Why did you pick your Nihon Ken?
Hey all, hope everyone's doing well!
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Obviously, we've all gathered onto this awesome forum for one main reason, we all love dogs, particularly the six Japanese breeds, the Nihon Ken! Everyone on here either wants a Nihon Ken, is getting a Nihon Ken soon, or already has a Nihon Ken. [ or two, or three, or four, or more ]
So my question to you is...why did you pick the specific breed[s] you picked? Why did you choose a Shikoku? Kai? Shiba? Akita? Kishu? Hokka? If you don't have one yet...why do you want a Shikoku? Kai? Shiba? Akita? Kishu? Hokka?
Were you attracted by their looks? Personality? Quirks? Size? Working purpose? Etc.? What is it about the breed you love that made you think, "I have to be owned by one!"
Out of curiosity Really, why do you have / desire the breeds of Nihon Ken you have / want? ~
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Obviously, we've all gathered onto this awesome forum for one main reason, we all love dogs, particularly the six Japanese breeds, the Nihon Ken! Everyone on here either wants a Nihon Ken, is getting a Nihon Ken soon, or already has a Nihon Ken. [ or two, or three, or four, or more ]
So my question to you is...why did you pick the specific breed[s] you picked? Why did you choose a Shikoku? Kai? Shiba? Akita? Kishu? Hokka? If you don't have one yet...why do you want a Shikoku? Kai? Shiba? Akita? Kishu? Hokka?
Were you attracted by their looks? Personality? Quirks? Size? Working purpose? Etc.? What is it about the breed you love that made you think, "I have to be owned by one!"
Out of curiosity Really, why do you have / desire the breeds of Nihon Ken you have / want? ~
Comments
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.