After doing months of research, I finally decided that I would give a Tosa a try. My reasons for a Tosa are many. A well put together Tosa is simply a beautiful dog. The red colour is my favourite, and in certain light conditions they take on a fiery glow. They're very large, yet athletic. The life expectancy is longer than most giant breeds, 10 to 12 years. A big plus when living in a condo, is that they are extremely quiet. They're not known to have a lot of health problems, besides the typical joint issues of any large breed. The coats are about as short as coats come, therefore less fur all over the place, and next to no grooming requirements. I did not want a dog that was known to be human dominant/aggressive. I don't feel that I would EVER need protection, but do take some comfort in having an extra large deterrent around. And I do love the fact that they are a rare breed as I've always been drawn to anything unusual. Georgie also loves big dogs and in all three daycares she's been to, she's picked out the biggest dog to be her buddy. So, the downside is dog aggression. My plan was to socialize extensively, give proper training, and hope for the best.
So what is life like, raising a Tosa to be a pampered pooch? What you see on the following page, are simply my observations, experiences and opinions. I am not a breeder, and certainly not a breed expert. No, I am not trying to sugar coat the breed, if he turns ugly, I'll be the first to say it. I have seen pages on the internet where people who haven't got a clue about the breed, adamantly state that the Tosa should be kept only in the care of a professional handler, and under lock and key. While it is not a breed you want to see in every other backyard, for certain people like myself who have loads of time and the energy to put into the dog, they can make a great family member.
Photos of Taro's development.
4 months to 1 year.
Taro was born in December 2004. I picked him up from Matsu Kennels near Chicago when he was about 14 weeks old. He had been returned to the breeder because someone in the family started to have allergic reactions because of him. While at the breeder, he got depressed and wouldn't eat. He weighed only 32lbs and was so skinny, he was at about a body condition 2. He took to Georgie right away, and the two cuddled in a little bed for most of the trip back to Toronto. Once I got him back home to Toronto, when feeding, I had to watch that he wouldn't eat the food bowl itself!
The next several months, I saw most of the typical puppy stages. He was pretty well house broken when I got him, so I only had to deal with the odd accident. For the next few months, he grew like a weed, sometimes gaining 5 lbs in a week. I introduced him to the dogpark right away. There were mostly nice friendly dogs there, Georgie's existing friends. For the most part, he played well with all the other dogs, but sometimes he would start into some way too rough play. There were a couple of young female Boxers for instance, who would tear around at top speed when they first got to the park. Taro would run them down and catch them much like a cheetah would a gazelle, and then lock on to the skin around the neck or cheek. He wasn't fighting, and he never did hurt them, but it sure was alarming to see. It would take some doing to get him to let go. I suppose that was his prey drive in action. So I learned to put him on the leash as soon as I saw any of the Boxers, let them run until they calmed down a bit, then let him go. There was also a female Shar Pei who had so much loose flesh, that Taro couldn't resist locking on to her scruff. She would twist and turn, and soon her skin would be wound into a corkscrew. It took him about two months to get the message that that wasn't acceptable. With Georgie, twice he started fighting over a toy, and both times I corrected that with an alpha-roll. After that, the two get pretty vocal over toys, but their bickering has yet to escalate into a fight. Out in the park when running for a toy, Taro may use his mass to bump another dog out of the way, but he won't fight over the toy even if another dog gets it first. He also seemed to dislike Goldendoodles, and he did pick on a couple of them, but just to dominate them. Another dog person made the observation that what he was doing, was no worse than any of the other dogs. It was just because of his size why it looked so scary.
When he was faced with aggression however, he would back down, or even run. I made sure that he didn't have any very bad experiences though, and he has yet to be bitten. Some of the aggression he faced was much needed. Although he's not a chronic humper, he was extremely pesky to dogs that caught his fancy. His favourite "type"? Male Chocolate Labs. Tosas aren't known for their fetching prowess, but Taro does a pretty good job. He prefers to fetch other dogs' toys. I had to teach Taro to swim. We would go to a place that had a pool just for dogs. I bought him a life jacket, and got into the water with him. When he was first gently coaxed into the water, he started wild splashing with his front paws, his back end dipped down and there was a little bit of fear. Having Georgie swimming around helped avoid total panic I think. After about 3 half hour sessions, he finally got it, and was able to swim in circles all by himself.
I like to use a harness for walking dogs. For Taro, I had to stop using his harness at about 10 months old, because at that point he must have discovered that I had no control, and he could easily pull me wherever he wanted. Especially with dogs prone to cherry eye (any droopy faced breed), I think that keeping pressure off of the neck could help prevent that. If you think about it, try to sort of strangle yourself, and feel the pressure build up behind the eyes...perhaps that's what contributes to cherry eye.
1 year to 18 months.
