06/10/2023
I find myself regularly having to justify myself, my dogs and my breeding program, because at the end of the day, there is always someone who disapproves of what you’re doing.
Contrary to what people think (though those on my personal facebook probably know more), I am critical of myself, my dogs and my program, however, I tend only to post the good things to this page and everything else to my personal Facebook.I want to discuss some of the things that have been said about me to put the rumours to rest.
🟠“My dogs are nervous/was nervous at the Norway Show.” Yep, Nami was! We had NO idea what we were doing. We had just travelled for 40 hours, across six countries, and did something that we had never done before beyond ringcraft and practise at home. NEITHER of us knew what to expect, we were both nervous, and Nami fed off my insecurity, as well as the fact she was a 7 month old puppy who had just travelled 2000 miles doing something she’s never done before. She was nervous, and I expected too much of her and myself. I fully acknowledge this. That doesn’t mean Nami has a bad temperament. Quite the opposite, in fact. Nami is a very social dog, especially for a Kai, and is a ‘go anywhere, do anything’ kind of dog. I can take her anywhere without her getting stressed. She attended Crufts, Eurovision, walking around cities with thousands of people with no issue at all. She was extremely unhappy at the Norway show and that was on me, for not knowing what we were doing, and for pushing her. I was extremely stressed and I didn’t handle her well, which is why by the third day I was kindly given advice from other people. I don’t regret going, but there's many things I would’ve and could have done differently to make it a better show for us both. Yes, Nami was nervous at the show, but that does not properly represent her temperament and I invite anyone to meet us and see for yourself. I am ALWAYS happy for people to meet my dogs directly and see their true temperaments, not just how they are under one stressful situation. Akiko has never been shown, so claims that she was nervous at the Norway show are not true since she was not there.
🟠“I do nothing with my dogs/I am not physically active with my dogs.” I work a full time job where some weeks I am working 77 hours a week. I also cannot drive. So you can imagine, going abroad to show in conformation is not exactly an easy situation for me. It takes months for me to plan a show, and often things end up cancelled due to my work anyway. I cannot drop everything to go to France or elsewhere to show every weekend, for me, it’s a once or twice a year thing. If the breed were recognised here, I would be showing at every opportunity! I spent four years and thousands of pounds travelling around the country to represent the breed at events, yes, it might not be conformation, but I was still doing things with my dogs. What time I have not at work is dedicated to Akiko and Nami. Even if we are just hiking or doing dumb trick training, they have my whole life. I regularly run with them, and we often do 3-5 mile walks around the hillfort when the weather is okay (Nami hates the rain lol). Nami and I do mantrailing, and we are aiming for our next levels of Good Citizen Canine too. I don’t post everything I do with my dogs publicly either. Just because I did not have someone else handle my dog at a show doesn’t mean I don’t do anything with them. I’m fairly sure this comment comes from a background of ableism, but I can assure you that my dogs are appropriately exercised and stimulated. Kai are not physically demanding dogs. If you have seen me ‘not doing a lot’ at a show, that is simply a tiny glimpse of my life with my dogs.
🟠“Akiko has a genetic condition and should not have been bred.” Yes, Akiko has LTV. It is a common condition in Kai Ken, and Akiko is NOT the only Kai Ken in Europe who has been bred with this condition, and many European breeders have produced dogs with this condition. I am not going to do the entire explanation I did on my kennel page about the technicalities of the condition, especially since the genetic component is NOT fully understood, and even the OFA suggests breeding is okay as long as to an unaffected dog. The only place we haven’t seen this condition pop up is the USA, which may be luck on the genetics, or perhaps the testing is not being done. All of Akiko’s puppies will be screened for the condition at my cost when they are old enough to look for it. For some reason, Akiko has been accused of having genetic ‘defectS’, meaning more than one, despite the fact she has her OFA CHIC number and is health tested with completely passing results other than her LTV, which is not a failing result anyway. This is not the case, and I have always been 100% transparent about her health.
🟠“Astor went for a Japanese import because he couldn’t get one from Europe.” I went for a Japanese import because I wanted new lines to the UK and have followed this breeder for many many years and love that he works his dogs. Simple. Yes, I did speak to breeders in Europe due to interest in specific pairings that didn’t turn out but that alone isn’t why I went to Japan.
🟠“Astor has an agenda and is a breeder just to be a breeder.” I have always said that breeding is secondary to me. My dogs are my pets before all else, and if they had not turned out for breeding, I would not have bred them. I don’t have the space to house 10+ dogs for breeding, and nor would I want to, because my dogs are my pets first. My ‘agenda’ is that I adore this breed
🟠“Astor was told his pairing wouldn’t yield anything good.” I mean, that’s actually the opposite of what I was told. The planned mating of Akiko and Ôjin was in discussion for years between myself and other breeders looking at what weaknesses Akiko had and which stud would improve on those. In fact, my original planned pairing did not go ahead because we concluded there would be no improvement on Akiko’s faults from it. Both puppies improved on weaknesses in their parents. They are not perfect, no pairing or dog is, but they were an important first step for my program and I am very proud of them.
I am not perfect, nor are my dogs. There are people I disagree with and people who disagree with me, but I am and will always be transparent about my decisions and my mistakes. I have had one litter, I am just getting started in the breed, so no, I haven’t made great leaps and bounds or done a lot for preserving the breed here YET, but I am at the beginning of my journey.
I’m sure simply by posting this, people will criticise me for ‘biting’, but as I said, I am transparent, and I’d rather it come from the horse’s mouth.
