Kai Ken: The Tora Inu

Moving On

2011-01-10T00:31:00.001+09:00

May the old year wash away as the new year flows in. I am a leaf floating on the river of life.

I figured it was time to change the name of my blog to reflect the fact that I blog about all the Japanese dog breeds, and not just the Kai. So here it is, the same me, the same dogs, new blog. http://nihonken.blogspot.com

Available Shikoku Boys

2011-01-09T12:14:00.000+09:00

Yesterday I went to see some Shikoku pups born at a friend's kennel on the 17th of November. They were all very friendly inquisitive little guys. There are still 2 males from this litter available if anyone is interested. They all look healthy, no faults visible at this time, and they come from some very good blood lines.

Feel free to mail me at kato.the.walrus@gmail.com with any questions.

Happy New Year

2011-01-05T11:39:00.000+09:00

Goodbye 2010. Worst year of my life so far, but I have to admit it wasn't all bad. I met a lot of people through my dogs and blogs, made a lot of great friends.

Here's to 2011. May this year be better than the last. Best wishes to everyone out there reading this. I hope for nothing but the best for you and your pups.

And I'm Back

2010-12-23T15:40:00.000+09:00

So my break was rather short lived... a month and a touch?

Time heals all things, and apparently in my old age I'm healing faster. It's been a crazy year, probably the toughest (not sure if I should say worst) I've experienced yet, but the good news is that there is only another week left. What more could go wrong right? KNOCK ON WOOD!!!

Christmas is around the corner and I even broke out our sad little tree. I've got a boar leg brining, a duck marinading (and a back up chicken in case I fail), apple crumble, mash potatoes, and some other tasties in the works. For a guy who was doing his best to ignore Christmas, I've been thoroughly infected with Christmas cheer.

I'd like to say everything's been good while I've been blog silent, but in the interim period I lost Momo to a traffic accident while we were hunting. She's been sorely missed and for a while there I thought I was going to lose it. Baron and Haru are fine, but without Momo we've had a rough hunting season so far.

Bygones. Life flows on and I must make the most of it.

Hit the mountains hard yesterday with a friend and my youngest brother. My friend brought his litter of Kishu pups, littermates to a female that went to Gen in the states. They got to play around a bit, and since we pulled in a boar yesterday, they got their first whiff of boar skin. I think these girls will make great hunters. There are still 4 females available in the litter.

Taking A Break

2010-11-20T19:06:00.000+09:00

I've got a lot on my plate right now, a lot of personal issues to resolve. Unfortunately it means I will be taking a break from blogging (not that I'm that regular anyway).

Thanks to all of you for following my blog. I'll be back badder then ever once I've recharged a bit.

Puppy Pictures From Today

2010-11-13T20:28:00.004+09:00

So today was a puppy filled day. I had some vet trips to make with several pups going overseas. Afterwards I got them all out for a good romp. Unfortunately this led to them finding mud. If there is mud, puppies will find it.

Here are two girls going to Canada

Here's a few of Kaiju, going to the States

And some group shots

With this many Shikoku pictures and posts I'm going to have to rename my blog!

Short Video

2010-11-11T18:49:00.000+09:00

Just a short vid snapped on my mobile of Kai Ken pup Cody (going to Denmark), and Shikoku Ken pup Kaiju (going to the States).

Watching these two play together is a riot, and it sounds like one too.

KKA Tenrankai 2010 Fall

2010-11-08T22:49:00.000+09:00

So Sunday was the KKA Tenrankai (exhibition). There's one every Spring and Fall. It was a beautiful day though it did end up getting a little warm for the dogs. I took all of mine with me as it's a long trip out and I wasn't sure what time I'd get home. As it goes, it was a good thing I did. We ended up in a 50km traffic jam on the way home.

There's not really much to say about the day. I guess I've been to quite a few Tenrankai's now, and this one rolled on as they all do. There seemed to be a few less dogs/onlookers than usual, probably due to the fact that they had to postpone it a week because of the typhoon that rolled through on the 31st.

I was happy to be there though. Did manage to see a male that I really liked, and getting to hang out with friends is always a pleasure. At lunch I was invited to several BBQ's hosted by friends, one of whom whipped up a terrific stew filled with boar that I had given him a couple weeks ago.

Without further ado, here are some pictures.

Hana, a friend's female and dam to a pup (Kumi) that went overseas earlier this year. She was entered in the overall champion category, but unfortunately did not win.

2 young males, siblings out of a litter born at a friend's kennel

The male on the right in the last picture. I prefer him to his brother.

Mao, a friend's male, and sire to a pup that went overseas earlier this year.

A couple of big game hunting Kai owned by a friend.

Someone was falling asleep in the ring.

Eishin, a friend's male and former overall champion. He is also the sire of two pups that went to the States last week (Ayu/Tora).

Eishin in the ring.

Kokushin, a famous stud male. He's 11 years old.

This pup is the sister of Kibou, a pup that went to the States earlier this year.

A shot of her brindle.

Smile for the camera.

A very light colored Kai. Not the greatest coloration, but wanted to show an unusual dog.

The ring.

I haven't seen a male that I really liked in a while. This guy took 3rd in the young male category. I think he was amazing.

The male in first place. Yawn... too easy he seems to be saying.

Mount Fuji was clearly visible.

Long tongue.

A good friend showing his male, Boss. He took 4th in the adult male category.

Overall champion this year.

The Kai Ken

2010-11-05T11:37:00.004+09:00

I wrote a post on this a while back, but since I still get many questions regarding the breed, I'm editing and reposting this information.

The Kai Ken, also known as the Tora Inu (Tiger Dog), is one of the six, native, Japanese spitz type dogs. The breed's brindle coat distinguishes it from the other medium sized Nihon Ken. In size, the Kai is larger than the Shiba, but marginally smaller than the Shikoku, Kishu and Hokkaido, giving it a unique place among the Japanese breeds.

The ancestors of the Kai are thought to have been dogs brought over thousands of years ago by the Jomon, and later the Yayoi people. Due to Japan's geographic and political isolation, there was not much inter breeding with dogs from the continent. Of the Japanese breeds Kai, Hokkaido, and Ryukyu carry more of the genetic make up of the original dogs brought over by the Jomon, while the other breeds seem to carry more of the genes from the later dogs brought by the Yayoi. This can be almost completely contributed to geographics.

The Kai originated in the mountainous region of Kai (modern day Yamanashi) which gave the breed its name. Historical records tell of the famed brindle hunting dogs of the region, and their hunting prowess was believed to be second to none. While traditionally used to hunt Kamoshika, a type of mountain antelope similar to a chamois, their versatility and athleticism allowed them to be used to hunt many types of game, ranging from pheasant to bear. Today they are primarily used to hunt pheasant, wild boar, and deer.

As Japan opened up to the outside world, traders brought dogs with them. In many cases these dogs were systematically bred with the native dogs, as in the case of the Akita and the Tosa. The interbreeding was so widespread that in the early 1900s a movement began to save the remaining 'pure' native dogs. The mood in the country at the time was leaning toward ultra-nationalism, and the government actively encouraged the preservation of all things Japanese. Teams scoured the country to find the 'best' 'pure' dogs. Thus began the classification of the Japanese Dog (and the breed standards).

Kai numbers increased under national and prefectural government protection, with the prefectural government awarding tax breaks to owners of these national treasures. In the period during and following World War 2 most Japanese dogs faced harsh conditions and extremely depleted numbers due to food shortages, and in some cases laws banning the ownership of dogs. Many dogs were killed, their coats used to provide clothing for the military, and some were eaten. Thanks to its status and ardent supporters however, the Kai was left primarily intact, with many of the dogs being kept at local government offices and police departments. The fact that post war over half of the registered dogs in Yamanashi prefecture were Kai Ken shows just how effective these measures were.

The Kai is often cited as being the most 'pure' of the Japanese breeds (this is entirely anecdotal). This is mostly due to Yamanashi being extremely back country and mountainous, making it difficult for outsiders to enter the area. The Kai Ken Aigokai (Kai Ken Protection Society or Kai Ken Preservation Society) was established in 1931, and the first Tenrankai (exhibition) was held in April the following year. In November of the same year the first Nihon Ken Hozonkai (Japanese Dog Preservation Society) Tenrankai was held in Ginza, Tokyo. Of 81 dogs shown, 17 were Kai. The breed was given Natural Monument status in 1933. The rift between the Kai Ken Aigokai and Nihon Ken Hozonkai began when Nippo (Nihon Ken Hozonkai) classified all the Japanese breeds into 3 sizes, small, medium and large. The Kai was grouped in the medium category along with the Shikoku, Kishu, and Hokkaido.

The disagreement between the KKA and Nippo was mainly over size. The Kai did not conform to the measurements of the medium standard as set by Nippo. Slightly larger than the 'small' Shiba, they do not conform to the 'small' or 'medium' standard, ending up somewhere in between. The KKA standard calls for a height of 40-50 centimeters, with the Nippo 'medium' standard set at 51cm for males (give or take 3cm), and 49cm for females (give or take 3cm). The KKA was set on preserving the Kai as it was, without breeding to manipulate size to conform to the Nippo 'medium' standard. There was also a disagreement regarding the black tongue markings that almost all Kai have. According to the Nippo standard black markings on a dog's tongue is a flaw, and in the ring counts for a point deduction. A few years ago Nippo finally changed this rule, and the Kai is no longer docked points for tongue markings (though the amount allowed is still vague).

Due to these disagreements (and possibly other politics) KKA members stopped showing their dogs at Nippo events, and does not allow their Kai to register with other canine registration organizations. Any KKA Kai registered with another organization loses its KKA registration. Due to this, there are very few Kai registered with Nippo, and it is very difficult for them to do well in Nippo events due to size constraints (and until recently, tongue markings). There is a small group of Kai registered with Nippo, but the smaller gene pool and their larger than average size leave something to be desired. I have heard on occasion of Kai that do not do well showing at the Aigokai events due to size or other issues, switching to Nippo registration to compete in their events (less competition).

One stickler born of all this is that the Japan Kennel Club (JKC) which is the FCI recognized national canine registry, only allows registration of Nippo Kai, and not KKA Kai. So, anyone looking to export and register their Kai with an overseas canine registry can have problems getting KKA papers recognized. It is easier to export a Nippo Kai and get JKC papers, but due to the aforementioned reasons is not necessarily in the breed's best interest.

It is possible to register a KKA Kai with Nippo, but the dog will only receive a limited pedigree. Resulting litters from a limited registration breeding will also receive a limited pedigree. Third generation pups will receive a full Nippo pedigree which can then be switched to JKC registration.

There are roughly 600-800 Kai registered with the KKA every year, 100-150 with Nippo, and 100-200 with the JKC.

The FCI Kai standard describes the breed as: “A medium-sized dog, well balanced, sturdily built, muscles well developed. The dog has the characteristics of a dog living in mountainous districts of Japan. Limbs strong and hocks remarkably developed.” The are three recognized breed colors, all brindle: aka-tora (red), chu-tora (medium), and kuro-tora (black), with aka-tora being the rarest of the three variations. There is a recessive gene in the breed which occasionally produces non-standard white (or cream) colored Kai. Most Kai have dark spots on their tongues.Like all the Nihon Ken, the Kai has a double coat made up of protective coarse outer guard hairs, and a fine thick undercoat that is shed seasonally.

The JKC, Nippo, and KKA offer differing standards for the breed, with the Kai Ken Aigokai having the largest variation in size and type. The KKA standard recognizes Kai between 40-50cm.

The Kai as a breed is intelligent, athletic, and alert, with a strong desire to hunt. Like most Nihon Ken the Kai is an independent thinker. Many are very attached to their owners, and they can make excellent companions for the individual prepared to give them the attention and exercize they require. They can be territorial, and make reasonable watch dogs, but are not by nature guard dogs or protection dogs. They have shown the ability to be quick learners, with some active in Japan as search and rescue dogs. They are a rare breed even in their native country with an estimated population of around 12,000-14,000, and yearly registrations of between 800 and 1,200, (all registries combined). The main breed registry is run by the Kai Ken Aigokai.

The past week

2010-11-04T18:22:00.001+09:00

Thanks for all the interest in and mails about the Shikoku pups. All have been accounted for. I will try to post as more litters become available.

I've had a fun busy week filled with Kai pups. A friend from the States came over and picked up 4 of them, and now the house is very quiet. It's sad, but I think the neighbors will be pleased. I've been getting a lot of flack recently, and it's been wearing me down a bit.

For everyone waiting for pictures and video from the KKA (Kai Ken Aigokai) Tenrankai, it was postponed till the 7th due to an unseasonal typhoon. So hopefully I'll make it up there this Sunday, and be able to post about it. The postponement was rather lame as the gentleman from the States came over specifically to attend the Tenrankai. We did manage to get some visits in to some kennels, and walked the mountains together as well.

I really didn't get around to taking many pictures, and the only ones I did take were pretty unimpressive, but a post without pictures is too much black and white for me, so here goes.

At Tenro Kensha having 'yakiniku' for lunch. Thanks Okabe-san!

Tatsu, a male hunting Kishu.

A crap shot of Haru, but you get to see her brindle.

NIPPO Chiba Regional (Fall 2010)

2010-10-24T18:30:00.000+09:00

Today was the NIPPO Chiba branch tenrankai (show). I got up at 5 and got all the dogs walked and fed. It was an overcast day, but luckily the rain held off till everything was done at around 2 in the afternoon.

The event was held in a new location, and luckily for me it's around 30 minutes away from my house. I got there early to help set up. I've been attending a lot of NIPPO shows for several years now, and aside for showing a friend's pup once, I'm just there taking pictures and meeting up with friends. Today however my good friend and mentor was busy with the judging (he's a NIPPO judge in training), so was unable to show his own dogs.

My two Kishu are far off the standard, so I don't show them, and Haru is KKA (Kai Ken Aigokai), so I can't show her either. The other day I got a call from my friend asking if I wanted a little practice handling, in preparation for when I actually have a dog to show. I was more than happy to agree to show one of his dogs. She's a very nice red Shikoku female, but at 6 years old she's never really shown well. She doesn't like the ring, and has always dropped her tail (in NIPPO that's very frowned upon).

Well I got her out on leash for the first time yesterday, and then today was the big day. Of course, Saki's tail was dragging. Well wonder of wonders and after hours of coaxing, walking, and treats (and maybe a little begging), I managed to get her through the morning 'kotai shinsa' (physical exam) without her tail dropping. Everyone was surprised, and while we thought that she wouldn't make it to the actual judging in the afternoon, she did.

Amazingly enough she did even better in the afternoon, and I was able to get her into at least a semblance of a stand. We ended up taking 3rd place. I was giddy, and everyone came round to congratulate us, at which point Saki's tail dropped, haha. So, I guess I just burned through my beginner's luck.

It was a great day though as my mentor's aka young male Shikoku took 1st in his class (as usual), and then went up against the adult male who took first for the 'Honbusho'. He's been going after this at all the regional's this fall, and kept coming up short. Today was his lucky day however, and he ended up winning. Since my friend was helping with the judging, another friend had to show him, and he did an excellent job.

It was a great day all around, and I even had Haru tag along for fun. She got to meet and play with some of the other Kai there.

Anyway, here are some pictures.

This is Gakuto, a male Kai, littermate to Gin, a male I've taken pictures of before.

Sleeping Shiba

A very rare yushoku Kishu Female

A very nicely balanced Kishu male

I've got a lot more pictures up on my flickr account, and will post them later.

Shikoku Pictures

2010-10-24T18:08:00.001+09:00

I took a few more pictures of Shikoku Ken yesterday, so I figure I'll post them here.

A very light colored female. This is not a preferred color in the breed, the color in her coat is very diluted. She's not been bred or homed because of it. I just wanted to post the picture as an example of a very light colored Shikoku.

Kuro-goma male, littermate to Koto, my friend's prize winning aka (red) Shikoku male. He has nice coloration, but is a little weak in his hindquarters. He was the runt of the litter, and has not been bred or homed either. I have a better picture of him, but I posted this one for fun for the facial expression.

Here's another of him.

This is the sire of the above kuro-goma (black sesame) male.

Another stud male, an aka.

Two pups sired by the above aka male.

This is the replacement for the female kuro-tora (black brindle) Kai pup.

Lastly, I hate how blogspot cuts off the right side of all my pictures. Anyone know of a fix for this glitch?

Available Shikoku Puppies

2010-10-23T20:45:00.000+09:00

Since my schedule freed up a bit today, I made the trip down to my friend's kennel to look at the available litter of 5 female Shikoku. It was a beautiful autumn day, sunny, but with a nice crisp breeze.

The pups all look to be in great health, 5 very friendly little furry girls. They all look very similar, and in coloration look like they'll be aka or aka-goma. They are predominantly red, with a bit of black tipping here and there. There is one darker female who looks like she may go more toward goma (the last picture).

When I got there my friend's kids were out playing with the pups in the kennel, so I had them hold the pups for pictures.

