The Kai is still considered a fairly "primitive" breed.
They are not that far removed from pack hunters and not entirely domesticated.
They were kept in packs in the mountainous Kai prefecture of Japan. After WWII most Japanese breeds were dying off. The Japanese people were barely able to survive, let alone keep pets and breed them.
However in the mountains, the hunters used the dogs as sustanence. No good dogs, no food.
Subsequently, years later when the pure Japanese breeds were brought back by afficianados, other breeds had to be bred into the lines to get stable traits and conformation.
The Kai is now considered the most pure of the traditional Japanese breeds. They were still a strong, distinct, viable breed.
For centuries used to hunt wild boar, bear and stag and one of their most enduring qualities is their bond that they develop with one person, their soul mate. The Kai and Akita are revered by the Japanese for this quality and loyalty.
There are around only 3-400 currently in the US.
One of the conformation traits is a gait that shows effortless physical endurance and the ability to run for hours while hunting game.
Well, I can attest to that.
Got home Sunday from Mushtaq's and my Male Kai had broken the gate and was long gone. Tracks everywhere but it could have been hours that he was gone.
Rode/walked around for hours until dark and no sign of him.
Rode/walked around for hours until dark and no sign of him.
The prey drive in Kai is still very strong and for this reason they are a leash-only dog. You can train them to come and be off leash but it takes massive amounts of time and even then, if a rabbit bolts, all bets are off.
I resignedly went to bed Sunday night not wanting to believe he was long gone.
Take a look at this map
We live right at the edge of the forest. If you scroll down and to the east, you can see the forest goes for miles. If he was lost in there, there's no way to find him back.
Oh, and it was 20degrees overnight.
I went throught the motions at work Monday just to keep my mind active.
Mostly I was worried something bad had happened to him.
Rode around again yesterday afternoon to no luck and went home.
About 6PM we got word that he was on the trail about 6 acres to the direct south, it fronts the forest and many people walk it so he must have been working his way back home from the smells.
We walked that trail for over an hour and it was getting dark. You don't want to be in that forest after dark either.
No more than leaving the trail we got word he was in the neighborhood.
Just down the road two cars had him surrounded and he lit off again.
Cole got within 10 feet and I got within 40 feet. He saw me, slowed and kept right on going at full effortless run. Everyone remarked, "Man is he fast"
I'm sure he was pretty scared and confused though.
I rode around again until dark and once again resignedly went home with the solace that he made it through the previous cold night.
Left the garage door open with a coat smelling like me laying out overnight.
Decided not to go to work this morning as I was already feeling lousy and Roberta had the nasty flu. Figured I'd sleep in and then go looking again.
Kristen left for school at 7:05.
And at 7:15 we heard whining at the garage door! Had we left for work we would have missed him.
As for him? Well he sure looks none the worse for wear, bastard.
But he sure walks like he's been rode hard and put away wet! I'm sure he'll sleep all day.
Me? I went to work anyway.
2 comments:
Gotta love dogs. You probably wouldn't hunt for Bobbe that long ...
He couldn't run that far.....
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