Taro was about 13 months old before he picked a fight. It was with an unneutered Husky about the same age as him. Since then, I've had to keep him on leash around pretty well all unneutered male dogs, including puppies and small dogs. Only a couple of intact dogs who Taro grew up with are safe around him. I believe what he's thinking is "kill the competition". Since the Husky incident, he only runs free with his known friends, and only if there's a small group in the park. His "pack mentality" has also grown, and I have to grab him if other dogs are quarrelling because I'm pretty sure he'll go in and start swinging. At about 16 months old, there was an incident with the alpha dog of the park. He was a 110lb 9 year old Shepherd, who despite his age, shows no signs of ill health or slowing down. That dog should have had a muzzle order years ago, because he fights with any dog who even looks at him the wrong way. Taro's best friend is a burly male Chocolate Lab named Milo who's about a year older. Milo's owner fumbled a ball, and both the Shepherd and Milo dove for it. The Shepherd of course attacked Milo to get the ball. Taro was nearby getting backrubs from another dog owner, but he went to Milo's aid in a split second. He grabbed the Shepherd by the scruff, shook violently and pinned him down. The attack was so furious, the old Shepherd didn't even try to fight back. He was ok after the attack since I grabbed Taro right away, just a little sore for a day or so. I believe that was the first time the Shepherd ever lost a fight, and he doesn't come within 20 feet of Taro now. Tosas were developed to be wrestling dogs. I certainly saw evidence of that in this case. If it had been a Pit Bull attacking the Shepherd, I'm sure that some stitches would have been in order as those dogs were developed to inflict maximum damage, kill or maim. There are videos of Tosa fights at this site
When greeting Taro, most dogs turn up their bellies to him, jump and lick at his face, or just keep their heads and tails down. It seems his dominance grows every day. Despite being a dog aggressive breed, Taro still plays as well as your average dog-park dog, BUT only with the dogs he likes. I'm sure there have been others like me who were lulled into a false sense of security because their Tosa had always been so good with other dogs.
18 months to 21 months.
Very recently, I let him meet an 11 week old female Lab pup, and he promptly grabbed her by the skin on the back, gave her a little shake, and dropped her. Both dogs were on leash, and up until that point, Taro had been very gentle with all females. My guard was down almost completely, and I didn't watch for signs of aggression. Thankfully, I did have a good grip on the leash so I was able to snap him back in line and the little puppy walked away. Boy, did he get yelled at! My best guess as to why he would do that to a young female, is he couldn't quite smell that she was a female and decided to attack anyway. I've since learned that some litters have a high testosterone level and the gender ratio is highly skewed towards the males. Females from these litters have a good chance of being "masculine". So now, I've stepped up my level of control and caution rather than just avoid every dog in town. Usually when he passes a dog, he gets this very intense look on him and his gait gets very stiff, with tail straight up. He wants to stand and stare down his "opponent". This I've learned is part of "Tosa temperament", so probably won't have much luck stopping that behaviour. Depending on the impression I get from the oncoming dog and owner, we either stop and greet, or just keep going. Always, I ask the other person if their dog is an intact male, and those we don't get too close to. When dogs meet on leash, for some reason, they have to circle each other, thus entangling the leashes. I never let the other dog get between me and Taro because then I've got no control over him. He really does enjoy meeting new dogs, but for the first 20 seconds he's ever so tense, until he gets their scent properly.
A couple times when we were walking on leash through a park or on the beach, large dogs tried to dominate Taro. One was a Bullmastiff, who nipped him in the shoulder and the other looked like a Lab Pitbull mix who also tried to bite him. Taro showed no particular signs of being threatened, and we walked away calmly. He still seems to really like dogs bigger than him, and gets pretty excited when he meets something like a Great Dane (again, so long as they're neutered)
One thing to note, is that each time he has attacked a dog, I was not paying attention or did not anticipate aggression. When Taro is on leash, I can firmly tell him "leave it", and proceed to pet dogs I know he won't like. So far, he will stand stiffly and tolerate even an unneutered male pup jumping up at him. To be safe, I'll hold his muzzle level with a loose but firm enough grip and remind him he's on leash by tugging at his collar. There were a couple of times when Taro was off leash I could tell he was looking to pick a fight, and I yelled "leave it" at him, and he either just stopped at his fight posture or managed to get the other dog to submit with just putting his chest to him, no biting. When there is a dog that I know is unneutered, and who obviously wants to pick a fight, we don't come within 50 feet.
21 months to 2 years.
I am very pleased with how he's learned to tone down his aggression, and hasn't tried to bite since the Lab pup incident. In the fall 2006, we met a 4 month old male Boxer puppy. He was always off leash in the park, and couldn't resist throwing himself at Taro's face. Little did he know that that could have been the end for him. The first time the pup did that, Taro looked as if he was poised to strike. I bent over, sort of hugged Taro's head, and started petting both dogs at the same time. Every day this happened, and each time, Taro looked less and less stiff. Eventually, he would wag his tail at the pup. I kept him on a loose leash after that, and watched closely as he would greet the pup and then proceed to ignore him. Within a month's time, the two were ok to play fetch together, but I wouldn't dare take my eyes off Taro.
Out in the park he doesn't get to play if there are more than about 6 dogs around, and everybody has to be getting along. Also, he is not allowed to go up to any new dogs without me holding his collar. I do this too when there's a dog he hasn't seen in a while.
