Shikoku

Shikoku island's mountainous interior kept its local hunting dogs isolated for generations, and by the early twentieth century three regional strains were recognised, named for their valleys: Awa, Hongawa and Hata. The Hongawa strain, from the most remote country, was regarded as the purest because outside dogs simply did not reach it, and it forms the backbone of the modern breed.

The dogs were the working partners of the matagi, hunters who pursued wild boar and deer in terrain too steep and dense for driven shooting. Two hunting styles were taught: dogs that bayed to hold an animal at a distance, and dogs that gripped to detain it. The baying style was preferred, both because it is far safer for the dog and because it lets the hunter approach in control.

Formal preservation began with the Nihon Ken Hozonkai, the Japanese dog preservation society founded in 1928 to save the native breeds from disappearing into a flood of imported Western dogs. The Shikoku was designated a Living Natural Monument of Japan in 1937, the same protective status held by the Akita and the Kai Ken. The FCI recognised the breed in the 1980s within its spitz and primitive types group, but numbers remain small, registrations in Japan run to only a few hundred a year, and the breed has never been accepted for full American Kennel Club recognition.

The Shikoku is a medium, well-balanced spitz standing about 19 to 21 inches at the withers and typically weighing 35 to 55 pounds, with males noticeably larger than females. The body is slightly longer than tall, the chest deep, the loin taut and the whole dog dry and muscular with no bulk to spare. Small triangular ears tilt forward, the eyes are small, dark and set with a slight upward slant, and the thick tail is carried curled or curved over the back.

The coat is a hard, straight double coat with a soft, dense undercoat and slightly longer hair on the tail. The signature colour is sesame, meaning an even mix of black-tipped and pale hairs over a red base, and the standard also allows black sesame and red sesame. Every correct Shikoku carries urajiro, the pale cream to white markings that appear on the sides of the muzzle and cheeks, over the eyes, on the throat, chest and belly, on the underside of the tail and on the insides of the legs. Cream and pinto dogs occur occasionally but fall outside the standard.

The breed standard describes the Shikoku as nimble and spirited with keen senses, and that is an accurate summary. With its own family the dog is deeply attached, physically affectionate on its own terms and often noticeably attentive to one person in particular. With strangers it is aloof rather than aggressive: it does not seek out greetings, and it will watch a visitor carefully for some time before relaxing.

Prey drive is high and hard-wired. A Shikoku that spots a cat, squirrel or deer will pursue it with real commitment, and recall under that level of arousal is unreliable in most individuals no matter how well trained. Same-sex dog aggression is reasonably common in adulthood, and many Shikoku are best kept as the only dog or with a carefully chosen opposite-sex companion.

This is an intelligent breed that learns quickly and complies selectively. It is not biddable in the retriever sense; it will weigh up whether a request is worth its while, and it has a long memory for handling it disliked. Shikoku are also active problem-solvers who dig, climb and test fences when bored. Given structure, exercise and fair handling they are clean, quiet, undemanding house dogs; given none of those they become destructive and difficult.

In Japan the Shikoku still works. It is used on wild boar in mountain forest, tracking through heavy cover, then baying and circling to hold the animal until the hunter arrives. The job explains almost everything about the dog: the stamina on broken ground, the courage in front of dangerous game, the independent decision-making at a distance from the handler, and the sure-footedness on steep, wet slopes.

Outside hunting, Shikoku do well at anything that rewards drive and athleticism without demanding blind obedience. Long hikes and trail work suit them best. Many enjoy scent work and tracking, some do well in agility once the handler accepts a certain amount of independent interpretation, and lure coursing style sports are a good outlet for the chase instinct. They are alert and will bark at genuine intrusions, which makes them effective watchdogs, but they are not guard dogs and should not be trained as such. Apartment life is possible for a well-exercised adult, but the double coat, the shedding and the exercise requirement make it hard work.