Maruto Go

This is one of the Hokkaido pups I sent to Europe last year. He's seems to be doing very well in show, and has found a terrific home at Icyitadaki Kennel. http://www.hokkaido-ken.eu/

"Maruto won another Club Winner title on Specialty for FCI V group show so he has 4 Club Winner titles already and he is a breed record holder in Europe with these titles!!!

I'm very happy and very proud, thanks a million!!!"

Setting up pups in homes like this is what is so rewarding about exporting Nihon Ken. To be able to help people who understand the Japanese breeds and are interested in their preservation to import nice pups. Of course not every pup works out as a show dog, but I'm helping kennels increase the odds that they will import what they are looking for.

Kotofusa x Tochimitsuhime: Day 14

The pups are 2 weeks old, their eyes have opened, and they're all in terrific health. The litter is still looking very nice, and I'm tickled pink. Yeah. I just said that.

From left to right: male, red female, small sesame female, large sesame female.

The red female. Still the smallest, still very red.

The large sesame female. We're calling her Godzilla for now.

The small sesame female. She's got the best hue of the bunch.

The male. Got a bit of an interesting face going on there. His stop is shallow like his mom's.

Wandering Poland

I was in Poland last week. I flew into Gdansk, and wandered about in Sopot, Gdynia, and Malbork. A short trip as usual, I only had a few days to visit with friends and sample the local alcohol. The trip ended in a vodka hazy 5am wake up and trip to the airport, crammed into an ancient BMW with 3 Poles and a Russian, thumping along at 130km listening to Psytrance. I managed to stumble into the airport and pass out for the duration of my flight to Copenhagen where I realized that Viking men are made differently from the rest of us, and this is the country where real beards are grown. Oh, and my sword was confiscated at the airport. What was I thinking?

 

Kunitaka x Bishoume

DOB: 2014/05/19 00:30am
Sire: Kunitaka Go http://www.shikoku-pedigree.com/details.php?id=63579
Dam: Bishoume Go  http://www.shikoku-pedigree.com/details.php?id=63352

Round 2 of the Shikoku puppy fest begins. Bisho was due on the 20th by my calculations, and just like her mother Hime, she ate all her food, and then promptly went into labor. Just have to laugh at these two females and their love of food. No sign of anything strange, and then they start giving birth. Bisho was out in her kennel, and I was crawling into bed when I heard her scratching the floor. Puppy time. Got outside and cleaned up some stuff, glanced over, and puppy number 1 was popping out.

Last time Bisho had pups, she was so quiet I didn't even find out till the next morning. Everything was tidy and the pups were nursing. Watching her, she's not quite as fast as Hime with breaking sacs, so I ripped it for her. Puppy 1 looks to be a red sesame female. Puppy 2 came shortly thereafter, a red sesame looking male.

After pup 2, Bisho was a bit uncomfortable, with sporadic contractions. It was the middle of the night, and chilly, so while she was distracted I stole the pups and popped them against my stomach under my jacket. Things were slowing down, and with her constantly getting up and moving around the pups were getting chilled. She'd notice they were gone every now and again, and paw at me. I'd give them back, and then steal them again when she wasn't looking. Finally after around an hour, pup 3 came out.

I could immediately tell it was not alright. It was smaller than the others, looked like it was not fully formed yet, and not moving. After we got him out of the sac Bisho gave him a good licking over, and I took him for a bit and tried to see if we could get his engine started, but nothing doing. I thought it best to leave him be. Bisho settled with him nestled up to her, which distracted her from the fact that puppies 1 & 2 were still under my jacket.

Pup 4 came a little while later, a red looking female. She wasn't moving either, but she was large and looked fine. Bisho was giving her a good licking, but no movement, and I was not interested in losing 2 pups in one night. I borrowed the pup for a second, cleared out some mucous around its mouth, took it in my hand and gave it a little swing and rub. Pup snorted out the rest of the fluid and came to life. Happy times.