I've gotten him to pay much less attention to other dogs we don't intend to meet. For example, dogs going ballistic behind a fence or at the end of a chain. The hair on his back will go up a bit, but he will continue to walk and go about his business. In the recent past, he would fixate on the other dog and not want to move. I believe that I just had to be a stronger "alpha", and show him that I would take care of threats. One day, the Lab/Pitbull cross dog tried to rush at him, and I got inbetween the two and kicked at the dog's head. I missed by a mile, but the gesture served it's purpose. It got the dog to back off, and shocked the owner who didn't know how to control her dog (who had bitten a couple of dogs that I know of). I also carry dog spray now, basically pepper spray, found at your local outdoors/camping store. If any dog looks like it's going to attack, that dog will be getting a big surprise.
With people, he's gotten really out of hand. He wants to jump up and kiss almost everyone he meets! There have been a few people who have encouraged the jumping up, and I'm also guilty of horsing around with him in that manner. I'm correcting him mildly whenever he does that. I figure he's being nice and friendly, and I don't want to give him the impression that that is what I don't like. He hasn't knocked anyone down yet.
He finally caught up with my Dad's cat. This cat is absolutely petrified of Taro, and always leaves piles and puddles at the very sight of my boy. One day I came into the house when my Dad wasn't home and forgot about the cat. Taro found her under the dining table, so I held his collar and waved at the cat to run away and hide somewhere. She ran upstairs, I assumed she was under a bed, so I let Taro go. For some reason, all the doors upstairs were locked. Taro and the cat met at the top of the stairs, I practically flew to the top when I heard the hiss. Taro had the cat inbetween his paws, with his nose pressed into her fur. I grabbed him and pushed the cat to make her go downstairs. He knew he did something wrong, so I wasn't too harsh on him. Right away, I found the cat in the basement, and checked her out. Except for a heart rate that was off the scale, she was fine, only had some slobber marks to evidence her close brush with the enemy. I went back up the stairs to clean up the mess she made.
There have been several people in the park who've commented on what a nice and tolerant dog Taro is. He still tolerates known dogs jumping in his face and stealing his toys. Some of the other dog owners had wondered how someone as small as myself hangs on to a dog so strong. They are complaining about their 50lb dogs pulling them! I put Taro's leash on one day, and had them try to hang on as I threw his toy. For about 5 feet, he is reported to feel like being hooked up to a truck, but then he stops pulling. Not even the biggest guy there could stay put as Taro tried to get the ball.
He has regressed in his separation anxiety outbursts. It seems now that no matter how much I wear him out, if I'm gone for more than 2 or 3 hours, he can't resist moving things around and chews the odd item.
We've moved to the country as of December 2006, on a 6.5 acre property with a fair sized 3 bedroom bungalow. Taro is loving it, and I haven't had to use a leash on him since we moved. I keep a bell on his collar, and if I don't hear it after 1 minute, I start yelling for him. He usually comes thundering back, but I've had to go looking for him the odd time. One of the neighbours is in love with Taro, and I think the feeling is mutual. When missing, I look on their back deck where he's staring at the door, hoping to get in her house. I trust him not to run out in the road, or go too far away. The neighbour on the opposite side, has an intact male Border Collie who's tied up to his doghouse almost 24/7. The two boys have met, the Collie growled at Taro, tried to hump Georgie and barked at me. Taro just stood there in his "you and what army" pose. The two glare at each other sometimes, but Taro seems to know not to mess with him. I don't frequent that side of the property because of that issue.
In October 2006, I went away to Japan for 10 days. What a chore to find home style boarding for an intact male Tosa!! I believe I've spoken to just about every such operation in the Toronto area. Taro would likely not do well in a kennel, and those types of places wouldn't cater to Georgie's many needs. One farm style boarder said she'd take them, then the next day called back to cancel due to a breed exclusion in her insurance policy. A couple of others also said yes, then cancelled on me the next day. In the end, I found a home where they would be just with one other dog, a female Golden Retriever, for the entire time. That cost me $100/day for both dogs, but I'm pleased to say that everything worked out extremely well. Since we've moved to the country, I'm leaving them there about one day a week when I go into the city. After finding out how great my doggies are, I get charged a better than regular rate! The babysitter recently commented that Taro was one of the nicest boys she's ever looked after.
My nephew has started to talk. It puts a smile on my face watching Taro paying attention to the kid toys. The toys that have some movement is of great interest to him, but he doesn't try to take them, he just watches. Whenever Taro gets too close, my nephew pushes his nose and says "NO, GO!". Taro is still very submissive to him. Many months ago, he had knocked my nephew down, and between my yelling at him and the little guys' crying, he hid in a corner for about a half hour. Now you should see how delicately he picks his way around my nephew. Even my Dad noticed that. It seems like he's sensitive to the slightest contact with the kid, and he either freezes or backs away slowly.
2 years to....
I'll be updating this section periodically as Taro develops. Some trainers say that when dogs reach 3 years old, their personality at that point will be the same for the rest of their lives. I'm hoping he doesn't change significantly, because what he is now, I can easily live with that.
