha, sigh--and now serious training (longer sits, stays, socialization to people, etc).
If anyone has any Kishu stories to share, please do (especially about behaviour and socialization problems/issues). I am also thinking about a "job" or "hobby" for Kimi, so any suggestions about what this breed might be able to do (other than hunting) or what your dog is doing would be fabulous (like obstacle courses or dog sledding or whatever).
I'll post a pic. of her. Note that she is not the usual color--white. She has white, tan, red and black. But yes, she is a full fledged Kishu-inu.
Comments
Welcome to the forum! Jazz's main job is making sure that no one lays on my bed while I am at work. She takes this job very seriously and will lick the offender to death if pressed.
You might think about getting her a doggie backpack. Use it when you walk her. She will feel that she has a job
ljowen haha thats the main job of my dog to, its so funny because one day my cousin calls me saying: Men your dog just bite! i just wanted to take a nap.... i told him to never try to lay on my bed when im not home ....
Brad gave me the website address quite a while ago. I think that I got it at Mountainsmith.com. I can't exactly remember but I bet that Brad will. I bought a "Dog Trippin' Kit", And I bought a size small. Did you google "dog back packs"?
Hi, welcome to the forum! You are the ONLY Kishu owner on the forum! Congrats!
the site we got our packs from is this site:
http://www.backcountry.com/
and this site:
http://www.ruffwear.com/
I like the ruff wear ones the best.
Also, Kishu are said to be "perfect watchdogs", have you considered making that her job?
You could try dog scootering.
Rakka's job is to inform me of any birds or rabbits that happen to come within view of the house.
Thanks for all the info.
She does go hiking/snowshoeing/and sometimes cross country skiing with me (clipped to a makeshift device attached to me) during the weekends, but she does get her energy back during the middle of the week.
As her "obedience" improves, I'll probably take her with me backbacking. I have been looking into a backback for her that's different from what she has now. I'll be sure to take a look at the two websites suggested.
I think I'll look into agility and tracking for stuff for her to do during the week. She definitely has a nose on her since she's been digging up rocks in the yard. I've been thinking about luring since she loves chasing squirrels, but maybe once she's gotten down the obedience part and is a bit more reliable in the "come" command.
Not sure about hide and seek unless she can pick it up when learning tracking. I've tried doing this with her, but maybe am doing it wrong? Or maybe she's not interested?
asian.sapphire -
Where did you get Kimi? Did you get her as a puppy? Do you have any other Japanese breeds? and what made you want a Kishu? It is a delight to finally have a Kishu owner in here
Sorry for all the questions, but they seem like really interesting dogs!
I got Kimi from a friend of the family during her fear period. *sigh* She is an only dog.
Had I gotten her earlier, she probably would have been okay with other dogs being around the house... since most of her brothers and sisters went to homes with other dogs. But I don't quite get her neurosis since she came from a place that had other dogs there. Maybe it's because I didn't have a dog at home all ready.
When the offer was put out, I said "maybe I'd be interested in the breed", did research online, thought about it for several days--maybe it was weeks, and said "okay, I'll take it". At the time, I was looking to get a dog. It had been 3 years since my last one, and that one was a collie. I looked at numerous shelter postings online and asked around about certain types of dogs. By the time I got the yard and house ready for a dog, the Kishu was left. So in the end, it's kinda like fate.
I like the breed since they're clean, quiet, all ready housetrained, and the right size for me to manage without being too big or small. They're also weary of strangers and strange things; she's a fabulous watch dog. Bonus for looking like a coyote and/or wolf for the scarey look.
But some things come with a drawback. Try having her poop or pee with the rest of the dogs. Will not happen. She has to find the spot where no one went. Weary of strangers could be another way of stating scared of people, will run the other direction if approached, and if cornered will bite. Is this last thing about strangers true about all Kishu's? I don't know.
Would I trade Kimi in? I keep saying for a monkey, two chickens, and a goat, but not realistically. I really do love her. She's like a little person.
About showing her, I'm not sure if you can show Kishu's, especially of color and if they're fixed. I know they just got AKC recognized as some sort of type of breed, but I don't know what that means. I would love to show her, but she really doesn't like having anyone but me touch her, even with the extensive training.
Hi have a male Kishu named Tetsuro from Japan.
The thing with being kind of afraid of strangers I cannot confrim within my dog. But one have to take into account that I got him with 8 weeks, flying over from Japan and immediatley afterwards exposed to all different kinds of stimulus. So he is pretty much used to it. I know a lady in the netherlands who has 4 Kishus, and two of them have a similar history like Yours -which similar symptoms. So I guess it is mainly because of the history. When I was in Japan, I met some Kishus but none with fear to strangers.
For the activities: I would like to share expereicne here. Tetsuro doesnt like to carry the dog backpack for example. But everything about hiking, snowshoeing, skiing is very fine with him. But still: most loved is everything that is close to hunting.
Can You please tell me: can You let her off leash? How is she with other dogs? I am asking because these are the only two issues I have with my Kishu.
Thanx a lot!
Sebastian
Just like other Nordic Spitz-type hunting breeds [Karelian Bear Dogs, Russo-European Laika, Western European Laika, Shika Inu, etc], they where bred to be relatively autonomous in their hunting style and hold prey at bay till the hunter came for kill... So they were pretty much designed to leave their owner and hunt... so most of these breeds will see an off-leash opportunity as a "hunting" invitation.
Have you done any Skijoring or mushing with your Kishu?
----
Yep, tried the joring - but he doesnt really pull yet.
He doesnt pull at all when he is on leash - as soon as there is only minimum force on the leash he stops. We did it so far with: off road skates, Ski and a dog scooter.
So he is pretty much joining me for every kind of outdoor stuff I am doing. Last year we went with the Landcruiser to sweden - and he even joined for kayaking :-)
Hi, Kishu-ken,
Welcome to the forum. Glad to hear that you're kishu is not as much of a handful as mine. But I think it has to do with when I got her.
I do not let Kimi off leash. Her hunting instinct is TOO strong, and her ability to come back is almost non-existent--even though we try to work on that. It's almost as if she is her own person--instead of a dog.
So when I take her anywhere, she is always on a leash. Sometimes the leash is clipped to me, so that my hands are free.
(I found out) She has jealousy issues around other dogs and even people. ...Opposed to aggression. But she has a aggression problems too towards other dogs. What types of dogs she picks is a mystery to me right now. I do know that she is an alpha, even though she is an only dog. I have a post titled "Aggression" that you might want to take a look at to see what part of my situation is. Also, I have posted comments on "Social Anxiety & The Behaviorist".
The other week, her muzzle came in. I haven't had to use it yet in the company of other dogs, then again, I haven't visited my parents since I've posted. (She is very difficult to handle around my parents' collies. They pretty much stay away from me when she's around. And they keep their distance from her.) Other doggie interactions lately have been quick meet and greet or from a distance.
Kimi will be 2 in August, which means I've had her for just a little over a year.
Well, happy reading, and let me know if I can answer any questions for you.