As some of you may know, I have a soft spot for rare breeds. In the moment I meet a specimen of a rare breed, my knowledge of what is wrong with the current practice of producing purebred pets is temporarily brushed aside. Every time, feel like finding a nugget in a river of pebbles and grit. The beauty of such encounters is how unexpected they are. You can’t plan them, need to react on the spot and just have to go along with what fate throws at you. That goes for taking pictures of said rare specimen too.
On a wintry and cold January morning this year, I took Aramis for a walk around the Alpine and dark Lake Davos. As I was leisurely trying to get a few good landscape shots – did I mention that I can’t do landscapes? – another dog walker approaches me with the most elegant and exotic looking canine on the lead. Too tall for a Shiba Inu, with a colour of coat that would be out of standard, but bearing the unmistakeable expression of a Japanese spitz, I could not help but ask what breed this was. (Spoiler alert: I’ll only tell you at the very end.)
Her owner was very friendly and happy to share his experience of living with this breed with me. I learned that she was very independent and had very pronounced hunting and chasing instincts. She appeared aloof, dignified, graceful, but never distrustful or anxious. They’re considered a ‘national monument’ in Japan, though an extremely rare, if not the rarest breed both inside and outside of the country.
With Aramis, who tried to flirt with her, she remained distant, but pleasant, insisting on space and extremely polite behaviour.
Her owner and I exchanged contact details and agreed on another opportunity for me to take more pictures. But when the date for us to meet again arrived, the dog described in his breed standard as ‘keen in sense with a naive feeling, energetic and highly alert; an enthusiastic hunter’ and ‘tough and sufficiently agile to run through a mountainous region’ must have remembered this passage particularly acutely, as she had gone on a day-long hunting spree in the – indeed very mountainous -region of the Rhaetian Alps. A rare creature indeed.
The third time round, we got more lucky. I managed to get another series of nice shots of her, this time in sunnier conditions.
So, what is this rare breed I’ve been going on about for so long? Ladies and Gentlemen, you may (not) have guessed it: this beautiful girl is indeed a Japanese Shikoku! Get one if you are keen on owning a dog that will attract everybody’s attention, but will insist on being admired from a distance. Your Shikoku will never ask you what they can do for you, but rather let you know what you can do for them. They will be happy to join you on long walks and hikes, but be prepared never to be able to let them run off the lead due their strong hunting drive.
The Adventures of Aramis 