I've got close up pictures of them up on my flickr photostream http://www.flickr.com/photos/30674599@N04/ so feel free to take a look. There is another litter with two females that was born 3 weeks ago, but they're not ready to go yet, so I'll take pictures of them next time.

Here's the parents.

One of the pups will be decided in the next few days, and it looks like whatever girls are not picked by the end of the month, are going to other kennels. If anyone is interested in these girls, fee free to mail me.

My favorite's are are these two

Another Trip

2010-10-21T07:58:00.001+09:00

Well sometimes things just don't go as smoothly as they should. The little kuro-tora female I picked up 2 weeks ago ended up with a hernia. It wasn't very noticeable when I picked her up, and even the vet wasn't sure. The last few days it became more obvious, so I had to make another trip to Yamanashi to take her back to her breeder. I brought back her sister, another kuro-tora. Guess I need to snap some pics of her later.

I decided to visit the KKA (Kai Ken Aigokai) office while in Yamanashi. I've never been, and though the office is extremely busy getting everything ready for the coming tenrankai, they were kind enough to let us drop in.

I got to thumb through some old photos from the first tenrankai, but didn't want to stay too long as they are very busy. The office is located in a small building, on the second floor above a milk supplier. I doubt much has been changed since they first opened the office. There is no fax, and definitely no computer. The only electronic items in the whole place are probably the telephone and a light. It's a very small place, and not much to look at, but they do have some old (and new) books in the cupboard that have to do with Kai Ken, and then there are the pictures. Will have to drop by again sometime to take another look.

This is a picture taken of the first Kai to go to the States. Ten Kai were sent to a zoo in Utah in 1950 as goodwill ambassadors.

Dropped by a gift shop on the way out as well. I read in the paper that the prefecture had a lot of small Kai Ken figurines made, and wanted to see them for myself.

I did find something interesting though. Yamanashi is famous for its grapes and wine. On display they had this wine opener made from a boar tusk. Apparently they are traditionally used to open wine bottles at celebrations, and size matters.

Yamanashi is also famous for its artisans who work with precious stones mined there. There were a lot of amazing pieces, and I figured I'd take a quick shot of this little one and have everyone guess what it's priced at. No cheating and looking at the tag! This piece is around 20 cm tall (8 inches or so?)

Of course no trip to Yamanashi is complete without dropping by kennels to look at Kai. This female is the dam of a chu-tora male I took pictures of before. Here's the link to the boy http://www.flickr.com/photos/30674599@N04/4585964718/in/set-72157623687659647/

She's 11 years old now.

Here's a few of a friend's 4 year old male. He was raised as a big game hunter, but has come back to my friend's kennel to be shown for a while.

Litters

2010-10-19T00:25:00.000+09:00

Well there have been quite a few litters born recently, and a few of my friends have asked if I know anyone that is interested. There are some Kai pups, and several Shikoku pups available. I'll be posting pictures as soon as I get a chance to see them.

If anyone is interested, feel free to mail me.

I'm off to bed. Babysitting puppies is tiring!

Running Around

2010-10-18T08:30:00.000+09:00

Did some more running around yesterday, dropped by the Nippo Santama regional, visited a friend's kennel, and dropped by Inoue-san's kennel as well.

I snapped a few pictures at the regional, but at first glance didn't really like the pictures I saw. I wasn't really into the dogs, probably because none of my usual pals were showing. I hung out with the Kai owners, had some great curry made by 'Takariku' (thanks again!) http://www.youtube.com/user/takariku I told him a mutual friend is coming over to the fall Aigokai Tenrankai, so looks like he'll be making it a point to attend as well.

I swung through Tokyo on my way back home, dropping by another friend's house for dinner. It was another long day with lots of miles in it.

Tora, a 4 month old male. Sort of sitting right on the line between aka and chu-tora.

2 month old male, no name yet. Kuro-tora, very butch. It's hard to tell from pictures, but he's a little tank, thick boned, very wide masculine face.

Hana, a female kuro-tora.

Another pic of the 2 month old male.

Tora again.

Nippo Kanagawa Regional (2010)

2010-10-12T00:30:00.000+09:00

While rifling through my SD cards I realized I hadn't posted these pictures yet either. They're from the Nihon Ken Hozonkai Kanagawa branch fall Tenrankai. It was the fall/autumn show, but it was blistering out there, making it absolutely nasty for man and beast alike. Still had an enjoyable day though.

This is a friend of mine showing one of his female Shikoku. It's a littermate of a female that went to the States named 'Koshi'.

Another friend's Shikoku male 'Koto', looking stunning as always.

Random Shikoku shot.

A typical shot of a Kai at a Nippo event. Well maybe that's exaggerating, they don't always look so forlorn. But perhaps always sitting at the bottom of the Nippo totem pole takes its toll?

Recent Kai Pictures

2010-10-11T06:06:00.000+09:00

So I've been here there and everywhere recently, and have taken a fair few pictures of Kai. I was unable to post them due to my internet status, so I'm going to chuck a few up here.

Kuma, a 6 month old aka-tora.

Musashi, a young male aka-tora.

Mao, a two year old male aka-tora.

Note that all these boys have brindle right down their muzzles to their noses. Black face masking is not preferred in all the Nihon Ken.

This is Mako, my Kai Haru's dam.

Here are some of her pups.

Nippo Tokyo Regional (2010)

2010-10-10T19:14:00.000+09:00

Today was the the Nippo Tokyo branch's fall Tenrankai. I try to attend all the regionals in the Kanto area, and Tokyo is only an hour and a half away. We had some pretty crazy rain going on last night, and in the early morning, but by the time things got underway the weather was more cooperative.

Here are a few pictures.

Fun Blog Gadgets

2010-10-07T12:44:00.000+09:00

So I'm just killing time for a few minutes till I take the pups to the vet, and I came across a bunch of new (or maybe I just wasn't paying attention) features. There's all sorts of stats about how many page views the blog's had, where the traffic came from.

What I really got a kick out of was the search words people have used to find the blog. Most were no brainers: kai ken, tora inu, blogger, etc. But No.4 was 'how to tell if you really have a kai ken tora dog'. Why anyone searching that would get pointed to my blog, god only knows. Maybe I should write about it :)

Oh yeah, another discovery. I've discovered my wife checks my blog. A lot.

And We're Back

2010-10-06T14:10:00.000+09:00

After a month without the internet, I'm back in my comfort zone surfing the web and getting work done. I can now stop driving into town to look for wifi. I actually ended up subscribing to a wifi hotspot provider that runs a network of wireless spots in McDonald's. I started showing up there so much I think they must have thought I'm a crazed fan of fast food.

The weather's finally cooled down, our move is done, the dogs have an outdoor kennel, and hunting season is almost here. We've been getting out to the mountains every now and again, and it looks like it's going to be a fun season. The dogs are much happier with the change in temperature. Appetites are back, which is great because Baron was wasting away. Momo's heat ended a while ago, but for some reason Haru's hasn't come yet. It's a couple weeks late now.

On Monday I went up to Yamanashi to pick up some Kai pups, and I just snapped a couple pictures, so here you go. A kuro-tora female, and a chu-tora male. They're loving the yard, I just had to rig up some fencing so they wouldn't terrorize the cats.

AFK

2010-09-23T10:20:00.002+09:00

So I've been away for awhile, and will be away some more.

We've just finished moving house, and the internets will not arrive till October 1st.

Till then.

Lap Jumping

2010-08-25T23:54:00.000+09:00

Hadn't posted a video in a while, so took a short one of Haru and I playing around. We're in the middle of a move at the moment (again!). This time we're settling in for the long haul (hopefully!). I get the keys to the new place in a few days.

I haven't done much training with Haru for a while, so she's a bit rusty. As ever though, she loves obedience work. To her it's play time.

The World is on Fire

2010-08-15T01:46:00.000+09:00

So many hot days in a row is taking its toll on people and canines. The dogs haven't been doing that great. I'm also in the middle of closing down my in-law's house that they've had for over 20 years. It's full of junk, and the attic is an oven full of crap. There have been a few fun discoveries, but overall just a lot of sweating away on the house every day.

We're in the midst of moving as well. Paperwork for the new place is in the works, and hopefully will be done by next week. The dogs will be making their long awaited move outside as we're finally going to be living on a property that has space for a kennel. It was an absolute nightmare trying to find a rental property that would allow 3 dogs (hunting dogs at that). I've had dogs for years in Japan, but never this much trouble with a move.

Momo's gone into heat, so that makes things more complicated. I was hoping she'd pull Haru in quickly and we get it all done and over with, but Haru's not showing any signs of co-operating with my plan. I'm planning on breeding Haru this heat if all goes well, knock on wood.

No time for much other than working on moving right now, work's been downright slow for the past few months anyway. Have made a trip to the beach however, and had a lot of fun wiping out on my brother's board. It's been a while. We had a great BBQ.

Last month I spent a lot of time helping my wife's sister and her husband renovate and move into their place. Guess this summer is the summer of moves. Hopefully things will settle down nicely by the time hunting season opens. The dogs are almost ready, and I always am.

I'll try to get some pictures up soon. Maybe I can get the wife to snap some tomorrow.

When it Rains

2010-07-29T20:15:00.000+09:00

Well it cools down! Temperatures dropped from 34 to 24 centigrade overnight, and there was a slight drizzle. And then I got another call. 60kg male boar in a snare.

I've been worried about Baron. He's coming along really well, but he's a bit too aggressive on boar, and always goes straight at them head on. Doing that in the mountains he's bound to get injured. I asked my friend who owns Baron's dam about it, and he gave me some good advice. I got his mail as I was driving down to the trap with the dogs, so it was perfect timing.

The farmer/landowner came down with me and one of my hunting buddies to check out the boar. This boar was a lively fellow and I could hear him making his little warning grunts and clicks from a ways away. After we made sure he was securely caught, I brought in the dogs on leash, releasing them one by one.

Basically today's training consisted of letting Baron learn the hard way that it's no fun to try to overpower boar. He's got to use his brains, and learn to judge his opponent. If he comes up against a boar he can't stop alone, if he bays it up, the other dogs and myself come to help. Everything went very well, and my worries about Baron being a knuckle headed bruiser were allayed. He got the point, and started attacking from the sides and rear, and actually looking to see where I was at and the other dogs were at. It was a good learning experience for him, and the cooler weather made things a lot easier for all concerned.

Today I brought Haru along and decided to see how she'd do. She's been a bit iffy about boar, and I've had a really hard time reading her. The last time we ran into a boar in the mountains she was the one who found it though, and bayed it up till the other dogs came. She's a good finder, but has never barked on boar before. I wanted to see if it was a fluke, or if she vocalizes because she's more confident when the other dogs are with her.

Well today for the first time she really worked the boar. I was very surprised. The differences in her style of hunting when compared with the Kishu are obvious though. They're looking for an opening to get in and catch, while Haru keeps more distance and bays, with no interest in catching. Once the boar was dispatched, she had no interest in it whatsoever, but the Kishu still wanted to get at it and latch on.

Regardless, I've seen that when she's with the other dogs she does have a lot more confidence, and is quite happy to work with them. She's not going to catch at all, but it may not be a bad thing to have one of the dogs continually baying when they've stopped a boar. If all the dogs catch, a lot of times it gets really quiet and it's harder to pinpoint their location. I'm going to wait before jumping to any decisions based on what I've seen today, but all in all it was a positive effort by all the dogs.

They're all pretty much gun broke, although Haru is still not a big fan. They're starting to catch on that once the gun goes off, the boar's going down, and that if they can stop the boar I'll be there to finish it off.

I managed to drop my phone on the way to the boar, so no pics or video. At least I found it on the way back to the car. We're all muddy and tired, but home.

Busy Day

2010-07-28T17:39:00.000+09:00

Got a call early yesterday morning that one of the traps set out by the hunter's association had a boar in it. The local hunting season is from November 15th to February 15th, but whenever farmers report crop damage the local government does a survey and when necessary calls in the hunter's association to do a cull. It's pretty much a volunteer community service. In the area I hunt there's quite a bit of crop damage all year round, and high numbers of game living in extremely close proximity to humans, so there's a cull going on almost all year round.

We took a fair amount of boar out of this particular area last season and were a bit worried because the numbers didn't seem to be rebounding as fast as previous years. We took quite a few large sows, so that was probably the main factor. The farmers have been quite happy as the damage to their crops has been minimal so far. In most areas they will do a combination of trapping and hunting with dogs during culls, but the area I hunt mostly just traps.

Had an extremely busy day planned, but in this heat trapped boars don't last very long. Last week I got a call that there was a large female trapped, but due to work I couldn't make it down that day. The next morning one of my friends went out to collect the boar and it had already died from heat stroke. So, dragged my ass out of bed and decided to take Baron along for some training. I would have taken the girls too, but they're both pretty out of it because of the insane heat wave we're experiencing.

It was a small male boar, under 30kg. One of the local hunters has a new 3 year old BT Shikoku female that just arrived from a friend of his down south who's closing down his breeding operation. She's never seen boar before, so we were interested in seeing how she'd do. As soon as I took Baron out of the car, he bee lined it straight to the boar. He bayed it up very well, so we brought the BT female out next. She showed no interest, but also no fear, just trotted around without even noticing the boar. I figured if I brought Baron back out she might get the idea of what she was supposed to do. So here's the video.

You can see that part way through she finally vocalizes a little and then after that really catches on. I took Baron back to the car as he was starting to realize he couldn't get at the boar, and I didn't want him getting bored. After this we hobbled/released the boar. The dogs caught it very quickly, and the Shikoku female was right in there with Baron. She got a good bite in, and held it till we got there. Between the two of them the boar wasn't going anywhere. We dispatched the boar, and took it down to a nearby stream to cool it down. My friend is 72 years old, and the heat was doing a number on him, so he headed home. I gutted the boar, packed it in ice, and sped home to get to work. Had to go out with a client for dinner in Tokyo, so got home around 11pm. I'd left the boar 'refrigerated' in ice in our bathtub (thank god the wife's away).

Anyway, walked the dogs, then got to work setting up a makeshift work area. Usually I butcher at my friend's house using his set up, but because of yesterday's schedule there was no way around bringing it home. Finally finished packing all the meat and sterilizing the bath and kitchen at around 3am. I'm wiped out and taking it easy today.

I've got some video of Baron and the Shikoku after they caught the boar, but it's short and I'm not that big a fan of gory hunting footage. I think it's more humane to get in there and dispatch an animal quickly instead of taking time to film it. Of course if you have someone else there to film, or the dogs are baying that's another story.

Something I Forgot...

2010-06-23T23:27:00.000+09:00

...to add about the other day.

Momo is pretty amazing. After I got bowled over by the boar charging by, when it turned around to come back for me she came charging in an grabbed it before it got to me.

I thought it was a fluke, but when I had her and Baron in the pen the same thing happened. She and Baron went right in to catch, Baron missed, and Momo didn't get a good grab. When the boar charged Baron and nipped him, he yelped. Soon as Momo heard that I saw her react and dive on the boar.

Also, no one got hurt seriously, but after looking at the dogs last night I realized Baron's back leg was a little red where he got nipped, and Momo's side lost some fur and was a bit red where she got nipped. Doesn't seem to be bothering them at all though.

More Pictures From Yesterday

2010-06-21T11:55:00.002+09:00

Baying Bacon (graphic content)

2010-06-20T16:23:00.004+09:00

First my disclaimer: There is graphic content contained in this blog. Please don't bother to read the rest of this post if it will bother you.

I received a call a couple weeks ago from a friend who breeds/shows Shikoku. A couple times a year several of the NK breeders I know will get together and go to a boar dog training facility. They 'test' their dogs to see if they still have their hunting instincts. A couple of the guys I know are hunters, but most aren't. Anyway, they called to invite me out for the day, and I was more than happy to accept. I've been wanting to see what my dogs can do in a controlled environment.

The facility is off in another prefecture, so it was a bit of a drive to get out there. I wasn't sure how long it would take as traffic over here can get pretty wonky. I ended up over estimating to stay on the safe side, and arrived nearly 2 hours early. As luck would have it I was driving along the main road close to the training area when I did a double take while looking at the side of the road. There next to the curb, on the sidewalk, was a medium sized boar. Looked like the poor thing had been hit by a large vehicle, and had broken its hip, front right leg, and was bleeding internally. It was unable to move, and it's very dangerous to leave an injured boar on the sidewalk of a major thoroughfare. So, I got the dogs out to help me move it. They kept it distracted while I moved it back off the sidewalk.

I posted some time back about a deer that fell onto the road off a cliff and was dying. It's not hunting season, so it's actually illegal to kill or even move animals like this. Today, as I did last time, I did what I had to do.

I met up with the rest of the group, and we got set up at the training pen. We picked out a 70kg female (want to minimize the danger to the dogs, and the males have nasty cutters). People tend to think the larger the boar the more dangerous they are. While in terms of brute strength this may be true, medium sized boar are much faster and agile, and are much more dangerous.

The training area is a fenced off side of a mountain. It's got all the natural features intact, trees, pond, overgrown areas etc. A boar is released, and then one (or more depending) of the dogs are released to find and bay up the boar.

