Holy cow at that last picture! I can't even imagine waking up, walking outside the tent, stretching, and just gazing out at this amazing scene. I had been wanting to do a motorcycle trip from Toronto to Nova Scotia or Toronto to Vancouver in the Spring of next year, but I think I'll have to do some trekking instead and bring 1-2 dogs with me. I'm going to have to ask you for some tips when I get past this next month of starting new job + rental house hunting + driving over to Brad's to get Genko & Katana (both Hokkas) and then settling them in. There won't be any time or money for gear hunting between then and now lol. Rollo's going to have a blast when he goes!
Definitely. I'd be glad to pass on recommendations for how we prepare for these trips. Here's one more for you, again from mount Robson, right out in front of our tent. I get pretty excited about planning these, it's hard to describe the feeling of rolling out of the sleeping bag and seeing this. I brought my younger brother and my dad to berg lake, and they are now hooked for obvious reasons!
It's been a while since I posted an update here, so here is a quick update on our bundle of fur.
Rollo has been doing great, though even with practice his recall has gotten worse. We have moved to using a 50 foot training lead to work on that at the dog park and when out on walks. We don't use it all of the time but I have it in the bag and throw it on for a few minutes here and there to try and work on his recall.
Other than recall he has excellent behaviour. He's grown out of his chewing stage, graduated puppy junior high so far. He's getting big too, around 40ish pounds would be my guess. He is so handsome, and unusually calm for a pup his age.
We had a scare yesterday, a large German Shepard broke out of his fence and was going for Rollo's throat. It's bear season here so I had my big hunting knife and bear spray on me. The owner grabbed the dog at just the right time before I managed to get my knife out. That dog was going for the kill. It was easily the most uncomfortable situation I've dealt with in a very long time. Rollo knew what the deal was, and the Shepard couldn't catch him even though he was leashed. He is really fast thankfully.
He wasn't too rattled as he met a husky about 2 minutes later and Rollo wanted to play with him. My heart was in my throat still, so it was good to see how fast he calmed down.
It's finally spring here, but Rollo has all of his fur still. I'm wondering if he just had puppy fuzz and not actually a full-on winter coat? He was born in October so I have no idea if he actually grew a full winter coat or not. Either way, he handled most of the winter at around -30C with no issues.
We have successfully reintroduced our red shag area rug, and he no longer tries to eat it. He usually hangs out on it as it's nice and soft.
Now that it's spring, he can actually spend some time on the patio. He loves to just sit and watch people! He sat there for almost two hours on Saturday morning. He barely moved, just sniffed and watched people walk around.
Waaaaa! Rollo looks great! He's getting really big and I have to agree--he is really handsome. I'm sorry to hear about that scare. I would've been terrified too. I'm glad he's okay though and not at all traumatized. If he's anything like Katsu, he may have thought the german shepherd was just... intensely playing--which would explain the quick bounce back. Katsu plays rather rough though, not sure if Rollo is the same.
It was intense. I'm glad he rebounded so fast from that experience. It was not pleasant at all.
Rollo is great at the dog park. He'll kind of trot over to a group of dogs, sniff butts, then play the 'chase me' game. When he finds a dog who likes to wrestle, they play pretty rough too. He is good with dogs that don't play rough as well, which is great. If another puppy is submissive at all Rollo will say hello and then move onto the more rambunctious dogs.
All in all, I am surprised with how well behaved he is. It is such a treat to have him with us!
I've only had to use it once since getting it, but it helped a lot in that instance. But I'm never sure how well it will work on a dog that is particularly intent to harm, though.
And wow! Some of those scenery shots....Rollo is going to be a lucky guy going to places like that.
The shedding has commenced. I've only had retrievers so they just shed year round. Nothing as crazy as when a dog blows it's coat though. Holy smokes there are so many tumbleweeds!
What a good looking fellow! Tempts me to get Shikoku (the other Nihon Ken I've been drawn toward.) Great photos, especially the wilderness ones. But the balcony shots make me nervous...
