Toboetsuki Inuits & Hokkaido Ken

01/01/2025

🎉 A Round-Up of 2024? 🎉

Well, it's been a year hasn't it? Sadly no puppies born here at Toboetsuki in 2024, but it's been a busy one nonetheless!

We've attended four shows as part of The British Association of Hokkaido Ken -BAHK and Association of Nihon Ken [UK], across the south of England, doing meet-and-greets with the Hokkaido Ken and showing people what awesome companions they can make! Including visiting the New Forest, Essex and Norfolk.

I took a course in Canine Core Conditioning with Angela of Born to Run Canine, with Chuuya as my partner, learning how to balance his movement and work on his condition safely. I also somehow managed to pass the Kennel Club Assessment for Points of the Dog, attending a seminar on conformation and movement which was super interesting and helpful when looking at my own dogs' faults.

Satsuki was the first ever Hokkaido Ken to attend Crufts as a spectator, we hope she will not be the last.

Chuuya and I visited Luxembourg (and Germany), on our first ever solo trip, for the 109th and 110th International Dog Shows. We had the absolute pleasure of meeting Sabrina and Heidi of Ayamorisou, the gorgeous Naisho and Bion (Hokkaido), Inari and Fudo (Shiba). It was such a pleasure to be able to meet more Hokkaido. Chuuya earned his first ever Champion title in Luxembourg over that weekend!

The idiot dog (Chuuya), decided it was a great idea to swallow a sock whole, which resulted in an obstruction and major surgery to remove. For a while we were worried he wasn't going to make it as his intestines had been quite damaged, but our boy is a fighter and we are so thankful that he pulled through and came out the other side with a nice zipline and otherwise none the worse for his experience.

Chuuya and I also whisked off to France, twice in one month! First we headed to Moulins - with Kate and Lou in tow - for the World Japanese Dog Show, where Chuuya won the World Japanese Winner title (working towards a French Champion title in the future). Then we headed to Nantes with Kate as our co-pilot, on a top secret mission...
..to pick up our newest addition to the Toboetsuki crew, baby Kaika, who joined us from Kyuden Kitsune - Hokkaido Ken. She has spent the tail end of 2024 settling in, getting to know our routine and working on socialising. Looking back on her those early photos, it's shocking how much she's changed and grown in those short months!

Princess turned 12 years old in October, the matriarch of our crew of six, and enjoyed her Christmas visit to Honiahaka Northern Inuits and Wolfdogs to see her breeders and distant relatives.

Not the most exciting of years, but we've had our highs and lows.

So, we wish all of our followers a Happy New Year! We hope 2024 didn't treat you too badly, and that 2025 brings you many good experiences and memories to be made

30/12/2024

🐾🍂~ Kaika Meets The Extended Family ~🍂🐾

Yesterday, Kaika got to meet some of the extended Toboetsuki family in the form of Beau (from our 2019 litter) and Eevee (from our 2023 litter)!

She was a bit unsure at first and tried to climb back into the van to hide 😂 but once she realised that Chuuya and the girls weren't bothered by them, she soon relaxed and started to play, within 5 minutes she was running around and chasing everyone while trying to get Chuuya's attention.

Beau and Eevee were super excited to see me, it's always adorable to see them realise who I am and have them run over immediately to beg for cuddles

24/12/2024

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays to everyone who celebrates at this time of year!

Otherwise, we wish you a wonderful end to 2024

23/11/2024

🐾🍂~ Kaika Pupdate ~🍂🐾

Today Kaika, Satsuki and I visited Pewsey Pawfest for a little socialisation trip! We took the puppy pushchair along as I've found over the last couple of weeks that Kaika feels more secure meeting new people when she's not on the floor. I'm pretty sure this has a lot to do with the way people tend to 'loom' over a dog when they greet them, something which can be seen as scary or threatening for a dog which isn't used to it. Up to now I've been carrying her, but being in the puppy pushchair let Kaika be off the floor and gave her a bit of security without dangling around in the air. This made a big difference to her confidence as we made our way around the hall.