August 2007, the peace was broken. Every day, we walk along the road, passing by many houses on our route. A few houses have dogs tied up outside and they bark and holler as we go by. In one house, their dogs were sometimes just loose in the yard with no fences. Three times, an unneutered male Lab rushed out into the road, hair on end and tail straight up in the air. He ignored Taro those times (who I had by the collar), but was interested in checking out Kirin. Then someone would usually call him back into the yard. On this particular day, a female Lab rushed out first, it was obvious she had had puppies recently. The male Lab once again checked out Kirin, but then started approaching Taro. I imagine he felt he had to somehow "protect" his female or maybe try to win Kirin? I yelled at him, but he came even closer, so close I was able to push him in the face. I had been trying to sneak by with Taro in the meantime, but as the Lab approached, his legs just locked up and he wasn't moving. I'm not sure who threw the first punch, it happened so quickly. The dogs tangled, but immediately, Taro had the Lab by the back. The Lab was trying to bite back, so Taro changed his hold to more of the mid back area where the Lab couldn't reach him. The Lab's front paws were off the ground as Taro shook him. After a couple of shakes, the Lab decided this was too much for him, and he became frantic trying to get away. This was my opportunity to break this up. I grabbed Taro by the waist and lifted him slightly, luckily he let go right away. The whole fight lasted maybe 15 seconds, longer than his other scraps, because the Lab actually tried to fight back. Then the babysitter ran out and called the Labs back inside. Through all that, the "girls" simply watched, but every hair was up on Kirin's back.
The Lab got in one lucky bite to Taro's ear. It swelled up and got infected, so Taro had to go on antibiotics. The Lab had to have his whole back shaved, and several staples put in. Four days passed as I thought about what happened. Then I observed the Lab crossing the road by himself, marked his mailbox and sniffed around a bit, before returning to his yard. They hadn't learned. So I called Animal Control, and an officer came out to talk to the owner of the Lab. I wanted it to be on record that Taro did not start this, their dogs were at large, and that I was very upset with the whole matter. If I mess up and Taro is to blame for a fight, nobody is going to have mercy on me. The officer asked me a few questions...No, my dogs weren't on leash, but leashes wouldn't have helped me anyway, and at any rate, my dogs are under voice control. I could hear it in her voice, she seemed concerned that I walk two Mastiffs at a time. The lady who owned the Lab stopped by my house the day after, and tried to smooth things over. She is going to step up training her dogs to stay in the yard.
I carry dog spray (pepper spray) on me for all walks. Why didn't I use it on the Lab? Because of his breed, I gave him the benefit of doubt. Despite all his body language, I really figured he would just come up and glare at Taro, then back off. Taro got no reprimand over this. He did what any Tosa should do. He simply answered an point blank challenge. When I grabbed him, he let go instantly. We've been by the house a few times since the fight, twice the Labs were outside and barking, but they didn't come even close to the road for some reason. Taro is a little more alert and tense when walking by, but I can tell he's not looking for a repeat performance.
January 2008, a similar incident, this time an unneutered Husky mix was charging us out in the road. We had had run-ins with this dog before, but I had managed to back away without incident. This time, I had to use dog spray on TARO to make him leave the dog. He didn't respond to my usually back end grab. The other dog's owner was present this time, and he kicked Taro several times in the ribs. A word of advice to everyone....never do that. It infuriates an attacking dog, and he will not cease until whatever is attacking him stops. I'm really not sure if the dog spray had any effect on Taro. After two big sprays right in the face, he didn't even blink.
Then in March, we're starting to venture in the other direction on the road. I've started biking with the two Tosas and we go up to 8km a day. One day yet another dog comes tearing out after us. This time it's a Shepherd mix, and I found it's an older female. Taro didn't seem too bothered by her, but Kirin confronted her right away. Thankfully no fights erupted. I've since reported the incident to animal control. I don't mind so much if a dog is coming out to be friendly, but dogs who rush out aggressively at two very large dogs is going to wind up in trouble eventually. As a dog lover, I don't want to see that happen again.
I'm contemplating neutering Taro. Since he's 3, it may not change his behaviour much at this point, but it should make him less offensive to other male dogs. I figure if there's fewer dogs challenging him, less likely to be a fight. I'd like him to be more "portable", meaning that I'd like to go more places with my dogs, and let's face it, a very large dominant intact male is going to cause problems. So, since Kirin was in heat recently, I decided to have a sperm extraction done on him so as not to lose him from the gene pool altogether. I can call him Captain Quickly now, the vets had what they needed in about 10 seconds. All I had to do was to put Kirin in front of him and he went wild! The rest of that heat, he spent at the Supernanny's place to save my sanity. Usually dog owners can anthropomorphize their fur children quite readily. The state Taro was in, was 100% pure animal, wolf howling and all.
A note on growth: A good breeder will be your best guide on how large your dog may grow. Different breeds grow at different rates, and even within a breed, there can be large differences. It is a well known fact though, that mastiff breeds reach full adult weight very late in life. For males, it can be between 3-5 years, and for females, usually by 3 years. Height is generally at the maximum by about 1 year old. My dogs seemed to mature much quicker than that. From my observations, halfway point for weight (providing the pup is in the right body condition), is 5 months for females and 5.5 months for males. Here's some info and a chart on the growth of a Tibetan Mastiff. You are asking for trouble if you try to encourage growth by over-supplementation, over-feeding etc.
