KKA National Show Spring 2013

I went to the Kai Ken Aigokai national spring show back in April, and haven't posted anything about it. To be honest I wasn't that impressed this year, or even the past few years, with the dogs being shown. Maybe I've swung more toward the NIPPO standard, but I find myself judging the KKA Kai a bit harshly, and there have been few dogs that pique my interest.
Still, I have a lot of friends there, and I do love the breed, so I made the LONG drive out to Yamanashi, and arrived there in time to enjoy a breezy spring day with multitudes of Kai, and good friends.



An exception to my lack of interest would be the brindle female that was bred and shown by my good friend Inoue-san of Sai no Kuni Inoue Sou. She's the last dog in the following video.


She's just a touch overweight here, but she's got a great head and earset, something that I'm rather particular about.

Comments

  1. Out of curiosity, what is it that you prefer about the NIPPO standard over the KKA standard?

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    Replies
    1. Aesthetically pleasing balance in heads, slightly smaller ears. I'm not a fan of Kai with donkey ears, or ears that point outward. The Kai has bigger ears than the other Nihon Ken, but that doesn't mean they can be like rabbits, and the shape should still conform to standard. There are also a lot of Kai lacking proper roundness to their faces, lack of cheeks.
      I also prefer that dogs have almond shaped eyes at proper angles, as opposed to the round eye I see in a lot of the KKA Kai nowadays.
      There is also a trend propelled by current judging toward smaller and smaller dogs. While I understand that the KKA standard includes smaller dogs, it also includes the larger dogs, and judging should reflect that.
      I'm also seeing a lot of dogs with a lack of proper angulation in the hocks, or x shaped rear ends. These kind of faults spell death for a hunting dog.

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