"Ujiyorisodachi" - Breeding counts for more than just birth.

Breeding is more than putting a nice male and female dog together and letting them "do their thing". Especially with a breed like the Japanese Akita Inu, bound by a relatively small genetic pool and issues like SA and VKH occurring. So when asked about our breeding philosophy, brace yourself, because this is where details matter. 

Love, effort, health and knowledge.

It may sound corny, but love is where it all starts. Love for the breed and, of course, love for our dogs. We would even dare to say we consider them to be our four-legged kids. And while this might seem exaggerated to some, it still forms the base of our breeding.

As we only have six dogs, our breeding philosophy first and foremost is intimate. And while six might possibly become more in the future, one thing is for sure: this is something personal. So our dogs do not stay in kennels all day, they actually live with us. In our house. Not separate, but together. And when work calls and we really do need to leave the house for a bit, then our dogs often stay in the garden. A place where they can play and relax on the grass, but without worries about rain or a burning hot sun, thanks to our veranda and atelier.

Rightfully so, some people might wonder “How is your dogs being pampered relevant for my (future) puppy?”. It should, however, not take too many guesses to find out to where our puppies are being raised. During our Chihiro & Taikou litter, for example, our living room was even turned into our bed room for the first four weeks, as Chihiro had some inflamed breast tissue and needed extra help with feeding the puppies. So yes, we are giving it all, and the attention that brings does make all the difference.

The Rule of Seven

The rule of what? No, this is not some secret society from Game of Thrones, nor is it a strict commandment for raising our puppies. Instead, it is simply a form of inspiration for socializing them with an idea behind it that is actually quite interesting. Whereas other socialization methods may flood puppies with long lists of things they need to experience—which might over stress them—the Rule of Seven aims for puppies to get in a certain state of mind of becoming accustomed to new situations. And if confident with that, then they will likely be fine with other strange stuff in the future as well. Mind you, this is not some kind magic, so future owners will still be busy socializing their dog for more than a decent amount of time.

According to the Rule of Seven, by the time a puppy is seven weeks old he / she should have:

• Been on 7 different types of surfaces: carpet, concrete, wood, vinyl, grass, dirt, gravel, wood chips

• Played with 7 different types of objects: big balls, small balls, soft fabric toys, fuzzy toys, squeaky toys, paper of cardboard items, metal items, sticks or hose pieces

• Been in 7 different locations: front yard, back yard, basement, kitchen, car, garage, laundry room, bathroom

• Met and played with 7 new people: include children and older adults, someone walking with a cane or stick, someone in a wheelchair or walker

• Been exposed to 7 challenges: climb on a box, climb off a box, go through a tunnel, climb steps, go down steps, climb over obstacles, playhide and seek, in and out of a doorway with a step up or down, run around a fence

• Eaten from 7 different containers: metal, plastic, cardboard, paper, china, pie plate, frying pan

• Eaten in 7 different locations: crate, yard, kitchen, basement, laundry room, living room, bathroom

Of course, rules are made to be bent, so at Kurenai no Kaze things are spiced up a little. For example, in our opinion meeting seven people is not quite enough, so instead we will have the puppies meet more. Also, we do not just take the puppies out—as in "into our garden"—but truly take them outside in our puppy cart, making for valuable experiences, while still being protected before being fully vaccinated. 

Genetics

The ultimate goal of breeding puppies is of course healthy ones. Needless to say, the easiest way of breeding a healthy puppy is to start with healthy parents. Unfortunately, that is exactly where the challenge arises, as sometimes we simply do not know. To explain, underneath the genetic surface of every living thing small errors will always be hidden. And because these are often impossible to see, clinically healthy parents can end up giving puppies with health problems.

The simplified explanation behind this lies in the way how genes are inherited and the various ways health issues may express itself. For instance, all genes come in pairs, with every pair having one gene inherited from mommy and one from daddy. And in the cases where certain health issues have a dominant inheritance pattern, it will take only one bad gene to express itself and therefore are easy to eliminate. However, when a health issue has a recessive inheritance pattern, it will need two of the same bad gene to express itself. If, in that case, a dog receives only one of copy of that, this will of course benefit the dog. But when that same dog then ends up being used for breeding, parts of its offspring will likely inherit that same bad gene, and if that offspring also happens to inherit that same bad gene for the other parent, then this is where health problems are born. To further complex things, then there are also the complex genetic disorders, where multiple genes are in play and an external trigger like stress or other environmental factors may be needed. It is why certain health problems, which for example existed three generations ago, are able to reappear, even though the breeder thought to have solved things by outcrossing with “safe” lines. 

If not before, then at least by now it is clear that breeding is more than just bringing two nice dogs together and letting them to their thing.

Health testing & dog shows

So where does that bring us? Well, unlike backyard breeders that claim their dogs are healthy without any kind of health testing, the Japanese breed club Nippon Inu in the Netherlands requires its breeders to screen all “breeding stock” for hip dysplasia, patella and eye disease. Certified specialists perform standardized tests that give real insight in health, with the goal to include only the dogs that are fit for breeding and exclude those that are not. 

Furthermore, all breeding stock needs to prove itself during several dog shows. While, in a superficial way, these shows can be seen as mere beauty pageants, they actually go beyond that, judging things like character, construction and movement. And even though being able to run pretty may seem unnecessary for a pet dog, a dog that does not move well will almost always have some kind of construction problem, possibly leading to wear, bone corrosion and fatigue at a younger or older age.

Finally, there is another value that should not be overseen, which is that these events also bring Akita Inu lovers together, enabling them to exchange knowledge and help select future mating partners. Of course, there are those who select a stud based on pedigrees and pictures alone, but if a breeder really wants to breed properly, then he/she should at least see the dog in real life. And in that way, dog shows are actually quite useful for seeing multiple dogs at once. While they can be a little weird for some—not everybody likes to get up early to spend their entire Saturday in an expo hall full of dogs—they can be surprisingly fun as well.