Training
I just want to say right away that my boy is STUBBORN!!! Although he is intelligent enough, and quickly learned things like sit, down, and stay, to break him of bad habits has been a real test of patience. But however stubborn he thinks he is, I'm worse.
The only training we've attended, was conformation classes. I taught him the basics easily enough. There was much more to learn though, to get by in day to day life. He's had to learn things such as how to wait patiently in a lineup at the bank, how to walk when the sidewalk is packed with pedestrians, going up and down the ramp for the truck, not to lick babies in the face etc. etc. He's out and about with me pretty well every day, and I'm quite pleased with how well mannered he's become. So many people have commented on how well behaved and friendly he is. For corrections, I use an escalation method. First offense, a light "no" and maybe a pull on the leash. Do it again, you get yelled at, and a harsher leash jerk. Keep it up, and then I do something like an alpha roll, start yelling, and if we're outdoors, he gets hauled back home not too gracefully. My alpha roll is usually just making him lie down on his side, and then I pin him just firmly enough to keep him from picking up his head. After a few seconds when he's relaxed, I tell him to get up. I only use it for serious offences, or if he's being extremely stubborn. The older he gets, the need for me to resort to that has dropped considerably. The ultimate punishment for him is being ignored. And with me being female, I can keep up the cold shoulder for quite a while.
He had some issues with separation anxiety at around 6-8 months. He never did damage anything valuable, but have a look at this bout. That was about as bad as it got. He's never been left for longer than about 7 hours, but that was only after he was about 9 months old. I would walk in, and not greet either dog before I did an inspection. If everything was in place, then there would be the usual happy greeting. If something was out of place, I would pick it up and talk sternly (no yelling) "what's this???" and "what a bad dog!" He would then start to cower and grovel in front of me, but I wouldn't even touch him until much later. This stage only lasted a couple of months. I don't believe in locking a dog in a crate. I think it's important to have one with nice comfy bedding, it should be a dogs own little space, and they go in and out as they please. Only as a last resort would I confine a dog, and even then, it would be for as little time as possible. Exercise may well be the best cure for separation anxiety. As it's probably impossible to get in a good run before a typical workday, a trustworthy dogwalker may be the only way to tire out a dog.
I had read that Tosas were very sensitive, and I found this became true more and more as he grew up. Now, if my tone of voice is anything but normal and happy, he gets a worried look and he'll edge towards me to see if everything is ok. If I look at him, he'll search my face as if trying to figure out who or what I'm mad at. I've been told that too much/too harsh correction can ruin a Tosa, so I've leaned towards the conservative side. He pulls sometimes on leash, but only at the very beginning of a walk. Someone who stopped to meet him, was telling me of how you can sharpen the inner prongs of a pinch collar and that fixes pulling effectively. I thanked him for the advice with a wry grin, and hurried on my way. If I really need to keep him in check, a gentle leader works well enough for me.
Whenever he's displayed any sort of aggression, he gets corrected according to the level of aggression displayed, except for when he defended his friend. I realize that I probably confused things for him by not diciplining him then, but I always try to do what's reasonable.
The training mentality I most closely agree with, is that of the Dog Whisperer Cesar Milan. While on walks, I have a different idea of what that should be. I prefer my dogs to be in front of me, but not pulling hard, and I encourage them to smell and check things out along the way. The walk is for them, certainly not for me. By myself, I only walk if absolutely necessary. Of course, I expect them to do what I ask if I need them to stay beside me. There are times for that, for example when walking through a thick crowd of people, or nowadays when we're out on the road and a car is coming.
At Home
Being a semi retired IT bum, I'm home most of the time. The three of us share a 1 bedroom condominium with a large patio. Taro usually follows me around wherever I go. I can't be in the bathroom for more than 1 minute without him coming to lie on the mat. If I'm in the kitchen, he sits where he can see me. At bedtime, he's in the bed before I am. He'll sleep beside me for about 10 minutes, then he leaves to go and lie on the sofa or the livingroom rug. During the night, he shifts "beds" often, but most mornings he's curled up at the edge of mine with his head on a pillow I put there for him. While I'm trying to watch TV, he and Georgie play in their usual vocal manner. Whenever there's a strange noise, Georgie runs barking towards the direction of the sound. Taro will get huffy and growl a bit, but never barks. When I have guests over, Taro is normally right in their faces trying to sniff them out, but he's still pretty friendly and loves it when he gets a back scratch.
As of December 2006 we now live on a large property in the country. Both dogs absolutely love it! There are deer, wild turkey and rabbits all over the place, and it's become a favourite pastime sniffing out where the wild critters have been. We even hear coyotes most nights.
