KISHU KEN: BREED HEALTH

​While the Kishu Ken is a generally healthy breed there are some known health concerns. The majority of individuals with health issues (by owner report) are generally troubled by minor to moderate food and environmental allergies. Less common than allergies are reports of hypothyroidism, Addison's disease, entropion, and cancers that are more likely to appear in older and elderly dogs. Autoimmune conditions such as lupus that may result in inflammation and/or sores have also been observed.
One of the goals of the club is to promote the breeding of healthy, active Kishu Ken and be as transparent as possible about health concerns. We provide data and recommendation where possible on what breeders and owners can do to mitigate and combat them while also maintaining population size and diversity.
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Hip x-ray on an 8 year old Kishu Ken

National Kishu Ken Club Health Testing Statement

Health Testing: Article I: Overview
  1. Overview. The Kishu Ken is a generally healthy breed with little current evidence of joint  or other physical deformities. Breed health issues are few, but exist mostly in the realm of the autoimmune system, eyes, and skin health. Breed-specific illnesses and other deformities that appear in the breed will be listed in this document.
  2. Regulation. The National Kishu Club does not currently have a health testing policy that requires breeders perform testing before breeding. However, the National Kishu Club demands that breeders are transparent and open with their puppy buyers about breed health and give full disclosure on what is known about their stock to prospective puppy homes. Breeders who are not open, honest, and transparent with puppy buyers may be found to be in breach of the Code of Ethics, Bylaws, and Constitution.
  3. Recommended tests.
    1. Genetic screening (Optimal Selection, Embark, UC Davis, etc) (OFA DNA repository CHIC recommended)
    2. Thyroid evaluation (OFA) (CHIC required)
    3. Dentition (OFA) (CHIC required)​
    4. Eye evaluation (OFA) (CHIC required)
  4. Additional tests.
    1. Elbow evaluation (OFA) (CHIC optional)
    2. Hip evaluation (OFA, BVA, PennHip) (CHIC optional)
    3. Knee evaluation (OFA) (CHIC optional)​​
    4. Cardiac Auscultation (OFA)
Article II: Autoimmune Health 
Allergies and autoimmune illnesses are sometimes observed in the Kishu Ken.
  1. Allergies. Current data (in an owner-reported survey) suggests that as much as 30% of Kishu Ken have experienced inflammation of the skin and 40% of Kishu Ken have experienced itching in patterned behavior. Allergies are generally associated with depressed immune health and can be strongly correlated with limited diversity in the breed. Allergies are not directly or traditionally heritable from sire/dam to offspring, and it is not the statement of the National Kishu Club to expel dogs suffering from allergies from the genepool. Allergy dogs should be intelligently paired to avoid inbreeding on any ancestors when possible, and create offspring as diverse as possible, which may avoid allergies in future generations. Allergies generally appear in adolescent and adult dogs.
  2. Hypothyroidism is sometimes seen in Japanese dogs and the Kishu is not an exception. Hypothyroidism is most commonly caused by Autoimmune Thyroiditis, an autoimmune condition that can be screened for in parent dogs and has been discovered in the Kishu Ken. Autoimmune Thyroiditis is genetic. This is a recommended test for the Kishu Ken. Symptoms of hypothyroidism may not appear until after 5-6 years old when the thyroid fails in dogs with Autoimmune Thyroiditis, thus it is the position of the National Kishu Club to recommend testing for this illness with an OFA thyroid panel in breeding dogs. Two known Kishu Ken autoimmune illnesses can be comorbid with this hereditary condition once the thyroid fails.
  • Comorbid & Independently Observed Conditions:
    • Addison’s Disease. The inheritance mode of Addison’s Disease is not clearly understood but, as a policy of caution, any dog suffering from a diagnosed autoimmune illness should be removed from prospective breeding. Addison’s disease may only be screened for in individuals at or after the onset of symptoms. Symptoms generally manifest in adult dogs 2 years of age to 5 years of age.
    • Systemic Lupus Erythematosus. If your Kishu has severe allergy-like symptoms which may appear as sores on the nose and mouth, sores on the feet, hair loss in these areas, and severe reoccurring dermatitis, please speak to your veterinarian about SLE. There is no current preventative test for SLE in breeding dogs.
      • Immune Mediated Polyarthritis has appeared in conjunction with SLE in Kishu Ken in the past. IMPA is also observed in the Kishu Ken's sibling breed, the Shikoku Ken. IMPA may be diagnosed as panosteitis (growing pains) in young dogs. If your dog has swelling of the joints or occasional limping, it may be worth bringing your concerns to a veterinarian if tick-borne illnesses and accidents have been ruled out.
Article III: Eye Deformities