I stayed with Bisho for another 30minutes, but she was calmed and laying with the puppies. They all started nursing, so I cleaned up and headed to bed. Come the morning and the pups and mom look to be doing great. Things are going to get crazy around here in around a month... 7 mobile Shikoku puppies.

This breeding is extremely similar to Koto x Hime, since Koto and Taka are from the same parents but a different litter, and Hime is Bisho's mother. I was hoping for a nice male to keep from the Koto x Hime litter, but it looks like the females are nicer in that litter. I was hoping for a female from Taka x Bisho. Time will tell.

Bisho is a level or two better than her mother in show quality. When Yano-san sent her to me he told me she had a first class head/face, and that has proven to be true. Structure is alright, but like her mother Hime, topline and movement leave something to be desired, and their coats could  be more vibrant. Length and thickness is good though. I quite like Bisho.
Taka is the only true 'aka' Shikoku I have ever seen. He's got an extremely rich red coat, and a freakishly athletic build. Koto has the thicker build though, and Taka's face has been described as too beautiful for a male Shikoku. I'm hoping to get the structure, size, and color from Taka, and the plush coat, and beautiful face from Bisho.

Taking Hip X-Rays the Right Way

I look at a lot of hip x-rays, and sometimes they're taken very well, sometimes not so. A friend posted this link on FB  http://leerburg.com/hipart.htm  and I found it pleasantly informative, as in it brought a smile to my face to find such a succinct explanation of what to look for in a hip x-ray.

Japanese Dog Village

Tensai Shimura Doubutsuen, a famous TV show here in Japan on NTV, has created a 'Japanese Dog Village' to showcase the 6 Japanese breeds to the world. Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, a famous Japanese 'idol', is on the show and picked the 6 puppies to represent their breeds (at the beginning of the show there is 3 of each breed, with all the pups in one room!).

The Kai pup that was chosen, Peromi, was bred by my good friend Mr.Inoue over at Sai no Kuni Inoue Sou. The Hokkaido pup, Hender, was bred by his brother, also a friend of mine.

Here's the FB link for the show.
https://www.facebook.com/japanese.dogs.by.shimura.zoo

By the way, Peromi's brother is looking for a home. He's a kuro-tora (black brindle), born on the 27th of January, 2014. If anyone is interested, let me know and I'll get some pictures for you. I saw him at his kennel yesterday, and he was a very sweet energetic little guy.

Day 9: Kotofusa x Tochimitsuhime

I left for Poland on day 2 of the life of the 5 pups out of Koto and Hime. Pup number 5, a male, passed away at around 48hours. He was almost the same size as his siblings, and though I did have to give him a hand to nurse after he was born, he seemed to be doing well. My friend Mark was taking care of the dogs for me, and while we tried everything to keep him alive, he had stopped nursing, and Hime was pushing him away. It was sad, but I understand that death comes to all living things, and if I can't deal with this happening to my dogs (who have a much shorter life cycle than I), I'd be better off not owning/breeding them.

When I arrived back at home on the 13th, I went straight to the pups to see how they were doing. Female 2 (sesame) caught my eye. I picked her  as the front runner, even though none of the pups have any obvious flaws just yet. She's got a nice head shape and balance all around. That night we had a BBQ at my house and I invited Mr.Iwahori. We took a look at the pups together, and he was pleased to see that the pups have excellent hue in their coats (even if they don't have quite the tight structure seen in the pups from his kennel). I was pleased that he also picked female 2 as the best of the litter (for now anyway). One thing we noticed is that the pups look to have shallow stops, which is something that comes from Hime's side. The red female is the exception, and female 2's stop is fairly pronounced. It will be fun to watch these pups mature. I can't wait till their eyes open.

Female 1 was the first pup born, but she's lagging in size now at 510g. Since I'm really interested in her potential due to her red coloration and good stop. I've been sneaking in extra nursing time for her.

Female 2 is the monster now at 647grams. She's the lighter of the sesame females. But overall head size, shape, and balance have me picking her first of the pups for now.

Female 3 is weighing in at 610 grams. She's got the most shallow stop, but really nice hue.

