# Nihon Ken Look-Alikes Thought it might be interesting if we could post some breeds that resemble the Nihon Ken. [ either in Physical or Temperment / Behavior wise ] :) So here's mine, in no particular order... Dutch Shepherd Australian Kelpie East Siberian Laika Karelo Finnish Laika West Siberian Laika Russo-European La… ## Thread In General · started by Sangmort · 22 replies - **Category:** [General](https://nihonken.org/community/c/general) - **Forum:** [Nihon Ken Forum](https://nihonken.org/community/) ## Sangmort (moderator) · 2008-12-06T17:31:19.000Z Thought it might be interesting if we could post some breeds that resemble the Nihon Ken. [ either in Physical or Temperment / Behavior wise ] :) So here's mine, in no particular order... Dutch Shepherd Australian Kelpie East Siberian Laika Karelo Finnish Laika West Siberian Laika Russo-European Laika Kintamani Saarloos Wolfhound Finish Spitz Canaan Dog ChowChow That's all I can think of for now :) ~ ## sujewel · 2008-12-06T20:29:50.000Z Norwegian Elkhound ## CrimsonO2 · 2008-12-06T20:47:15.000Z Alaskan klee kai? Jesse ## tsukitsune (moderator) · 2008-12-07T02:27:37.000Z when we'd walk Hachi, we'd always get ask if she was one of those mini husky kai dogs. nope, all shiba. the basenji, NGSD, finnish spitz, dingo, indian spitz, shiba inu, Icelandic sheepdog, jindo, Norrbottenspets, Norwegian Buhund, Norwegian Lundehund, Thai Bangkaew Dog and even the Schipperke all have similar traits and probably similar roots. Karelian Bear Dog, Greenland dogs and akita inu all look very similar at times. I think all the Laikas look very similar to Shikokus. the Poongsan, kai (white variety), kishu, hokkaido and Kintamani(white) all look very similar. Its hard to tell the difference between a black kai with little brindling and a black Kintamani. ## brada1878 (admin) · 2008-12-07T02:59:19.000Z I've been fooled a few times by Australian Kelpie, they can look a little like Kai Ken sometimes: ---- ## brada1878 (admin) · 2008-12-07T03:00:24.000Z LOL - somehow I missed your second pic Osy. *blushing sorry. :o\ I have another one... ---- ## brada1878 (admin) · 2008-12-07T03:06:45.000Z A Black Elkhound: ## lindsayt · 2008-12-07T07:59:49.000Z Someone came into the clinic the other day and asked me if Ike was a Foxhound...for reals. ## Sangmort (moderator) · 2008-12-07T16:11:31.000Z omg, I don't think Klee-Klai's look at ALL like the Nihon Ken! What an insult to Hachi! :( They look like someone mixed a chiuhaha with a husky... Oh! You found a NICE picture of a Black Elkhound Brad, they look similar to me too but I couldn't find a decent shot. The Australian Kelpie always throws me off. Look at this guy; Greenland dogs look like a cross between Akita & Shikoku to me lol Lindsay...are you sure they weren't blind? :o Really? A foxhound? haha ~ ## JessicaRabbit (admin) · 2008-12-07T19:44:34.000Z I thik klee kais ARE huskies mixed with chihuahua. ## brada1878 (admin) · 2008-12-07T21:14:21.000Z Surprisingly, the base for the Klee Kai, that give it that lovely bug-eyed rat-dog chiwawa look, is the Schipperke. ---- ## brada1878 (admin) · 2008-12-07T21:17:03.000Z BTW - I LOVE Greenland Dogs. Had I been more diligent in my research when looking for a breed that would be a good protective trail dog, I would have probably ended up with a Greenland Dog... I just didn't think to look at that breed for protective qualities as most sled dog breeds are not very protective. :o\ ---- ## StaticNfuzz · 2008-12-08T00:21:22.000Z I have to put the Korean Jindo on here since some are so similar it is difficult to tell it apart from the Hokkaido and Kishu. I am sure there is a common ancestor. ## hondru (moderator) · 2008-12-08T00:28:31.000Z I love Greenland dogs and Canadian eskimo dogs. I dream of owning one of those some day, the only problem is that it gets so hot in the summer here. It's a weird climate... it gets extremely hot in the summer and extremely cold in the winter, so I'm just worried the poor dog would get heatstroke in the summer. Of course, it does get quite cold at night even in the summer because it's so dry, but... I don't know. Still, I just love them! Especially since I want to get into mushing so bad. ## Sangmort (moderator) · 2008-12-08T00:28:45.000Z Oh yes, forgot about the Jindo. :) ~ ## CrimsonO2 · 2008-12-08T00:42:01.000Z wait...are we showing what people often mistake our dogs for or what we could possibly mistake our dogs for? Jesse ## Sangmort (moderator) · 2008-12-08T01:04:54.000Z lol What they could possibly be mistaken for ;) ~ ## lindsayt · 2008-12-08T06:17:20.000Z Osy: Yes, he actually pointed at Ike and said "Is that a uh Foxhound?" Schipperke are the base for Klee Kai? I have seen some Mame shiba that look like poms/schipps in the face as they are bug eyed also like the Klee Kai (that's actually exactly the image that comes to mind when I think of the Mame) and I am afraid that toying the shiba will inevitably give it a bug-eyed look along with the other deleterious flaws toy breeds have (collapsed trachea and luxating patellas to the max). Tally Ho! ## KFontaine04 · 2008-12-08T10:32:11.000Z My Sasha was a Husky / American Eskimo mix so she was on the smaller side and had bug eyes. ## lindsayt · 2008-12-08T11:02:30.000Z She's cute- her eyes are nice. ## Sangmort (moderator) · 2008-12-08T13:10:56.000Z I agree with Lindsay, those are not bug eyes, but cute eyes :) ## KFontaine04 · 2008-12-08T13:20:14.000Z I thought the Finnish Spitz down the street was a Shiba at first, until I got a closer look. Example pic: not the one down the street from us. ## Greensage · 2008-12-09T13:27:44.000Z I had someone come up to me the other day and ask if Rudi was a Korean dog. I guess that is quite common, I doubt I would have been able to identify what a Shiba is prior to two years ago; oddly, until Rudi arrived I had never actually met a Shiba. Only once years ago I went into a pet store in El Paso, TX and saw an Akita. He was nearly 10-months-old and very aloof. I tried to engage him but he just looked deep into me as if he were not amused. I believed then that his response was due to abuse (so very different than any dog I had ever met at his age), but now I realize that it is his nature and that until I formed a foundation with him there would be none of that normal puppy stuff for me. I wonder where he is today. He would be about 8-years-old now. Here is a picture of my first dog. His name was Woodie (cuz I like to play with him LOL), and in this picture was six months prior to him going into kidney failure. He was 18-years-old; at this time I believed he would live to be 20. I was only 24 myself when he was born on October 31. I remember it like it was yesterday. His mom was a White Spitz. On one side of his mom's fence was a black Lab, on the other was a little Pomeranian. The day after Halloween I received a phone call that the pups had arrived (a good friend of the family). I went to see and there was a mass of huge black pups. Then I saw him, this tiny brown pup squirming to make it to the top. Oh I was in love at that very moment. We eventually pulled him at 4-weeks because the other pups were just too big to compete with. He was such a good boy, even with all that hair LOL. I still miss him and catch myself from time to time calling Rudi by Woodie's name. I sure the Wood's energy is all about him. Ron and Rudi --- **Navigate:** [Forum home](https://nihonken.org/community/?format=md) · [Sitemap](https://nihonken.org/community/sitemap.xml)