The beginnings
Kennel Hoshi No Tama has been registered in 2016 under F.C.I. Number 70/16, but our love for shiba`s started years ago. We frequently visited dog shows, and after a period of deliberation and consideration in choosing the right breed for us, we decided on primitive breeds.
When we dicsovered shiba – the national treasure of Japan, we absolutely fell in love with the breed, and decided to get apuppy as soon as we have secured suitable conditions . In April 2015, Nari arrived hence our adventure started. The first months of our coexistence were quite challenging, as the literature cannot illustrate adequately just how stubborn and temperamental young shiba can be.
No matter how prepared you are, researching the breed and corresponding advice on raising puppies– shiba often finds a way to surprise you. Consistency, lots of positive training and good sense of humor are the main guidelines for surviving the first few months with the young shiba; all the effort one puts into socialising and training your pup will be worth your while.
Passion & hobby
Soon we got involved with dog showing, where we achieved great results, with added bonus ofmeetinga lot of like-minded people who share our love of dogs. After a year, we decided that one shiba is simply not enough; soon after, our amazing Yazu joined our family, from famous kennel Mara-shimas . Nari and Yazu have become multiple champions in beauty, but most importantly,they are loving pets and family members to whom we dedicate all of our free time.
Dog breeding is primarily our passion as well as hobby, accordingly our kennel will develop in that direction. We will only produce a litter when we are confident that we can completely devote ourselves to the socialization and upbringing of the puppies. Puppies are raised in our living room,and we put a lot of effort in early neurological stimulation and exposing puppies to variety of sounds and different situations.
Our dogs have health tests that are not mandatory for this breed in Croatia (hips, elbows, and complete DNA analysis), but we think it is extremely important to make these tests for breeding healthy puppies and for betterment of the breed . We hope this site will be interesting to all shiba fans in Croatia and beyond, and assist in gaining further information about this truly special breed.
Name inspiration
Kennel name Hoshi No Tama – in translation – star balls, was inspired by our first shiba Nari, who was named after the Japanese goddess Inari. The goddess is known for her messengers– the foxes (kitsune), who always feature with their magic balls – Hoshi No Tama – which they carry in their mouths, or on their tail.
The legend says that the balls contain magical powers and the soul of the fox itself, and if a man takes hold of a Hoshi No Tama, the kitsune will fulfill any wish in order to retrieve its magic ball. Our little ‘fox’ Nari adores her ball just like kitsune from the legend…