Post by DogGoneGood on Mar 9, 2009 20:01:26 GMT -5
Group: II - Hounds
Origin: Japan
Date of Origin: Antiquity
Purpose: Game hunting
Although Japan's Shinto Buddhist culture prohibits eating land mammals, people living in remote, rural areas once hunted game, using dogs to help them. The Shikoku is a survivor of these hunting breeds. A stubborn individual, it tends to dominate other dogs, although it is gentle with its human companions. A rare breed, it has seldom been seen outside Japan, but its future is constantly monitored by the Society for the Preservation of Japanese Breeds.
General Appearance:
A medium-sized dog with well balanced and well developed clean cut muscles. It has pricked ears and a curled or sickle tail. Conformation :strong, well-boned and compact. Important Proportions : The ratio of height at withers to length of body is 10 : 11.
Coat and Colour:
Coat:
Hair: Outer coat rather harsh and straight, undercoat soft and dense. The hair on the tail is rather long.
Colour:
Sesame, black sesame and red sesame. Definition of the colour sesame: Sesame : Equal mixture of white and black hairs. Black sesame : More black than white hairs. Red sesame : Ground colour of hair red, mixture with black hairs.
Head:
Skull : Forehead broad. Stop: Shallow, but defined. Nose: Black.
Muzzle: Rather long, wedge-shaped. Nasal bridge straight. Lips: Tight. Jaws/Teeth: Teeth strong, with a scissor bite. Cheeks: Well developed. Eyes: Relatively small, triangular, set well apart, dark brown in colour. Ears: Small, triangular, slightly inclining forward and firmly pricked.
Neck:
Thick and powerful.
Forequarters:
Shoulders: Moderately sloping with developed muscles. Elbows: Set close to the body. Forearms: Straight and clean cut. Pasterns: Slightly inclining.
Hindquarters:
Powerful, with muscles well developed. Hocks: Moderately angulated and very tough. Feet: Tightly closed with well arched toes. Pads hard and elastic. Nails hard and black or dark in colour.
Body:
Withers: High, well developed. Back: Straight and strong. Loins: Broad and muscular. Chest: Deep, ribs well sprung. Belly: Well tucked up.
Tail:
Set on high, thick and carried over the back vigorously curled or curved like a sickle. The tip nearly reaches the hocks when let down.
Gait:
Resilient, with rather narrow strides, but light. Action is quick and
turning is possible.
Faults:
Any departure from the foregoing points should be considered a fault and the seriousness with which the fault should be regarded should be in exact proportion to its degree.
• Bitchy dogs/doggy bitches.
• Slightly overshot or undershot mouth.
• Long hair
• Shyness.
Disqualification:
• Aggressive or overly shy.
• Extremely overshot or undershot bite.
• Ears not pricked.
• Hanging tail, short tail.
• Any dog clearly showing physical or behavioural
abnormalities shall be disqualified.
Note:
Male animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum.
Size:
Height at withers:
Dogs-52 cm (20.5 inches)
Bitches-46 cm (18 inches)
There is a tolerance of + 3 cm (1.2 inches)
Temperment:
A dog of marked endurance, keen in sense with a naive feeling, energetic and highly alert; an enthusiastic hunter; docile towards his master.
Health:
The Shikoku is a very hardy breed and has no known genetic concerns. This breed has an average life expectancy of 10 to 12 years of age.
History:
This breed goes back to medium-sized dogs that existed in Japan in ancient times. The Shikoku was bred as a hunting dog, mainly for hunting boar and deer in the mountainous districts of Kochi Prefecture. It is sometimes called “Kochi-ken” (ken = dog). The breed took on the name of the region and was designated as a “natural monument” in 1937. A study in the 1930’s conducted by Japanese cynologist Harvo Isogai classified a native Japanese dog breeds into three categories; large, medium and small sized.
These dogs are tough and sufficiently agile to run through a mountainous region and often referred to as deerhounds. They are characterized by their sesame coloured coats.
