Hoku used to show before we adopted him. His name also used to be Qing (“king”). When he was a year and a half, he won first in his class at the Beikoku Shiba Inu Aikokai Show in Gardena where an expert is flown in from Japan to judge the shibas based on the Japanese Nippo Standard. The criteria includes expression and general physical appearance to specific body parts like ears, eyes, muzzle, coat etc. They can be dismerited or disqualified based on things like having a nose and body that don’t match in color, spots in the coat and having a short tail. It’s quite fascinating.Â
Looking at these photos always make me sad that we missed out on Hoku’s puppy years. But we’re thankful that we get to spend the rest of his life with him.
Photo Credit: Tenju Shibas