We started off with the experienced dogs, as at the beginning the boar is very energetic and feisty. My friend's 3 year old male Kishu was first in. We had a bit of a laugh, as while the dog was doing his best, it was more of a game of boar chasing dog.

After a bit of running around it was time to switch dogs. No one really wanted to go first, so the buck stopped with Momo and I. We went in, and I got to see first hand what a boar hunting machine she is. She had a slightly rocky start, but she has some pretty impressive moves and great baying. Every time the boar tried to run, she was there to stop it. I had a bit of a tough time getting her out to switch dogs as she just kept going in for more.

After a bit of help getting her out, a few of the other older dogs had their go. One of my friend's Kishu males, and another fellow's Kishu female (I know him from my blog but met for the first time today) did really well. I'm biased, but I think everyone would agree with me that Momo was pretty impressive, and possibly was the best dog out there. If not, at least she's very promising.

The boar was not tiring out as fast as we expected, and we needed it to be at least a little slower before letting the younger inexperienced dogs have a go. Again, the lot fell to my dogs seeing as we actually hunt. Momo, Baron and I went in. This is the first time for Baron being on a boar this size, and only his second time on a live boar. Momo went right in, and Baron was right there to. Boars are smart buggers, and right away this one figured out Baron was the weak link and headed right for him. Baron was a bit slow getting out of the way and ended up paying for it by getting charged. He got really mad at the boar after that, and was all back up in its face. We decided that was good enough for Baron's first time, so I pulled him out and went back for Momo. Was a bit of a circus getting Momo out again seeing as she has no stop button. She kept harassing and baying the pig while I tried to find a good spot to get a hold of her. I ended taking a full on charge from the boar at one point and had to vault over it. My first time jumping over a charging boar haha.

After a few more hairy moments (and actually getting bowled over once by the boar) I got Momo out. My friend's 2 veteran Kishu were sent in, and they caught the boar. I got in there right away to get the dogs off, and ended up standing on the edge of a pond holding the two back legs of an angry boar alone. Had to back up to a fence, and let her loose while jumping to safety. Angry little thing sat there under me for a few minutes daring me to get down. Naturally I sat in my safe spot till the boar moved away.

Boar was tired at the point, so it was time to start the younger dogs. They all took turns baying up the boar which by now was pretty used to the dogs, so only made a token move to charge them if they got too close. I got Baron in for another look at the boar, and Haru had a bit of a trot around the pen as well. Once everyone was done, we caught and dispatched the boar.

Everyone got their share of meat, the dogs got some bones, and everyone got ticks. Yup those little buggers are everywhere in the mountains this time of year. I spent a lot of time picking them off my dogs and myself. I prefer to get them off before they bite! Sprayed the dogs and then we headed home. The dogs are tired out, no one got hurt ('cept the boar that was butchered for the table), and it was an amazingly non rainy day. Lots of sweating though as it was pretty humid.

Monkey Business

2010-06-13T21:21:00.002+09:00

Just in case anyone was wondering, my wife came up with the name for my last post...

Day before yesterday I took the dogs out again. Went a bit further south than usual, just below the area where my jeep nearly slid off a mountain road. There's a nationally owned forest nearby, so lots of wildlife. I've seen a lot of monkeys, deer, and boar there in the past.

Well as luck would have it as soon as I get the dogs suited up and out of the car they go tearing up the mountain without me. Turns out there was a troop of monkeys sitting up there, and the area soon filled with their alarm chirps and barks. Haru and Baron already know that monkeys aren't much fun to chase since they're impossible to get at, but Momo didn't seem to have ever experienced this before. She spent a good 40 minutes underneath them baying. I didn't even bother with going up there after the dogs, just called them once and walked off. Haru and Baron got the point and caught up with me after a couple minutes.

Momo was not getting the point at all so I finally had to go back for her. Once I got up there with Haru and Baron, Momo realized it was no fun, and followed us down. We moved further down the road and up a different ridge, and what do you know, we ran into another troop of monkeys. This time all 3 dogs went after them, and all 3 came right back. Good stuff.

After switching ridges again we started tracking a large deer, and a group of small boar. I wanted to give Baron a chance to find them himself as I had an inkling they were close. Haru and Momo waited while Baron and I went looking. As we got close to a large overgrown area full of weeds and bamboo Baron slipped in. Seconds later he started baying, and I heard a loud crash. I was excited that he'd found the boar, and started to pull out my camera to try and get some shots as they were close. I put it right away as the noise started to come towards me at speed. As they finally broke through in front of me I was a bit disappointed to see a large buck in summer coat bounding along with Baron in tow.

I called Baron and walked away, and after a minute he came back. I'm not interested in hunting deer, and while my dogs are pretty good about not chasing them, they still get on them every now and again. I wasn't happy it was a deer, but Baron did a good job finding, flushing, and most of all it was the first time he's bayed something in the mountains. Usually he's just in trying to catch. So I guess all in all it was a good day.

It was a beautiful day, and aside from the abundant ticks, it was pretty enjoyable. Here we are back at the house. Baron isn't afraid of anything... other than heights. Big wussy always wants me to lift him out of the jeep. I've made a drop down ledge for the dogs to jump down onto to minimize the distance to the ground. Haru and Momo use it, but Baron's taking his time. He sat up there whining so I finally had to give him a friendly push.

Walking With My B%$#"!s

2010-06-03T21:24:00.003+09:00

Went to the mountains with my dogs (and the wife!).

We had a nice walk. Warm weather with a cool breeze. What more could we ask for.

Just as we started walking I told my wife the only thing I wanted her to be careful about was the mamushi (a poisonous adder). Around 2 minutes later we ran into one. Bit of irony there, but happy I saw him first.

Checking the GPS.

All my dogs love mud. Dammit.

Baron testing the wallow temperature.

Moving carefully toward the 'action'.

Aka-tora

2010-05-30T23:24:00.003+09:00

I went to Saitama today to attend a gathering of Kai breeders. We were all getting together since the spring Tenrankai season has ended. There were 10 of us all together, and for lunch our host prepared a great bento (Japanese for lunch box?), miso soup, home made pickles, and home made green tea cakes. We talked Kai all day, and I discovered our host has pretty much every out of print book on Kai. I've been looking for these books for ages, so I'm sure it looked like my eyes were popping out of their sockets while I poured over them. I've gotten permission to borrow them in the near future so should be able to get some scans/copies.

It was an extremely informative and fun get together with some very knowledgeable breeders. I'm happy to know them, and have them on hand to answer all my boring questions. Other than one couple that I met for the first time, I've known or been friends with the rest of the breeders for some time now.

I got to take a few pictures of our host's dogs. I decided to post some of this male named Musashi. He's the sire of a pup I sent to a friend in the States a fortnight ago. This is an aka-tora Kai (red brindle).

And here's one of the pup that went to the States' sister.

Group Photo

2010-05-25T21:50:00.005+09:00

Had a fun weekend down south with family, in-law's, and friends. We all got together for my youngest brother's wedding. Aside from the weather, everything went smoothly, and we were all able to enjoy a relaxed (or was it just me relaxing?) celebration.

My dogs go with me pretty much everywhere, and this weekend was no exception. Can be a bit taxing at times, and I don't know if I can keep it up when the numbers increase. For now though, three medium sized dogs is not too much of a problem.

My wife snapped a few pictures of the dogs and I on one of our morning walks. Don't worry about Baron, he just finished a serious coat change and looks mangy as hell.

Snakes

2010-05-18T13:54:00.001+09:00

So I had a bit of an ironic moment yesterday when out with the dogs in the mountains. After a day of exercise chasing boar around, I was leading the dogs down toward the car. We just had a thread on the Nihon Ken Forum about snake proofing dogs the other day... Well Momo and Baron were walking just in front of me, and in about 5 seconds Momo had jumped into the grass, grabbed a snake, crushed its head, and killed it. Of course Baron thought Momo flailing the snake around looked fun, so came to see what was going on. Haru knows better.

It was a non poisonous grass snake, but either way, it was over so fast I think that even if it was poisonous there was no hope for the snake.

We had a nice walk through the mountains, the three dogs and my bro-in-law. Tried a bit of fishing afterward as well.

Haru and I

2010-05-16T15:50:00.003+09:00

Had just finished walking the dogs yesterday when my wife whipped out the camera to snap a few pics of Haru and I. I've got loads of pictures of dogs, but seeing as I'm always behind the camera I have almost none WITH my dogs.

I guess that's pretty much the case with everyone and their dogs, but I figured it would be nice for me to have some pics with me in them as well :P Going to take some more pics with the Kishu later. Baron just blew his coat and looks god awful. I wanted to take a video of the shedding to show you how nuts it was, but didn't get around to it. For some reason Haru's never done a full blown blow like that. Her coat changes are much more subdued.

Tips For Shipping Dogs

2010-05-16T15:32:00.003+09:00

I was working on a post about shipping tips when I came across this http://www.dog-answers.com/Flying-Your-Dog-Safely.html

It pretty much covered everything I already had listed, and then some, so I'm posting it in it's entirety here.

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Flying your dog safely is a concern addressed by the Animal Welfare Act. This Federal law protects animals commercially transported by requiring minimum standards of care. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) enforces this law.

Here are some tips to ensure flying your dog safely:

Take your dog to the Vet. Airlines and state health officials generally require health certificates for all animals transported by air. In most cases, health certificates must be issued by a licensed Vet, who examined your dog within 10 days of transportation.

If you are traveling abroad, check with the country your pet is going to. Most have quarantine policies. Each country has their own set of rules. For specific country info: http://www.aphis.usda.gov/vs/ncie/iregs/animals/

Check with the airline well in advance of travel regarding its animal transport rules. A few airline Transport Websites are listed below:

Dogs must be at least 8 weeks old and must have been weened before traveling by air.

Kennels must meet minimum standards for size, strength, sanitation, and ventilation. They must be enclosed and allow room for your dog to stand, sit, and lie in a natural position.

Get your dog used to the kennel it will be traveling in. Let it spend varying lengths of time in the kennel several days before travel. Some dogs get very stressed when placed in a strange cage. An familiarized pet will reduce that stress. Also, you may wish to put some article of clothing that you have worn in the kennel during transportation. This may help calm the pet. An old T-shirt that you have slept in for one or more nights will work well.

Label the pet carrier with your permanent and travel address and phone numbers. Same goes for the ID tag on your dog's collar.

Instructions for feeding and water over a 24 hour period should be attached to the kennel. The 24 hour schedule will help the airline in case the flight is diverted from its original destination.

Sedation of your pet is not generally recommended for air travel. Refer to a statement from the American Veterinary Medial Association (AVMA)

Use direct flights whenever possible. This will minimize your dog's flight time, accidental transfers or delays.

Travel on the same flight as your pet, if possible.

Carry a leash with you. Walk your pet before check-in and after arrival.

Only small dogs can go in the cabin. Some airlines may not even allow them in, and will transport them as special baggage in a heated and ventilated hold. Do not worry, dogs actually travel better this way because it is quieter and they will rest in a darkened environment.

Contact the airline you have selected to confirm that they accept your pet on the day and flight that you prefer. Some airlines restrict the number of animals on a flight so the more advance notice you give them the better it is. Reconfirm at least 48 hours before departure.

Find out how soon before the flight you have to check in. Pets become stressed with all the bustle at an airport, so keep it to a minimum. If your pet is allowed in the cabin, check in as late as possible. If it is going in the hold, check in early so that it can go to the baggage area and be put somewhere quiet and dimly lit in order to relax.

To prepare your pet, reduce the quantity of food the day before but give it enough water; take your dog for a walk before leaving for the airport and again before check-in. A light meal 2 hours before tendering the animal to the carrier will help to calm it and is a legal requirement in the United States.

If you ship your pet as air freight, check with the airline to ensure the air freight facility is open so your pet may be claimed by the consignee.

It is better to ship your pet on weekdays as all staff are working and liaison is easier all along the route. Avoid holidays if possible.

Transport of pug nose dogs, such as boxers, pugs, bulldogs and Pekinese, in hot season is not recommended. These animals have difficulty in maintaining a normal body temperature in hot weather.

Carry a current photo of your dog. If he is accidentally lost, having a current photo will make the search easier.

Exporting Dogs From Japan: Part 2

2010-05-14T20:34:00.003+09:00

How much do Nihon Ken cost in Japan? Well the easy answer is: Whatever the breeder decides to charge.

Generally though, most go for between $500-$1500 US. Of course there are exceptions. If you are looking for a particular type, or a pup from a particular breeding, expect to pay a premium (sometimes double the usual price). Shiba are an exception to this price range. I've heard of dogs going for well over $10,000 US. In the sane world of medium sized Nihon Ken, expect to pay around the above amount. Akita pups also tend to cost quite a bit, along the lines of Shiba prices.

So total costs you will be looking could be something like this.

Pup: 100,000 yen
Crate: 10,000 yen
Vaccination: 8,000 yen
Rabies Vaccine: 5,000 yen
Shipping: 20,000 yen - 150,000 yen

There will also most likely be a few odds and ends that come that will need to be paid for, usually another 10,000-20,000 yen.

Bear in mind that these are the prices you are looking at if you can take care of everything yourself. If you go through a 'broker', or have someone doing the translation, paperwork etc for you, you will be looking at higher prices.
I think that pretty much sums up the costs and details about exporting. I'll edit this post if I think of anything. Feel free to ask any relevant questions in the comment box.

Lastly, here are some helpful links.

Nihon Ken Hozonkai (Nippo) http://www.nihonken-hozonkai.or.jp/
Kai Ken Aigokai http://www7a.biglobe.ne.jp/~kaikenaigo/
Akita Inu Hozonkai http://www.akitainu-hozonkai.com/index.html
Hokkaido Ken Kyokai http://www.doukenkyou.com/

Animal Quarantine Services http://www.maff.go.jp/aqs/english/qanda/dogcatqaex.html

Exporting Dogs From Japan

2010-05-14T18:28:00.009+09:00

I get a lot of mail from people overseas asking about the Japanese dog breeds, and how to find/export them. In this post I'm going to try and explain the basics of exporting dogs from Japan. I'm putting out a disclaimer on this that export regulations are subject to change at any time w/o notice, and the information in this post will eventually end up getting outdated. Do your own research and cover all bases. Hopefully though someone will find this information useful.

To start with I'd like to answer the most common questions, yes, you can export them, and no, I don't know of any breeders that speak English.

Some myths I've heard about exporting Nihon Ken include:

1. They are Natural Monuments so cannot be exported.
2. Breeders will not send dogs overseas because they are protecting their culture.
3. There is an extremely long quarantine.
4. It costs an arm and a leg.

While the communication barrier makes it extremely hard for someone overseas to find and export a dog from Japan, it's not impossible. I'm going to try and break down the details here for anyone interested.

First, finding a breeder. It is true that most breeders won't send dogs overseas. The reason is not that the Japanese breeds cannot be exported, or that they want to protect their culture. The truth is that most breeders in Japan are older, have little grasp of English, don't know the first thing about exporting animals, and the thought of dealing with all the details that go into export and communicating with a foreigner is terrifying. Almost all Nihon Ken breeders are non profit family run kennels. They are not professionals out to breed/sell dogs. It's a hobby.

All that being said, these are rare breeds even in Japan. Breeders will want to keep their best dogs for breeding, or pass them on to breeders. I have met a few breeders who did not want to send dogs overseas, but they are few and far between. If you don't have any connections with breeders in Japan, calling the Nihon Ken Hozonkai (Japanese Dog Preservation Society) office is an option (though of course you will need to speak Japanese). I know they have helped to arrange for pups to be shipped overseas. If you're looking for a Kai, the Kai Ken Aigokai (Kai Dog Protection Society) would be the place to call. For Hokkaido Ken, call the Hokkaido Ken Kyokai (Hokkaido Dog Association). Lastly if you're looking for Akita, then call the Akita Inu Hozonkai (Akita Dog Preservation Society). When you call any of these Japanese breed associations, it's important to let them know exactly what you are looking for.

Now for the brass tacks.

As far as import restrictions in your country, you will have to do some research. I know that even in the States, restrictions vary from state to state. So, all I can give you is the information you'll need to get them out of the country.

1. The dog must be over 2 months old.
2. A examination reservation will need to be made at the Animal Quarantine Center of the airport the animal will be flying out of, preferably at least 7 days in advance of the flight.
3. The dog will need a health certificate stating that the animal is free from signs of Letopspirosis and Rabies, and is in good health. You can have this examination done at any animal hospital, or can make arrangements for the certificate to be issued at the AQC on the day of the flight. This certificate must be issued a maximum of 7 days prior to the day of the flight.

If over 3 months, the dog will usually need a rabies shot at least 30 days prior to leaving the country. If over 4 months in most cases it is necessary for the dog to be up to date on all vaccinations. Microchips when exporting dogs from Japan are optional, but some countries require imported dogs to be chipped.

