[kerisb]

Just an update, things around here have not gotten any easier. My daughter had decided to put Diablo down, but the ministry came by and told us we had to keep Diablo for 10 days , so they could make sure he wasn't sick. Well the 10 days have came and gone. Diablo is still healthy.
We have talked to many vets and behavourial specialists, and they allsay same thing, that once an Akita bites, it will bite again, and again. Also seems that no one (around here anyways) wants anything to do with an agressive Akita.
I just find it very hard to understand how or why Diablo turned agressive towards people. He was always happy and loved to meet people, he was laways the first one at the door to greet anyone and give them a huge kiss. He is still very, very loving to the four of us that live in this house but will not tolerate any strangers or even people he knows for that matter.
As i mentioned earlier my daughter is moving in a month and will have children with her at least every second weekend so her keeping him is not an option. As for me keeping him I am a shift worker, and like I have said Diablo is a very smart, quick learner, but I also know that in order to train him I need to be with him alot, and because of my work I can only be with him a couple of days at a time then will be away from him for days at a time.
I would like to thank eveyone that responded to this thread for your support. Like I have mentioned I have never been much of a dog person, but Diablo stole my heart when we first met and he still has it.
I am going to try and attach some pics her so you guys can relate to Diablo!!
Thanks, again. Monday is when we are putting him down and it will be a very sad day here indeed!!

Ohhh Kerisb, im sorry you have to make this call!

Its really big, and really tough.

Beutiful pics thanks for sharing some of your special moments.........and thanks for sharing your tough one too!

My heart goes out to you... My thoughts will be with you on Monday.

[reeskujo]

First let me say that I'm very sorry for what your going through....

Akita's generally do not warn before they bite so as far as that goes that was not unusual on his part.....They also tend to not do well with children other then the ones in their home especially smaller ones.....Akita's need a very firm owner and very strict rules and boundries.....As nattie said they need intensive training and consistent disipline.....Having raised this breed for almost 20yr.s I can tell you that IMO it sounds like he sees himself as the leader and the one who's in charge and therefore is trying to make the choice as to who he wants in the house and who he doesn't.....Having only your explanation to go by it sounds like for whatever reason he did not want those people in your home and took it upon himself to try and get rid of them....An Akita who is people aggressive will generally try and bite anyone.....As for him snapping at your daughter when she tried to pull him away he probably didn't realize it was her and since they do not tolerate physical correction he snapped until he realized it was her....It's a shame that you can't find someone to take him because it sounds like if he could be placed in a home with no children and being he's so young with a firm owner and someone who has the time to give him the intensive training they require he could probably be turned around....I wish you all the best of luck and again I'm sorry for your situation.

I'm so sorry. I actually can't find anything else to say. I had to put my dog down (not due to aggressive behavior, he was struck by a car in my OWN YARD) and he was unable to be stabalized. It was the most painful decision i've had to make in my life. I can't say it was the hardest.. because it was very easy to do the right thing. It just hurt like hell.

[kerisb]

Thank you, everyone for all your warm thoughts. A great update for now, we didn't put Diablo down, just couldn't do it without trying harder to see if we can help him. He is like a son to my daughter and a grandson to me! I seriously thought of keeping him myself, but I know that he needs more training than I have time to give him, since I am only home 4 days a week, and the weeks I work nights I will have no time for him. We have been training him firmly since the bites and he has done very well with the training and discipline. So for now the plan is that he will move with my daughter and they are going to try crate training him in his own room, and put a muzzle on him when around people, hopefully this will work out well. And then every second weekend he will come back here and I can babysit him.
And thank you so much Nattiej1976 your story gave me some hope that we may be able to turn this around. After reading intensively about Akitas we realize some mistakes we have made with Diablo. We treated him more like a person than a dog,and with this breed that turns out to be a huge mistake. It is still very hard not to spoil him, but we have to realize that he is a dog and not a person, and we can't take for granted that he will like everyone.

Originally Posted by kerisb

Thank you, everyone for all your warm thoughts. A great update for now, we didn't put Diablo down, just couldn't do it without trying harder to see if we can help him. He is like a son to my daughter and a grandson to me! I seriously thought of keeping him myself, but I know that he needs more training than I have time to give him, since I am only home 4 days a week, and the weeks I work nights I will have no time for him. We have been training him firmly since the bites and he has done very well with the training and discipline. So for now the plan is that he will move with my daughter and they are going to try crate training him in his own room, and put a muzzle on him when around people, hopefully this will work out well. And then every second weekend he will come back here and I can babysit him.
And thank you so much Nattiej1976 your story gave me some hope that we may be able to turn this around. After reading intensively about Akitas we realize some mistakes we have made with Diablo. We treated him more like a person than a dog,and with this breed that turns out to be a huge mistake. It is still very hard not to spoil him, but we have to realize that he is a dog and not a person, and we can't take for granted that he will like everyone.

You have no idea just how happy I am to hear this news!

I feel that you'll are doing a wonderful thing by taking the time to work with him, as I believe that ANY dog can be trained to overcome any behavior if even time is taken to train the dog properly. Akita's are a very smart breed, and unfortunately.... spoiling them really isn't a good idea. You have to show him that you are the "pack leader", and it sounds like he feels that he is the "pack leader". Hopefully, with a little time and training, everything will turn out well. Below are some links to websites that I found helpful, hopefully they can provide you with a little more information.

When Things Go Wrong with Training Your Aggressive Dog | k9aggression.com
Aggressive Dog Information
Training An Aggressive Dog

I wish you the very best of luck!

YAY!!!!kerisb you had me jumping out of my chair when i read your post.

Your daughter will find that she does have a long haul ahead. In making this decision, she will always have to be diligent and always have eyes in the back of her head when it comes to diablo, but it does not mean that he is not capable of being a wonderful companion when with his own family.

[lil mutt]

Sudden change in behavior or aggression can be caused by health issues. Vet consultation is highly advised in such cases.

[kerisb]

Just a wuick update on Diablo. He is still with us, my daughter moved this weekend and until tonight Diablo is still with me. I will miss him when she comes to get him. But we bought a great muzzle for him, and it seems to calm him right down when we put it on him, actually seems to depress him a bit, but he has gotten use to it. My daighter's new place also has a room in the basement that htey are going to try to sort of crate train him to, for when people come over. For now he will probably be coming to my place every second weekend and I will babysit him, which makes me very happy. He has come a long way with some of his training, he is getting good at staying when told, and when he enters a room that he shouldn't like the kitchen he leaves immediatley when told to. We have learnt not to greet him when we first enter the house and let him calm down and he is doing pretty good in that regard. Sometimes I think the training is harder on the person than the animal. But I am grateful that he is still with us,he really is a joy for me to be around!!