Why did you pick your Nihon Ken?

Comments

• JessicaRabbit

  October 2008 edited November -1

  My first Nihon Ken (Moto, my shiba) picked me. I called my girlfriend who runs a rescue in New York and asked her to call me when she had a good fit for Jason and me. 3 days later she called me and told me I was having a shiba inu.
  
  After getting Moto I signed up to this forum to gain a better understanding of my little monster. Here I discover, Ahi, Tenji, and Ronan. From that day forward I needed a shikoku.
  
  The rest is history.
• ljowen123

  October 2008 edited November -1

  I wanted a dog similar (in manners & temperment, not looks) to the husky that I had, but better suited to be an inside dog. I fell in love with the shiba when I first saw it.
• dlroberts

  October 2008 edited November -1

  Well, temperament in general attracted me to the nihon ken, but size and availability led me to a Shiba first. (I know, availability shouldn't be a big criteria in selecting a dog. Live and learn.) I got a second Shiba because I wanted a dog that would work well with Lucy and all of her quirks.
• sunyata

  October 2008 edited November -1

  Ever since I moved out of my mum's house and went to college, I wanted a dog (mum was a cat person). I spent my 4 years in college doing a ton of research on what would be the best type of dog for me. I loved cats, but wanted a dog that I could really bond with and hike and play fetch. And I wanted a dog with personality. One that would not always obey my every whim. An independent soul, just like me. And low and behold... I discovered the Shiba. After another couple of years of research (and purchasing my first home with Eric), we decided on a breeder and Bella came into our lives (although by a slight detour).
  
  Two and a half years later, we decided Bella needed a playmate. And since we both love the breed so much, Nola bounded right into our lives! And one little happy family we are.
• santuzza

  October 2008 edited November -1

  The night I lost my last dog last Nov., I was sitting in front of the Metropolitan Opera House waiting for my friend. We were going to dinner because I couldn't face going home and not having Shadow there to greet me. I was sitting there all sad when I felt someone staring at me. I looked to my right and found a small, red, foxy-faced dog with a fluffy, curly tail sitting next to me watching me intently. She almost seemed concerned. The owner was tugging her leash, but she didn't care. He could see I was upset and told me that she was an "emotional barometer" and that he was sorry if she was being a pest. We talked and I told him what had happened. I looked into that little dog's face and that was it. I knew that I would get another dog someday and I had a pretty good idea what it would be. I went to the Barnes and Noble across the street and bought a book on shibas to figure out what the breed was like, but I already loved how smart they are. Months of healing and research later, I've almost got my shiba.
  
  Now that I've seen the famous Ahi, I think I love the shikoku as well, but they're kinda big and it's a purely aesthetic thing.
• Leonberger

  October 2008 edited October 2008

  I always wanted a dog, ever since I was a kid. My dog thing was so strong I wanted to be a vet. Unfortunately that didn't happen, but I knew I could always get a dog.
  It took me pretty much 10 years to decide on the breed that would fit my life better, even because my lifestyle changed through those 10 years.
  I knew I wanted a big dog, at least around a GSD size. I thought Dobie, GSD, Castro Laboreiro, Swissie, Rhodesian Ridgeback and a bunch of others but they all lacked something, would it be barking too much, being impossible to find around these parts, or some other thing
  Then 5 years ago while I was going through a dog book for the 1000th time, I met the Akita again. I already liked the breed but for some reason wasn't thinking about it. I got it on the list and weighed it against all the others. I had a clear winner :-)
  Big, independent enough, better than most with staying alone (so I read at the time, and Kuma hasn't proved me wrong so far), quiet, beautiful, gets along very well with cats (this one at least, and I've been told he's not the only one) what's there not to like? :-)
  It was then time to find a decent breeder, and since I couldn't around here (the one I visited 5 years ago, gave up) I turned to Spain.
• AkiraleShiba

  October 2008 edited November -1

  I cannot live without a dog, but my SO only liked cat. So we were looking for breeds, I liked the terrier group for their bold temperament but my SO not so much. So I was looking on a breed website and we found three cat-like breeds: The basenji, the pharaoh hound and the shiba inu. For the first two, there was a climate issue since we lived in Eastern Canada and both could not stay outside for long in the cold snow, plus they had issues about spending time alone.
  
  The Shiba Inu was a great match, because he's pretty much silent, we could play outside during winter, he had the bold temperament I love, potty training was easy ( i expected to need at least 5 months vs. 1 week), he can stay alone ... He's just a 100% fit for us, although we have met shibas this weekend that would have been a 0% fit
  
  I'd love to get another Nihon Ken, but the choice would be hard since I love them all but right now I have a soft spot for the Kai Ken.
• scientiste

  October 2008 edited November -1

  I won't lie - it was purely based on appearance. Then, once I read up on the breed, I was even more interested because I love a challenge! Interestingly, my shiba, Tsuki ended up being nothing like some of the shibas I'd read about... I mean she won't even chew a Nylabone and she's fine off leash.
• tsukitsune

  October 2008 edited October 2008

  Janaki - beware! Hachi (besides being a total wuss) was very well 'behaved' for the first few months. Then BAM! She's chewing on books, running like mad, playing nonstop and needs to be retrained on leash walking - all because she feels better now.
  
