Russian President Vladimir Putin has taken one of his dogs, a female Akita named Yume, to an interview with Japanese journalists in the Kremlin.

“I was told that you wanted to see my dog, Yume. You can see that she is in great shape,” Putin said.

The Russian leader received Yume in 2012 as a gift from Japan’s Akita prefecture and presented the Akita governor with a Siberian cat called Mir (Peace), TASS reports.

“This dog is an Akita from Akita Prefecture, and we are glad to see Yume happy and cheerful. However, we were a bit surprised and afraid that the beginning of the meeting would be like this,” the journalists said.

“You were right to take caution, Yume is a no-nonsense dog. There are many people here, with camcorders running, lights shining and cameras clicking. She is being a guard dog,” the president said.

He confirmed that Yume is always ready to defend him.

Putin also owns a male Bulgarian Shepherd called Buffy, presented to him by the Bulgarian prime minister in 2010.