Finnish Nihonken Club Show judge training material for Kai Makers: Mirka Mertanen (2013) Update/fixing: Paula Kaarlampi (2018) English translation: Saija Tenhunen
Kai UTILIZATION: Companion dog. KKA hunting family dog. Kai s have strong hunting drive. Dog in the photo have participated in succesful moose hunting in Finland FCI-CLASSIFICATION: Group 5 Spitz ad primitive type, section 5 Asian Spitz and related breeds. Without working trial.
How to read training material Parts straight from the breed standard are writtend in bold lila Other text outside of breed standard is written black normal font Photos with green background are GOOD EXAMPLES of the trait in question Photos with red background are BAD EXAMPLES of the trait in question
History Breed originates from ancient middle sized dogs in Japan. Kai become it s own breed in the mountaneous areas in Kai, Yamanashi prefecture. Breed is known also with the name of Kai Toraken. Which means Kai Tiger dog because of the stribed fur in the breed. Breed have been used mainly to hunt wild boars and deers. It is believed that the strong pack drive in the breed have helped it to stay pure. Kai was declared as national treasure in Japan in year 1933.
Kai organisations 1/2 In Japan Kais can be registered in three different registration organisations KKA (Kai Ken Aigokai )(suosituin) NIPPO (Nihon Ken Hozonkai) JKC (Japanese Kennel Club) KKA and NIPPO have been separated since 1932 due to opinion differences on Kais size. NIPPO wants to put all Japanese Spitzs type dogs in three different size classes; small, medium and large dogs. Kai have been classified as medium dogs with Hokkaido, Kishu and Shikoku. NIPPO states the size for the medium dogs to be 46-54 cm and KKA states this should be 40-50 cm. This puts Kais in two different size groups, small and medium. Different organizations also have different breed standards. Most strict standards are with JKC and NIPPO. Greatest variance is allowed in the standard by KKA where they do not have too much restrictions. Finnish Nihonken Club; Finnish breed club for Kishu, Kai, Hokkaido and Shikoku. Club has been established in 2012. Homepage: www.nihonken.fi
Kai Organisations 2/2 Dogs registered in to KKA are not in the FCI standard because they are clearly smaller. Latest updating with the breed standard have been done by FCI 9.2.2017 and in this update the size of Kais are closer to original size of the breed. KKA dogs have greater genetic diversity and this is one reason why there is many KKA imported Kais in Finland. NIPPO and JKC lines include lots of inbreeding and to make sustainable European breed population, it is important to import dogs from KKA and not just JKC and NIPPO even though these dogs can be registered straight with full pedigree. These Kais are registered in KKA.
Kai in Finland and rest of the world First Kai in Europe was import from North America back in 2004. At this moment Kai population in Europe includes dogs mainly from imports from Noth America and Japan. There is approximately 100 Kais in Europe now. First Kai in Finland was imported from North America back in 2009. Currently there is 48 registered Kais in Finland (2018), where 27 are registered in KKA and one is with NIPPO background. First Kai litter in Finland was born in December 2012 and first Nordic 100% KKA litter was bornin 2015.
GENERAL APPEARANCE: Medium-sized dog, well balanced, sturdily built, muscles well developed. The dog has the characteristics of a dog living in mountainous districts of Japan. Limbs strong and hocks remarkably developed. BEHAVIOUR / TEMPERAMENT: The temperament is keen and very alert. SIZE: Males 50 cm, females 45 cm There is a tolerance of +/- 3 cm. IMPORTANT PROPORTIONS: The ratio of height at withers to length of body is 10 : 11, but the body can be slightly longer in bitches.
Sexual dimorphism Typical masculine sexual dimorphism Typical feminine sexual dimorphism
Head 1/3 SKULL: Forehead broad. STOP: Abrupt with slight furrow. Too round head Broad forehead and clear stop Slight furrow and clear stop Too narrow forehead and bad stop
Head 2/3 MUZZLE: Pointed, not very long, but moderately thick. Huulet: Tiiviit. LIPS: Tight Too narrow and long muzzle Too loose lips Good muzzle and tight lips
Head 3/3 JAWS/TEETH: Strong with a scissor bite. CHEEKS: Well developed. EYES: Nearly triangular and dark brown in colour. The outer corners of the eyes are slightly upturned. NOSE/MOUTH: Black Good cheeks Good eyes Round eyes
Ears Ears: Triangular, slightly inclining forward and firmly pricked. Slightly larger than in other Japanese breeds like Akita or Shiba Suitably forward leaning ears Triangle and good sized ears Slightly too big ears Ears are too far away from each other and too small Ears too up and close to each other
Neck and Body NECK: Thick, powerful and muscular. BACK: Straight and short. LOIN: Broad and muscular. Drop back Straight and short back Strong and muscular neck, wide and muscular loin Too long back
Chest Chest: Deep, ribs moderately sprung. Good chest Narrow chest
Belly line BELLY: Slightly tucked up. Good belly lines Bad belly lines
Tail TAIL: Set on high, thick, vigorously curled or carried curved like a sickle over the back. Tip nearly reaching the hocks when let down. Typical sickle tails Straight tail, doesn t curl and is not sickle. KKA states this is sable tail and is accepted. Slightly too low tailset Typical curved tails
FOREQUARTERS: SHOULDERS: Moderately sloping with developed muscles. ELBOWS: Close to the body. FOREARM: Straight, heavy and muscular. FOREFEET: Toes well arched and tightly knit; pads thick and elastic; nails hard and preferably dark in colour. Good paws and forefeet Out curving feet
HINDQUARTERS: HOCKS: Tough and elastic. HIND FEET: Toes well arched and tightly knit; pads thick and elastic; nails hard and preferably dark in colour. Well angulated one year old male Barely angulatred hocks
COAT HAIR: Outer coat harsh and straight; undercoat soft and dense. The hair on the tail is fairly long and off-standing. Short hair Long haired Kai Good quality fur. Hairs in the tail are taller and up
Colours 1/2 COLOUR: Black brindle, red brindle and brindle. As a feature of this breed, solid colour in puppyhood may turn brindle as the dog grows. Brindle in Kai is best when the dog is 3-5 years old. There is differences in the color between summer and winter coat (at winter time the color is more mellow). There is different shades in brindle colour. Black brindle, kuro tora, most common Brown brindle, chu tora, second common Red brindle, aka tora, most rare
Colours 2/2 Red Kai Cream Kai Light color Almost black Kai
FAULTS: Any departure from the foregoing points should be considered a fault and the seriousness with which the fault should be regarded should be in exact proportion to its degree and its effect upon the health and welfare of the dog. Lack of sexual dimorphism. Light-coloured nose. Slightly overshot or undershot mouth. Light-coloured eyes. Long or short hair. Shyness. DISQUALIFYING FAULTS: Aggressive or overly shy. Any dog clearly showing physical or behavioural abnormalities shall be disqualified. Extremely overshot or undershot mouth. Ears not pricked. Hanging tail, short tail. Faded colour. Coat with many white spots. Pinto colour. Male animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum. Only functionally and clinically healthy dogs, with breed typical conformation, should be used for breeding.
Especially important when judging Clearly aggressice behavior should be taken seriously and this should decrease the grade Kais should have asian look, but not similar as with Akitas and Shibas Healthy frame should be important criterion Untypical size should be noted, but this not necassery decrease the grade Kais born almost always fully black and stipes can develope up to 5 years of age. One year old Kai might look almost fully black.