Male 1 is weighing in at 614grams, and is the same color as female 3. They both have black fur coming up on the front of their legs, which means they'll probably end up having nice dark sesame coats. Of course just how dark is up for speculation.

That's One Amazing Cat

I'm not a big fan of cats, but amazing effort by this feline to kick this extremely dangerous dog's ass!

Baron x Hime Pups Update

All three pups look to be doing very well in their new homes. These pups are a really interesting mix of the two breeds. About the only thing I see that ties them all together is the big ears. That comes from Baron obviously.

Here's Kenzo a few months back. And from his owners...
Top 10 funny observations of Kenzo so far:

1. A destroyer of all toys and none toys. (including toys labeled non-destructible)
2. Loves his family but takes time to establish friendships with others.
3. Is a very picky eater,unless it is people food. (which we don't give him)
4. Loves to wrestle dad, and plays very hard with other dogs.
5. Loves to mouth hands and arms.
6. Went through a stage of humping everything, but that's finally over
7. If allowed will chase anything and is fearless.
8. Very smart, for example: neighbors pitbull puppy is at the fence. Kenzo lures the puppy to the only board that is loose on the fence line. When the puppy is at the board he hits it with his paw and the board hits the puppy in the face. He will repeat this over and over and appears to get enjoyment over his trickery.)
9. Hates his nails being clipped.
10. Prefers to sleep on the hard brick fireplace to his soft cushy bed.

Here's Summer. Apparently everyone loves her. She's calm and reserved inside, likes to lounge about and look out the window, but she's quite inquisitive and energetic outside. Sounds just like Baron. She'll be going to hunting camp soon.

And here's Momo. I hear she's doing great as well, and is still as vocal as ever. Apparently she's great off leash.

I'm so happy that all these pups went to such great homes. I hope I can find homes like these for my current litter of Shikoku pups.

Annnd the Puppies Are Here!

Hime's due date came and went while I was on a trip south. I was a little worried, so as soon as I got back at dawn this morning I took Hime for a walk. She was thrilled to see me, and we went on a quick walk, after which she beelined it right back home and straight into her crate. I took the Kishu gang on their walk next, and when I got back, puppy number 1 was just popping out. I guess she was just waiting for me to come home before giving birth.

The total count is 5 pups. 2 males, and 3 females. 1 female (she was the first one out too) looks like she might be a red, and all the other pups look like they'll be sesame/red sesame.

And for the non squeamish, here's a video of pup number 2 (a male) coming into the world. Hime handles everything very well when it comes to birthing, nursing, and puppies. She's usually very intolerant of other dogs, but with her own pups she's a terrific and patient mother.

Wandering Kyoto

Another one for the wandering series. I've driven 1000km on this trip so far, through Kyoto, Shikoku, and now Okayama. I snapped a short video early in the morning while wandering Kyoto before all the tourists got to it.

Available Akita Female

This is Ryuushoume Go, an Akita female that is available. She’s a very energetic and friendly pup.
DOB: 2013/11/22

Send me an email at kato.the.walrus@gmail.com for more details.

Her sire and dam:

Kishu Ken: Sho

I posted about this litter of Kishu a few times. There were 4 males and a female, and since the NIPPO kennel who produced the litter are friends of mine, they asked me to help find homes for the boys. Anyway, they are all homed, but I've kept one of the boys here, and his name is Sho. The thing that really impressed me about this litter was their coats. I've never seen such thick undercoats in a Kishu before. The litter was nice and thick boned as well, with some nice masculine heads.

I'm really not 100% decided on having a Kishu program here at my kennel, but I would like to preserve the hunting lines that are in Baron's pedigree. Baron's conformation leaves a bit to be desired, and Sho has the traits necessary to produce a better show dog. But, his brother is still nearby, so I could use him for stud instead. Anyway, Sho has some fear issues that I've been working through for a few months now. He's still not all the way there, but we've made a lot of progress. Hopefully I can get him to where he can be shown.

At the moment he's shedding his coat, and he's also hit that lanky adolescent phase. I'm not sure yet if I'll be keeping him here, but here he is.