Actually, I was concerned about him getting excited and going up and over the railing. Is there room for a fairly good sized wire crate on the balcony (where he could still look out)???
I'm catching up on Rollo's thread! He has a face that reminds me of TK. Who are his parents? Saki and Yamato, I thought I saw?
As far as the balcony, I don't think my Shikoku (TK) would try to go over or through a balcony... but my Kishu might. They just tunnel-vision on things they like/see/want and go "KAY. I'M GOING FOR IT."
TK is a little more savvy. He'll bounce around like an idiot for a while or fence-fight, but he wouldn't actually jump over or go through a barrier.
Katsu tried once when he saw a cat, but we (grammar edit) lived on the first floor. Since moving, he sticks his head through it to look out but don't think he'd ever try to go over. He just whines when he sees something he wants. He also keeps DROPPING HIS TOYS off of the balcony. ... And then i play fetch for him.
haha I laugh at katsu dropping his toys off the balcony.
I let Kaja on the 2nd floor balcony, though we have glass panels she can't stick her head or toys through. I admit get a little nervous she might try to jump!! But she never jumps over her ex pen or the toddler gate (so I doubt she would). I mean, this is the girl I have to help up on the couch sometimes haha. I just keep a close eye on her when she is out there.
Rollo is so cute patrolling the streets from his crows nest view, haha
The shedding has commenced. I've only had retrievers so they just shed year round. Nothing as crazy as when a dog blows it's coat though. Holy smokes there are so many tumbleweeds!
We are going through a spring blow now too. So much fur! Any pics of the de-fluffed pup?
After taking big tufts of fur from his legs, the shedding has paused. He is dropping a few hairs from his torso but nothing major. I'll send an 'after' shot of him once he has lost some of the thick fur around his shoulders and stomach. He was born in October so I'm not sure if he got a full on winter coat in his first year or not.
He is such a nosy neighbour, when people are on their balconies he just stares at them. He has dropped a couple of his toys from our 5th floor balcony. I might have to install some sort of kick-plate type mesh or grating to stop that from happening.. As for jumping over the top rail, he is way too calm to attempt that sort of maneuver. He's also too big to squeeze out between or underneath the railing. I've never met such a calm puppy. He loves to play, and gets on wonderfully with other dogs but once he is at home he is pretty mellow and enjoys being beside or on top of people on our couch. He is such an awesome guy to have around!
Well his scent marking has gotten very strong over the past few weeks. We were at an SPCA walk last week and he peed on my leg! He has never done that before. The mayor was standing beside me so it was a little embarrassing! I'm glad he didn't decide to mark the mayor..
Tonight we had him over to the pet store to pick out some new toys, and he peed twice in the store, very quickly.
Our vet didn't want to have him neutered too young but I'm thinking it's probably time based on his marking. He's now just shy of being 7 months old. For you here that have more experience with the breed, when would you recommend having him fixed? I really appreciate the help!
Marking, like any undesirable behavior, can be trained against (redirection when you see him preparing to lift). This does require a watchful eye! Neutering won't necessarily fix it once it is established.
There's been some discussion before (of actual research), but the general thought is that dogs need their hormones to develop both physically and mentally, so waiting until maturity at 1-2 years is preferred.
Before that though, was Rollo deemed unfit for the preservation effort? His temperament seems ideal.
This is a new behaviour, when many other dogs are present or he is in an area where lots of other dogs scents are around (like a big charity dog walk or at a pet store) he has this urge to mark. Before a week ago he has never done this, so I take it hormones are kicking in.
I will have to double check our agreement with Katja bit I believe the neuter clause is in the agreement. I'll be checking in with her tomorrow about that.
I'll be extra careful with him in those situations and work on that with him. Thanks for the info!
Yuki goes in Monday to get neutered. I had checked with Katja as to when was appropriate and she deferred to the vet. I'm a bit nervous about it but our vet was OK with the timing and his age.
TK marks a lot, TBH. He's a 9 year old male. I think he's been neutered since he was 4-6 months old. I don't remember when his previous owner neutered him...
