A Kishu Dog in The City

I haven't used this for a blog in some time, but I'm going to make a conscious effort to update more.

​I'm spending a year in Rhode Island while we figure out the house situation in Oregon. The Kishu have taken the change from temperate rainforest town to dense urban environment really well, overall. 

We moved me and 5 of the dogs to Rhode Island while my roommate stayed in Oregon with 2 of them. We managed it caravan-style and camped and used motels along the way. It was not a very fun trip moving that far with so many dogs, but there were enjoyable parts, and I always think life is a little better for taking the trip.

Rhode Island is a very small state with much of it very densely populated and cemented over, which can make finding quality places to exercise the dogs a little difficult... but I'm finding little reprieves from the city in liminal spaces, like here where I've taken these images of Sho, between operational and crumbling mills.

For the sake of a clean image, the leash has been edited out in spaces that were not enclosed - leash laws are a thing and we're on public property so it's best to be respectful of others and the law, but while exercising the dogs has become different than it was in Oregon, I just want it on record that I don't think anyone needs a yard or expansive green spaces to be able to give these dogs a good quality of life.

They need experiences and structure to know what's normal and expected and they need an effort from you, but one of the things that I really have liked about the Kishu is how adaptable they are and their ability to roll with the punches.

It's a good trait to have in any dog, and seems to be a rare trait in primitive dogs, and it makes the Kishu a good little wolf to take to the city.