Sources:
Canadian Kennel Club Official Breed Standards - Shikoku
The New Encyclopedia Of the DOG by Bruce Fogle DVM Page 142
Great Dog Site
Origin: Japan
Date of Origin: Antiquity
Purpose: Game hunting
Although Japan's Shinto Buddhist culture prohibits eating land mammals, people living in remote, rural areas once hunted game, using dogs to help them. The Shikoku is a survivor of these hunting breeds. A stubborn individual, it tends to dominate other dogs, although it is gentle with its human companions. A rare breed, it has seldom been seen outside Japan, but its future is constantly monitored by the Society for the Preservation of Japanese Breeds.
General Appearance:
A medium-sized dog with well balanced and well developed clean cut muscles. It has pricked ears and a curled or sickle tail. Conformation :strong, well-boned and compact. Important Proportions : The ratio of height at withers to length of body is 10 : 11.
Coat and Colour:
Coat:
Hair: Outer coat rather harsh and straight, undercoat soft and dense. The hair on the tail is rather long.
Colour:
Sesame, black sesame and red sesame. Definition of the colour sesame: Sesame : Equal mixture of white and black hairs. Black sesame : More black than white hairs. Red sesame : Ground colour of hair red, mixture with black hairs.
Head:
Skull : Forehead broad. Stop: Shallow, but defined. Nose: Black.
Muzzle: Rather long, wedge-shaped. Nasal bridge straight. Lips: Tight. Jaws/Teeth: Teeth strong, with a scissor bite. Cheeks: Well developed. Eyes: Relatively small, triangular, set well apart, dark brown in colour. Ears: Small, triangular, slightly inclining forward and firmly pricked.
Neck:
Thick and powerful.
Forequarters:
Shoulders: Moderately sloping with developed muscles. Elbows: Set close to the body. Forearms: Straight and clean cut. Pasterns: Slightly inclining.
Hindquarters:
Powerful, with muscles well developed. Hocks: Moderately angulated and very tough. Feet: Tightly closed with well arched toes. Pads hard and elastic. Nails hard and black or dark in colour.
Body:
Withers: High, well developed. Back: Straight and strong. Loins: Broad and muscular. Chest: Deep, ribs well sprung. Belly: Well tucked up.
Tail:
Set on high, thick and carried over the back vigorously curled or curved like a sickle. The tip nearly reaches the hocks when let down.
Gait:
Resilient, with rather narrow strides, but light. Action is quick and
turning is possible.
Faults:
Any departure from the foregoing points should be considered a fault and the seriousness with which the fault should be regarded should be in exact proportion to its degree.
• Bitchy dogs/doggy bitches.
• Slightly overshot or undershot mouth.
• Long hair
• Shyness.
Disqualification:
• Aggressive or overly shy.
• Extremely overshot or undershot bite.
• Ears not pricked.
• Hanging tail, short tail.
• Any dog clearly showing physical or behavioural
abnormalities shall be disqualified.
Note:
Male animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum.
Size:
Height at withers:
Dogs-52 cm (20.5 inches)
Bitches-46 cm (18 inches)
There is a tolerance of + 3 cm (1.2 inches)
Temperment:
A dog of marked endurance, keen in sense with a naive feeling, energetic and highly alert; an enthusiastic hunter; docile towards his master.
Health:
The Shikoku is a very hardy breed and has no known genetic concerns. This breed has an average life expectancy of 10 to 12 years of age.
History:
This breed goes back to medium-sized dogs that existed in Japan in ancient times. The Shikoku was bred as a hunting dog, mainly for hunting boar and deer in the mountainous districts of Kochi Prefecture. It is sometimes called “Kochi-ken” (ken = dog). The breed took on the name of the region and was designated as a “natural monument” in 1937. A study in the 1930’s conducted by Japanese cynologist Harvo Isogai classified a native Japanese dog breeds into three categories; large, medium and small sized.
These dogs are tough and sufficiently agile to run through a mountainous region and often referred to as deerhounds. They are characterized by their sesame coloured coats.
Sources:
Canadian Kennel Club Official Breed Standards - Shikoku
The New Encyclopedia Of the DOG by Bruce Fogle DVM Page 142
Great Dog Site
