At least this litter didn't lay right in front of it 🤣
What a lovely fall day for leaf blowing some shikoku puppies 🤣
Got a chance to let some puppies meet their first real hog. They had no problem going right to him, and stayed with him pretty well which is a great start. These hogs are obviously bigger, meaner, and smell completely different than the trainer pig at home (which they've thoroughly outgrown 😅) so it's always interesting to see if they make the connection. Got a few nice bays out of Kira though I'm surprised not much from Koda who I was expecting to be more intense all things considered, but still very happy with them overall. First time in the pen, first real hog, and they didn't back down or lose interest - that's all I can ask for 🥰
Building a working line from basically nothing is hard work but we'll get there with practice, determination . . . and plenty more trips down south 🤣💪
Our older litter showcased the first step of barrier challenges (i.e. up and over) but now our younger litter is here showing the next step which is to go around. It takes most puppies a little while to figure out that for the first time, straight foward doesn't work - even if the gate gives a little 😂 As they get better at it, the food is moved farther and farther inward
Dried corn cobs are so much fun 🤪
Their happy little food noises never get old 🤗
Chihiro's litter's first taste of mash
First short woods walk for the babies. I can't believe they'll start going home in 2 weeks 😭
We do still have one female available 🥰 This will be our last litter until next year.
A couple minutes of the puppies exploring a tarp which is a new texture for them that also makes noise under their feet. Treats scattered over the tarp help build a positive association with this new surface 😊
Fall rides 🤗 This trip was already smoother than the first lol
#shikoku #shikokuken #nihonken #japanesedog #bikejoring #fallvibes
First barrier challenge for the puppies #puppyculture #barrierchallenge #wellbreddogs #shikoku #shikokuken #shikokupuppies
First barrier challenge for the pups. We always ask them to do this first as a litter as it minimizes stress and they're able to learn from their littermates what's being asked. Future barrier challenges will be done individually and with increasing difficulty.
Barriers challenges are, as the name suggests, low-level challenges designed to put the puppies in minor stressful situations that foster problem-solving abilities as well as the capacity to think when frustrated. As always, although it's tempting to help certain puppies, they miss out on the lesson if you do.
Finally put the bikejoring gear I bought after the NIPPO Classic to use 😂 Don't think we're going to win any races any time soon but I'm thrilled with how he did on our first attempt. Shikoku weren't bred for harness work so although they have the stamina to run miles in the mountains hunting, moving at a steady pace in this capacity is an entirely different ball game. We still have a few kinks to iron out wrt commands/directionals but I'm excited to keep riding and get the other dogs on the trail as well. After almost two weeks straight of rain, this is exactly what we needed today 🤗