Shipping. There are two ways ship a dog out of the country, accompanied (carry on or check in of the flight you are on) and unaccompanied (as cargo). If you are taking pups with you out of the country you will need to make arrangements in advance with your airline. Most airlines require a minimum of 72 hours notice, but it's best to make arrangements when you book your flight. There is a limited number of space for animals on any given flight, and if they are full your dog will not be able to fly with you. To make your reservation you will usually need to give the airline information about the weight/age/type of dog, and the dimensions of the crate you will be shipping it in. Some airlines allow dogs that fit under a size/weight limit to be crated and taken aboard as carry on. This is the exception however.

To ship a pup unaccompanied (as cargo), you will need to make arrangements with a shipping company. In Japan you cannot deal directly with the airline about shipping live animals, they will refer you to a shipping agent. The shipping agent will need to have all the necessary information on the dog and crate size at least 10 days prior to your desired shipping date. The shipping agencies have offices near the international airports here in Japan, and you will usually have to arrange some sort of transport to the office. Some companies offer a pick up service. The dog will need to have its exam at the AQC (booked a week in advance remember!) on the day of the flight, and then needs to be taken to the shipping agent. The shipping agent can make the reservation, do the paperwork and take the dog to its inspection for you for a fee. It usually costs around 25,000 yen. Once at the shipping office they will double check all the details, you will make payment for the shipping, and from there the shipping agent does the rest.

The Crate: Airline's have regulations regarding crates. Most follow IATA guidelines. To put it simply the crate must be big enough for the dog to stand at full height and not have it's ears touching the roof. The dog must also be able to turn around and lie down comfortably. There are other rules regarding the type of crate to be used, but that's the size regulations for you. Each airline has it's own particular regulations, so you'll need to check with your airline.

Shipping Costs: Obviously costs will vary according to destination. Taking a dog back with you as check in though is surprisingly affordable. Fees vary according to airline and destination, but as an example it cost around $200 to take a medium sized crate holding a 2 month old pup to Portland last month.

Shipping a dog as cargo gets a bit pricier. For most destinations in the Continental United States shipping will cost anywhere from $1000-$1500.This is for a medium sized 2-3 month old NK pup in a medium sized crate. It is possible that it may cost more to some destinations Stateside. Shipping a crate with 2 pups to France a couple months back did cost closer to $3000.

Most airlines will allow pups that are under certain age/size limits to be crated together. The age/size varies by airline. When shipping cargo you are billed by crate size, so there is no difference in shipping costs if you ship 1 or 2 pups.
There's a bit more I need to add to this post, but the pups are whining for their evening walk. I'll round this off with a part 2 later tonight or tomorrow. Will add links to relevant websites.

More Nihon Ken Pictures

2010-05-08T16:59:00.003+09:00

Here's another picture from the other day of a Shikoku Ken male.

And one of a Shikoku Ken pup.

Black Shikoku.

More Riku

2010-05-07T21:55:00.001+09:00

Another shot of Youtube's Kai Ken 'Riku' with a big smile for his owner.

BBQ Season

2010-05-07T14:30:00.003+09:00

We've finally pulled out of winter, and seem to have gone directly into summer.

It was snowing toward the end of April, and this past week we've had blistering heat. I'm down with summer though, so no complaints. We've had 2 BBQ's in the past week. Just thought I'd throw up some pictures. Having the Nikon back in action is bliss.

Momo came along, she was great with the kids.

Seriously tasty grilled chicken going on here.

Thanks to my brother/sister in-law for the great BBQ! They live in a residential area, but it's got plenty of rice fields around. While there I heard a pheasant nearby, so rushed off to snap some shots. Managed to get pretty close. Good thing hunting season is a long way off, or he would have ended up on the grill.

Angry Kai

2010-05-07T12:58:00.002+09:00

I was over at my friend's kennel yesterday picking up a pup, and took a few pics of his dogs.

He's got two stud males, Boss and Riki. As you can see from the pictures they don't get along, but it was rather funny watching the way they interact. Two angry males with a lot of posturing going on, each claiming his side of the courtyard.

For the record, the kuro-tora Kai 'Boss' is the boss. Riki puts on a big show, but it's rather hilarious watching him shrink around Boss.

More pictures

2010-05-03T12:33:00.003+09:00

This is Riku, a friend's dog. He's probably one of the most famous Kai in the world as his videos have been up on Youtube for quite a while.

Nippo Kanto Rengo

2010-05-03T11:14:00.002+09:00

So went to the Nippo Kanto Event today. Crazy traffic on the way, around 40km to be exact. We've just entered 'Golden Week' which is a week or so of holidays here in Japan. Beautiful weather though, it actually got T-shirt hot. This is the last Nippo event till autumn rolls around.

Since the Nikon is functional again my wife ran around snapping pictures. I was busy with dog stuff most of the day, so I'm happy she tagged along. I think this is like the second time I've gotten her to come along to a Japanese dog breed event.

I was so busy greeting/talking to friends, and looking at pups that I missed most of the showing. We got to see a lot of Kai as there are quite a few breeders in the area. Fun day, and there's another Kai pup in the house. For now anyway. She's the cutest pup I've seen in ages, and I've totally fallen in love with her temperament.

Weight

2010-04-28T21:59:00.003+09:00

Just weighed the dogs today. Been trying to fatten them all up a bit recently. Haru because she was a bit thin after the hunting season, Momo because she was a bit malnourished, and Baron because he's a growing boy.

Haru weighed in at 14kg which is the heaviest she's every been to date. Baron is at 19kg. Momo weighed 14.8kg when she arrived here in March, but now weighs 16kg.

Short Video of Kai Pups

2010-04-26T11:30:00.002+09:00

Just a short video I took of the pups yesterday. The red is my favorite, with the pink coming in a close second. The pink pup LOVES people, but I personally prefer pups that are not quite THAT friendly, haha.

Kai Puppies

2010-04-25T21:02:00.002+09:00

Went to look at a litter of pups today as I'm thinking of adding another Kai to our pack. These pups were sired by an aka-tora (red brindle) male, and chu-tora (medium brindle) female. The sire is from a kennel that shows and hunts with their Kai.

Training

2010-04-25T19:24:00.002+09:00

Finally some nice weather and the day off! After much thought I loaded up all three dogs into the Jimny. It's kinda crowded, but at least all my dogs are well behaved in cars. The main purpose for taking the dogs out was to see how they are when solo, so I walked one at a time. Ended up doing nearly 20km, but it was worth it. A beautiful day out in the mountains with the dogs.

Took a bit of video, but be warned that I filmed while walking so prepare for motion sickness. All the dogs did great and are coming along nicely. We didn't come across any boar as they were not where I'd expect them to be.

Had a bit of drama at the end of the day with Momo and Haru. Momo jumped Haru as she does every so often. Funny thing is that Momo always seems to come out worse for it as the cut above her eye attests. I'm not sure if I'll be able to work with Momo to solve her dog aggression issues. If she were a house pet it would not be a problem, but as a hunting dog that is let loose in the mountains it is a liability. Rather than saying she's dog aggressive I chalk it up to lack of socialization. She doesn't greet dogs well for the first time, and actually gets up in their face. The other issue is that she's definitely not used to having other dogs around her food or things she considers valuable, and that is where the problems with Haru kick in. Either way, will put in a bit more work and see if this can't be fixed.

More Tenrankai

2010-04-11T19:07:00.001+09:00

Here's a video of a Kai going through some training outside the Tenrankai ring.

And a group shot with the overall champion flag.

Kai Ken Aigokai Tenrankai Spring 2010

2010-04-09T11:34:00.002+09:00

So last Sunday was the Spring Tenrankai (exhibition) of the Kai Ken Aigokai (preservation society?). It's held every year in Yamanashi prefecture on the first Sunday of April and the last Sunday of October.

This year was my first time showing a dog there, Haru made her debut. I get a lot of mixed reviews on her. She's a gorgeous dog, very sound and extremely athletic, but has a few flaws. Regardless I decided for her sake and mine to show her this year. The weather cooperated and the cherry blossoms were beautiful. There were just over 160 Kai entered, with many more there to watch the show.

A couple from Oregon who've been looking for Kai pups managed to arrange their schedules so they could come to the show, and we had a grand time together. Everyone loved having the 'gaijin' (foreigners) there and many stopped to talk with them and take pictures. We even had the judges coming over to talk and look at the pups that were going over to the States. They were very impressed by the male pup that was going over, with one gentleman even asking if Kaito was for sale.

Inoue-san (Haru's breeder) returned the overall champion banner that his male Riki won last Fall at the opening ceremony, and another friend of mine who's female Tsuki finished second to Riki returned the Terada trophy cup. Inoue-san had a wonderful time introducing the foreigners to everyone, and seemed to thoroughly enjoy the day.

Haru was entered in the juvenile female category against 20 other bitches, and ended up in 12th place. I had a good laugh as after the morning 'kotai shinsa' (conformation check) I randomly guessed she'd be 12th, but if we were lucky maybe 10th. All in all it was a great experience for both man and beast, with Haru doing exceptionally well in the ring. She's usually very energetic and it's hard to get her to do her 'stand', but as soon as we were in the ring she got right into her groove. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and am seriously hooked now. Just thinking about the fall show gets me excited.

So without further ado, here are some pictures. I didn't take any pictures or video this show as I was busy with Haru and running around translating. These pictures and video are courtesy of my new friends from Oregon. Good luck with the pups! I'm now catching up on all the sleep I missed out on for the past 2 months. Here at my place we're now back down to 3 dogs, Haru, Baron and Momo. Haru and Momo are both coming out of heat and not a moment too soon.

New Videos

2010-04-09T09:49:00.002+09:00

So after several months of working with sub par computers, I finally put together a new one. Got to work capturing/uploading video, so here's a few new ones.

New Kishu

2010-03-22T19:40:00.002+09:00

So I know my blog is titled Tora Inu, but I've gotten another Kishu. She's a 3 year old female Kishu. Her previous owner decided he wasn't going to hunt, so though she's not a 'finished' dog, she's had some experience on pigs. I haven't taken her out yet but from what I've seen her drive is off the hook.

Had a bit of drama picking her up at the airport. She tore up the crate she was in leaving her in a sorry state, a few cracked teeth, and one lost molar. She doesn't do well being confined at all. She tried to chew through a doorway the other day. She's had very little socialization or training (by my standards anyway) but we're taking it day by day. Mainly I have to be comfortable with letting her loose in the mountains, so most of the training revolves around that.

She's not in the greatest of shape, had a bad UTI and is a bit haggard, so I'm working on bulking her up. She's not the greatest with dogs she meets, but I managed to work through the first few days and now her and Baron are best buddies. She does well with Haru as well, but they don't play as much. Course it may have to do with Haru going into heat and pulling Momo into heat as well.

Things are going crazy here at the moment. I've got the usual gang of Haru/Baron and now Momo, plus the Kai pups. Loads of fun, but loads of work.

Nuts

2010-03-20T22:29:00.002+09:00

So today I picked up the two Kai girls. There's such a size discrepancy it's hilarious. Will try and get some pictures up tomorrow. For now I'm going to try to get some sleep in a room with 3 cats and 7 dogs. Nuts!

And I've got the Chiba regional Nippo show to go to tomorrow. Busy day. Oh, and Haru and Momo are in heat and Baron's got an upset stomach.

The Boys Today

2010-03-14T14:13:00.003+09:00

Took the boys with me to the hardware store for some socialization yesterday and today. Of course everyone loves these little bear cubs. I've also got them some collars and will get them used to leashes in the next few days. They've passed the 5kg mark.

More Kai pups

2010-03-07T00:56:00.006+09:00

Visited another friend and his dogs today to look at some pups.

Video of the boys

2010-03-07T00:35:00.001+09:00

Just a short video I took on my mobile the other day of the 2 new boys.

The Boys

2010-03-04T18:46:00.004+09:00

So we've got 2 temporary additions to the pack. These two little brothers were born in Shizuoka prefecture on December 30th. Their sire is Tone-no-Isshin a past tenrankai overall winner. Their mother comes from some famous lines as well.

Now as to why they're here temporarily, while I will be adding more Kai in the future, at least one of these pups is going overseas. They'll be here for around a month, and Haru and Baron are doing great as baby sitters.

Most of the work I do now involves translation and import/export. Since I've been receiving a lot of correspondence from overseas about exporting Nihon Ken, finding available pups is beginning to take up a good portion of my time. I'm definitely not complaining as being around dogs 24/7 is alright by me.

Course with these new boys around my sleep schedule has gone to the dogs (lame pun intended). They're lively little ones, very outgoing and friendly toward people and dogs. They are as yet un-named so I just call them 'chibi' (lil' one), and they both respond to that. I slept with them in their little enclosure the first night, but they're doing fine sleeping on their own now.

All the pups in this litter were very similar in type/size/temperament. It was really difficult to pick 2 out. There were 4 boys and 1 girl and luckily I had first pick. They are kuro-tora, but their brindling is already slightly visible, and it will mostly increase as they get older.

Of the two boys, one looks thinner, but I've realized that he's actually taller and longer than his brother. He has more brindling, a slightly thinner head, thinner more erect tail, but wider muzzle.

The other pup was I thought the better of the two pups at first, but after seeing them for a week I think they're pretty even. This pup is thicker all around, wide head, darker coloration, thicker tail, thinner muzzle, and a little shorter than his brother.

Temperament wise, they're both pretty similar, outgoing, energetic, fearless. However I think the thicker pup pays a bit more attention to people, while the thinner one likes other dogs attention more.

Almost forgot, the thicker pup has a patch of around 10 white hairs on his chest.

I apologize for the picture quality, they were taken on a mobile.

Baron's littermates

2010-02-22T11:56:00.002+09:00

My Kishu Baron's littermates have all (I think) gone to hunting homes. This is a short video of one of his brothers, Takeshi, seeing boar for the first time.

Nippo Kanagawa Regional

2010-02-21T22:27:00.002+09:00

Today I went down with our local group of Nippo breeders to the Nihonken Hozonkai Kanagawa regional. My friend who's juvenile Shikoku male placed 3rd in the national event last November earned 1st place at this regional. He also brought along one of his pups from a recent litter to get her used to the atmosphere. I got a short video of her playing with another Shikoku pup, so here's the upload.

Another friend's kuro-goma Shikoku male placed 3rd in the same juvenile bracket. To round it off the 4th member of our group today entered his female Shiba and took 8th place.

More Kai pups

2010-02-21T18:57:00.003+09:00

More pictures of the 2 female pups and their parents. The dam is Megu, she placed 4th at the last Tenrankai, and the sire is Riki who took overall champion.

Kai Pups

2010-02-20T18:10:00.002+09:00

I went to take a look at some pups that were born at a friend's kennel. The first two pictures are of the smaller female, she's a little more reserved, but oddly enough she photographed better. The last three are of the larger female. She's very outgoing and active, and has a white patch on her chest.

Yesterday I went to look at another litter as well, but it was impossible to take pictures of the little boys running all over the place.

2010-02-12T18:59:00.002+09:00

With the season drawing to a close, I headed down to my brother's place. He's been asking me to take him and a couple of his students out to the mountains. The weather report wasn't promising, but it ended up alright.

I haven't actually hunted the area down there much, twice in the past 3 years actually, so it was a good chance to scout out the place. LOT's of boar tracks, from the looks of it there are a couple family groups in that small spot we hunted. Didn't manage to figure out where they were holed up, but a nice walk through the mountains anyway. For round 1 in the morning it was just Haru out there, and Baron joined in for round 2 in the afternoon.

Recently I've been wondering if Haru might not have what it takes to be a successful hunter. She's still young though, so I'm giving her time. This trip she really seemed to be making some progress, though she really does seem very 'birdy'. During round 2 she flushed and chased a deer that was laid up less than 3 meters away from us under a pile of fallen logs and brush. Could see she was onto something, but thought it was a bird or small game. She jumped right in the pile of logs and out popped a deer. She tore of after it, had a few barks in here and there when she was right behind it, and came back around 15 minutes later. Baron was downhill and didn't see the deer, but when he came up and caught the scent he took off as well. Came back within 5 minutes though.

At the end of the hike, Haru caught scent on the wind and went bounding up the hill to our right. Around 30 meters up she flushed a yamadori which is a bird similar in size and look to a pheasant. Yamadori season ended on the 15th of last month, so I let that one go.

Back near the car we spotted a lot of hiyodori flying around above a stream. My brother was anxious to try some on the BBQ so we knocked down a few and I showed them how to prep the birds. They were really quite tasty. We managed a nice BBQ with a side of ribs and yakiniku from the boar I took last Saturday.

I spent the night, and just my brother and I headed out the next day. There was a slight drizzle, and it was starting to get cold, but nothing too harsh. Got a new deer call for calling in Muntjac sent over from the UK and decided to give it a go. Muntjac escaped/were released from a small zoo that went bankrupt several years back, and since then they've established a large feral population in the prefecture. There is a lot of effort going into eradication, but they're very elusive little deer. Since they breed all year round, using deer calls seems to work well. I've now tried the call 3 times, and all 3 times I've had Muntjac come pretty close in.

