KENAI
Hokkaido

The breeds · northern

AKC Foundation Stock Service · UKC Northern Breed · FCI standard 261

Hokkaido.

FCI 261 utilization: hunting dog, companion; the Ainu bred the dogs for hunting bears and other animals. NIPPO: the original purpose was hunting the wild animals of Hokkaido's vast spaces, a hunting dog that takes on brown bears as well as other animals, though its personality is not dissimilar to a typical Nihon Ken. NIPPO hunting page: the medium-sized Nihon Ken (Kishu, Shikoku, Kai, Hokkaido) have mainly been used for large birds and animals such as bears, wild boars and deer. HANA: the Ainu used the dogs to hunt bear and other large game, and the Ainu were bear and deer hunters by culture; today in Japan the breed is mostly a watch dog and companion but is still tested against bears in a controlled setting. Wikipedia: the breed helped search for survivors of an army regiment caught in snow in the Hakkoda Mountains in 1902..

Breed sets the odds. The parents set the dog. Every number here shows its source, its spread and how sure we are. Nothing on this page is a prediction about one dog.

0INHeightdogs null, bitches null. An ideal from the standard, not a range.
30–66LBWeight, all linesbreed 30 to 66 lb.

The body

What the breed is built like. Registry standards give an ideal, not a range.

Height at the shoulder

dogs 18 to 21.7 in · bitches 16.9 to 20.5 in

Breed clubFederation Cynologique Internationale, 2016

No single ideal (NIPPO 49 cm against FCI's range). AKC/HANA 18 to 20 in lies within.

Weight

30 to 66 lb

Breed clubAKC

Sources are not split by sex and disagree sharply (HANA 30 to 45 against AKC 44 to 66); both stand and the span covers both.

Coat

FCI: outer coat harsh and straight, undercoat soft and dense, hair on the tail fairly long and off-standing; sesame, brindle, red, black, black and tan, white; pinto is a fault. NIPPO: dense fur and small thick ears born of the harsh Hokkaido environment; most dogs red, white increasing. HANA: short double coat, harsh guard hair over a very thick soft undercoat, very heavy shedders; do not shave. Wikipedia: long stiff outer coat over a shorter soft coat.

Breed clubFederation Cynologique Internationale, 2016

Wikipedia's 'long' and HANA/FCI's 'short' or unspecified length are shown as printed.

Shedding

Shedding 3 of 5 (AKC breed page trait score)

Breed clubAKC

AKC breed page trait score, 1 to 5: a breed-club tendency, never a measurement.

Heat tolerance

3 of 5 · Double coat: harsh straight outer coat over soft dense undercoat (FCI); HANA warns that shaving does not keep the dog cooler.

DerivedFederation Cynologique Internationale, 2016

Derived from the coat description (medium double = 3). No measured data.

The dog at home

What the breed asks of a day. The first thing most homes get wrong.

Exercise need

AKC breed page: Energy Level 4 of 5, Mental Stimulation Needs 4. HANA: an active breed that needs a great deal of exercise daily, should be given a job (hunting, agility, obedience).

Breed clubAKC

AKC bands and breed-club text; no minutes-per-day band published.

Energy

AKC breed page: Energy Level 4, Playfulness 3, Trainability 4, Barking Level 3, Affectionate With Family 5, Openness To Strangers 3, Good With Other Dogs 3, Watchdog/Protective Nature 5. FCI: faithful, docile, very alert and bold, with great stamina. HANA: loyal, intelligent and independent, separation anxiety seen by owners, dog aggression (particularly intact males) fairly common, human aggression rare.

Breed clubAKC

AKC bands, not measured.

Grooming load

2 of 5

Breed clubAKC

AKC breed page trait score, 1 to 5: a breed-club tendency, never a measurement.

Grooming

AKC breed page: Coat Grooming Frequency 2 of 5, Shedding Level 3, Drooling Level 2. HANA: regular brushing to remove dead hair, little bathing needed, very heavy shedders like all spitz; never shave.

Breed clubAKC

AKC bands. HANA's 'very heavy shedders' stands beside the AKC Shedding Level 3.

The work

What it was built to do in the field, and what a test or trial asks of it.

Role

FCI 261 utilization: hunting dog, companion; the Ainu bred the dogs for hunting bears and other animals. NIPPO: the original purpose was hunting the wild animals of Hokkaido's vast spaces, a hunting dog that takes on brown bears as well as other animals, though its personality is not dissimilar to a typical Nihon Ken. NIPPO hunting page: the medium-sized Nihon Ken (Kishu, Shikoku, Kai, Hokkaido) have mainly been used for large birds and animals such as bears, wild boars and deer. HANA: the Ainu used the dogs to hunt bear and other large game, and the Ainu were bear and deer hunters by culture; today in Japan the breed is mostly a watch dog and companion but is still tested against bears in a controlled setting. Wikipedia: the breed helped search for survivors of an army regiment caught in snow in the Hakkoda Mountains in 1902.

