As a hunting breed, the Hokkaido has a lot of stamina and would be quite happy to run around for hours. They require daily exercise of at least an hour at moderate walking speed; more if they are kept on lead.

The Hokkaido, whilst being very attached to their owner, is also independent and will follow its hunting instincts which can lead to them getting into trouble! If you plan to allow your Hokkaido off-leash you must be aware of your surroundings and consider the safety of your dog at all times. Whilst the Hokkaido will check in on you every so often they are prone to following their nose and when there is something more important to be discovered then you will find yourself waiting upon your Hokkaido's willingness to return. In a non-secure area it is advisable to keep a Hokkaido on a lead or long line.

On the contrary, many of the medium-sized Japanese breeds are kept as house pets in apartments over in the USA. They do not require a large amount of indoor space but instead thrive best with plenty of company and regular exercise. Any garden area must be securely fenced as the Hokkaido is a known escape artist!

In our experience, our Hokkaido mix well both with each other, with our Northern Inuits, and with dogs that they have been introduced to. Hokkaido tend to be confident and outgoing, even when larger dogs throw their weight around. However, we do have one of our males split from the rest of the pack when indoors, due to him being possessive around high value treats (cheese falling on the floor) or favourite toys. Hokkaido sociability can differ between individuals, but generally they enjoy the company of other dogs and form strong bonds within their family. Interactions with unknown dogs are usually dependent on the behaviour of the other dog.

If socialised from a young age and with many restricted introductions over a long period it should be possible to bring up a Hokkaido with cats or other small animals, however, they will always retain that instinctual prey drive and will chase anything that does not stand its ground. It would be inadvisable to leave a Hokkaido unattended with cats or small animals.

With proper boundaries and training, Hokkaido can live successfully with children. It is important to teach your dog how you expect them to behave around children and likewise it is important to teach children how to behave and interact positively with their canine companions. Children should never be left unattended with dogs of any breed and should always be discouraged from grabbing or handling the dog in a rough manner. Dogs should always be given the option of a space they can retreat to, where no one is allowed to bother them.

Females grow to around 45.5cm - 48.5cm in height (to the shoulder) and males grow to around 48.5cm - 51.5cm in height, weighing in the region of 13 - 22kg when fully grown, with males being heavier than females.

Hokkaido are very attached to their owners with a drive to please which makes them very responsive to positive training. They are intelligent; quick to pick up new things; and are food and praise motivated. However, their strong drive can hinder their responsiveness when outside of the home. They do not do well with repetitive training and expect their owner to be fully engaged and offer appropriate rewards for their cooperation.

The Hokkaido has many different vocalisations which they use to express happiness, excitement, fear, warning and other emotive responses. In the home they are not typically noisy for no reason but be prepared to be greeted with wooing and tail wagging when you've been for a quick trip to the loo! Out and about the Hokkaido's way of alerting its owner to something unusual is to bark, therefore it is not uncommon to hear them bark at passersby.

Yes! The Hokkaido will shed their coat fully twice a year, lasting around 2 - 3 weeks. Regular grooming will help get rid of loose hair.

Currently, there are around 15 known Hokkaido Ken resident in the UK. For a breed to be added to the import register (an interim group for dog breeds originating from outside of the UK with low numbers), the Kennel Club advises that a breed would need to have 20 or more dogs of suitably diverse ancestry to apply. As most of the Hokkaido here are related to each other, we do not yet meet the requirements to apply to be added to the import register.

As the Hokkaido Ken is not recognised as a breed by the UK Kennel Club, we have special dispensation to hold and affix and register our puppies with the Irish Kennel Club. This allows them to have full registration and pedigree paperwork, confirming that they are purebred Hokkaido Ken; it also allows new owners to travel to any FCI member country if they wish to show their dog in conformation; it allows other European breeds access to our lines and our dogs to use in the overall breed preservation efforts; it also means that, as breeders, we are committed to following a code of ethics. Having registration with the IKC also means that, when the time comes for us to apply for breed recognition here in the UK, any puppies, which have been born here at Toboetsuki, will be eligible for UK registration in the future.

Hokkaido health testing should include an eye test carried out by a veterinary ophthalmologist, hip scoring, and DNA testing for CEA as a minimum requirement. Be aware that due to the small Hokkaido gene pool, it is common for breeders to pair CEA carriers and carrier x affected pairings are also not uncommon. This is not immediately indicative of a 'bad breeder' and is often a calculated choice in an attempt to keep the genetic diversity as high as possible in a breed with historically low numbers.