So the little white princess has arrived. Outgoing, friendly, and incredibly cute. So far so good. Friends at my favorite coffee shop named her Mon-chan.
A blog about the native hunting dogs of Japan
Friday, July 24, 2015
Tuesday, July 21, 2015
Natural Mating
I'm present at a lot of dog matings, matings at my kennel, helping at friends' kennels, transporting dogs to other kennels for mating etc. I've even been there for a few at overseas kennels.
My short opinion on the matter: let's do it naturally.
It should be the norm, but more often than not, it's not. There's restraints (like guillotines), muzzles, holding females that refuse to be bred, guiding males in etc.
There's multiple reasons that I feel it's important to maintain a natural ability to mate.
1. Sound temperament. It requires a sound temperament in both male and female, willingness to mate, drive to mate. You can't have dogs that want to kill each other, dogs that refuse to be bred, or males without the drive to get females in the mood (Baron's great at this) and without enough drive and stamina to keep at it till there's a tie.
2. Sound structure and breeding. I've seen Akita that were too heavy to hold their weight or their partner's weight, or not structurally sound enough to hold up to the weight and movement of mating. I've also noticed that it's quite difficult to breed dogs with weak rears as in females it causes them to drop down toward a squat when the male climbs on, and in males it's hard for them to keep balance while thrusting. You also need a dog with enough stamina, that's not going to tire after a few thrusts.
And of course all the bits and pieces need to match up well.
3. Maintaining natural instincts. This includes the drive to mate, the ability in females to choose their partners (for many reasons unknown to us), and males and females knowing when to mate.
I'm sure there are more reasons, but for starters those are my important three. I've only had one female here at my kennel that would not breed (she was dog aggressive) even though she'd been acclimated to playing with males before her heat. The rest I've luckily been able to breed naturally, with failed matings happening on occasion when visiting other kennels for the first time.
Watch me eat my words when I try to breed my Shikoku females this season haha.
My short opinion on the matter: let's do it naturally.
It should be the norm, but more often than not, it's not. There's restraints (like guillotines), muzzles, holding females that refuse to be bred, guiding males in etc.
There's multiple reasons that I feel it's important to maintain a natural ability to mate.
1. Sound temperament. It requires a sound temperament in both male and female, willingness to mate, drive to mate. You can't have dogs that want to kill each other, dogs that refuse to be bred, or males without the drive to get females in the mood (Baron's great at this) and without enough drive and stamina to keep at it till there's a tie.
2. Sound structure and breeding. I've seen Akita that were too heavy to hold their weight or their partner's weight, or not structurally sound enough to hold up to the weight and movement of mating. I've also noticed that it's quite difficult to breed dogs with weak rears as in females it causes them to drop down toward a squat when the male climbs on, and in males it's hard for them to keep balance while thrusting. You also need a dog with enough stamina, that's not going to tire after a few thrusts.
And of course all the bits and pieces need to match up well.
3. Maintaining natural instincts. This includes the drive to mate, the ability in females to choose their partners (for many reasons unknown to us), and males and females knowing when to mate.
I'm sure there are more reasons, but for starters those are my important three. I've only had one female here at my kennel that would not breed (she was dog aggressive) even though she'd been acclimated to playing with males before her heat. The rest I've luckily been able to breed naturally, with failed matings happening on occasion when visiting other kennels for the first time.
Watch me eat my words when I try to breed my Shikoku females this season haha.
Friday, July 17, 2015
Mini Barons
It's been in the works for a long time, a plan to breed Baron and produce the next generation of working Kishu. I'm now one step closer thanks to a little help from my friends.
This is Tenko, a 1.5 year old female out of show and hunting lines. It's exactly what I was looking for in a female, one with working lines behind her, but with show quality to try and make some good looking pups. To top it off I got really lucky because she's got a great temperament. She's like a female version of Baron, friendly to people, good with other dogs, and not a watchdog at all (silent!). Unfortunately she's also just like Baron in that she whines too haha. I can deal with that.
I had asked some friends that breed Kishu to let me know if they new of any nice young females I could have to breed with Baron. A few days later they called me and told me I could have one of their females. Tenko was already in heat, and within 2 days she was at my house playing with Baron. 1 week later and we have had our first tie. Hopefully I'll have a litter of pups out of them in September.
Things are getting nuts around here since 4 of my 5 females are now in heat. They're also all females I had hoped to breed this year haha. We'll see how that goes.