After fiddling around with the deer call we got the dogs out to walk them a bit. Went down to the road aways to a bamboo thicket above some fields. There was a lot of boar sign up there, and as we headed up I heard some movement up to the left. Baron went after it, but seems the pig wasn't interested in stopping at all. I was right on Baron's heels in case he should get into trouble, but there wasn't any. The rain was picking up so we headed back to my brother's.

Had a good trip, got to see my 3 cute little nieces, and have a bit of fun hanging out as well. Took today off as the weather was crap, but will be back out in the mountains for the last 3 days of the season starting tomorrow.

Too Funny

2010-02-08T18:43:00.001+09:00

3 days in the Mountains

2010-01-18T09:49:00.002+09:00

So I've been pretty busy since I quit my salaried job at the end of October. That being said, I'm sure my dear wife would beg to differ. I have been having quite a bit of fun. I was determined to get the most out of the hunting season this year, and it's definitely been a memorable one. But hey, starting a new business, running around all over the country and back and forth to the mountains every other day, keeping up with 2 pups, things never seem to slow down.

To go back to last year, I met so many amazing people, and had so many great experiences. I feel I was really blessed. From work, to dogs and hunting, every corner I've turned I've run into people who have taught me so much. If there is such a thing as 'luck', I've had my share of its good side. While I'm not a religious person, and I'm not big on fate or luck, I do believe that good guys do not finish last. Do your best to be honest and appreciate the people around you, and good things will come.

This past week I took Haru and Baron south, and loaded up my gear in the jeep for 3 days in the mountains. I've done a DIY job on the jeep to where there's a bed in it and a crated area for the dogs. It's also maximized the jeeps limited storage capabilities. All in all, had a great few (cold) days out.

We arrived around noon on Friday with a few hours to hunt. Decided to check out a new area, pulled up, and let the dogs out by the side of the road to do their business and play a bit. Next thing I know Baron whips up the side of the hill next to the clearing I was parked in, I hear branches snapping, and out runs a 80kg-90kg boar. My heart skipped a beat, Baron is just under 4 months old and in no condition to be taking on a boar, let alone a big one. Having parked right next to some farm houses, and on the side of the road next to a loud construction site, I would never have imagined a pig that close. Neither of the dogs had tracking collars on, and in a flash they were both chasing the fleeing pig. I wheeled around, grabbed my gun, and charged after them.

Trying to keep up with 2 dogs chasing a pig in the mountains is hard, but I was terrified of the thought the pig might stop and charge the dogs, so I was flying after them. I think with all the noise I was making the pig figured it would be better to keep running, but after a bit the dogs got ahead of me in a bamboo thicket and I couldn't see which way they'd gone. There wasn't much I could do other than try to 'recall' the dogs. After a few recall whistles and yells, Haru came running back, but Baron was nowhere in sight. A few gut wrenching minutes went by before I could see the little white terrorist bounding back through the bamboo. I lucked out.

So, very proud on the one hand that at every turn Baron seems to know pigs, but feeling downright stupid for allowing that situation. Guess all the walks (in mountains with no large game) paid off, and he knew to come back when called. I got the dogs leashed up, and popped them back in the car while I scouted out the area for the rest of the afternoon. Not going to let Haru out with big pigs like that in the neighborhood.

After a slightly chilly night in the mountains, we were up the next morning at the crack of dawn. And then went back to sleep till around 9. Yup, no rush to get out there when I'm hunting solo. Went back to the area Baron rustled up the pig, and decided to try and stalk it. After an hour I found it laid up in some bamboo. That was the good news, bad news being the bamboo was so thick, and there was fallen debris everywhere making it impossible to get close enough to take a shot. I spent a good hour trying to get closer, but finally a wind change gave me away, and the boar plowed downhill through the forest leaving me with no shot. Happens a lot when stalking.

Slightly disappointed, but trying to make the most of the day, I scouted out the rest of the mountain. I had plans to go out the next day with my two other hunting buddies and their dogs, and figured having a 'plan b' just in case our usual mountain didn't work out would be good. We've taken 4 pigs so far in this one mountain, and while there are a couple left, they've gotten pretty good at evading dogs and hunters. There's one 100kg plus male in there that has killed 2 dogs owned by a hunter we know on different occasions. We also had one of my friends dogs cut (slightly) last week when we finally found him. This pig is dangerous, and amazingly smart. He tends to shake the dogs by running around the farmhouses at the bottom of the mountain. No fear of the dogs that he knows are chained up down there.

Anyway, got all bundled up in the jeep for another night out. Decided to park down by the lake under some street lights, as there's a public restroom down there. About 2 hours later I wake up to some heavy handed knocking. Yes, the local cops on patrol were freaking out because the windows of the car were fogged up. They thought someone was committing suicide in their car (all too common over here). After checking my license and a quick look around the car, they realized I'm just a nutty hunter and not suicidal. Hey, if I wanted to die I could just let the boars charge me, or blow my brains out, right?

Well thanks to that interruption I was unable to sleep for the rest of the night. Got together with my friends at 7, decided to try out the new spot I'd found and then do our mountain later. Well as we were pulling out, the head of a local hunting group we know came driving up. We're on good terms with them, so asked where they were planning to go. Turns out they wanted to hunt the same spot, so we let them have it, and I told them where the pigs were laid up. Off we went to our usual spot.

30 minutes in, 1 of the dogs headed down hill, while 2 kept on going. Myself and one of my buddies stayed to see what the dog was up to. This dog has a really good nose, and is an excellent tracker. 2 minutes later he was onto a pig, and we could hear him baying it up. On the walkie our friend up ahead said the other 2 dogs were onto something as well. After walking this mountain every week since the season opened, I pretty much know where everything is, and where the animals head when they're chased so I ran ahead to cut off the escape route. A minute later I hear something tearing downhill toward me at my ambush spot. I disengage the safety, get sighted in on the area the boar should come from, and out charges a big buck.

Deer are hunted in limited numbers here in Chiba, and only under a special license. We don't have one, so had to let this big boy go. He got to within 10 meters of me, and was bearing straight down on me, so I yelled at him. He did a beautiful bounce to the left, and was off in a flash with 2 of the dogs hot on his tail. Seeing a deer bounding through the forest at close quarters is amazing. They look like they're flying through the air in slow motion. Well anyway, one of the hunters I know can hunt deer, so maybe we'll get some venison for the freezer before the season ends.

2 of the dogs were on the deer, but the 3rd was still on a pig. I ran to the next point to cut him off, but the 1 dog was doing a great job of slowing him down. He bayed that pig up for half an hour, enough time to go pick up the 2 dogs that had gone back to the truck, and take them to the fresh scent trail. The one dog was having trouble keeping the pig stopped, every time one of my buddies would get close, it would bolt. After getting the other two dogs on the trail, they stopped the pig in no time. The pig weighed in at right around 70kg, and was a female.

There were more fresh tracks from the big bad boar in the area, so we got the sow to my friend's house to butcher later, and headed back out. After a long afternoon, the dogs finally rustled up another medium sized pig, but it crossed into the next mountain. That big bad boy is still out there somewhere, and hopefully we'll be able to find him before the end of the season. The freezer is full of meat again, just in time for the BBQ down at a friend's bar on the 24th.

Sad news. I have no pictures because I haven't fixed the Nikon yet (I know, it broke 6 months ago), and my new mobile phone runs out of batteries in less than 24 hours even if I don't use it at all (that can't be right). Lastly, I managed to drop my my cheap, but handy video camera, while running through a swamp to get to the pig. Will have to find a new indestructible piece of equipment that can handle all the abuse I heap on my electronic gadgets.

Happy New Year!

2010-01-07T11:41:00.002+09:00

Spent the 1st with my wife's relatives, lots of great food. On the 2nd and 3rd headed out to the mountains. Brought in a 35kg pig and had some great 'yakiniku'.

We went for a bit of a trip on the 4th to meet up with Taro, one of Baron's littermates. Taro is nearly twice the size of Baron, and an all round happy go lucky friendly pup. We had a nice walk up in the mountains with Haru, Baron and Taro, and they had fun playing around. Baron wasn't so happy with the black Labrador, and kept growling at him, he tends to get that way with certain dogs.

On the 5th I went down south to my brother's place and we took Haru out for some training. She flushed a pig at the end of the day, and all in all it was a good experience.

The cats and Haru seem to all have upset stomachs at the moment, so I'm pretty frazzled. cleaning up after them. Baron had a reaction to his second vaccination last month, and was sick for a few days afterwards. He lost quite a bit of weight there, but is doing fine now. Funny that now I have 2 dogs that have issues with vaccinations. Will have to give this some thought.

Anyway, HAPPY NEW YEAR ALL!

More bacon...

2009-12-20T21:23:00.002+09:00

Went out with the same guys as yesterday after a female we figured was still in the area. Took us all day to find her, but we nabbed her at 3pm. She was a monster female at over 100kg. Again the locals were shocked, as were we, and again we took ages to drag her out of the mountain.

I'd post more as the whole day was another interesting story, but I'm seriously tired out. Fridge is already full, so just brought home one huge liver and heart and gave the rest away.

Time to get some serious sleep.

Bacon galore

2009-12-19T21:16:00.004+09:00

Went out hunting with 2 friends today. Found some monster tracks from a male that just came into the area the night before, most likely in search of females in heat. We took a few hours to stake out the area, then headed in. We took my 3 of my friend's dogs in as Haru's definitely not ready for a big boar yet.

Around 45 minutes in, one of the dogs found him laid up in a bamboo fortress. The other 2 dogs jumped in right away, and less than a minute from when the first dog found the boar, the dogs had him locked down. Since there were three of us, we headed down the ridge with me walking the center. We wanted to make sure this bad boy didn't get away, and decided to block his escape routes.

No worries there, the boar was comfortable fighting where he was (less than 10 meters from where he was sleeping), and it was all over in around 5 minutes. 2 shots fired (by my friend), with one hitting him in the vitals, and we moved in to finish him off.

An excellent good fast hunt that went exactly according to plan, no dogs hurt, and a 130kg+ (friend's scale broke recently, but 2 weeks ago they took a boar that weighed 132kg and this one was apparently much bigger) boar down. Getting the boar was the easy part. We spent 2 hours getting him down the mountain, and another 3 and a half butchering it. He was so big we had to get help to deal with the moving/butchering. He was a seriously fat pig, and seeing as all the pigs we've seen in the area recently are, it looks like there's plenty of good eating around. The local hunters that came to help were shocked at the size of this guy, apparently they don't see many this big around there. Judging by the footprints though, I think I've seen larger ones further south.

Now I've got a freezer and fridge full of meat, and am trying to think of all the different ways to cook it. Tried a few slices off the rump fried in salt and pepper, and it was really good. I thought being a male and that big the meat would be a bit tough, but it was pretty much the same texture as store bought pork but with a little bit more flavor.

Heading out again tomorrow after a smaller female who's tracks we also saw this morn.

Got some good training in for Haru and Baron today as well. A small pig was caught in a box trap nearby, and one of the local hunters told me about it. I took them in one at a time to see their reactions. Baron went charging right at him barking, got a little scared when the pig charged toward him, but picked right up again afterward. As usual I barked along with him :) Haru was a lot more cautious, and opted to stand safely behind me barking at the caged pig. Was excellent to see where they're both at, and I'm going to work to slowly get them where they need to be to hunt pigs as safely as possible. Took some video today, so when I get around to it I'll post again.

Here's some low quality pics off my mobile of the boar.

Sake

2009-12-14T12:23:00.003+09:00

Went to a 'Bo-nen-kai' which is basically a year end party to close out and 'forget' ('Bo'=forget,'Nen'=year) the past year. I was invited to this one by a Shikoku breeder, and thought it was supposed to be a small 5-6 person deal. Was roundly surprised when I arrived and there were over 30 guests. Apparently the party is held every year by this group of Nippo breeders, so they're all Nihonken people, a couple Nippo judges and board members. Also met an ex Akiho (Akita Hozonkai) judge there.

The food was great, company was too, and the alcohol was excellent. Recently I haven't been getting 'buzzed' off alcohol, it just seems to run through my system and not do much. It's not pleasant cause if I don't get anything out of it, why the hell am I drinking. Well, really went after the Nihon-shu, and finally got my kick. When everyone was heading to bed (we were staying over night at a 'Ryo-kan') I went out to walk the dogs. I brought them with me as I planned to hunt in the area the next day.

After walking them, getting back inside and crawling under the futons, I could hear the sounds of the waves crashing (we were on the beach), and the wind howling. Every now and again I could here what sounded like a dog howling too. The only thought on my mind was, 'Please don't let that be Baron.' I got dressed, headed out to the car, and sure enough Baron was wailing. I took the pups out of their crates (I've got the back of the jeep all set up for the dogs and hunting gear) walked them again, and got them back in the car. Nothing doing, Baron started wailing again. Funny, as usually he's fine being crated in the car as long as Haru is there too.

So, I ended up curling up in the front and spending the night there. Good thing I always have my sleeping bag packed in with the hunting gear. Come dawn, I got up and headed over to my hunting spot. After getting all my gear and Haru ready, I noticed I was still a bit buzzed. Figured I'd be okay after walking a bit, so I tried that and got around 15 minutes in before I gave up. Alcohol was definitely still there, and definitely not a good idea going traipsing through the mountains like that.

Had some breakfast, took a nap, and started heading home. Figured I'd stop by my usual hunting area on the way back and take a look. Even by Sunday standards, it was pretty nuts. There were 2 big hunting 'groups' out in the same area. One was just leaving though, and asked if I'd seen 2 of their dogs. I'd see a few earlier up the mountain, so told them where to look. They were hunting mixes, and these hunters don't use radio collars or gps. Kinda makes it hard to find all your dogs at the end of the day.

With that many people running around, I decided to stay out of it, and drop by my local hunter friend's house. He was out hunting, but his kids surrounded the car and wanted to play with Baron again. So we hung out playing with the kids till their dad got back. Baron did great, and the kids all took turns holding/running around with him. When their dad got back we talked for a while, and it turns out they had a small pig that had been trapped earlier in the day. It was already dead and bled, just waiting to be dressed and dropped into the freezer. I asked if it was okay to show Baron his first pig and see his reaction, and he agreed.

At first Baron took a few whiffs and wanted to get away from the pig, but I wasn't about to pass up the opportunity. I started grabbing at the pig, making growling sounds, barking, and shaking it much to the amusement of all the 5 or 6 hunters standing around watching. My friend used to hunt with Kai, but while they were good dogs and had a lot of drive, they didn't have the skill to actually stop the pigs long enough for him to get there. Apparently he hunted with them for 4 years before switching to the dogs he has now which are 'Ji-inu' (local hunting mixes). He really likes Kai, but naturally his experiences hunting with Nihonken leave him a little biased.

He's been trying to sell me on his dogs for a while (he doesn't want me to waste 4 years like he did with dogs that don't cut it), and he started talking about how the pups from this line of Ji-inu will latch on to pigs at 3 months. Just as he said that, and I was looking up at him, Baron attacked the pig, and started biting its rear legs, growling and barking. It was like a switch turned on somewhere, in a flash he was all over the pig, running around it barking, picking spots to bite and tug on. All the other hunters stopped laughing at me, and were very impressed with him. He's 2 months old and this was the first pig he's ever seen or smelled. Me, I was thrilled relieved and feeling very proud. Looks like Baron has the 'pig gene'.

So, Baron's started on the path to becoming a pig hunter. I would have filmed or taken shots of him, but it was already dark out and couldn't get it on cam this time.

The Hunting Debate

2009-12-10T20:39:00.002+09:00

I see myself as a fairly educated 'ethical' person. At first glance I definitely don't look like the stereotypical outdoorsman/hunter. Pretty much everyone I meet that finds out I hunt goes into a mild shock like state. I'm definitely on the small thin side of the scale (all it takes is a good typhoon gust to send me on my way to China), and I definitely don't dress the part. Most people expect I would be on the other side of the spectrum, defending helpless animals from the big bad hunter.

I'm big on 'eco-friendly' stuff, want to build a house that is totally energy self sufficient, and grow my own food. I've loved animals since I can remember, and owned all sorts of pets and strays growing up. I'll probably post all my thoughts on the hunting debate at some point, but to be honest I don't always feel I've got it all figured out. I found a great post on Treehugger.com that encapsulates a lot of my opinions on the subject, so I'm posting a link to it here.

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/11/hunting-fishing-hypocrisy.php

For Fun

2009-12-08T17:17:00.002+09:00

Cellphone pic sux, but too cute to pass up. Both tuckered out from a day in the mountains and the obligatory shower afterwards.

Haru sporting her Garmin Astro collar.

Pigs 5, Human 0

2009-12-08T00:15:00.002+09:00

So, 5 trips this year and no pigs. It would most definitely be easier to hunt without Haru at the moment. Of course it's enjoyable to have a partner, but I'm pretty much out there to train her, and so the hunting suffers a bit. Just got to stick with it.

