Tsume - joined the pack on the 9th July 2021.

Tsume is our second imported Hokkaido Ken, journeying to the UK all the way from the Czech Republic. Tsume was born at kennel Bezdrevská perla to mummy Aja and daddy Eiji. We are very thankful to Tsume's breeder for allowing him to travel all the way to the UK to become part of our Hokkaido family and hope that he will be a great addition to the Hokkaido gene pool in the future.

Tsume was named after the Wolf's Rain character (Japanese kanji: ツメ) and in tribute to his big 'brother', Kiba, who he will never get to meet. In literal translation, Tsume means 'claw'.

Tsume is a boisterous and confident dog who often uses his size to his advantage when playing with the smaller girls (although Princess is more than happy to remind him of his manners). He exhibits the typical Hokkaido wariness of strangers and while he is happy to approach and say hello to some people, he very much prefers to be the one to take the first step and initiate contact. He is a handsome lad and a head-turner and his cheeky personality has gathered him a few fans when he's out and about. He enjoys making new canine friends, but can be a little overbearing with his greetings, offering a 'Hokkaido Hug' rather than a polite exchange of sniffs!

We are very pleased to have had the opportunity to import this beautiful boy as he is also DNA tested and is CEA clear. Tsume's hip and elbow scores both came back satisfactory and we are pleased to offer Tsume at stud to approved girls. Feel free to contact us if you would like to see copies of his (or any of our dogs') health certificates.

Tsume has mostly retired from ambassadorial duties as a meet-and-greet dog - the atmosphere and meeting so many strange people over long and tiring days weren't his favourite thing, so he will leave it to the dogs who are more at ease and happy with that kind of busy environment! Tsume loves getting out and about on the Salisbury Plain, his favourite pastimes are digging holes, wallowing in puddles (though he doesn't swim, he loves to splash and paddle) and shouting at wildlife. Down at the secure fields, he can most often be found zooming around as fast as possible while Chuuya chases him around - he is by far the fastest Hokkaido we have and has clearly earned his nickname 'Zoom-Zoom'!

Tsume is Embark DNA tested: click here!

(Some photos from Tsume's breeder Marie Štumbaerová - Bezdrevská perla)