Welcome back one and all to my "Getting to know" series on my 2 Akitas Kiyoshi and Keiko! Today we explore the beginnings of Keiko, how she came to be, how she came to ME, and learn about her sassy and loving personality! Let us take a fun image filled journey as we get to know:
Keiko! (Pictured here at 10 weeks old)
Keiko was born in July of 2017. The daughter of my male Kiyoshi, and a local Akita kennel owners dame Nalah. From the get-go Keiko has always been a pup who LOVES affection, she will lick you to no end for a good scratch behind the ear, but don't be fooled, she is an Akita through and through and as I learned early she can rough and tumble with the best of em' ! Unlike Kiyoshi who always preferred hardwood temperate floors and tiles, Keiko is all about that plushy goodness that you can only find from a high quality dog bed or the occasional attempt at getting onto a people bed :
(Me want bed!)
Even if we fast forward a couple years:
(Me still want bed!)
But let's back it up again. So if you've been following along in the series and read the previous entries then you know that I originally decided to stud out Kiyoshi in the hopes of finding him some long term "Dogpanionship" and as the last picture in that post indicated I am happy to say that yes Keiko has been a stunning success in that regard. Kiyoshi and Keiko have gotten along great ever since she was a little pupper:
( Kiyoshi thinking : "Wot is dawter???")
That's not to say there haven't been a couple hundred kerfuffles and scuffles over the last 2 years, but I am now officially convinced that Kiyoshi loves Keiko dearly, as he has never harmed her, and proceeds to let her bite and paw the stuffing out of him with massive restraint, he actually enjoys it alot of the time lol. During adolescence it actually got to the point we had to get a little strict on Keiko because she started turning into a big bully, intercepting Kiyoshi's "Petting time" with me, or brushing time, or sometimes even barring him from entering a room altogether. Yet Kiyoshi endured, and never seriously retaliated, even when being completely instigated and taunted by the sassy princess. Yes it would seem Keiko was here to stay, and Kiyoshi couldn't be happier, I guess pops was right about him wanting a furry friend after all!
(Never far apart)
(Kiyoshi left, Keiko right, 130 lb and 85 lb respectively)
Unlike Kiyoshi, Keiko has never known life without a yard, but still loves being outside with her Dad roughing it up!
Plenty more to come in part 2, thanks for reading and as always :