Tenchu the Shikoku Ken, New Pictures :)
Hello Everyone,
I haven't posted in quite a while but I've been a member since 2009. We recently added a Shikoku Ken into our family and he is absolutely great. He is really well mannered and great with children and just has an all around mellow personality.
He is currently on a 60 day indoor quarantine which is leaving him pretty frustrated in our home, I can't blame him. He is doing pretty well so far considering being cooped up all the time.
I also had a question for other Shikoku owners, at what point is the best time to consider neutering him, if at all? I've been reading a lot on the correct time to neuter and the answer varies from around 3 months, 6 months, and 1 year. He is pretty "humpy" already and I know that won't change regardless of the neuter so I am wondering if I should even neuter at all?
Thanks!
I haven't posted in quite a while but I've been a member since 2009. We recently added a Shikoku Ken into our family and he is absolutely great. He is really well mannered and great with children and just has an all around mellow personality.
He is currently on a 60 day indoor quarantine which is leaving him pretty frustrated in our home, I can't blame him. He is doing pretty well so far considering being cooped up all the time.
I also had a question for other Shikoku owners, at what point is the best time to consider neutering him, if at all? I've been reading a lot on the correct time to neuter and the answer varies from around 3 months, 6 months, and 1 year. He is pretty "humpy" already and I know that won't change regardless of the neuter so I am wondering if I should even neuter at all?
Thanks!
Comments
The humping things is more of a training problem than a having balls problem, in my experience anyways. My intact Hokkaido (a bit over a year) only humps if he's humped first. My neutered Shiba (almost 4 years) will hump whenever he danged well pleases.
I worked at a sleddog kennel in Alaska for a few months a while back. Almost all the dogs were intact and there were very, very few problems between the dogs. The neutered Jack Russell caused most of the issues, but, he was a Jack Russell...
If you are set on neutering, wait until he is physically and mentally mature. It varies, but runs around 1 1/2 - 2 1/2 years for medium sized dogs. If you are not set on neutering, don't.
I prefer leaving dogs intact if I have the choice, but I think it comes down to a matter of choice and comfort.
My Malamute was left intact for years, but never had any mounting or marking issues. It wasn't until after I neutered him that he started to mount - and, predictably, it was only with anxious dogs.
IMO, neutering does not change behavior all too much. I think the myth started when trainers would tell people to neuter their aggressive dogs, since aggression has/is believed to have genetic components. That's just my hypothesis. My Malamute did not change at all after being neutered other than the humping anxious dogs - which he may have done anyway, intact, and he no longer obsessed over females in heat.
@BradA1878 Thanks, my husband used to play game all the time as well! We like to joke that little Tenchu is a punishment from heaven, in an endearing way.
Shikoku are humpy dogs, male or female, as pups. My female, Kurenai, still does it to this day. She's an excitable gal. Be prepared for him to be persistently pestering Kiba. :P
Jesse
Congratulations! Glad to see Tenchu here. Tenchu and Kiyomi appeared to be the two pups doing all the wrestling. We had a chance to play with all the pups when we went to visit @ 5 wks. They were all so cute and playful, we wanted to take them all home.
Just out of curiosity where are you located? We're in the San Francisco bay area.
It'll be fun to watch the puppies grow up on this forum!
Kiyomi is super adorable, she always looked like she had the most spunk in all the pictures and videos. It really is great that we are all connected via forum, we can compare puppy growth, common behaviors, etc.
@CrimsonO2 He's already started to mount, much to Kiba's disdain
It'll be tougher for Kiba to correct him once Tenchu becomes a 30+ lbs juvenile with the same tendencies.
Jesse
At the park.
About as peaceful as it can get between these two.
Tenchu and my son Jovie
Just hanging out outside.
He is a really fun puppy to have, some things that I found interesting about Shikoku Ken, or maybe just Tenchu in particular:
1) He is really really clingy, he follows me around everywhere, and demands affection.
2) He is not a bolter, I let go of his leash and let it drag on the ground when we are outside. He will not run off and has good recall so far.
3) Very mouthy, likes to nibble on my hand when he gets excited, I am trying to decrease that habit, because he is around young children quite often.
4) It's pretty neat to see how rapidly his coat color is changing, his eye rings have become more pronounced, he is growing a lot of black hair on his back and hind quarters, and his white paws are sprouting brown hair.
Overall a really big difference from owning a Shiba.