I got permission from an internet friend to post some of his Youtube videos on my blog.
He hunts down south, and I'm pretty jealous of all the space they have down there (and the oodles of pigs). There's a lot more big game hunters down there, as opposed to all the bird hunters up here where I am.
There's a wide variety of dogs used, but since I'm partial to the working Japanese breeds, I'm posting video of some of their dogs in training, a Kishu and Yakushima to be exact.
Just a warning: Hunting videos can be a bit gory and are unpleasant to some. If you're one of those people don't click on the video.
Kishu do quite a bit of 'catching', but most any hunting dog will if they're in a pack and feel they are strong enough to take the pig. I prefer my dogs bay, I think you get less injuries that way.
This is a pretty non gory vid, just young dogs learning to bay a big pig.
How interesting!
ReplyDeleteWhat kind of dog was the very forward one?
What do you think Haru would do with this sort of set up?
The white dog is obviously the Kishu, and the brown is a Yakushima. Yakushima Ken are originally from Yakushima Island. They are famed for their hunting prowess although they are not a recognized breed with a club.
ReplyDeleteThey are very popular as hunting dogs, very few are kept as pets, so pretty much all are working dogs. Since they don't have a proper registry many hunters have mixed in their own local hunting dogs to where now the actual Yakushima blood is pretty diluted in most lines.
They're still excellent hunting dogs, and I was actually offered one before I found Haru. I may end up with one yet (if I can persuade the wife, and I have more space!).
Japanese breeds are pretty tough little dogs despite their relatively small size.
ReplyDeleteSome of those boar hunting videos are pretty gory, the Japanese seem to just let the dogs take care of the boar but the hunters in the US stab the boar once the dogs have it under control which is a little more merciful I think.
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ReplyDeleteCool video!
ReplyDeleteThe Kishu in that vid is really nice looking, very very muscular. He/she acted a lot like out Akita, Fuji. You could tell the Kishu was a bit more timid toward the boar than the other dog - does that other dog have some molosser in it?
The Kishu looked to be the only one that took any hits from the boar too.
Was that a trail, kinda looked like it was in a pen?
Great post!
I am new to kai ken. I am looking for information on the breed and how to obtain a puppy. Can you help? I have a few friends who live outside of Tokyo. My email address is scott@paremtns.com.
ReplyDeleteBrad: The brown Yakushima Ken most likely has a little bit of a lot in its bloodline. Not sure about the molosser. The Kishu was still very 'green' so most likely the other dog was in there with it to help. And yes, that's a training pen.
ReplyDeleteScott: Thanks for the comment. If you're looking for info on the Kai as a breed, take a look over at www.nihonken.org . My user name over there is The Walrus, and my email address is up in my profile. Feel free to drop a line if there's anything I can help with.