This is Tenko, a 1.5 year old female out of show and hunting lines. It's exactly what I was looking for in a female, one with working lines behind her, but with show quality to try and make some good looking pups. To top it off I got really lucky because she's got a great temperament. She's like a female version of Baron, friendly to people, good with other dogs, and not a watchdog at all (silent!). Unfortunately she's also just like Baron in that she whines too haha. I can deal with that.
I had asked some friends that breed Kishu to let me know if they new of any nice young females I could have to breed with Baron. A few days later they called me and told me I could have one of their females. Tenko was already in heat, and within 2 days she was at my house playing with Baron. 1 week later and we have had our first tie. Hopefully I'll have a litter of pups out of them in September.
Things are getting nuts around here since 4 of my 5 females are now in heat. They're also all females I had hoped to breed this year haha. We'll see how that goes.
Monday, July 13, 2015
Available Hokkaido Puppy
#########EDIT 2015/09/01: THANKS FOR ALL THE INTEREST. THIS PUP IS NO LONGER AVAILABLE. She's gone to her new family.#########
There a female puppy that will be coming to my house in a week or so that is in need of a home.
I had one lined up for her, but things didn't work out at the last minute. If anyone's interested, hit me up at kato.the.walrus@gmail.com and we can discuss the details.
As you can see, she's a very nice pup. She's out of a Howa Sou, a kennel that produces really nice white show dogs. The Hokkaido is not the breed for everyone as they're a pretty high energy vocal hunting breed, and I'll be vetting prospective owners accordingly. She was born on the 24th of May.
There a female puppy that will be coming to my house in a week or so that is in need of a home.
I had one lined up for her, but things didn't work out at the last minute. If anyone's interested, hit me up at kato.the.walrus@gmail.com and we can discuss the details.
Sunday, July 12, 2015
Japanese Pedigree Names
Coming up with good pedigree names is always difficult. The more dogs you breed, the more difficult it becomes to think up good names for all the pups. I just bought a book that solves that problem, at least for male names for the foreseeable future.
I was wandering in the book store and saw this small encyclopedia of famous katana (samurai sword). I thought it would be interesting to learn the history behind another Japanese art form, so snapped it up. Looking through it over breakfast today, I discover a lot of the names are great for dogs too. What better way to preserve the memory of these great swords than by naming another part of Japanese culture, the Japanese breeds, after them.
And hey, the names are even in English, though the rest of the book is Japanese.
If anyone's interested in the book, let me know and I'll see about finding more copies. It will probably cost around 4000JPY total to send it anywhere in the world.
I was wandering in the book store and saw this small encyclopedia of famous katana (samurai sword). I thought it would be interesting to learn the history behind another Japanese art form, so snapped it up. Looking through it over breakfast today, I discover a lot of the names are great for dogs too. What better way to preserve the memory of these great swords than by naming another part of Japanese culture, the Japanese breeds, after them.
And hey, the names are even in English, though the rest of the book is Japanese.
If anyone's interested in the book, let me know and I'll see about finding more copies. It will probably cost around 4000JPY total to send it anywhere in the world.
Saturday, July 11, 2015
Clompers
Picked up these clompers while visiting my good friend Pete at Sabiya.
Pete's a legend, collector of rust and old motorbikes. I used to hang out at his shop restoring old Indians, Rabbits, Triumphs, and Meguros. He taught me everything I know about bikes, and he's just a capital letter dude.
You basically have to make a reservation if you want to be sure the shop will be open haha. When do you do your business, Pete?!
www.sabiya.jp
Pete's a legend, collector of rust and old motorbikes. I used to hang out at his shop restoring old Indians, Rabbits, Triumphs, and Meguros. He taught me everything I know about bikes, and he's just a capital letter dude.
You basically have to make a reservation if you want to be sure the shop will be open haha. When do you do your business, Pete?!
www.sabiya.jp
Thursday, July 9, 2015
They're Out There
Last week one of my neighbors from down the road dropped by early in the morn to ask for some help with the boar. They got into his rice field the night before. So, Baron and I headed out in the rain. At least the temps are cool, and being soaked makes them even cooler.
I originally put the pic of the boar on my FB too, but didn't like it there and the hoopla it was generating. I don't like trophy photos or trophy hunting, but I'll put this pic up here as part of the story I guess.
I originally put the pic of the boar on my FB too, but didn't like it there and the hoopla it was generating. I don't like trophy photos or trophy hunting, but I'll put this pic up here as part of the story I guess.
Tuesday, July 7, 2015
Kikuhime Go
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