Comparatively, my Malamute male - who I kept intact until he was 4ish - marks very little. Usually only on walks, where other dogs can encounter his "news".
The balls have little to do with marking, IMO.
Neuter him if that's the agreement, but don't expect him to stop marking because of it. You might be disappointed.
If you are going to neuter him, wait as long as you possibly can after 6 months. There are articles out there that are equally for and against but ultimately it comes down to how much of his intactness you are willing to manage.
Thanks for the information! He is great in the house. This is a new behaviour and is only on walks until the pet store incident. I'll be doing my best to manage it for when we visit someone else who has a dog, so that he doesn't mark on their furniture or walls.
My vet is of that opinion as well, waiting until he has stopped growing. I'll hold off for a little while and just focus on distraction and positive techniques to get him away from doing that. I'll try that before resorting to neutering.
So my advice is to wait, and to give you some insight about what me and emily are dealing with. Katsu is not neutered yet, infact i don't know if we even will do it. Partly because we want to one day see katsu sire some pups and have our own little katsu army. Also partly because we don't know if it will even change him. He marks in the most random spots, he will mark on other spots dogs have marked on before, but sometimes he'll ignore where the other dogs have marked and mark over a spot 2 feet away. Also you should check in with katja to see if she would potentially want him to be a stud, He's freaking adorable and i'm sure if he gets an evaluation he might pass to be one.
NOW on to the subject of a slightly older male intact shikoku growing up. Katsu honestly starting to sexually mature quick, at about 4 and a half months old he started to want to mark, he also started to "flirt" with every female dog he played with he also loved every dog male or female, intact or not. At about rollo's age he started to become what I think was competitive. Every male he found he would try to win at playing and every female he was a huge flirt. So at about 7-8 months of age he started to change, and I don't know if it was him being intact, but he started to dislike certain male dogs and he was very likely to get into a fight with intact male dogs. So we started training him not to do it, right now currently he's gotten better with male dogs in general, but it would really depend on the dog. If they don't communicate properly they would get into a scuffle, so in my opinion it's mostly about proper introductions and some hard training. So i can't say if neutering will even change the marking thing, just make sure you find out if you want him to be a stud, and learn about his habits with dogs as he gets older. We know a shiba who didn't change one bit when he got neutered. He ended up being a jerk forever.
Ok so we have decided that we are going to do the rockwall hike in Kootenay national park this summer. We have some great trails with big hills so he has had lots of practice going up and down. We'll do the 56k over 4 or maybe 5 days as its a tough hike.
He's been upgraded from trail buddy to hiking buddy! Picked up this pack tonight, and went for a hike. He likes it! It will be great to have him carry his food, a towel, and a little bit of water on the trek. Not to mention the pack makes him look even cuter.
Big success. He wagged his tail lots when I put it on him. We'll start putting stuff in the pack a little bit at a time over the next couple of weeks. It won't be long before he associates the pack with going into the woods. He's very smart so that won't take him very long at all.
He looks good with that pack! Glad to hear he already seems to like it. And that is awesome that he is shaping up to be such an awesome trail buddy. Rollo has such a precious face!
Thanks! I'm really excited to get him out there. The rockwall is an awesome trail, it connects to the continental divide trail which does go all the way down south. It's a tough hike but we'll do it in 5 days. I've done it before in 3 days with a friend and it was a tough hike. I'll have the wife with me this time so I won't be in as big of a rush to do it this time.
Next up is to experiment with leash and pack combinations. I'm not sure I want to go with a belly lead as I'll already be lugging a 40 pound pack and don't want a chaffed midsection, so I'll try out a few different types of leashes to see what works while carrying a big pack. Using hiking poles will be a challenge though with Rollo, as he likes to change directions constantly. He's pretty indecisive when walking. I'll report back after trying some different gear out.