Drool
I would like to invite whoever wrote that Tosas are "low-drool" to my place, and get them to wipe my walls and floors. And I'm looking at a slinger on the ceiling as I write. I change the water almost every time he drinks, and when I empty what's left, it's almost the consistency of egg whites. When I hear him drinking, I have to run with paper towels in hand to catch the slingers before they get all over the place. If he sniffs at anything, chances are that his lips brush over the object and leaves "snail tracks". Even one little piece of kibble can set off the salivation, and oftentimes he'll have crumbs mixed in with the slingers.
Feeding
It is very confusing, all the choices out there for dogs. After much research, talking to professionals, and using my own education and common sense, I still had to just close my eyes and pick. I don't buy into the "large breed" food especially for puppies. You would think that if that type of food was created with good science, all brands would have roughly the same composition. Well, they don't. Taro is a fussy dog. He eats well enough, but every once in a while, he'll go through picky spells, and sometimes he just won't eat. The first food he was on was Wellness puppy food. It's fairly rich, but I just fed a little less of it. I very much agree with keeping a pup on the slimmer side until his bones stop growing, usually around 14 months. At 6 months old, I slowly switched him over to a raw diet. After looking into and trying the commercial raw diets such as Prarie and Pets for Life, I decided to formulate my own diet. The two sources for meat were The Healthy Butcher, and Whole Foods. Meats are organic, and always so fresh they smelled sweet. Included were eggs, chicken necks, lean ground beef, ground dark turkey and ground lamb. For recreation, I bought beef marrow bones cut to 3" with about a 1/2" of meat left all around. I did include a small amount of carbohydrates in the form of cooked rice, barley, white potatoes or sweet potatoes. Veggies were put through the blender, and I used mostly celery, green beans, broccoli and carrots. Sometimes I'd add a clove of garlic, and used Solid Gold steamed bone meal to balance the calcium/phosphorus ratio. For vitamins, I used my own, broken up into little bits. After he turned 1 year old, I decided to switch back to a super premium kibble. I never did see any improvement in any aspect of his appearance or wellbeing. In fact, his stools were often covered with mucus and things were never "regular" in that regard. Added to all that, was the cost...about $20/day to feed that boy! He's on Go! Natural chicken flavour now, and that kibble is very calorie dense, 617/cup. He's on that because he'll only eat at dinnertime, and he would have to go through up to 10 cups of most regular kibbles to get enough calories. That would be too much volume for one sitting in my opinion. An elevated bowl is a must for any tall breed as it's a loooong way down. The bowl should be somewhere around the middle of the chest. Some sites say to take the dog's height at the withers and minus 6 inches, but I found that's a bit too tall. At 30" high, Taro is most comfortable with something that's 15"-20". Both my dogs get mostly Brita filtered water, but in a pinch I'll give them straight tap water. And a rule of thumb with any deep chested/giant breed, is not to feed too close to playtime (+ or - 1hr). If your dog turns out to be a water gulper, you shouldn't put too much water out around feeding time. Taro will drink up to about 2 cups after dinner.
In the Fall of 2006, I decided to give a home diet another chance, because I think it is the best thing for all dogs. This time, I'm using cooked extra lean ground beef, peeled and boiled white potatoes, and a handful of cooked beef liver every other day or so. I do supplement with Innova Evo, 1.5 cups per day. Also, I add flax oil, digestive enzymes, kelp tablets, vitamin E capsules, and cod liver oil capsules (all from "people" health stores). Very importantly, bone meal to balance things out. I can't get Solid Gold bone meal in Canada anymore, so I use NOW brand. Every item is put into an Excel spreadsheet, where all the nutrients are added up and compared to the AAFCO minimums. He loves the mixture, and eats all his food morning and evening!
Family
Taro gets along extremely well with all family members. I live alone, but am often at my Dad's or Sister's places, with doggies in tow of course. My nephew is 4 months younger than Taro, and it did take Taro a few visits to get used to the little guy. Once, Taro was lying on the floor, and my nephew crawled over to him and touched his feet. Taro's raised his head and gave a high pitched warning bark, for which he received an alpha roll from me. Now, my nephew can step on his tail and feet, stumble across him, and even smack his nose and Taro doesn't even bother to open his eyes. At my sister's house, is a large male cat who is very sociable. There were a couple of tense moments between my two dogs and the cat, but now they all lay around very peacefully, and I even think they may like each other.
Other animals
Squirrels and birds in the park provoke only mild responses from my two dogs. I think they know how futile it is to try to catch the little critters. There have been stange cats that Taro has wanted to chase, and I'm not really sure what he'd do if he ever caught up to one. It seems that he really likes cats, but the prey drive may be a little too strong for him to just want to be friends. He's met horses before, from when he was 4 months old, and he's seen a few since then. He looks interested in the large animals, but no signs of aggression or timidity. In the pet stores, he shows a lot of interest in the parrots, chinchillas, ferrets, and fish. I would imagine it's prey drive again, but he surprised me one day. The reptile department lost one of their feeder mice, and it so happened that soon Taro was nose to nose with it. He could have snapped it up, but he just seemed curious. See photos of Taro with family and other animals.