Rustled up a sow today with 4 large piglets, tried to get Haru onto them, but she didn't realize they were there and was too busy with some other scent. They got down the gulley and up the other side, so I figured I might as well take the shot. Around 80-90 meter shot, had one of the piglets broadside and had the time to get a good look, and I missed. Haru was oblivious to the whole situation, even though the pigs ran nearly past her. I had some fun and tracked the pig family for a while, nice to see what extremely hot tracks look like.

There was a lot of pig activity in the area, fresh tracks and tilled fields everywhere, but those were the only pigs we found. They were sleeping in a bamboo thicket at the top of an embankment 30 meters away from where I parked the jeep. Took me walking in a 2km loop to find them though... was just getting back to where I could see the jeep and bam. Wish there was a shooting range in the prefecture where I could actually fire slugs/shoot at targets etc. The last governor we had here was a liberal who wanted to ban all hunting/firearms in the prefecture. So she started off slowly by closing down the main shooting range. There are only two others, and they have limitations on what you can fire.

Left the pups in the car for a bit and hiked up to where a trapper has bait out for pigs. It attracts a lot of birds, and I was thinking maybe I could tag another pheasant. I hunkered down and a few minutes later I see a big bushy tail bounding toward me. Cute little squirrel carrying some sort of nut that was nearly as big as he was. I don't think he even saw me, as he got to within 2 meters and climbed the tree next to me. He just sat up there munching away.

Didn't see any pheasants, but saw a bird that I hadn't seen in Chiba before, Bamboo Partridges. I didn't know there were any here, but now I know exactly where they are. They're actually an introduced species, but are on the list of huntable birds. I figure they probably make good eating, and I would have taken a few but wasn't sure if they were on the 'list' till I got home and checked.

Have showered the dogs, picked off the ticks (white dogs are great!), and gotten everyone tucked in for bed. If I had my way I'd be off in the mountains again tomorrow. Alas I have things to do, and life cannot be all play and no work.

Japanese Blog

2009-11-28T18:42:00.001+09:00

So I've thrown together my Japanese blog. It'll mostly serve as a hunting/training blog.

http://ameblo.jp/bososhishi/

Update

2009-11-28T13:26:00.002+09:00

Went hunting again the day before yesterday. All the tracks we could find were from at least 2-3 days earlier. Tried my 2 favorite areas (which most years no one hunts), but found nothing new. Even went to my pheasant spot at the end of the day to pick up another bird, but the pheasant were gone too.

Just as I was driving out of the area, I saw a gentleman walking down the road in his hunter orange. I asked him if he was after birds or pigs, and wonder of wonders, he was after pigs. Asked if I'd seen any, and I told him all the tracks were old. He told me that during the 3 day weekend the whole area had been shredded up by a large group of hunters with over 10 dogs. They'd only taken 1 pig, but I think they frightened the crap out of everything in the entire area. Wish I had known before I spent the whole day looking.

So no pigs or birds anywhere to be found. They probably all retreated further back and away from civilization. Will need to range farther in next time I think. Will definitely be a few days before they come back to the area. Good news is I've gotten very friendly with one of the local hunters, and it looks like he'll be able to help me out a lot with training the pups. I dropped by his house at the end of the day and got a peek at his 20 or so dogs. He's even got a Kai in there, but it's trained for bird.

Haru is getting more and more stamina, even at the end of the day she's still raring to go. I guess all the work over the summer getting her in shape is really paying off. Still, trying to take it easy on her as she's still young and growing. Lots of breaks during the day, and a few days off between hunts at the moment.

Baron's ears are totally up, he's getting bigger by the day. He's still peeing everywhere in massive amounts. I don't expect too much out of a 2 month old pup, but he's a bit crazy in this regard. Took him out yesterday to the middle of Chiba city to get used to the sights and sounds. All the people around didn't phase him one bit, and he loved all the attention. Trying to get all the socialization in on a Kishu pup is a must in my opinion, the next thing to work on is dogs. He loves playing, but every once in a while we've met dogs that he didn't seem to like. Hopefully we can work through this and not have it turn into anything problematic.

Last night we had a late thanksgiving dinner over at a friends house. Awesome food, great company, what more could you want! It was all good till we got home and realized what the pups had been up to. The bedroom was a bit of a mess, and Baron had peed on the bed. I've crate trained some of my dogs in the past, but most have done fine without being crated. He seems like he may need the crate. Will ponder this over the next few days. Wife was not happy about some of the things he chewed up last night.

The Kai Ken standard

2009-11-25T12:27:00.004+09:00

I just typed up an email to a friend looking to export Kai to give a brief history of the Kai breed, and explain the reason most Kai are not registered with the Nihon Ken Hozonkai and the JKC. In the hopes that it is informative and useful to others looking to own Kai overseas, I'm posting it here.

'As far as the history of the Kai in Japan (most of this is based on research, but I've added my own opinions as well), like all Japanese breeds the ancestors of the Kai are thought to have been brought over thousands of years ago by the Jomon, and later the Yayoi people. Due
to Japan's geographic and political isolation, there was not much inter breeding with dogs from the continent. Of the Japanese breeds Kai, Hokkaido, and Ryukyu carry more of the genetic make up of the original dogs brought over by the Jomon. This can be almost completely contributed to geographics.

Many of the legends surrounding the formation of the Japanese breeds involve cross breeding with, or direct descendance from wolves, and though not 100 percent certain, some genetic tests have seemed to support these legends. The Kai originated in modern day Yamanashi prefecture, which used to be known as 'Kai no Kuni' (the country of Kai) and like all the Japanese breeds (other than the Shiba) they were named after the area they were found.

As Japan opened up to the outside world, traders brought dogs with them. In many cases these dogs were systematically bred with the native dogs, as in the case of the Akita and the Tosa. The interbreeding was so widespread that in the early 1900s moves were made to try and save the remaining 'pure' native dogs. The mood in the country at the time was leaning toward ultra-nationalism, and the government actively encouraged the preservation of all things
Japanese. Teams scoured the country to find the 'best' 'pure' dogs. Thus began the classification of the Japanese breeds (and the breed standards).

The Kai is often cited as being the most 'pure' of the Japanese breeds. This is mostly due to Yamanashi being extremely back country and mountainous, making it difficult for outsiders to enter the area. The Kai Ken Aigokai (Kai Ken Protection Society) was established in 1931, and the first Tenrankai (exhibition) was held in April the following year. In November of the same year the first Nihon Ken Hozonkai (Japanese Dog Preservation Society) Tenrankai was held in Ginza, Tokyo. Of 81 dogs shown, 17 were Kai. The breed was given Natural Monument status in 1934. The rift between the Kai Ken Aigokai and Nihon Ken Hozonkai began when Nippo (Nihon Ken Hozonkai) classified all the Japanese breeds into 3 sizes, small, medium and large. The Kai was grouped in the medium category along with the Shikoku, Kishu, and Hokkaido.

After World War 2 began Nihon Ken numbers, including the Kai's, were depleted due to food shortages, and in some cases laws banning the ownership of dogs. Owning a dog during the war was considered unpatriotic which is ironic as the original move to preserve the Japanese breeds was championed by the ultra-nationalist government as patriotic. Again due to geographic isolation, the Kai did not suffer as much as the other Japanese breeds, and thanks to avid supporters
the breed was revived after the war.

The disagreement between the Aigokai and Nippo was mainly over size. The Kai did not conform to the measurements of the medium standard as set by Nippo. Slightly larger than the 'small' Shiba, they do not conform to the 'small' or 'medium' standard, ending up somewhere in between. The Aigokai standard calls for a height of 40-50 centimeters, with the Nippo 'medium' standard set at
51cm for males (give or take 3cm), and 49cm for females (give or take 3cm). The Aigokai was set on preserving the Kai as it was, without breeding to manipulate size to conform to the Nippo 'medium' standard. There was also a disagreement regarding the black tongue markings that almost all Kai have. According to the Nippo standard black markings on a dog's tongue is a flaw, and in the ring counts for a point deduction. A few years ago Nippo finally changed this rule, and the Kai is no longer docked points for tongue markings.

Due to these disagreements (and possibly other politics) Aigokai members stopped showing their dogs at Nippo events, and does not allow their Kai to register with other canine registration organizations. Any Aigokai Kai registered with another organization loses its Aigokai registration. Due to this, there are very few Kai registered with Nippo, and it is very difficult for them to do well in Nippo events due to size constraints (and until recently, tongue markings). There is a small group of Kai registered with Nippo, but the smaller gene pool and their larger than average size leave something to be desired. I have heard on occasion of Kai that do not do well showing at the Aigokai events due to size or other issues, switching to Nippo registration to compete in their events (less competition).

One stickler born of all this is that the Japan Kennel Club (JKC) which is the recognized national canine registry, only allows registration of Nippo Kai, and not Aigokai Kai. So, anyone looking to export and register their Kai with an overseas canine registry can have problems getting Aigokai papers recognized. It is easier to export a Nippo Kai and get JKC papers, but due to the aforementioned reasons is not necessarily in the breed's best interest.

It may seem I'm a little biased as a member of the Aigokai, but the Aigokai does have the vast majority of registered Kai. A larger gene pool to breed from, and maintaining the breed as it was originally found is what a breed preservation society should be doing. The day Nippo changes its Kai standard to allow the breed to be what it was and is, I'm sure Kai fanciers will be more than happy to show and register their dogs with Nippo.'

This is all based on what I've researched, been told, with some of my opinions thrown in, so some of this may not be 100 percent accurate. If anyone has any other information to add, or anything to correct, feel free to comment.

The Ears

2009-11-25T10:04:00.004+09:00

And the ears are up. Guess my mobile doesn't take such bad photos after all. It's just a pain waiting 5 seconds for it to snap a shot.

Had fun yesterday at the park again with Baron/Haru/Sonny and the in laws. But dang it's getting cold. And could it please stop raining?

Baron's weighing in at 5.7kg

On a side note, I'm starting a blog in Japanese, but I can't think of a title. Any ideas?

Tweet tweet

2009-11-24T00:07:00.002+09:00

Decided to go hunting today, but got a bit of a late start. Didn't help that someone decided to whiz in front of the living room bookshelf. Had to move the whole darn thing.

Had around 3 hours before sunset, so decided to check out a new area for next time. What I found: lots of bamboo. Found a few wallows, but they hadn't been used in a while. Finally found fresh tracks, but they headed off into a bamboo filled ravine. I'll deal with that spot someday when I feel like punishing myself.

One of the landowners in an area I hunt asked me for a pheasant this year, so at the end of the day I headed over to the pheasant coop and nabbed one in around 2 minutes. Walking up to where I figured they'd be, a male pheasant flew directly over my head. I watched him land, headed to to the spot, and ended up flushing 6 pheasants. Had two bird shot loaded, missed with the first, nailed 1 with the second. Happy landowner.

Haru's looking great charging around the mountains, trim, fit, and her coat that was damaged a few months ago is growing back in nicely. Baron's ears are 80% standing. He's settling in nicely, is doing great with people, loves everyone. Now if we could get him to turn off the fire hose, the boy whizzes like no one's business. Seriously.

Well tomorrow the wife and I are off to look at some houses. Hopefully we'll find a bigger place further south (thanks baby) where I can own more dogs (maybe baby?). Fingers crossed, as it's going to take a lot of luck to find a place where we can have multiple dogs and cats (Hunting dogs and man eating cats at that). We also have an occasionally sober paratrooper brother-in-law (congrats on the wings btw) that drops in to make sure I'm never low on beer.

Yesterday

2009-11-21T02:21:00.003+09:00

Well not much to post. Baron's growing, ears are rising, he still pees like a fire truck. Haru has been a bit over the top excitable since Baron arrived, reacting to every sound and always wanting to play, but she's calmed down since hunting season started.

So yesterday, the weather report was rain, but we headed out to the mountains anyway. Weekday, so didn't see another hunter all day. Last Sunday we found a lot of pheasant in an area I hunt a lot, so took some bird shot. Headed to the spot, within 5 minutes flushed a male pheasant (females are protected), one shot and done. A bit too easy. I'm not a big fan of bird hunting. Pretty much all birds are in some sort of trouble here in Japan, habitat destruction and all that. I'd much rather go after the ever increasing pigs.

I plucked and bled the pheasant right off, but didn't finish off the gutting. Got lazy, and wanted to head to a new spot and see what the area was like. In hindsight I shoulda known better. Checked the new area, it's where the last deer and boar in Chiba prefecture holed up in the 60's and 70's and now I know why. Unclimbable vertical rock faces, and the spots you can get up are covered in slippery moss and mud. The whole area is covered in these little plateaus, you get up to the top and it's virtually flat. I guess it's relatively easy to hunt if you've got a few people. Just cover all the escape routes and send a few dogs in. Nasty and dangerous getting up there though. Was there for a couple hours and headed back to more familiar territory.

I figure on opening day the pigs were bothered by so many people in the mountains, there were a lot of tracks, a lot of movement. Hard to tell where they were now. Didn't find anything fresh till the very end of the day, and I was tired, and the rain was pouring. Didn't sleep for more than an hour the night before since our cats were going nuts.

Haru is growing by leaps and bounds in the mountains. Whereas she used to stay directly in front of me (or behind in thick underbrush) she now runs circular patterns around me. When she finds something interesting she'll go check it out and then come back to check on me. She seems to be growing in confidence and doesn't freak out looking for me the moment she can't hear me crashing through the underbrush. All this running around means she's covering more ground. She does nearly double what I do. I did 10km and she did around 19km according to the GPS. I try and let her have a few days off between hunts to rest and heal as she's still young. I was worried she might be doing too much, but even after the 19 she was raring to get out of the car and run.

Baron is interesting to watch. I think I'm gonna have my hands full with this tyke. He's confident, very stubborn, and has an extremely high prey drive. One whiff of the pheasant and he was struggling to get at it. He's quite vocal as well, making noises for just about everything. Going to have to make sure I keep him in check as he grows. I exchange a lot of mail with 'Nolly', the hunter that gave him to me, and he's been warning me to nip the little things in the bud. Kishu males can be pretty testy.

Well no pics or video today. I returned my sister-in-law's Nikon, and my mobile was out of battery so no shot of the pheasant. I brought it home, and though I was originally taking it for Thanksgiving dinner, decided to cook it yesterday. Mashed potatoes, whole pheasant baked in cream of mushroom with bacon strips. Was pretty good, but the not gutting it right away left it with an ever so slight gamey tang. Only chewed into one bit of bird shot, managed to get the rest out. I took video of the pheasant, but have no interest in posting a boring shot of a dead bird. Just took the shot to record size, date, and place I took it.

Moving Pictures

2009-11-17T17:57:00.003+09:00

Since it's nasty weather today we haven't gone hunting. Some hunters we are!

Took the time instead to upload a short video of Baron, and another of the doggy date we had the other day with my wife's older sister and her family.

I'm thinking about starting another blog in Japanese... but I'm afraid I'll end up spending too much time posting online and not enough with the pups!

Open season

2009-11-16T16:46:00.002+09:00

November 15th, first day of the hunting season. We had a stretch of pretty bad weather the previous few days, consisting of rain and typhoon like wind. Come the morning of the 15th everything had cleared up and it was humid and hot.

I got up just before dawn, gave the dogs a quick walk and then packed them into the jeep. I'd already gotten everything ready the night before, so we were off. As we drove south the horizon lit up in a beautiful red, and with the warm breeze blowing through the window it was all perfect. On the way down I saw several cars packed with hunters, all out of towners, and no one with any dogs. Most likely they were all meeting up for some group hunting.

Hunting with guns in Japan is allowed from sun up till sun down, to the minute actually. We arrived at our spot right on time, and just after I pulled over, a Pointer came bounding down the road. The locals were already out and about, and in the first 30 minutes I ran into 3 other hunters. All were after pheasant and yamadori. I regretfully told them that I haven't seen a bird in the area all year, and sure enough none of them found any. Apparently the bird numbers have dropped as the boar numbers have soared. Not sure if there's a connection there.

After we tucked Baron into his crate, Haru and I were off. 12 gauge strapped to my back, Garmin GPS in hand and decked out in hunter orange, this was one day I was not going in the mountains looking like anything other than a fluorescent don't shoot me sign. Haru looked like a serious hunting dog with her new GPS collar. The Garmin Astro 220 I had ordered arrived 2 days earlier, and after tweaking the maps a bit I was pretty impressed and a bit anxious to give it a spin.

Haru and I have been working pretty well together recently, and have gotten pretty lucky about finding boar. Or at least getting close. Around 5 minutes in, she found our first of the day in a marsh to our left. It was probably getting its last bit of eating in before heading to bed. Haru was around 30 meters ahead of me and did her usual 'point' before getting all excited. I think my performance last time we saw pigs rubbed off on her, because this time she went charging down after it. All I saw of the pig was its rear end disappearing into the bush. I called Haru off, as she was probably not going to have much luck stopping a pig on the run like that.

We trudged on another 2 km to where I figured the pigs would be sleeping. The closer we got the more fresh pig signs we saw. Having the GPS was great, I could see exactly where Haru was every time she disappeared to check out something. We came to the top of the southeast facing ridge where the tracks were headed and I thought the pigs would be bedded down, but nothing. I marked the spot on the GPS for next time, and we started down the ridge. Around 50 meters down I saw Haru freeze to my right. A few seconds passed before she went charging in.