Wow Rollo has grown up so much! I forgot how quickly they get to be more adult looking! The orange was definitely the right choice for him. He looks really good in it
You're up in Alberta right? Did you move up here for energy related work? I just moved up to Portland with my Hokka and Kai girls, who are both big hiking fans. The next step is a pack, and it looks like the Palisade is going to be what we go with. Do you have a favorite trail or park to go hiking in with him? The rockwall sounds pretty neat, and the Continental Divide Trail is on the bucket list for hikes!
How is Rollo offleash? I've thought about packing with the girls, and am pretty sure it'll either have to be with them leashed to a belt or offleash. That's going to take a good amount of training for leash walking though... as they love to pull and make sudden stops lol.
Comments
Rollo has been doing great, though even with practice his recall has gotten worse. We have moved to using a 50 foot training lead to work on that at the dog park and when out on walks. We don't use it all of the time but I have it in the bag and throw it on for a few minutes here and there to try and work on his recall.
Other than recall he has excellent behaviour. He's grown out of his chewing stage, graduated puppy junior high so far. He's getting big too, around 40ish pounds would be my guess. He is so handsome, and unusually calm for a pup his age.
We had a scare yesterday, a large German Shepard broke out of his fence and was going for Rollo's throat. It's bear season here so I had my big hunting knife and bear spray on me. The owner grabbed the dog at just the right time before I managed to get my knife out. That dog was going for the kill. It was easily the most uncomfortable situation I've dealt with in a very long time. Rollo knew what the deal was, and the Shepard couldn't catch him even though he was leashed. He is really fast thankfully.
He wasn't too rattled as he met a husky about 2 minutes later and Rollo wanted to play with him. My heart was in my throat still, so it was good to see how fast he calmed down.
It's finally spring here, but Rollo has all of his fur still. I'm wondering if he just had puppy fuzz and not actually a full-on winter coat? He was born in October so I have no idea if he actually grew a full winter coat or not. Either way, he handled most of the winter at around -30C with no issues.
We have successfully reintroduced our red shag area rug, and he no longer tries to eat it. He usually hangs out on it as it's nice and soft.
Now that it's spring, he can actually spend some time on the patio. He loves to just sit and watch people! He sat there for almost two hours on Saturday morning. He barely moved, just sniffed and watched people walk around.
Nosey neighbour!
Rollo is great at the dog park. He'll kind of trot over to a group of dogs, sniff butts, then play the 'chase me' game. When he finds a dog who likes to wrestle, they play pretty rough too. He is good with dogs that don't play rough as well, which is great. If another puppy is submissive at all Rollo will say hello and then move onto the more rambunctious dogs.
All in all, I am surprised with how well behaved he is. It is such a treat to have him with us!
That's scary about that German Shepherd.
http://www.amazon.com/SprayShield-Animal-Deterrent-Spray-Belt/dp/B0002XKIV6
I've only had to use it once since getting it, but it helped a lot in that instance. But I'm never sure how well it will work on a dog that is particularly intent to harm, though.
And wow! Some of those scenery shots....Rollo is going to be a lucky guy going to places like that.
Thanks for the thread.
As far as the balcony, I don't think my Shikoku (TK) would try to go over or through a balcony... but my Kishu might. They just tunnel-vision on things they like/see/want and go "KAY. I'M GOING FOR IT."
TK is a little more savvy. He'll bounce around like an idiot for a while or fence-fight, but he wouldn't actually jump over or go through a barrier.
I let Kaja on the 2nd floor balcony, though we have glass panels she can't stick her head or toys through. I admit get a little nervous she might try to jump!! But she never jumps over her ex pen or the toddler gate (so I doubt she would). I mean, this is the girl I have to help up on the couch sometimes haha. I just keep a close eye on her when she is out there.
Rollo is so cute patrolling the streets from his crows nest view, haha
He is such a nosy neighbour, when people are on their balconies he just stares at them. He has dropped a couple of his toys from our 5th floor balcony. I might have to install some sort of kick-plate type mesh or grating to stop that from happening.. As for jumping over the top rail, he is way too calm to attempt that sort of maneuver. He's also too big to squeeze out between or underneath the railing. I've never met such a calm puppy. He loves to play, and gets on wonderfully with other dogs but once he is at home he is pretty mellow and enjoys being beside or on top of people on our couch. He is such an awesome guy to have around!
