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The Akitas at SunoJo
In 2001, we ceased breeding Akitas. Large litters, too many
dogs in rescue, too few good homes were all contributing factors.
I feel a great sense of satisfaction with the progress we
made in health and temperament, and refining the qualities
of type that so distinguish this marvelous breed. This page
is a retrospective look back at where we started.
Starting in obedience, we soon ventured into the conformation
ring, and the rest is history. Over the next 30 years, our
Akitas introduced us to all aspects of the dog fancy: conformation,
obedience, agility, breeding, public education, health issues,
etc, etc. Our Akitas were known for their temperaments and
soundness, and we were very proud to have bred BISS winners
in both the US and Canada, as well as group placers, numerous
champions, and best of all, beloved companions that consistently
upheld the breed standard of loyalty, bravery, and intelligence.
The Akita became part of our lives in 1974, before the breed
was officially recognized in Canada. "Tamyu" was
a shaded black bitch of Triple K lines. In early 1975, as
soon as the breed was recognized, Tamyu and I entered our
first sanction match, winning a Group First, and I was addicted!
We bred Tamyu only once, and kept a shaded black boy, who
went on to become Canadian Champion Okuma-Za the Shining Star,
C.D. "Kuma" was the second Akita in Canada to earn
both his championship and an obedience title; He also won
over many fans with his calm, imposing presence. Kuma was
everything an Akita should be: loving, protective-but-sensible,
intelligent, with a wry sense of humour. Our oldest daughter
Courtney learned to walk while clinging to his neck, and he
was a patient pillow while she slept snuggled up to him. When
he was lost in an accident, I could not imagine any dog ever
being able to replace him. But In 1981, a pretty little fawn
daughter of the famous Sachmo came to live with us. She became
Canadian Champion Kakwa’s Kobe, High in Obedience Trial
Match, and a much loved member of the family who in turn helped
raise Rowan, our junior handler. She was bred once, to Champion
Langan’s Takiba Drift (Kuno) who was the only producing
son of Am/CanCh Langan’s Karate Drift, ROM and the lovely
import Megami. We kept/co-owned 2 bitches out of this litter,
and they formed the foundation on which SunoJo was built -
sound in body, sound in mind.
The 1980's were spent building on our foundation: concentrating
on soundness and good temperament, sometimes sacrificing showiness
for good companion qualities. Indeed, we never bred for the
show ring - fads come and go every couple of seasons, but
you have to live with your Akita for years! We had done the
initial breeding to Kuno largely because of his mother - I
have always admired the Japanese type. Over the years, we
looked for males that offered this look or the genes to produce
it - as well as being of wonderful temperament and sound.
No easy task - and consequently, we did not do a lot of breeding.
I knew what I wanted, and in 1987, I found him: American/Canadian
Champion Dune’s Duncan Idaho combined beautifully with
our girls - his brilliant coarse brindle coat, tremendous
head with the correct eyes and ears, and wonderful attitude
were his outstanding qualities.
In 1991, we bought a gawky four month old boy with a completely
different pedigree - hoping he would grow into something that
could further our goal of Japanese type with more substance
and stronger movement. Canadian Champion Sanmark’s Sunsation
No SunoJo matured into a striking white faced red, that was
strong, agile (definitely not the dumpy type) and again, a
marvelous temperament. We did not breed Sunny a lot, but his
kids figure prominently in our pedigrees.
We were fortunate in having access to quality imports - and
they combined very well with our Duncan and Sunny bloodlines.
We incorporated Unryu and Benimaru, long before the term "blend"
was used to describe combining the best of American and Japanese
bloodlines. We are happy to report that this combining of
types and bloodlines produced not just healthy, sound, and
happy Akitas, but dogs that met with both judges and other
breeders' approval - dogs that enjoyed success in the show
ring, and become part of established breeding programs.
One of our last litters, an Unryu son bred to our Sunny
daughter Toga produced what I think was our best litter. Three
boys were shown:
- Ch. SunoJo's Red Devil - "Devlin"
finished out of the junior puppy class, was reserve winners
dog at a large supported entry at 7 months, and Best Opposite
Sex in the Canadian National Puppy Sweeps.
- BISS Am/Can/Int Ch SunoJo's Red
Menace AOM, "Dennis". Best of Opposite Sex at
the 1999 Akita Club of America National Specialty, where
he also won the coveted Breeder's Cup. He is co-owned with
Bergit Hopkins of Puderbach Akitas.
- BISS Am/Can Ch. SunoJo's Red Sun
Rising AOM, "Donald". One of the few Akitas to
win a Specialty in both Canada and the US. After winning
his first Specialty, he went on to live with Carol Parker
and Bill Bobrow.
As of June 2001, these dogs owned and/or bred by SunoJo have
earned titles (in chronological order):
Ch. Okuma-Za the Shining Star C.D.
Ch. Kakwa’s Kobe
Ch. SunoJo’s Kita No Hono C.D. (13 US points, 3 majors)
Ch. SunoJo’s Kisaki
Ch. SunoJo’s Kami No Gin
Ch. SunoJo’s Hana-Ko
Ch. SunoJo’s One Night in Bangkok
Ch. SunoJo’s Raspberry Beret
SunoJo’s Mi-Ko C.D.
Can Ch. SunoJo’s Renegade Ruffian
Am/Can/Mex/Int Ch. SunoJo’s Ruffian of Cajun
Am/Can Ch. Dune’s Duncan Idaho
Am/Can Ch. SunoJo’s Go Supersonic
Am/Can Ch. SunoJo’s Gotta Getta Gund
BISS Am/Can Ch SunoJo’s Nakama No Yewberry
Ch. Sanmark’s Sunsation No SunoJo
Ch. SunoJo’s Chuck Berry
Ch. Jade-Shoguns Beni Tori
Ch. Sunsplendor Kami
Ch. SunoJo’s Stars ‘n Stripes
Ch. SunoJo’s Ripple Rock
Ch. SunoJo’s Technicolour Tiger
Ch. Katana No Keke No SunoJo
Ch. SunoJo’s Black Ice
Ch. SunoJo’s Blackberry Pi
Ch. SunoJo’s Crystalline Sun
Ch. SunoJo’s Red Devil
BISS Am/Can Ch. SunoJo’s Red Dawn Rising
BISS Am/Can/Int Ch. SunoJo’s Red Menace AOM
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