Having Satsuki along was a big help, since Satsuki is a super social girl and loves getting attention and fuss from people - a great way for Kaika to learn by example! She was more and more happy with the people that approached to say hello, the longer we stayed. She accepted treats from multiple people and even licked some fingers (and was fascinated by one lady's green nail polish)

19/11/2024

How Hokkaido are evaluated at Hokkaido Ken Hozonkai exhibitions in Japan!

Plus a beautiful photo of Wakasoryu, owned by Takekata-san - the first Hokkaido to be given the top evaluation for 20 years

16/11/2024

🐾🍂~ Kaika Pupdate ~🍂🐾

Kaika has now been part of the crew for two whole weeks! Most of the pack have accepted that she's not actually leaving and are tolerant of her puppy antics - even the old lady, Princess, is beginning to soften.

She has really come out of her shell this last week and is starting to show her naughty side. She loves tearing around the garden with Chuuya and Tsume, and Satsuki has also started joining in with a game of Red Dog Chase! Kirin is - as usual - the Fun Police of the family and yells at them when she thinks they're getting too excited.

She enjoyed her first trip to Towpath Tails this week, getting lost in all the trees and investigating all of the new smells. She wasn't quite so impressed when I put her on top of the cable reel in an effort to keep her still for 5 seconds for a photo 😂 she loves her walks on the Salisbury Plain and has a penchant for attempting to eat every flower she sees. She definitely loves birds, and like all Hokkaido puppies, hasn't quite realised that once birds fly into the sky she can't catch them no matter how fast she tries to run!

In the house she's just starting to learn that when she's tired she should probably lie down and take a break. It's very much like having an overtired toddler who just doesn't quite realise they need a nap. But she's getting there and slowly learning that it's okay to chill and the toys will all still be there in an hour!

13/11/2024

As it's Hokkaido day on National Purebred Dog Day's page today, I wanted to take the opportunity to share this on behalf of our breed club, The British Association of Hokkaido Ken -BAHK.

Anyone who has met us at one of the events we attend will have seen our set up and how we do the very best we can to make sure our dogs are happy, secure and free to approach people and say hello or choose to just hang out and watch what's going on. Our marquee and fencing allows us to give our dogs that all important choice and not be stuck on leads all day.

Unfortunately our marquee has taken a battering over the last 5 years and is badly in need of replacement, so we are asking for your support and donations to try and raise enough money to purchase a new one ready for next years events, so that we can continue to showcase this amazing breed here in the UK!

The BAHK does not have an income, we do not currently charge for membership, we do not sell anything and we do not make any money from our attendance at these events. Our show team does all of this out of our own pockets.

Of course, we know not everyone has spare cash to give away, so if you could just give the original post a share, the exposure will be a huge help towards our goal

Hi, my name is Lindsey, I am the Vice Chairperson of the Brit… Lindsey Hiscocks needs your support for Help the British Association of Hokkaido Ken Attend Events

09/11/2024

🐾🍂~ Kaika Pupdate ~🍂🐾

So, the newest Hokkaido princess of the pack has been with us for a whole week already! Time sure does fly by quickly where puppies are involved.

It's been a big week for her: learning a whole new routine; joining the rest of the pack out on walks; having her first off lead field trips; and finding her place with the rest of the dogs. She is not at all noise sensitive, she's had fireworks going off, tank convoys rolling past us on walks, helicopters flying around, bird scarers, machine gun fire and tractors and none of that seems to bother her at all.

Kaika is a pretty 'busy' puppy. When she's not asleep she's running around emptying the toybox, jumping on Chuuya's head or annoying the girls. She's still learning how to settle indoors and that sometimes she does actually need to stop and have a rest 😂 She's been very good for toilet training so far, with only one accident that was completely my fault! She sleeps through the night in her crate without making a mess and only a few little whines before she settles down. For a Hokkaido puppy, she's actually pretty quiet (or maybe I'm just comparing her to Chuuya - the noisiest Hokkaido in existence)!

She has the typical Hokkaido wariness of strangers, so that's something we'll be working on in the next few weeks. Hopefully getting her out and about in the world with plenty of tasty treats for people to give her will help her realise that people aren't really that scary. I'm hoping I'll be able to find a ringcraft class to start taking her to in the near future since puppy classes seem to be scarce around here right now.

