Is It the Right Dog ?
Picture of Great-Great Grandma Winnie and Pup - KoFuji Japanese Spitz
Are you looking for a special family pet? Japanese Spitz make great companion dogs and are easy to live with and love. A small to medium dog (adults 4 to 8 kgs), with an abundant white coat, which is profuse but easy to maintain, they do not have a doggy odour and only need a couple of baths a year for you to have a glamorous companion and pet.
Is a Japanese Spitz right for you ?
- Is now the right time for you to have a new dog or puppy ?
- Do you have a secure yard, preferably with a lock on the gate, and high fences ?
- Will you spend much time at home, or with your dog ? This is not the dog to leave unattended in the backyard for hours and hours. Family that comes and goes is perfect company for the Japanese Spitz, but they are not suitable if left for 10-12 hours at a time and then ignored when you get home.
- Are you prepared to commit yourself to your Japanese Spitz for the same amount of time as you would a child and teenager ? And NEVER abandon it. Our pups are only available to 'forever homes' as we would never want them abandoned to the pound or the RSPCA.
- Are you prepared to put a significant effort into socialising & training your dog ? Like children these dogs need to go to school and be socialised when young to have a well balanced family pet that can cope with anyone and anything.
- Are you prepared to put up with the annual (males) or biannual (females) shedding of coat ? And to groom it on a regular basis - at least once a wekk for the remainder of the year ? If coat loss causes you grief, then this is not the dog for you.
- Are you prepared to be patient with this dog ? They do not forgive heavy-handed owners, nor respect those who do not give them a clear indication of what is acceptable and what is not. Kind, gentle teaching of what is right and wrong goes a long way with this breed which wants to please you very much.
- Most Spitz-type dogs can be stubborn and willful if neglected and will test you to your limit and beyond. Even well trainind Japanese Spitz go through a teenage stage - with all the problems of their human counterparts. Love, understanding and a consistent approach is required with this dog during that period. They never forget anyone who abuses them.
- Are you prepared to immunise, regularly worm and heart worm the dog and attend to it's veterinary costs, including neutering your pet ? Are you prepared to feed it properly and to give it beef bones for its teeth ?
- Are you prepared to board your dog (or have someone look after it) when you go on holidays ?
