​Ounoki Kensha (王の木犬舎) is a small preservation breeder of Kai Ken, located in Shropshire.
The name 'Ounoki' (王の木) means 'The Tree of the King', and is a homage to our hometown, and where our kennel first began. Legend says that King Oswald of Northumbria was killed in battle against King Penda in the battle of Maserfield. The story tells that King Oswald's body was dismembered and hung from an ash tree, giving the town it's name of Oswestry (Oswald's Tree). As well as the name, our kennel logo features a Kai who's stripes resemble the leaves of an ash tree

© Dahlie Dog Studios

With only a tiny number of known Kai Ken currently residing in the UK, our focus is to not only support future Kai owners, but to fight for breed recognition within the Royal Kennel Club. Our dream is to help with the preservation and future of the Kai Ken by educating and introducing people to these beautiful Japanese breeds. Our aims are to breed healthy and sound Kai Ken following the breed standard to produce confident, active companions.

Our Goals

All of our dogs are health tested with Embark, BVA and OFA, and we aim to achieve CHIC on every dog we own and produce. We aim to produce the healthiest and happiest Kai that we can, while breeding to the breed standard.
We hold an associate membership with the Irish Kennel Club, meaning all of our dogs are registered with FCI through the Irish Kennel Club. This means they can be shown in European shows, as well as be used for breeding to other European dogs. In the future, we would like to import and focus on working with Kai Ken Aigokai registered dogs too.

We hold the kennel name of 'Ounoki'  with The Kennel Club and the Irish Kennel Club (FCI), and are extremely proud to hold the kennel name 王の木犬舎 (Ounoki Kensha) with the Kai Ken Aigokai 甲斐犬愛護会 as 犬舎号 #3308.

We are proud to support diversity. Your identity matters to us.

Proud to be a member of the Kai Ken Club of Great Britain