With little big sister Georgie
As I mentioned before, he took to her right away. She wasn't so sure about him for the first few days, and kept looking at me as if to say "is HE staying??". In no time, they were playing tug-o-war, wrestling, and sleeping in the same kennel. He was already a large dog at 5 months old, and still had puppy teeth. Poor Georgie got several scrapes in her back from those sharp little teeth. The games always begin when I sit in front of the TV, usually after dinnertime. They'll pick one toy to playfight over. Bulldogs are very vocal, and Taro seems to have learned to be the same way. Sometimes, it sounds like two dogs killing each other. I have to watch movies with subtitles because I often can't hear anything. Outside of playtime, they're both almost "tender" with each other and neither one is clearly dominant over the other. They eat side by side, with Georgie always finishing first. She then hangs around Taro's elevated bowl, and picks up anything that falls out. I believe it's not normal for a Tosa to tolerate
another dog doing that. I cannot imagine two dogs getting along any better than these two. There are so many cute photos of them together, so here are just a few.
Separation Anxiety
How many things have to be destroyed before we figure out how to cure the madness? These days, before I have to go anywhere, I start working on my dogs from the day before. I do a combination of exercise, activity, and sleep deprivation. They get lots of exercise, maybe a car drive, and I don't let them take naps while I'm home. Every time I leave the room I call to them to follow me, or make some noise (eg. the vacuum cleaner). By the time I leave, they're glad to get rid of me. If I'm going to be away for 8+hrs (which is rare), I put 3 new smoked knuckle bones in the kitchen for them to find when bored. For those who have day jobs, it's hard work coming home tired and then having to tire out a dog. Many dog walkers are ok with taking Tosas out for a mid-day break. Daycare may be out of the question however.
Showing
I didn't get Taro as a show dog, and he was pretty gangly for most of his puppyhood. I was set to neuter Taro at 1 year old, but then at about 10 months old, he started looking very nice. The breeder saw him and said that he may do ok in shows. So, at about 13 months old, we found ourselves a conformation class. This was Can Do School in the North York area. They were a little apprehensive about a giant fighting breed coming in, but I assured then that he was under control, and I wouldn't let him smell or get close to the other dogs. Turns out they like Taro a lot there, and he's even on their website. He took to it well by about the 2nd or 3rd class we attended, and I entered him in a UKC show in Brampton when he was 17 months old. I imagined that this would be a practice run since we were both new to this, and I had my doubts that the judges would think anything of him. There were no other Tosas at the show, so Taro went into Group competition. Our first round, Saturday morning, the judge pointed out Taro for 1st place in the group! The 2nd and 3rd shows, Taro got 2nd place behind a very nice looking Doberman. I didn't even know how the scoring worked, and it wasn't until they mailed me his certificate that I fully believed that he earned his championship that weekend. Although our show weekend wasn't a bad experience, I don't think we'll do that frequently or do a lot of travelling to attend shows. It didn't take too long to get a feel for the politics involved, and I'm not sure how many judges are familiar with the breed. Also, for Taro to advance to a UKC Grand Championship, he needs to compete with other Champion Tosas. I don't believe there are any other Tosas being shown in Ontario. Have a look at our show photos.
Our second show weekend was March 17th and 18th, 2007, at the Toronto Sportsman show. We had a booth set up, and I made 3 posters with lots of nice photos. The conformation judging was run by the Rare Breed Club of South Western Ontario. The dogs' babysitter (affectionately known as Supernanny), assisted me in taking care of the dogs. Georgie and Kirin were in attendance as well, but only Taro was entered in the show. There were 6 shows in all. Four were regular shows, and two were for the Molosser specialty run by the Canadian Molosser Association. On Taro's first day, he took Group 2nd and Group 3rd in the regular shows, and didn't place in the Specialty where they only awarded Best in Show and Reserve. The second day, he took Group 2nd in the first show, but I had to leave early, and so missed the last two shows. Taro earned 5 out of the 15 points needed to be a champion with this club. Interestingly, he got two written critiques by different FCI judges brought in by the Canadian Molosser Association. The points they rate are Type, Head, Expression, Front, Topline, Underline, Ribs, Loins, Hindquarters, Condition, Movement (Front), Movement (Rear). Each of these can range from Excellent down to Fair. The Saturday judge rated Taro as Very Good, with Excellent for Type, Head and Expression. Sunday's judge rated him Excellent for everything! Unfortunately, my photographer never did get any photos to me. So he got some pretty ribbons and that made me proud. What made me really beam though, was how much fun he was having meeting so many people. I had several comments about how sociable and nice he was! He kissed so many babies, I lost count.
What does it mean to be a show champion? Quite simply, it means that dog doesn't have any disqualifying faults, or at least none that the judge can spot (like missing teeth). Just about any dog you show will eventually become a show champion, it may take a couple of shows, or it could take a large number of them. The dogs who achieve their championship quickly, will be the better looking dogs with very good conformation. Dogs who can get a best in show, or at least group 1st or 2nd will be nicer dogs than those who can barely get a best of breed. Many breeders show several dogs from their kennel at the same time, thus they can "create" their own competition and push a particular dog to get a championship.