04/11/2024

🐾🐾~ Kaika Pupdate ~🐾🐾

It's been a big day for a little puppy today!

This morning Kaika had her first trip to one of the freedom fields with the rest of the Toboetsuki pack. She had a whale of a time running around chasing after the boys, investigating all of the new smells and having a dip in the pond.

On the way home we stopped off at Morrisons and let her do a bit of people watching, as well as her first experience with trolleys and traffic. She is a little wary of strangers right now, but did allow one lady to have a quick cuddle.

After a big nap this afternoon, we went out on the Plain with the five Hokkaido before it got dark and Kaika (accidentally) got to watch around 30 tanks rolling down the tracks, and had a helicopter fly over her head. By the time the third tank rolled passed, she completely got over the noise they make and just carried on about her walk, sniffing and running and totally ignoring the convoy going past.

Photos are from our walk this morning, she is dragging a short lead just in case she decided to play keep-away and while we work on recall :D

03/11/2024

🐾🍁🧡~ Welcome Home Kaika! ~🧡🍁🐾

Yesterday night, after a long day of travelling, we welcomed baby Kaika (V'Kuttarako no Kaika Kyuden Kitsune) home! She travelled to the UK from Kyuden Kitsune - Hokkaido Ken in France, spending some time getting to know me, Kate and Chuuya along the way.

What an amazing little traveller she was! We stayed overnight in an AirBnb, where she explored the small space and garden, then crashed and slept all night.

Yesterday she had her first walks, following Chuuya through the forest at Liffré and Forêt d'Eawy, investigating all of the new smells and stomping through every puddle. She was a good girl in the car, curling up and sleeping for most of the journey. She's already looking to her new people for reassurance and attention, and although she's a little wary of new people, if you have food you're her absolute new best friend ever!

She's still getting used to the fact that she has five new pack-mates, starting to want to play with Chuuya. The girls are largely ignoring her, and Princess is entirely unimpressed with the fact that a new wiggly, annoying Hokkaido has appeared in her house. The next few days will be about integrating her into the pack and our daily routine, but she's starting off well!

Here are a few photos from our travels and her first day here at home (where she suffered the indignity of her first bath - a way to help her get settled into the pack so she doesn't smell 'different').

Welcome to the Toboetsuki family, Kaika

25/10/2024

🎉🎈🩷~ Princess is 12! ~🩷🎈🎉

It's a bit late, since Princess actually turned 12 while I was away in France with Chuuya, and we've had some absolutely rubbish weather, definitely no good for taking nice photos...but Princess turned 12 years old on the 11th October!

She's already had her cake and custard, and her new toys, but this post is to celebrate our 12 years together

16/10/2024

Last weekend Chuuya and I went on an adventure with Kate, Lou and Freddie the Shiba Inu to attend the Regional, National and World Japanese Dog Show hosted by the Club Français des Chiens Nordiques et des Spitz du Japon!

It was a pretty long journey there and back (16 hours travelling each way including stops) but totally worth it

05/10/2024

Next weekend Chuuya and I are off to France for the Cfcnsj's World Japanese Dog Show, along with the Regional and National shows! 3 shows in 2 days, it's going to be a busy weekend.

Kate is joining us with Queen Shiba and Association of Nihon Ken event favourite, Freddie, and Lou is also coming along as chief cheerleader for the weekend

26/09/2024

Anyone looking for a Northern Inuit/Wolfalike who doesn't want to go through the puppy stage, this beautiful 1.5 year old boy is looking for a sofa to call his own.

Located in Scotland but I am sure his breeder would be willing for him to travel if the perfect forever home is found.

Contact Flashheart Wolfalikes for more information.

Koda has a new 🏡 lined up

16/09/2024

✨🐾 ~Puppy Spam~ 🐾✨

It's been a bit of a rubbish day here, so I'm cheering myself up with a bit of puppy spam

28/08/2024

All three of our Toboetsuki litters are represented here in this one photo