Kishu

Also known as the Kishu Inu or even Kishu Ken, Inu and Ken both being Japanese terms for dog, originated from the country of Japan. These dogs are very rare in America or any country outside of Japan for that matter. The main reason for their rareness would be the fact they are quite extinct and are termed as the “protected species” in their native since as early as 1934. From this, it is quite obvious that they are an ancient breed. Their exact place of origin is known to be the mountainous regions of an island called Kyushu, which is the southern most of all the islands in Japan. The dogs of this breed are said to be very pure, this is mainly because they had no contact what so ever with dogs of other breeds.

Originally, the main purpose of breeding these dogs were for the hunting of wild boars, deer or sometimes even bears. These dogs are so efficient that it is said that they would keep chasing the prey till the hunter would get close enough to shoot the prey. Nowadays however, even though there are sometimes used for the purpose of hunting, are bred as house pets.

These are well balanced, medium sized dogs with developed muscles. Their ears are generally pricked. They have either a curled or a sickle tail. They have a thick, muscular neck. They have a broad forehead with relatively well developed cheeks that have an abrupt stop with a light furrow. Their muzzle is slightly thick, tapering, wedge shaped with tight lips. They have lightly triangular shaped eyes, quite small in size, dark brown colored and are set wide apart. They have triangular, small and lightly inclined forward and a firmly pricked ear.

They are very courageous and brave when it comes to hunting and also very loyal when it comes to their owners. They are generally one person dogs. Their prey drive is extremely strong. They normally do quite well when it comes to other dogs, however, due to their personal traits; they may get into fights over dominance. They being willful and headstrong, make training quite necessary. They are known to be very loyal to their family and also get along very well with kids. They have a tendency to keep an eye on everything that is happening around them, and often find a high place from where they can look out from. They tend to get quite timid when it comes to strangers. They are very intelligent and have a very strong will.

They are known to be a quiet and a calm breed and also very clean. They socialize quite well and are not the barking type. They usually stalk their prey rather than barking. They make very good pack hunters. They are not to be trusted with small non canine pets like hamsters, guinea pigs and so on. They are also known to even climb trees for the purpose of catching their prey. These dogs require their owners to be of the calm and collected type but yet firm, consistent and confident. Their owners should have the ability to display natural authority over these dogs.