Health
When Taro was about 4 months old, 3 small spots appeared on his skin. The vet diagnosed him with an outbreak of Localized Demodex mites, and suggested treatment right away. I decided to wait it out, and simply dabbed the area with Surolan if it got red. Within a couple of months, it cleared up by itself and has never reappeared. I believe Taro went through an awful lot of stress when he got returned to a kennel environment, and it's highly likely this caused the problem.
He's had one minor ear infection, some sort of kennel cough which caused only mucus in his nose, and a boil or cyst on his bum. The boil was popped at the vet and cleared up quickly. I've since had to clean his anus area with baby wipes almost every night to prevent any further issues...lots of fun. Pretty minor stuff I think, especially after dealing with Bulldog health problems. He's had no signs of Panno or any other orthopaedic problems.
Around 1 year old, he went through a period of having a poor appetite, and also having general tummy trouble. I had all sorts of tests done and tried him with different foods. He was on Tylosin for a while, this is some sort of antibiotic/anti-inflammatory for the gut. He went 3 days without eating once, dropped a total of about 10lbs, and would practically run away from his food bowl. He was on a raw diet when all this started, so I put him back on kibble dressed up with cooked ground beef. Things were better, but still not great. Since he was still energetic and lively with no outward signs of illness, the vet suggested that perhaps it was hormonal why he had no interest in food. My boy might have sex on the brain? I didn't think that was it, and eventually I took him to a holistic vet. She said right away that he had parasites of some sort. I countered that he had been checked for all kinds of parasites, including special tests for Giardia and Campylobacter. All blood chemistry was normal as well. She gave me tinctures of Wormwood, and Black Walnut, 6 drops of each before bedtime for 60 nights. By the first week, I noticed that his stools were just about perfect, and that his appetite picked up. The treatment period is long since over, and he still has a perfect record. No skipped meals, and no "blowouts". And I've challenged his system with sudden introduction of new foods like sweet potatoes or eggs.
At 19 months, I had an OVC screening for his hips and elbows, and the board certified radiologist reported that there were no signs of hip or elbow dysplasia. My vet commented that that would be the equivalent of at least an OFA "good" rating.
Exercise
During the critical growth period (up to 7 months), I didn't allow him to roughhouse very long with much bigger dogs, or to walk much more than 1/2hr on the hard sidewalk. Before 1 year of age, he got more park playtime than walking, and since then way more walking than playtime. On average, he receives at least 2 hours a day of outdoor play and/or walks. Basically, if his friends are in the park, we play with them and if not, then we walk. When in the park, he enjoys running around, wrestling, and playing fetch about equally. I did start jogging with him at 14 months old, and up until the summertime he was pretty good at that, but since the warm weather arrived (anything over 20C), he's slowed down considerably. On the walk back home, I'm often the one pulling him along! We play indoors almost every day too. The two dogs will play tug-o-war and wrestle, and I often join in with that game, plus getting them to chase a cat toy...a mouse dangling on a string attached to a short rod. Inside my place, I put cheap rugs down, with underpad to provide a non slip, cushioned surface. I've heard that slick, hard flooring can ruin a dog's hips. I've bought a backpack for him, and a few times a week I'll load him up with 5 to 10 lbs, and go for a 1/2hr walk. We play mostly indoors if the weather is extreme, only going out for bathroom breaks. I don't allow him to jump much although he can jump up with great ease. I've got two Petstep ramps, a small one going up to my bed (mostly for Georgie's use), and a big one for my SUV.
Out and about
We meet new people and dogs every single day. A surprising number of people are very accepting of Taro, and of course there are those who cross the street to avoid us. He can tell if someone is a dog person, and he sniffs their clothes out thoroughly before giving them total acceptance by licking their hand. Ever since he grew to over 100lbs, there are the comments about his size every other block we walk. "What a huge dog", "That's the biggest dog I've ever seen", "Look at that head!". Truth is, I've known mutts who were bigger, and have seen several oversized members of various breeds. Perhaps the most fantastic was a Weimaraner who had to have been 32" at the shoulder and 140lbs. Unfortunately he was quite fat and not a very good looking dog as Weimys are known to be. What I like more are the comments on how good looking my boy is. One guy rushed from his store to gush all over Taro, calling him the best looking dog he's ever seen. I take Taro to the corner store, bank, post office, video store among other places. Everyone knows his name, but of course they haven't a clue what mine is. I'm fine with that....I am Taro's Mom.
I am a small person, but very athletic and strong for my size. When Taro is full grown, he will likely outweigh me by at least 30lbs. I do find that I've got to use some muscle to manage Taro because he is with me most of the time when I'm out. It would be easier with a gentle leader, but he's not very happy with it on, and I prefer to use that method sparingly.
Taro's a Daddy!
In September 2006, Taro was set up with a nice girlfriend, Pharsyd's Oujo (Duchess). The two dogs got along beautifully, and they had two ties in Duchess' prime time. Taro didn't do too badly for a first timer. On November 6th, she had 8 pups, 7 males and only one female. They are beautiful pups, very nice looking, active and healthy. Here are a few pics
Questions, Comments? sdyke@hotmail.com.