Hunting Ability

In 1985, NIPPO established its Hunting Department, which led to the creation of the current Hunting Ability Research Committee. The Nihon Ken has remained unchanged since the Jomon and Yayoi periods. This is set against a historical background of coexistence with our ancestors as a hunting dog, due to its ability to hunt wild birds and animals such as wild boars and deer.

Currently, most Nihon Ken live in kennels, side by side with and being cared for by humans, in an environment where they have no place to exercise their instincts.
Under such circumstances, it is important to preserve the hunting ability, hunting skills, and working aspects that are the essence of Japanese dogs, so that they are not trivialized or lost.
The Hunting Ability Research Committee organizes workgroups to ascertain to what extent hunting instinct has been preserved and inherited in Japanese dogs, to allow for use of this information in future breeding choices.

Japanese dogs as bear dogs

Japanese dogs have been active as hunting dogs with our ancestors since ancient times. Medium-sized dogs (Kishu, Shikoku, Kai, Hokkaido) have been mainly used for hunting large birds and animals such as bears, wild boars, and deer, while Shiba have been used for hunting small birds and animals such as birds, rabbits, and raccoon dogs.
Current Japanese dogs have been repeatedly bred from the few remaining dogs during the chaotic period after the war, and their physical shapes have been fixed and their appearance has been improved, but are they able to maintain the instincts and abilities that Japanese dogs should have as real hunting dogs in the environment of keeping them in kennels? In order to preserve and improve the hunting abilities that are inherent to Japanese dogs, the Hunting Ability Research Group was founted.

The Hunting Ability Research Group for 2024 was held in Hachimantai City, Iwate Prefecture, and focused on bears. 12 medium-sized dogs (Kishu, Shikoku, Kai, Hokkaido) and 17 Shiba participated.
In his general comments, Hirota Sumikiyo, chairman of the Hunting Research Society, said, "Most of the participating dogs today were seeing a bear for the first time, but it seemed that many of the medium-sized dogs were interested in bears. Some Shiba Inu dogs also responded to their masters' calls of "Go!" by barking boldly, and the trust between the dog and the master allowed them to express their hunting instincts. It was a great success that many Shiba Inu dogs responded. As we hear reports of an unprecedented increase in bear damage this year, I think that keeping a Japanese dog by your side as a "bear dog" could be a defensive measure."
Why not take advantage of the hunting ability of the Japanese dog, a natural monument that is said to be a living cultural asset, by using it as a "bear dog"?

Hunting Ability Research is scheduled to take place every April-May. If you would like to apply, please check the 1st issue of the magazine(or this page)