I counted 4 large pigs coming out of the nest. They didn't seem to be in much of a hurry, and one of them wheeled toward Haru and charged. She dodged it and came running back toward me. The boar saw me and charged. He got to within 5 meters before I fired. He rolled once, wheeled around, and took off downhill. I had hit him, but probably not anywhere it counted. First shot I'd fired at a moving target since last season. I went to go after him, but Haru wanted nothing of it. Stupid me, I'd gun broken Haru when I first got her, but hadn't taken her to the shooting range in around 4 months. She was uphill behind me, around 30 meters back, and didn't want to come down.

In typical Nihonken fashion, she decided she was going back to the car. I wanted to look for the boar, as I hate to leave wounded animals out there, but as I looked at the GPS I could see Haru back tracking. She does this sometimes when she decides it's time to go home, and I'm always amazed at her sense of direction. We'd done a U loop to get up to the boar nest, so I figured I could head downhill and look for the boar, and cut off Haru at the bottom of the ridge before she got back to the car. It's hard to find animals in extremely dense forests like we have here in Chiba, and I wasn't having any luck, but I could see Haru making her way back to the jeep.

I was just getting to the bottom of the ridge, when I saw Haru start heading back to the boar nest. It wasn't very pleasant realizing I had to claw my way back up there, but another chance to look for the boar. All in all we looked for him for a good hour and a half, but his trail disappeared after a while. We went back to the car and let Baron out for a meal and a bit of play. I used the chance to gun break Baron a bit. The first shot he perked up and looked around, but then when right back to playing through the second. Doesn't seem we'll have a problem there. Haru was fine okay with it, but for the rest of the day she'd look at me funny when I'd take the gun off my back.

As we were taking our break, and I was half naked trying to dry my sweat drenched clothes, one of the local hunters came by with his Setter. We talked for a while as Haru and the Setter played around. Turns out the pigs had come down, crossed the valley and headed up the other side. He asked if I'd seen any birds, and again the answer was no.

I decided to try another area, as boar tend to clear out after hearing gun shots. At the next spot we found a lot of fresh boar tracks, so I isolated a ridge where I figured they'd be bedded down, and we were off. As we were clawing our way through a bamboo filled area, I noticed some fresh dog tracks, and soon enough a dog popped up to my left. He loved Haru, and wouldn't leave us, so we kept trudging on. We picked up another hunting dog on the way and I as all the dogs were hunting together, I had my very own pack. They were all 'Ji-inu' which are basically local hunting mixes, but they all tend to have the same look to them. The only thing I was worried about was the fact that there were obviously other hunters in the vicinity, so I started whistling as we trudged along.

I wanted to get out and back to the car. No use in taking chances with other hunters that I don't know around. I reached for my GPS, and it was gone. Somewhere back in the bamboo I had dropped it. So of we went, back tracking and praying that I'd be able to find my new $500 gadget. Miraculously I found it. I was actually pretty shocked when I saw it lying there.

Well the GPS was back in hand, but I still had these other dogs. I decided the hunters were probably at the top of the ridge, so figured I'd return the pups. After a bit of walking around up top, we found them, and they turned out to be a big hunting group. The main guy was a local, and as we talked dogs I discovered he used to hunt with a pack of Kai. They were good dogs, but apparently trying to stop boar with baying dogs was really tough, and a few years back he switched to hunting with Ji-inu. I've been hearing this about Kai a lot recently.

Well we found no pigs in the area, and at the end of the ridge we found out why. A trapper had taken 6 pigs in one box trap that morning. Hence the missing pigs. I moved to another spot for the last round of the day, and Haru ended up finding more pigs/piglets which she got really excited about and chased a fair distance. She wouldn't come back, so I thought she might have caught one of the smaller ones. I got out to where she was, but the pigs were already gone, with little tracks going everywhere. Haru ran around frantically trying to find them for a bit before we headed back toward the car.

During that last round, the GPS sent out a 'low on battery' warning which freaked me out as Haru was off chasing pigs. Funny how quickly I became attached to this gadget. I don't think I'd even want to think about hunting without it now. That's how amazing it is. Anyone out there interested in hunting, or just running your dogs off leash, get a Garmin Astro. Enough said.

We headed through some pretty harsh terrain to get back to the car, and ended up going through an area where I took a pig last year, and some pheasants as well. There were pig tracks and droppings everywhere, but as luck would have it we rustled up some pheasants instead. No use trying to hit them with slugs.

That was it for the hunting. We didn't take anything home, but it was great fun to be out there, and to see how Haru is maturing was amazing. She's still a pup (and all to often I forget that), and as I mailed a friend about the day he gave me an eye opening reminder that I'm putting her into situations that she can't win, and that if I'm not careful she could get turned off to hunting pigs. Really made me think, and I'm trying to plan some more training to get her some good experiences on pigs.

One amusing thing, as I was walking down the road after round 2, a car slowed down and the driver was a jolly old fellow who started talking to me. He was collecting wild mushrooms, and he looked at Haru and asked if I was hunting boar. I said yes, and he said, "Is she that famous dog?" I didn't know what he was talking about, so replied, "No, she's just a Kai." He trailed off after that and I couldn't catch what he was saying, but he said something about the internet and some "tube" at the end, after which he drove off. After thinking about it for a moment, I realized he was talking about Youtube, and Haru's videos. We ran into him again later on in the day, and we had a good chuckle about the odds on him seeing Haru on the net, and then just stumbling across us hunting in the mountains.

All in all a great day, and there was more to everything, but this post is already long enough so I'll save it for later. There are no pics or vid from the day as I was in 'serious' mode. Maybe next time.

Ears

2009-11-13T17:57:00.002+09:00

What a difference a few days makes. Baron's ears are half up already.

Personally I enjoy dogs a lot more once they're adults, but the puppy phase has its perks. Watching the little tykes grow is amazing.

Not the best picture, but I just took a quick snap to show you what his ears are up to today. I've been borrowing my sister-in-laws Nikon for the past few weeks, and probably should return it soon.

The White Terrorist

2009-11-11T13:34:00.002+09:00

Yesterday was my wife's day off and it coincided with her older sister's. Her sister has 3 young kids and a Golden Retriever pup, so we figured it would be a good opportunity for all involved to get some socializing in.

It was an overcast but unseasonably warm day yesterday as we dragged ourselves out of bed, nursing hangovers from yakitori and karaoke the night before. We grabbed a quick bite to eat on the way, with Baron crying in his crate like someone was killing him with a spoon. After the long trip up here from Kyushu, he seems to have an issue with being crated in the car.

We got to the park and found everyone right away. Tall gaijins with multiple toddlers and a retriever pup tend to stand out in Japan. My sister in law's husband is a good friend of mine, we go way back and used to play basketball together.

First introductions went relatively peacefully, but Sonny the retriever hasn't made any canine friends yet and the white terrorist Baron decided he wanted to play. Nihonken play is a loud wild mouthy affair, and it took all of a few moments for Sonny to decide he wanted to hightail it back home.

Haru on the other hand was fine after hello. She tends to read other dogs pretty well, and is not interested in dogs that aren't interested in playing with her. The start of the day basically consisted of tiny Baron attacking Sonny from every conceivable angle in an attempt to get a reaction. Sonny spent most of the first hour pretending to sleep while Baron climbed all over him.

The day went extremely well though. Sonny came out of his shell toward the end, the kids are great with dogs and had great fun with Baron. Haru learned to fetch balls after watching Sonny a few times. Pretty happy about this as I wanted to get her interested in something other than hunting when we're out. It was a great doggy date, and we'll have to do it again soon. Socialization is key for any dog, but for Japanese breeds (who already have a rep for being stand offish) and especially hunting dogs, it is a must.

So here's a few pics from the day. I've got a bit of recent video piling up, but it takes so much more work to upload...

The Sleeper

2009-11-08T23:42:00.002+09:00

So I've started on the road toward building my pack.

We'll have to see how this works out, but for now the plan is to utilize the best traits of each dog I end up with. Till the end of January it will be just Haru and I, but Baron should be able to make it out there with us for a bit of training for the last 2 weeks of the season.

Haru is very intelligent, but cautious. She has excellent problem solving skills, speed, and stamina. She also seems to have a pretty good nose, and a lot of drive as far as 'finding' goes. I'm hoping that she'll end up being my lead dog (or finder), and bay the pigs up till the other dogs get there.

There is a major monkey wrench in my plan at the moment. Haru is a very quiet dog, hardly ever barking. Up till now we've mostly done tracking/following boar to their nests, but we'd only once gotten there while the pigs were still home. She gave chase, but came back right away. Not a bad start I was thinking. Problem was, she didn't bark at all.

I've been wanting to get her to either a training facility with a training pen, or borrow a freshly trapped (caged) boar to see her reaction. So far this hasn't worked out.

This past week, the morning after I got back from Kyushu, I took Haru to the mountains. I tried to use some of the tricks/tips I'd gleaned from the hunters down south, and it seemed I had lucked onto the right spot. There were fresh boar marks and uprooted areas from the night before, and I had a guess as to where they were sleeping.

We got there, and it looked like they had been bedded down, but were already hoofing it. We started heading toward the next ridge, but Haru seemed intent on going down to the bottom of the ridge toward a stream. I followed, and we got around 50 meters downhill with Haru around 10 meters to my right. She stopped and was just staring in full alarm mode, so I was curious as to what she was looking at. Walked over quietly beside her and looked downhill and lo and behold a 50-60kg boar was sitting there staring back at her.

The pig was 10 meters away trying to scent us, but there was a crosswind. Very magnificent looking animal. Haru and the pig continued to stare at each other for around 20 seconds. All the while I was trying to encourage her to chase or bark or anything, but she just stood there staring. If the season up here in Chiba was open, we would have been taking home some bacon. The pig actually moved a meter or so closer to us, then went broadside. I almost laughed cause I felt like it was taunting me. I swear it knew I couldn't take him.

So after a bit of this standoff, I figured I'd just have to show Haru how it's done. Yup, I started chasing the pig barking at the top of my lungs. Haru looked at me for a second then got the idea and took off after the pig with me. Only after running a few meters downhill did I realize that there were more pigs there. One was actually even closer to Haru's right than the one I saw.

Haru and I chased them aways up into a bamboo covered area, and then I called her off. The pigs obviously wanted the last laugh, with one of them sitting up at the top of the ridge snorting at us till we left.

Good news, we found pigs, and after my Oscar nominated hunting dog impression, Haru gave chase. Bad news, no barking. Big monkey wrench.

Will have to see if we can sort this issue out.

Today we headed out to an 'Imonikai' (boil-potato-get-together), which is basically a big pot of soup with meat/potatoes/vegetables, to hang out with friends and socialize the pups. Baron stole the hearts of everyone there, and played with everyone till he dropped. Works for me, I may actually get some sleep tonight.

The long version

2009-11-07T12:04:00.001+09:00

So the story behind the new pup.

As you all know, I hunt. I've been at it for a few years, but didn't have a dog for the first few. Since we've had Haru I've been taking her to the mountains with me. Hopefully she'll pan out and make a good hunting companion. So far so good.

For a while I've been friendly online with a group of hunters down south in Kyushu. They hunt with several types of dogs, and in there they have some Kishu from the Hosoda line.

When I was first looking for a hunting dog, and had decided to get one of the Japanese breeds, I looked at the Kishu. However, at the time I wasn't decided if I was only going to hunt boar, and the fact that there weren't any good hunting lines around that I could find dampened my interest.

I decided on the Kai, as they are a more versatile hunting breed (albeit not necessarily the best boar hunters). Each of the Japanese breeds has its own hunting style, and even in the breeds different lines have different 'gei' (translated it basically means artistic style/performance/skills). Some lean more towards 'hoe-dome' (baying), others toward 'kami-dome' (catching), but all Nihonken pretty much use a variety of both. Some range farther from the hunter, others hunt close. It's an endless subject, and the search for the 'perfect' hunting dog continues.

Every hunter has his own style, and a different set of skills he looks for in a dog. Being a novice, I hadn't really even thought about exactly what I was looking for. I just wanted to get out there and see how far Haru and I could go.

Realistically, the odds of having a dog that can hunt solo and get results is pretty low. You basically have to win the dog lottery. Recently I received a mail from one of the hunters in Kyushu saying that his lead dog had a litter that was larger than anticipated, and saying that if I was interested he'd be open to the idea of giving me one. The vet thought there were 4 puppies, but there ended up being 10!

I was very interested, but hadn't planned on adding another dog for at least another 6 months. I had also thought the next dog would be another Kai. I was pretty torn, but the chance to hunt with one of their Kishu was very tempting. Thus began a long series of mails discussing Kishu, the Hosoda line, and different hunting styles.

I've leaned toward baying dogs in the past as I was told by some(and also assumed) that there was less risk of injury. Kishu tend to lean more toward the catching side of the spectrum. There was only one way to sort this out, so I mailed my friend in Kyushu and asked if I could head down at his convenience to talk dogs, and see how they hunt down south.

I got a mail the next morning saying that they were all getting together in 3 days to hunt from the 1st-3rd of October, and I was welcome to join them. Schedule wise this was a bit harsh, as Kyushu is 1500 kilometers away, and I had work until 10pm on the night of the 31st, but chances like this don't come along that often.

So I scrambled to work out the details, and ended up walking out of my workplace at 10pm, straight into the car, and onto the road to Kyushu. I drove my 'mountain car' a 660cc jeep with a max speed of around 90km for just over 24 hours to make it in time for the 2nd. I think I got around 6 hours of sleep total over 2 nights.

Up bright and early at 6am, I got to meet everyone face to face for the first time. They're a terrific bunch of guys, and pretty bad ass hunters. We went at it all day long till sunset, and it was an amazing learning experience. They hunt on a totally different level than I'm used to seeing, and being able to experience 'nagashi-ryo' firsthand was incredible.

There were a few let downs, as I didn't get to see some of the battles the dogs had on the day with a few of the larger boar (I was in a different part of the mountain), but all in all a great day. We had dinner and drinks at night, and talked on into the night about hunting and dogs.

I stayed in a hotel that night and finally had a good 8 hours of sleep, totally missing the check out time. I had to head back to Chiba as Haru was acting up a bit with me gone, so another 1500km run was on. My friend with the litter told me to stop by his house on my way back so we could talk a bit more. We managed to find time in his schedule, and talked for several hours.

I was honestly not planning on bringing a pup back with me. I had mentioned the idea to my wife, but she was not getting on board. There were many reasons for this, and I'd basically agreed to wait on the idea till we could figure everything out. However, after seeing the dogs in action, and talking with the hunters, I realized that this was the type of hunting I wanted to do, and the dogs for the job. When my friend said if I was interested in running Kishu, he'd be happy to let me have one, I jumped at it and said yes.

The trip home took longer as I had to stop every three hours to feed and toilet the little man, but he was very well behaved. His mother had been going to the mountains by car everyday while pregnant, so the pup didn't seem to bothered by cars or motion sickness.

When I finally got back home, there was a lot of explaining to do to the wife. She naturally ripped me a new one, but fell in love with the little polar bear. He hadn't done anything wrong, I had, so she played with him all night and took care of him the next day when I took Haru to the mountains to expend her pent up energy that had accumulated while I was gone.

The wife has sort of forgiven me, and I'm getting bits of sleep here and there, but the pup is definitely worth the trouble. He's a little fire cracker, and very mouthy, but Haru has been great with him from the get go. They play together very well, and he even puts her in line when she goes over the top. He's been tentatively named 'Baron' by my wife (like all our pets he's named after a Ghibli character), though I would have preferred something in Japanese.

He's extremely outgoing, not an ounce of fear in him, and pees like no one's business.

Now I'm thinking I have to rename my blog!!!

Sleep is for the weak

2009-11-06T19:18:00.002+09:00

Will post details later, but it's been a heck of a week.

Quit my job, jumped in my car and drove 1500 kilometers south, ran around with the most crazy great group of hunters I've ever met, had enough time to snatch a new pup on the way back (without telling my wife), and forgot to sleep for most of the week.

I came back home day before yesterday, and hit the mountains with Haru right off where we had a picnic with some boar.

And now I need to find a new job, get ready for the hunt season, while I raise the new pup, and catch up with all my mails and internet life.

A Short Vid

2009-10-28T14:09:00.001+09:00

Just a short video of Suguri, the first Kai SAR dog. He's retired now, but agreed to humor me with a quick performance.

Kai Ken Aigokai Tenrankai - Fall 2009 (post 2)

2009-10-28T01:44:00.002+09:00

The way the event goes, in the morn they have the 'kotai shinsa', which is basically where they check for confirmation. The whole trot around the ring, check teeth, coat, size, that sort of thing. In the afternoon the dogs are called back into the ring, lined up, and judged against each other.

