The demeanor of a dog is determined by an owner. One who has a short temper or prone to anger might have an aggressive dog. A person who is scatter brained will have a dog that is overly anxious and difficult to train. What about the person that is very mellow? Well, the mellow person is going to have a dog you would confuse with a monk.
I don't want to divulge to far into stereotypes but the Japanese, as a whole, are very mellow. Which means they have the most obedient, patient, quiet, and loving dogs I have ever encountered.
The dog pictured in this entry is a dog who was tied up outside of a local super market. Of course the breed (shiba) is known to be a kind dog. It didn't care one moment for me. He was patiently waiting for its master. I could pet it, talk to it, try and get its attention but all it was doing was waiting for its best friend to come out with groceries in its arms.
Countless times I have seen this repeated. I would honestly say that most of these dogs could stand, unleashed, and the owner would never have to worry about the dog being lost...
Speaking of that, since I have been in Japan; I haven't seen one 'lost dog' poster. Whenever I was in the US, I always felt sick to my stomach when I saw a flier. I love dogs, so its hard for me to know if one was lost or maybe strayed to far and was hit by a car. On the other hand, rage boiled inside of me because a 'lost dog' might also mean 'terrible owner'.
If you love your dog, it loves you and will never run away. My last dog (God rest his soul) could patiently sit outside our house for hours waiting for our return (unleashed mind you). Routinely if members of my family left the house and I was still home, sleeping in bed till noon; he went into a howling fit. I could also leave a plate full of food lying on the floor and he would never eat it unless I let him.
This is what has surprised me so much about the animals over here. The dogs love their owners immensely, which says a lot about the Japanese. Toy dogs I once hated in the US have a different personality here. Its like someone gave all these pomeranians and terriers a bunch of drugs. They just watch you walk past their house without barking, give you a little wag of the
tail, and thats it. Actually, I haven't heard toy dog bark since I've been here.
Toy dogs are generally the worst in the US. Something I could set you down for a few hours and talk to you about. Overall though, dogs over here are awesome.
Of course there are differences but none of them are all that negative. There are fewer larger
breeds of dogs over here. You're less likely to see anything bigger than a lab. It all makes sense when you look at the bigger picture of SPACE. Who can own a husky and own the area they need to roam? I haven't came across a dog park either. Which is sad because it would be a great place to see dogs and get some digits.
I think that is all I have to say about dogs. If there is anything I would suggest. I think it would be to read the story about Hachiko. Japan's most famous dog. His story has a lot to say about loyalty, patience, and will make you cry your self to sleep for nights to come.
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