Kishu Meet up and Dog Shows

On Nov. 19th, my boyfriend and I headed to the bay area to meet two Kishus and their owner.  It was pretty cold and cloudy day, but once you hit the dog park, the dogs were having a blast.  They were really sweet dogs, especially the female.  It was quite interesting watching them interacting with everyone.  Somethings reminded me of Kiyo and others were something different.  I talked to the owner about the breed and the breeder, while my lovely boyfriend took great pictures of the Kishus.

Pictures taken by Trieu Tran of Lasting Fotos

There are more pictures of the female because she was more active then the male for my boyfriend.  All and all, we learned a bit more about the Kishus that day and are considering adding one to our family.  Still up for discussion. LOL

Before that fun event, I had an appointment made for Kiyo to have her OFA done and have a health exam at work.  She was a little pill for the VD pelvis film, but we got all the xrays done without sedating her.  Dr. said her hips, elbows, and stifles look good and her heart and eyes are great too.  But I had to get Kiyo's eye certified by an opthamologist.  So thank goodness that one of the shows we went to had an opthamologist doing an eye exam clinic and certified her eyes. He said they looked perfect.  So over all I have a healthy little Shiba girl. ^-^ I was so happy to hear that from all of them.

Thankgiving weekend Kiyo and I were busy at two dog shows.  It was our first shows we've ever been in.  It was lots of fun.  I learned a lot on how the show works, then from just watching the shows.  My boyfriend came along to support us and to take pictures. ^-^  Anyways, the first show on Saturday, Kiyo and I were entered in the amateur handler class.  We were the only ones in that class..... But it was our first time so it was all right.  No pressure.  The judge was very nice and helpful, but after he was finished judging her, he said she wasn't the best.....  I know she might not, mostly because of her coat, but she's my best.  She got a blue ribbon.  Sunday was the show i was more into doing since I've been going to it for two years and my shiba breeder friend goes to that show too.  She had a front row seat and watched us compete against another female.  Much fluffier. This show we were in the open class.  And as I figured, Kiyo got second place.....  But really it wasn't her day.  She was having a reverse sneeze while I was taking her around the ring.  Anyways we watched all the Shibas in the ring and they were nice.  After the show and got hold of the pictures, I notice I was looking at each picture seeing the difference between Kiyo and I, and the other Shibas and their handlers.  There's a big difference.  I still have a lot to learn.  Kiyo and I will be practicing a little more for the January show.  ^-^ 

Here are some pictures of those shows.

"It's too early in the morning to do this mommy...."

I like this male's stack.

This male here won.  He isn't my favorite....

This male took last but he is my favorite.  Not short and stocky as the male who won.

Getting Ready For the Show!

It's almost here!!! Thanksgiving weekend is almost here and the two shows Kiyo and I are in are almost here!!! I'm starting to get nervous about it.  But I just need to keep on practicing and keep focus to get through it and trust in Kiyo on what's right.  :D

Another subject I'm nervous about is Kiyo's exam and OFA certifications.  I have a list of things that need to be check.  I need her elbows, hips, knees, eyes and heart checked out..... That's a lot for a little dog, but it must be done to make sure she is healthy and that's all I want for my little girl.  I'm just nervous about the results.  I'll post the results when they come in.

I've been in touch with a breeder for a couple of months about another nihon ken.  My boyfriend and I are looking at the Kishu Ken.  We think that its the good between dog for us.  I'm actually surprise how excited he is about the breed and getting a dog.  But it's still in the early stage.  I've been talking to the breeder to meet a Kishu in person and she's helped me get into contact with a Kishu owner that lives near me so I can meet the breed.  Right now I'm trying to figure out a day to meet them.  Once the day comes, I'll take pictures ( I hope ) and post how the day went.

Fort Bragg 2011

Here are some pictures from my Fort Bragg camping trip.  I didn't take that many this year but my boyfriend took some too so once I have those pictures, I'll post them too.  His are better. ^-^  These pictures have been edited from the originals.  I'm trying to improve my editing skills.

I really like this one.

The tides were really high this year.

Little Hermit Crabs

October Mayhem

Ok October has become one of the most craziest months out of the year for me.  Birthdays, after birthdays....  Parties, after parties......  Animals, after animals.....  It's never ending.  But that's life.  ^-^

So Kiyo turned 2 years old Oct. 6!  She's a big girl now and all grown up!  So what does her mommy do for her on her bday? Take her to work to have the dreaded toe nail trim and wear a purple scarf with her purple diaper. LOL Kiyo was not happy.  She through her usual tantrums when she goes in heat and didn't want the toe nail trim done, but she was a trooper through it all.  She still wanted to play and run.  Sorry, no picture of her bday outfit.  Maybe next time. ^-^

Kiyo and I have been going to conformation class every Tuesday now.  Trying to get ready for our first shows in November.  2 weeks ago though, one of the instructors were concern about Kiyo.  When it came to being place on the table to be examine, Kiyo would stack ok, but it was like no one was home.  She had no personality.  I knew exactly what it was, Kiyo's famous "I hate you for doing this to me" attitude.  I told the instructor that it was her protesting to it and I was hoping with practice she will get over it.  Last week it showed. She started to perk up a little and had some happiness to do it.  I was getting excited and she saw that.  So hopefully we can work together and have fun with this.   Fingers cross for us!

Also last week, I took in a pit bull puppy to foster.  His name is Junior and man was he a handful....  He is a very demanding puppy, needing constant human interaction.  I'm not use to that anymore since I got Kiyo.  But I took care of him till Saturday when my boyfriend found him a forever home with a family.  Here are some pictures of him.

Today I received a book called The Nihon Ken from a blogger I've been following from Japan.  I love reading his adventures with his Nihon Ken.  To the mountains of Japan hunting, to the show rings.  His photography is great too.  About a month ago, he posted a blog about this book and giving an overview about it, as well posting if anyone was interested in the book to let him know.  I was really interested, since I wanted to have a better understanding of the Nihon Ken breeds in the Japanese point of view, since that's where they originated from.  So I got the book.  Here some pictures of it.

Here's the blogger's blog site.  http://nihonken.blogspot.com/  Check it out if you are interested in the Nihon Ken breeds.  This is the guy who knows a lot about them.

A New Beginning

Well I accidently deleted my blog while transferring it to this new account.....  :(  So I started a new one. :)  I hoping to do a lot better on posting.  I know I'm missing things from my other blog like my links.  I'll be adding those soon.  I'm also going to do something different.  I'm going to try to take pictures once a week of a dog and post them here.  Try to mix it up here and practice my photography skills. lol

Anyways, onto new events. Tuesday, I took Kiyo to conformation class for the first time!  Conformation class is a class to teach handlers how to show there dog in the show ring and expose the dog to that type of environment.  It was alot of fun and I learned great deal from it.  It's more complicated then what I thought it would be.  Kiyo did pretty good for her first time, but she needs more practice.  She did fine on the ground but the table is what she fears the most.  Because of that, Kiyo lost her shiba attitude that she needs.....  So I'll be working on that with her.  Our first two shows will be the weekend of Thanksgiving and I can't wait!  But first we need to practice.  Only got a month and a half to do it.  We'll see how that goes.

Well I add an old picture of Kiyo today but I'll be going through my Fort Bragg pictures and Kiyo pictures for my first dog pictures.

Photographed by: Trieu Tran   Edited by:  Brittnee Munsch