Hi everyone - Prince Zuko here. While my people are off in France eating lots of "fromage" without me, I decided to post something I've wanted to post for a very long time.
Mom purchased a book in Japantown some time ago about Shibas. While it is all in Japanese, I translated it for her.
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| See the mighty hunter, the Shiba Inu, chasing a wild boar |
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| Shiba Inu takes down boar. Fear the Shiba Inu. |
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| See the amazing Shiba Inu in action. Shibas are awesome. |
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| Shiba Inus are awesome. And super cute. |
End of translation.
-- Posted by Prince Zuko
Wow! Shiba inu in hunting action! That book looks so cool! Do you know the ISBN number for it?
ReplyDeleteWOW! So awesome. They are really getting after it. Makes Kitsune's groundhog catching seem very tame in comparison (he was very proud of himself). I'd be interested in the title ISBN, too. I have a friend who travels to Japan quite a bit, so even if it's not available in the US, I might still be able to get a copy.
ReplyDeleteNot to be all "Miss Know-it-all," but I think the white guys are Ainu Inu (アイヌ犬) or Hokkaido dog (北海道犬). I'm drafting a review of the book *Japanese Dogs* by Michiko Chiba, and there's a chapter there written by Masao Kimura that talks about hunting with Ainu Inu. Shiba might *think* they're that tough, but honestly? Those boar are large and would gore a shiba deader than dead without much problem.
ReplyDeleteThat's a cool looking book though!
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ReplyDeleteHi everyone - Zuko's mom here. I can't believe his little ego managed to post this. ;-)
ReplyDeleteI'll look up the book when I get home. The cover is actually the last image. My friend translated the cover, it does seem to be about Shiba Inu but what was interesting are the photos of the all-black Shibas (?) and some that had very different coloring and patterns. I know the breeding of Shibas got interesting after WWII, so there may be some of the original Shibas around still - just not part of the standard breed. Since Zuko's translation did not go into detail, I'm at a loss.
The thing about a boar killing a Shiba is, they'd have to catch it first. Shibas are dodgy little critters. Mine can perform really amazing feats of evasion. If he doesn't want you to touch him, you're not going to. At the same time, he has a tenacity that rivals the world's other great boar hunter, the pit bull. The Total Shiba claims they were used to hunt not only boars, but bears as well.
ReplyDelete@K9Trainer: Thank you for the info! I have read that the Shibas hunted wild boar but had not heard about bears. I am going to try to keep this information from Zuko - his ego is big enough as it is! Not only are Shibas fast and nimble, but have you ever compared their teeth to other dogs? We were hanging out with a lab puppy who was two times Zuko's size and his teeth were MUCH bigger. Which suggests they know how to use them. ;-)
ReplyDeletePurdon me for interrupting.
ReplyDeleteMaybe the white dogs are Ainu-inu/Hokkaido-inu, and they are famous for hunting bears in northern Japan. And the black/mottle black ones as mentioned seem to be Kai-ken/inu.(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kai_Ken)
And I would like to let you know that most famous hunting boar dog is Kishu-ken/inu.(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kishu).
White shibas carry Kishu's gene which causes white coloring. Unfortunately Kishu is not famous outside Japan. Last but not least,
I guess the book'title seems to be "日本の犬" http://www.amazon.co.jp/gp/switch-language/product/4101198144/ref=dp_change_lang?ie=UTF8&language=en_JP
I hope it would jump to the page...
from previous shiba-inu owner
sigh, that last cover makes me wish i had a shiba sibling. we could chase birds together, as we're too small to chase boar. and even though i'm small, i'd always win our wrestling matches.
ReplyDeleteI knew that white and white mottled Shibas have Kishu in them, which is why they're sort of looked down upon in Shiba Snob circles. Thanks for the link hotmilkt!
ReplyDeleteI think the translation by Zuko is spot on! I mean... what else could the book have to say about a Shiba's awesomeness?
ReplyDeleteI quess you meaned Kai kens when speaking about total black shibas. Shibas have always the urajiro= white area under and front :)
ReplyDelete-Hilu
The white dogs look more like the Kishu Ken than a Shiba inu. They look larger and their tail isn't a curl like the Shibas but rather a sickle tail that Kishus have. O:
ReplyDelete