Mieko has managed to endear himself to us after quite a rough start. However, who could not like that face after all...and he's such a humble dog. He won't even enter the house without permission. He's been a stubborn student but has learned to be eager to please and is a total gentleman when in the house and especially with the kids. He is completely wrapped around the pinky of my six year old daughter..he absolutely fawns over her and believes my son is there for his own personal television watching pleasure as they both enjoy the same cartoons. As we have come to know Mieko and as he as grown, we are discovering he isn't just two breeds but appears to be a mix of several "Elkhound" type breeds..From Akita to Scottish deer hound. We aren't sure on them all, but he fits the bill for many of them...oh and he's now somewhere between 150 and 190lbs. He's got at least a year of growing to do..hmm...we are looking at him maxing out at 200 (we hope). He's adjusted to being a sled dog, and learned to look forward to picking the kids up from school with the dog sled that my husband built. We all pile on, (or at least three of us..two on the front and one hanging (or dangling) for dear life from the back usually.) He's learned that as long as he does well that the need for a leash is minimal, and that as long as he obeys when we ask him to slow down that when hooked to the sled he's free to run and run and run. He's even learning to keep his brain going in the same direction as his feet....sigh....its his last major obstacle to being almost perfectly behaved at least when hooked to a sled. (And at just over a year old we expect this to be the case for at least a few more months.).