Tonight we had him over to the pet store to pick out some new toys, and he peed twice in the store, very quickly.
Our vet didn't want to have him neutered too young but I'm thinking it's probably time based on his marking. He's now just shy of being 7 months old. For you here that have more experience with the breed, when would you recommend having him fixed? I really appreciate the help!
There's been some discussion before (of actual research), but the general thought is that dogs need their hormones to develop both physically and mentally, so waiting until maturity at 1-2 years is preferred.
Before that though, was Rollo deemed unfit for the preservation effort? His temperament seems ideal.
I will have to double check our agreement with Katja bit I believe the neuter clause is in the agreement. I'll be checking in with her tomorrow about that.
I'll be extra careful with him in those situations and work on that with him. Thanks for the info!
TK marks a lot, TBH. He's a 9 year old male. I think he's been neutered since he was 4-6 months old. I don't remember when his previous owner neutered him...
Comparatively, my Malamute male - who I kept intact until he was 4ish - marks very little. Usually only on walks, where other dogs can encounter his "news".
The balls have little to do with marking, IMO.
Neuter him if that's the agreement, but don't expect him to stop marking because of it.
Jesse
My vet is of that opinion as well, waiting until he has stopped growing. I'll hold off for a little while and just focus on distraction and positive techniques to get him away from doing that. I'll try that before resorting to neutering.
Also you should check in with katja to see if she would potentially want him to be a stud, He's freaking adorable and i'm sure if he gets an evaluation he might pass to be one.
NOW on to the subject of a slightly older male intact shikoku growing up. Katsu honestly starting to sexually mature quick, at about 4 and a half months old he started to want to mark, he also started to "flirt" with every female dog he played with he also loved every dog male or female, intact or not. At about rollo's age he started to become what I think was competitive. Every male he found he would try to win at playing and every female he was a huge flirt. So at about 7-8 months of age he started to change, and I don't know if it was him being intact, but he started to dislike certain male dogs and he was very likely to get into a fight with intact male dogs. So we started training him not to do it, right now currently he's gotten better with male dogs in general, but it would really depend on the dog. If they don't communicate properly they would get into a scuffle, so in my opinion it's mostly about proper introductions and some hard training. So i can't say if neutering will even change the marking thing, just make sure you find out if you want him to be a stud, and learn about his habits with dogs as he gets older. We know a shiba who didn't change one bit when he got neutered. He ended up being a jerk forever.
He's been upgraded from trail buddy to hiking buddy! Picked up this pack tonight, and went for a hike. He likes it! It will be great to have him carry his food, a towel, and a little bit of water on the trek. Not to mention the pack makes him look even cuter.
Big success. He wagged his tail lots when I put it on him. We'll start putting stuff in the pack a little bit at a time over the next couple of weeks. It won't be long before he associates the pack with going into the woods. He's very smart so that won't take him very long at all.
Next up is to experiment with leash and pack combinations. I'm not sure I want to go with a belly lead as I'll already be lugging a 40 pound pack and don't want a chaffed midsection, so I'll try out a few different types of leashes to see what works while carrying a big pack. Using hiking poles will be a challenge though with Rollo, as he likes to change directions constantly. He's pretty indecisive when walking. I'll report back after trying some different gear out.
You're up in Alberta right? Did you move up here for energy related work? I just moved up to Portland with my Hokka and Kai girls, who are both big hiking fans. The next step is a pack, and it looks like the Palisade is going to be what we go with. Do you have a favorite trail or park to go hiking in with him? The rockwall sounds pretty neat, and the Continental Divide Trail is on the bucket list for hikes!
How is Rollo offleash? I've thought about packing with the girls, and am pretty sure it'll either have to be with them leashed to a belt or offleash. That's going to take a good amount of training for leash walking though... as they love to pull and make sudden stops lol.