The best are sent to the middle first, and a long shuffle ensues with dogs and their handlers slowly being moved from one side of the ring to the middle, and then finally lined up in order on the other side of the ring. Placement in the final line up is temporary, with judges occasionally sizing up dogs, and switching their positions, or asking dogs to line up against each other.

In the end, the judge signals that he's done, and everyone gets their ribbons. This goes on all day long in each of the 3 categories, juvenile/adolescent/adult (actually 6 categories since male/female are separated). There is also another category 'sogo yuryo' (overall champ basically) that is judged at the end of the day. To enter in this category a dog has to have placed higher than 3rd (I think it may have been recently changed to 2nd) in a previous exhibition.

Haru's sire was entered in this category, as was another friend's female, Tsuki. As luck would have it, they both won their respective male/female categories and had to go up against each other. Riki won, making Haru's dad the number 1 Kai in the country. Congratulations to Inoue-san and his kennel. He took several other spots as well, including one for 2nd place in juvenile female that was won by Haru's kuro-tora half sister.

It was a like a family reunion out there, and we would have tried to take a group photo with all the pups, but Riki is not really hot on hanging around lots of dogs. Two of Haru's half-sisters were there, another 2 month old litter also sired by Riki was there to go home with their new owners. Haru's half-sister 'Ikoro' (which means treasure in Ainu) is in a training program with Hokkaido University to track non-native raccoons. She's a very cute Kai, with excellent manners. Her owner (a student at Hokkaido Uni) is doing a great job with training her.

While talking with everyone behind Inoue-san's car downing hot 'ton-jiru' (pork soup), and scarfing down maguro, we realized that most of the pups in Haru's litter, and the other litter with Ikoro in it, are now working dogs.

I was later introduced to Dr.Yamashita at the exhibition. He's a veterinarian owns/trained the first Kai in SAR. He's helping train Ikoro at present, and I'd heard about him before when I was looking into SAR. He also trains the KBD's (Karelian Bear Dog) that were imported from the US to work on bear in Nagano Prefecture.

We had a great time talking about working dogs and 'primitive' spitz type dogs. I asked him about whether it was 'harder' to train a Kai to do SAR work. His answer was that perhaps for professional trainers who've trained a certain way their whole careers, it may be difficult to train a Nihon Ken. But by adjusting training methods, it's not at all harder, and sometimes just requires a different approach.

He had his Kai 'Suguri' with him. He's 13 years old now, and is retired from SAR work. He's lost most of his hearing, and hasn't been training for a while. At my request, he agreed to put Suguri through some simple obedience stuff to show on my blog. It was very interesting to see the connection between them as Suguri was doing his thing off leash at the Tenrankai with over 150 Kai around! I'll get the video uploaded as soon as I can.

All in all, it was a great day. Haru got tuckered out assaulting everyone and every dog with kisses, and I got to drive another 250km to get home. I was pretty impressed that I managed to get over 500km on one 35 liter tank of gas. Hurray for the Jimny.

Loads of video and pictures are on the way... I guess I can work on it tomorrow.

Kai Ken Aigokai Tenrankai - Fall 2009 (post 1)

2009-10-28T01:07:00.003+09:00

I had a wonderful weekend up in Yamanashi at the Kai Ken Aigokai Tenrankai. The Aigokai is the governing body for the Kai breed here in Japan, and they organize two exhibitions every year. One in April, and the other in October.

We had some iffy weather this year. It was raining on Saturday as I drove up, and during the night as well. Come Sunday and showtime, we had an overcast yet non rainy day. The unseasonably chilly temps made for an excellent day for the dogs who are already switching into their winter coats, but left me feeling slightly crisp.

The Tenrankai was held on a riverbank, just off route 20 which is the main route connecting Yamanashi with Tokyo and the rest of the world. I spent the night in the car with Haru as I got there a day early and didn't want to miss anything this year. Had a less than wonderful sleep as there were others there with the same idea, and a great deal of 'ban-ken' (watchdog) Kai, barking every time vehicles pulled in.

Things started pretty early this year. There was an extremely high number of entries this year, and a few of the judges were unable to make it. Everything started early, and moved along at a pretty brisk pace all day long

By the time the first announcements were going out over the loudspeakers, I had hooked up with Inoue-san, Haru's breeder. They were showing several dogs this event, including Haru's sire, Riki.

Little Polar Bears

2009-10-22T22:10:00.002+09:00

Today was a beautiful autumn day, just right for a nice stroll through the woods. Scouted a few new spots in preparation for next month.

Haru has gotten to the point where if we can come across tracks that are relatively recent, she bee-lines it to the boar's 'nest'(I have no idea what else to call it). She still doesn't like to wander too far away from me, but we'll have to find a way to get over that so that she gets to the boar before they bolt out of their sleeping quarters. The underbrush in the hills is so thick that it would take hours to get to the boar if I tried to do it silently. As it is, I don't bother with stealth too much.

For now I'm just happy that she's got the general gist of what I'm trying to get her to do.

Seeing as I have no pics/vid to post, I'm throwing up vid of a friends Kishu pups. Darn cute little polar bears I reckon.

All's Well?

2009-10-21T11:17:00.002+09:00

Well Haru was actually lactating, which my wife was fascinated by. The swelling's about 70% gone. It seemed to be bothering Haru a bit, and she was a bit whiny and didn't have much of an appetite for a couple days.

She's back to her old self, scarfing down anything we give her. She's an extremely food motivated dog. At present she's eight and a half months old, but her weight and growth seem to have pretty much flattened out. She will probably put on a few more pounds of muscle during the coming months, but right now she's still weighing in at around 13 kilograms.

We have an very annoying issue in the house at the moment. We haven't been able to pinpoint the culprit, but it seems someone is getting confused about where the toilet is. Seems it's one or more of the cats, and not Haru. As luck would have it, our serial pee'er is going to work in front of a little alcove that the fridge is in. Fridge is heavy= all the urine runs under the fridge.

Very annoying to clean up. It happened a few days in a row, so I've actually fenced off the area so no one can get in. The jury's still out on whether that will work as last night someone peed in front of the AV rack in the living room instead.

Bummer.

Well it's a beautiful day, and aside from a little work I have in Tokyo tonight, the next two days are mine.

Swelling.

2009-10-16T12:35:00.002+09:00

So wake up this morn and getting Haru ready for her daily walk at the marsh I notice her mammary glands are swollen. Quite considerably actually. I'm thinking that she may be getting ready to go into her second heat.

Have to head into work now, but I'll have to have a chat with my vet later. It's more of a hard swelling than soft, and the rear glands are the most swollen. Doesn't seem to be bothering her, but from past experience she needs to stay calm and rest.

So, no mountains/playdate tomorrow.

WoT about hunting with dogs in Japan

2009-10-14T12:59:00.005+09:00

A friend of mine asked me the other day about hunting in Japan, and what types of breeds are used. I meant to type a quick reply over a cup of tea, but as usual I ended up with a WOT (Wall of Text) reply. Yes, I am long winded. My wife reminds me all the time. I try to explain everything and anything.

Well seeing as I typed this up, I figured I'd throw in on my poor abused blog that doesn't get nearly the amount of attention it should get since my Nikon died.

As far as hunters and their dogs, almost all bird dogs in Japan are western breeds (pointers, retrievers, spaniels). Most big game hunters run mixes, and usually include Nihon Ken/Hound bloodlines. Everything over here is cramped, including hunting areas, and hounds are extremely far ranging. Hunters add Nihon Ken blood as they are closer ranging.

There are Japanese breeds that are not recognized (even here in Japan), some are old hunting lines, some are newer breeds, and many hunters use/mix them. Some examples are the Yakushima, Nitta, and the Matsuda Corporation's 'Luggers'.

Hunters that hunt in large groups usually run hounds, with solo hunters (tandoku-ryoshi) using Nihon Ken or mixes. There are some hunters that run a 'catch dog' or two in their packs, like Pitties, Amstaffs, Dogos, or Staffies. Dogos were big around 15-20 years ago, and there were lots of imports, but they didn't fare too well over here. It's a combination of the mountainous terrain, their size, and hunting style.

Lastly, there is the minority that run purebred Nihon Ken. Kishu are boar/deer dogs, and are probably the most widely used Nihon Ken for hunting. Kai are probably second and are mostly used for bird, and a smaller percentage on boar. Shikoku are boar/deer dogs as well, but I only know a handful of hunters that have purebred Shikoku. Right under the Shikoku is the Hokkaido. I know a couple of hunters that have tried Hokkas down here on the main island, but because of their thicker coats, they tend to overheat. They are also built more for hunting in snow, they have stockier stronger front ends, but not much speed. Hunting with Shiba is something I hear about very rarely, and I've only ever seen them on birds. The Akita, well I don't know of anyone that hunts with Akita. The present 'type' and bloodlines are not working dogs, they're too big, and not really built for hunting.

The hunters that run Japanese breeds do so mostly for their hunting style. Of course there are some who are just very into the preserving the breeds and want to 'work' them. I'm sure a bit of the 'national heritage pride' factors in as well. I used to hunt with Jack Russell Terriers, and when choosing my next breed I decided that there are plenty of people hunting with western breeds. Owning AND working the Japanese breeds is something only a handful of people in the world are able to do, and seeing as I'm in that position I picked the Kai to start with as it's a 'all round' hunting dog and suits my hunting style.

The Japanese breeds are perfectly suited to hunting in Japan. An agile medium sized dog has an easier time in hilly terrain with thick underbrush. There are not many big open spaces, where a large long limbed dog would have an advantage in running down prey. The thick double coat that sheds twice a year as the temperatures change is also invaluable in protecting dogs hunting in thick, prickly brush.

Nihon Ken aren't 'trained' to hunt per se. This is one reason hunters enjoy hunting with them. Most western breeds are bred to very specialized hunting tasks or styles, and require a lot of training (especially bird dogs) but the Nihon Ken develop their own hunting techniques and style, through plain instinct mostly it seems. It's just a matter of getting them out to the mountains early and often, and instinct takes over. In my experience hunting with them is like going on a hunt with a wild animal. If you have a dog with the drive, smarts, and eventually experience as well, the hunter's job is just to read what the dog is doing and try to keep up. They don't need any commands, and aren't really trained to do anything, they're just reacting naturally to being on the hunt. In hunting big game, the dogs learn that if they stop the animal for long enough, the human will come and dispatch it for them.

There are downsides to hunting with Nihon Ken. They're very quiet on the hunt, and it can be difficult to know if they're on the chase, or which direction they've gone. They generally have a much smaller search range than say hounds, and will give up the chase and come back rather quickly if they feel there's too much distance between them and the hunter. They also do a lot of the 'thinking' themselves, and will develop bad habits if the hunter is not careful. For example a friend of mine had a dog that was a turning into a great baying dog, but after a few incidents where my friend took too long to find him when he had a boar bayed up (or spooked the boar by making too much noise when closing distance), completely stopped baying and would just chase the boar for a bit and come back.

I guess the main difference in hunting with Nihon Ken as opposed to Western breeds is rather subtle. It's hard to explain, but I guess it's working to bring out the dog's naturally present qualities and instincts as opposed to 'teaching' the dog how to hunt.

Hmmm hard to explain, and I have again created a wall of text.

Chiba Nihon Ken Hozonkai - Fall 2009

2009-10-04T12:36:00.001+09:00

Just some random shots of the regional last month.

Nothing special.

Rainy days

2009-10-03T22:10:00.002+09:00

Video from today. We took a walk to the park after the rain let up.

You can see her right side is a lot lighter than usual. She's in the middle of a coat change, and something we've come in contact with recently has irritated her to where she's chewed through the outer layer of her coat.

Went to the vet this morning for her monthly heartworm meds, vet said we'll give her a bit more time and see how her coat does this next week.

Kishu Pup

2009-09-25T11:31:00.002+09:00

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.

Updates

2009-09-25T00:12:00.003+09:00

Looks like I won't be entering Haru in the Kai Ken Aigokai Tenrankai this time round. After a kibble switch, her coat's gone dry and a bit haywire. Over the past week or so she's chewed a few spots on her sides, and I don't think it'll heal in the next month.

I've gone back to feeding her cooked, our kibble experiment didn't go so well. I've been throwing raw treats in every now and again, and she loves them. A bit too much actually.

Dropped by the Chiba-ken Nippo Regional the other day, took a bit of video. No pics as the Nikon is still sidelined, but I will try and upload the footage soon.

Autumn is in full gear, the weather is nice and cool, perfect for getting out and about. Also prime tick season. Seem to be bringing quite a few of them home. Frontline is keeping them under control, but of course doesn't kill them instantly, so we find a lot of half dead ticks around the house after our trips.

Had a good hike in the rain last week, loads of fun. Worked with Haru on the 'no chickens' policy. She's learned that she's not allowed to chase chickens, and will pretty much give up chase on anything I call her off of. The one exception being cats. She really has it in for cats. Any cats that are not her cats anyway.

I need to fix the Nikon, and a new video camera would be nice. I long for the days when I used to have free access to professional filming equipment...

Over a month since my last post.

2009-09-12T00:56:00.002+09:00

Ever since the Nikon died (and I have yet to get it fixed), it's been hard to work up the energy to blog. It's all about the pictures!

It's been a long month. The weather went from torrid to cool in a matter of a week or so. Haru and the cats love it and they're getting much more energetic. It's time to start hitting the mountains hard before the start of the season in November.

Haru's weighing in at just over 13kgs. She's filled out a bit in the past month. Was looking a little scrawny and leggy for a while there. Her coat's not quite there yet, still coming in. Am pretty much waiting on that to decide whether or not I'll enter her in the Tenrankai next month.

Her prey drive is growing by the day, and she's quite impressive when she gets in hunt mode. At the moment it's still all about small mammals, have yet to see about the big pigs. Still a bit clumsy at times, she jumped into a wall instead of over it tonight. Got right back up and jumped over it though. Guess it's good in that it reminds me she's still a 7 month old pup.

Everything, and I mean EVERYTHING is going real well in regards to her temperament, reactions, energy levels, health. Couldn't have asked for much more in a dog. She's appropriately balanced in most everything. Not to soft, not too sharp, with people or other dogs. She guards the house, but not obsessively, is very calm indoors, and turns it on once were out in the woods.

Still 7 months, guess we'll see where we go from here!

Adding video of a friend's Kai. They're both working dogs, excellent boar hunters.

Cream Kai

2009-08-03T01:11:00.002+09:00

Every once in a while I'll see pictures or hear about a cream colored Kai Ken. I just found a video on Youtube of a cream pup bred in Yamanashi.

Zap

2009-08-02T23:40:00.003+09:00

Title probably should be 'Haru gets into more trouble.'

Took her to the mountains the other day, and on our way home stopped near some rice fields to have lunch. There's a serious crop damage issue locally, so pretty much all the rice fields are ringed with electric fencing.

Puppies don't really listen too well when they're lunging after frogs. She was on leash, but finally got a good lunge in and hit the fence. There was much yelping and panic as she went into crazy mode.

After that she listened to me when I said no as she moved toward the fencing.

Well I ended up having to call the land owner to have the fence fixed as she stretched some of it when she hit it. Wouldn't want the piggies getting into the fields on my account.

Meh hopefully a good learning experience, maybe will teach her to stay away from rice fields when we're hunting. Haru is crazy about mud...

Must to fix Nikon to take pictures!

This here is a video (courtesy of youtube) taken at sunrise in one of the areas I hunt.

Beach Video

2009-07-28T01:38:00.000+09:00

Kai Ken: The Tora Inu

Moving On

Available Shikoku Boys

Happy New Year

And I'm Back

Taking A Break

Puppy Pictures From Today

Short Video

KKA Tenrankai 2010 Fall

The Kai Ken

The past week

NIPPO Chiba Regional (Fall 2010)

Shikoku Pictures

Available Shikoku Puppies

Another Trip

Litters

Running Around

Nippo Kanagawa Regional (2010)

Recent Kai Pictures

Nippo Tokyo Regional (2010)

Fun Blog Gadgets

And We're Back

AFK

Lap Jumping

The World is on Fire

When it Rains

Busy Day

Something I Forgot...

More Pictures From Yesterday

Baying Bacon (graphic content)

Monkey Business

Walking With My B%$#"!s

Aka-tora

Group Photo

Snakes

Haru and I

Tips For Shipping Dogs

Exporting Dogs From Japan: Part 2

Exporting Dogs From Japan

More Nihon Ken Pictures

More Riku

BBQ Season

Angry Kai

More pictures

Nippo Kanto Rengo

Weight

Short Video of Kai Pups

Kai Puppies

Training

More Tenrankai

Kai Ken Aigokai Tenrankai Spring 2010

More Video

New Videos

New Kishu

Nuts

The Boys Today

More Kai pups

Video of the boys

The Boys

Baron's littermates

Nippo Kanagawa Regional

More Kai pups

Kai Pups

Too Funny

3 days in the Mountains

Happy New Year!

More bacon...

Bacon galore

Sake

The Hunting Debate

For Fun

Pigs 5, Human 0

Japanese Blog

Update

The Kai Ken standard

The Ears

Tweet tweet

Yesterday

Moving Pictures

Open season