Breed clubFederation Cynologique Internationale, 2016

UKC has no page for the Hokkaido under the names tried. Editorial views are shown beside the standard, labelled; where they disagree both stand (Chad, Oct 8 2026).

Primary game

NIPPO: brown bear and other wild animals of Hokkaido. FCI: bears and other animals. HANA: bear and other large game; deer. NIPPO hunting page: bears, wild boars and deer for the medium-sized group.

Breed clubNihon Ken Hozonkai (NIPPO)

Editorial views are shown beside the standard, labelled; where they disagree both stand (Chad, Oct 8 2026).

Also used on

HANA: pulling sleds and searching for army survivors caught in snow storms in the Hakkoda range (1902; also in Wikipedia); a hunter's dog for deer as well as bear. NIPPO hunting page: large birds, wild boar and deer for the medium-sized Nihon Ken as a group.

EditorialHokkaido Association of North America (HANA)

Group statement from NIPPO is not specific to the Hokkaido. Editorial views are shown beside the standard, labelled; where they disagree both stand (Chad, Oct 8 2026).

Search pattern

HANA: the Hokkaido Ken Hozonkai (DOKENHO, founded 1954) sanctions bear instinct tests in which a dog is shown a live bear, tethered or caged, and scored on movement, reaction and overall hunting drive. NIPPO hunting page: its 2024 Hunting Ability Research session at Hachimantai, Iwate focused on bears, with 12 medium-sized dogs (Kishu, Shikoku, Kai, Hokkaido) and 17 Shiba; the chairman noted many of the medium-sized dogs were interested in bears. HANA: given their hunting background Hokkaido can be small animal aggressive.

Breed clubHokkaido Association of North America (HANA)

No source read describes voice, bay or pack versus single work for the Hokkaido. Editorial views are shown beside the standard, labelled; where they disagree both stand (Chad, Oct 8 2026).

Field trial standard

FCI 261: without working trial. HANA: DOKENHO bear instinct tests (live bear, scored on movement, reaction and hunting drive). NIPPO: Hunting Ability Research Committee (since 1985), sessions each April to May.

Breed clubFederation Cynologique Internationale, 2016

Japanese tests only; no North American hunting test standard was read.

Water work

HANA: the Hokkaido is the opposite of the Shiba's clean fastidiousness: it enjoys splashing in mud, swimming in creeks and rolling in grass, and the water and dirt fall off the coat. No retrieving or water-work standard was read.

EditorialHokkaido Association of North America (HANA)

Breed club description, not a work standard.

Cold water

4 of 5 · FCI: the physique 'enables it to withstand severe cold and heavy snowfalls'; dense coat; HANA: built for deep snow and rough mountain country; swims in creeks.

DerivedFederation Cynologique Internationale, 2016

Derived from the coat plus the breed's snow-country work. No measured data.

How common the problems are

Evaluated dogs skew toward breeding stock; the numbers are still the best there are.

Most common disorders

Wikipedia (citing Mizukami et al. 2017): a very high rate of collie eye anomaly, about one third of Hokkaidos affected and two thirds carriers. HANA is collecting genetic samples for study; its health page was not read.

EditorialWikipedia

Wikipedia's figure comes from a paper not read at source.

More

akc bands

AKC breed page trait scores (1-5): Energy Level 4; Mental Stimulation Needs 4; Trainability Level 4; Barking Level 3; Watchdog/Protective Nature 5; Good With Young Children 3; Openness To Strangers 3; Good With Other Dogs 3; Shedding Level 3; Coat Grooming Frequency 2; Drooling Level 2; Affectionate With Family 5; Playfulness Level 3; Adaptability Level 3.

Breed clubAKC

Fourteen AKC bands in one row; the selector reads each by name. Breed-club ratings: a tendency, never a measurement.

How to read this page

Every value carries a label. Measured means peer-reviewed data on many dogs. Studied means peer-reviewed, smaller or indirect. Breed club means a club or registry states it. Editorial means expert opinion with no measurement behind it. Where two good sources disagree, both are shown and neither is averaged.

Published when the entry rests on the best information available from no fewer than three independent sources, checked by a second pass that did not write it. 6 sources on this page. Found something wrong? Tell us and the correction is logged with its date.

Also called
Hokkaido Ken, Hokkaido Inu, Ainu Ken, Ainu dog, Dō-ken, Seta

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