Hokkaidō-inu
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| Common nicknames | Dō-ken, Ainu-ken, Seta, Ainu dog | |||||||||||||||||
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| Origin | Japan | |||||||||||||||||
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| Domestic dog (Canis lupus familiaris) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Classification / standards | |||
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| FCI | Group 5, Section 5 Asian Spitz and related breeds #261 | standard | |
| AKC | |||
| The AKC Foundation Stock Service (FSS) is an optional recording service for purebred dogs that are not yet eligible for AKC registration. | |||
| UKC | Northern Breed | standard | |
The Hokkaido (北海道犬 Hokkaidō-inu or Hokkaidō-ken) is a breed of dog. Other names for the breed include Ainu-ken, Seta, Ainu dog. In Japan, its name is sometimes shortened to Dō-ken (道犬). The Hokkaido is native to the prefecture of the same name in Japan.
The breed is medium in size, with small, triangular, upright ears. The small eyes have a rising triangular outline. The Hokkaido has a coat of long, stiff fur, and a second, shorter coat of soft fur. Colors include red, white, black, brindle, sesame, black and tan, and wolf-gray. Males are typically 50 cm (20 in) tall at the withers, females slightly shorter, with body masses in the 20 kg (44 lb) range. Dogs bred on continents outside of their native Japan may be smaller.
The breed is known for fidelity to its owner, bravery, and the ability to withstand the cold, among other traits. It has an innate sense of direction and smell, and can therefore return to its master no matter how great the distance. Temperament will vary depending on the lineage and region of upbringing.
Traditionally in Japan, the dog has been used as a working breed that plays both the role of family pet and hunter. In Japan, they are strongly tied to hunting kennels and work alongside their handlers to manage populations of wild boar and bear. Their vocal nature manifests in varying types of characteristic howls, long and short barks, used as sighting signals on hunts. They have an unusual fighting style against the Hokkaido brown bear, or higuma, and will take risks to protect its master, despite size differences. The way in which the Ainu dog accomplishes this is to attack the bear's back, then bite and hold the dorsal flesh of the bear's neck until the bear retreats. For this purpose, the Hokkaido in Japan are encouraged to have a fierce and unrelenting character that benefits in the field.
Brought up as a family pet, Hokkaido may deviate from the more primal temperament exhibited with dogs in hunting kennels. The Hokkaido is highly intelligent and food motivated, a combination that results in positive responses to training. Hunting dogs are encouraged to be vocal, but a Hokkaido as a family pet may not necessarily exhibit such habits with training. As the Hokkaido has very little distribution throughout countries outside Japan, the Hokkaido's temperament solely as a family pet is still forming. Although the Hokkaido carries an innate prey drive, early socialization shows good behaviors with cats and other small animals considered to be part of its 'pack'.
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Wikipedia