The Breed
a. Historical Summary
The origin of the Japanese Spitz is said to be from large and medium sized white spitz dogs (White German Spitz and other similar spitz breeds from America, North-East Europe and Asia) brought to Japan beginning from around 1915. In the year 1921 some white spitz were exhibited for the first time at a dog show in Tokyo. Canada and, until around 1936, further imports arrived in Japan from North
America,
Australia and East Russia (through Manchuria). drawn up in 1948 by the Japan Kennel Club and finally approved in 1953.
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b.
Characteristics of the breed is a typical medium sized spitz (not a toy dog !): The height at the withers of the male specimens usually ranges from 33 to 37 cm, a little less (30 to 34 cm) for the
females. though slender
limbs. supported by profuse and soft undercoat. The tail is of medium length, has a rich fringe of long hair and is curled
over the back. muzzle.
round-shaped than in the German Mittelspitz. It is considerably broad at the occiput as in the Samoyed, but less full and more refined. The teeth are particularly strong and the jaws normally close in a scissor bite. The eyes are dark in colour, very expressive, oval-shaped and set rather obliquely. The ears are rather small, triangular-shaped and perfectly erect, facing forward. Intense black pigmentation on the nose, muzzle tip, lips, eye rims and foot pads creates notable contrast with the bright
white of the coat. watch dog, today it is first and foremost a wonderful companion dog by virtue of its attractive appearance and particularly affectionate nature. Moreover, its strong and healthy constitution and the lack of specific physical weaknesses make it an easy to care dog. Contrary to one may think, the gorgeous white coat of this dog does not require either lot of bathing or complicated and time-wasting grooming. therefore just a few baths per year and brushing/combing two-three times a week are more than enough to keep the coat in perfect order. Though neither aggressive nor inclined to biting, the Japanese Spitz keeps a constant and careful watch of the house and the territory. It sometimes displays above average liveliness and noisiness but behaves in general as a very intelligent and alert member of the family. The extraordinary affection it feels towards its owner is of strong and possessive nature, but expressed in many delicate and tiny ways and with loving
friendship. everyone who approaches it. Its handsome appearance like that of small-sized, snow-white arctic dog (it is often improperly called "the mini-samoyed") is complemented by very peculiar temperamental characteristics. Marked sense of property as well as strong personality lacking in submissiveness make this dog assume the role of true protagonist in the family right from puppyhood. rather then instinctive
submission. This creates new situations of cohabitation even for long-experienced dog fanciers and it is common occurrence that people who have had a Japanese Spitz as their pet are no longer able to find the
same
satisfaction with any other
breed. |