  1. Persistent Pupillary Membrane or PPM is an uncommon Kishu Ken deformity of the eye. These are membranes that failed to disappear by 5 weeks of age, when nutrients stop being carried to the developing eye. These membranes generally cause no issue to the Kishu’s sight but can become problematic depending on location. PPM may be seen on a standard manual eye exam. The inheritance mode of PPM is not entirely understood, and it is not the policy of the NAKC to expel dogs exhibiting PPM from breeding due to its relatively benign nature. (This call is up to an individual breeder and what they feel comfortable producing.) However, PPM does appear generational in some pedigrees.
  2. Entropion is a rare deformity of the eyelid in Kishu Ken where the eyelid rolls inward and scratches the eyeball, causing inflammation and conjunctivitis over time. Entropion almost always needs surgery to correct. This deformity is sometimes caused due to the shape of the Kishu’s eye (that of a tight triangle) and dogs diagnosed with entropion are not recommended to be used for breeding. Entropion is easily evaluated via a standard eye exam. This is a recommended exam for Kishu Ken.​
Article IV: Joint Deformities
  1. Elbow deformities are among the most diagnosed joint deformities seen in Kishu Ken. Over the population of radiographed individuals this diagnosis is still rare. A type of elbow deformity called FCP (Fragmented Corornoid Process) has been diagnosed in Kishu Ken in the past. Elbow evaluations are among the National Kishu Club’s optional tests based on this data. Elbows may become a more pressing breed health concern with future data. This information may be seen via radiograph and evaluated through health databases such as the OFA.
  2. Hip deformities are currently rare among Kishu Ken, and no Kishu Ken currently known has ever received a dysplastic rating when evaluated. The majority of evaluated Kishu Ken receive excellent (A/A) or good to fair (B/B) ratings in the OFA or FCI system when evaluated by radiograph. Because of this data, evaluation of the hips via radiograph should be a case by case basis, optional to the breeder or owner. It is Nihon Ken Hozonkai standard to fault dogs with hip deformities and the National Kishu Club respects the NIPPO standard.
  3. Knee deformities are likewise uncommon. This is an optional test that can be performed via articulation and/or radiograph, evaluated by the OFA.
  4. Odd joint deformities are rarely seen, such as dysplasia of the joints of the toe. If a dog is excessively foot-shy or otherwise symptomatic, it is recommended they be screened or evaluated by a veterinarian.
  5. Joint deformities are not always clearly heritable, nor do minor deformities impact the quality of life in a medium sized, athletic dog breed. The National Kishu Ken Club leaves final say up to the breeder to determine if a dog diagnosed with a deformity in the joints should be retained for breeding. All things equal with consideration to the infrequent appearance of joint deformities, when deciding between a dog with joint deformities or one that is deformity free, preference should be given to the healthy dog.
Article V: Growth Deformities
  1. Dentition. A dog with genetically missing teeth is in conflict with the Kishu Ken standard where missing teeth are penalized. A count can be provided through the OFA and is recommended to be performed on a young adult. Good Kishu teeth should not fall out due to injury but may become chipped.
  2. Malocclusion. Underbites or overbites are a developmental deformity that can be genetic. Dogs exhibiting malocclusions are disqualified from the conformation ring. As malocclusions may have a genetic component and may be indicative of a skeletal deformity, it is not recommended to breed dogs with malocclusions. Mandibular mesioclusion (underbites) have been observed. This is not likely to cause an impact on a dog’s quality of life in the Kishu Ken, and mandibular mesioclusions that have been seen are very minor.
  3. Kinked tails. Kinked tails are sometimes observed in Kishu Ken through birth defect or breaks. Kinked tails are discouraged in the breed and disqualified in the show ring. This can be seen upon exam and does not impact the dog’s quality of life. A severely kinked tail may also be a spinal deformity and affected dogs may be radiographed for OFA spine out of an abundance of caution.
  4. Monorchidism is rare in the Kishu Ken but has been reported. 
Article V: Temperament
Any excessively shy or aggressive dogs are a disqualification in the show ring. Temperament should not be evaluated until mature. Kishu Ken are slow-maturing domestic dogs and may not be settled until 2-5 years of age. It is recommended that dogs with questionable temperaments avoid breeding until such a time when they may be properly evaluated. Lenience may be given to dogs who may not have received adequate socialization as a youngster in breeding prospects.
Article VI: Genetic Health
Maintaining genetic diversity and health is among the National Kishu Club’s mission statement. The National Kishu Club recognizes that it is not in the best interest of the genepool to base an individual dog’s place in the genepool and breeding purely on the black and white meter of health testing. Health testing should be used first and foremost to gain knowledge, but health and diversity must always be in balance.
Published March 27th, 2019. Last updated November 18th, 2020.