  Anyway - I found myself in a place in my life where I was able to bring in a permanent dog - whereas for a year I was just fostering cats, found out my allergy to them then fostered a dog, than mainly just dogs - and my husband was a "cat person" and very sad to give up the kitten season fostering - so I said "Ok, lets find a dog for both of us". I was looking more into the Inuit dog or Tamaskan, and along the way found the shiba - we did some additional research, I really didn't think I'd like the shiba since at the time my heart belonged to a basset hound, you know, a needy breed of dog.. but we went to a meet up, and they were great little dogs.
  Then we considered adopting the basset, but about that time got a call that there was a mill raid for the rescue I fostered for, and I was to go for the Chihuahua pups, and of course, at the raid was Tsuki and her litter and the rest is history. We adopted her the very next day.
  
  I don't regret not adopting Linus, I miss him, but it wasn't the right time for a basset and he has a great family with two young boys who love him. And now that we have found and embraced the Shiba Inu, I can't imagine having any other type of dog right now. They are really great dogs and I'm honored to share my home with them.
• KFontaine04

  October 2008 edited November -1

  I had two beautiful Huskies, Sasha and The Red Dog (yup that's her name), who I was forced to leave with my ex-fiance because he was keeping the house with the big fenced backyard. I was (and still am) heartbroken over my girls, but I also had NEVER been without a dog. I loved Huskies but they are big and need LOTS of running room. I had known about the Shiba Inu and loved that they had shared so many traits with the husky.
  Last Feburary, my boyfriend came back from a job site and said I had to go somewhere with him after work. He had stopped by a pet breeder (they do special orders and things of that nature) and found our Miso. He knew I had loved the Shiba and missed having a dog terribly and the minute I saw Miso's face I knew he was my Shiba. It has been a joy ever since. Sake, our shiba girl, came to us because Miso LOVES other dogs and we wanted to have a companion for him ( I always say you can't have just one!), so we found her from a breeder and she just arrived to our household on Sept 29th. Our Shiba family is amazing and they have made my world complete.
• Sangmort

  October 2008 edited November -1

  Thanks for sharing guys ~
• Nekopan

  October 2008 edited October 2008

  I had my heart stolen by a cocky little Shiba named Koyak seven or eight years ago, and I decided I wanted a dog just like him. I spent a long time admiring them from afar, then three years ago or so, I spoke to Katja at a show. I contacted another kennel through email, and while I still love their quality next to no other Shiba breeder, I was put off by them. Once I had indicated it would be a while (I was in high school at the time) before I purchased a dog, they stopped responding to my emails.
  
  Sometime last year I became interested in the Shikoku and began to pester Katja with questions. I began to realize that the Shika were much more my ideal companion than the Shiba. Their looks, temperament, loyalty to their masters, and everything else really appealed to me. I also knew that I wanted to do agility and obedience in the future, and while I know it is possible with a lot of training with a Shiba, I don't hate myself that much. The Shika is also a better size; while I don't really care, my boyfriend prefers medium sized dogs to small ones.
  
  Since coming to this forum I have fallen for Akita as well, but I doubt I will ever own one unless I come across one in a rescue close to me. I am very picky about the look of Akitas I like, they must be Japanese Akita and not American Akita. All the breeders I can locate in my area are American Akita or mix breeders. It might sound silly, but if I were to get a breeder Akita it would have to be imported so it is the type I like.
  
  I love the look of Kai as well, but I don't think I am the right type of person to own a Kai. Those are my reasons for picking my (future) Nihon Ken.
• ddowdemers

  October 2008 edited November -1

  There are wonderful stories on this thread.
  
  I did not want a dog as I am/was, a cat person. My husband always had Akitas and Samoyeds and wanted another Akita.
  We have size limitations and an Akita was not a practical choice. One day Paul happened upon a couple with a Shiba Inu. We had not known of this breed, and Paul was immediately interested. We began researching Japanese spitz breeds and found the little known Shikoku. Then we found Katja and the rest is history. We have had Tenji for two years and we are so happy with our choice of dog. He is a loyal, protective, friendly, and very affectionate boy. He is also scary smart and beautiful to look at.
• Wren

  October 2008 edited November -1

  It was love at first sight! I was still mourning the loss of my aby cat. One night I was walking down the street and I saw a cat sitting in someone's car. As I moved closer to the window, I was amazed that it was a dog! I literally waited for the owner of the car to come back and asked him , "What kind of dog is that"? He said it''s a Shiba Inu! I looked at the Classified Ads every Sunday at the pets/dog section and looked for the Shiba Inu, but found none. After several months, I saw 1Male and 1 Female Shiba Inu pups for sale. I immediately drove an hour away, met the breeder, Frank and Alice Sakayeda who only bred Japanese Dogs and bought the male right on the spot. This was in 1987. Owned only Shibas ever since and when I saw Alice last month, she gave me one of her show dog, Pika. She told me I know you will take good care of him, like you did with Fuji, the first dog you bought from me. This is typical of a good Shiba breeder. Well, with this Nihon forum, I feel like I'm amongst kindred spirits.