Aloha! My Akita's name is Kau and he just turned 1. He is an extremely good natured dog and seems to like everyone - dogs, cats, adults, children. I take him to the dog park several times a week as he LOVES to play with other dogs. Recently, other male dogs in the park will start a fight with him. At first, I thought it was ok, as he was just being a dog. But it has been happening a lot more. Kau never starts the fight, but defends himself. I don't want an agressive dog on my hands and that's why I have socialized him - going to the dog park, walks, to restaurants, etc. I'd hate to have to stop taking him to the dog park as, as I said, he LOVES to play with other dogs - it's really his favorite thing! Does anyone out there have a suggestion on what to do? BTW, Kau's neutered. Thanks!! Jan

well i dont think that is a problem and i guess you should be happy for it

Kau's Mom, ofcourse your dog is going to defend himself. Akita's are NOT going to submit to other dogs. Especially as your puppy gets older. Akita's generally don't tolerate other dogs to well. Yes, you can train YOUR'S to obey commands when in public but you don't have any control over how another dog behaves towards your pooch. If another dog is going to act ugly to your Akita then they are biting off more than they can chew.
PS, you may think your dog isn't starting the fight but you may not be aware of silent signals your dog is sending. There is always going to be an alpha when you put any dogs together and yours is going to be it.

[lil mutt]

I guess what you can do is to train your dog or enroll him in some behavior class...

splinters summed up pretty much what I would say, You have done well to have your Akita so social and accepting of most situations, however, remembering the Akita "generalised" personality is dominant, protective and aloof, particuarly with other dogs or strangers. I honestly doubt that if a dog is challenging your boy, that you would be able to make him stand down, short of removing him from the area when the offending dog/s are around.

[wishbone]

Do not encourage Kau to fight, you should avoid it and train to sit, lay down or have recall whenever there's seemed to be an aggressive dog that could start a fight.

I think you should just avoid places and areas where there are rude dogs so that Kau will not be frightened by other dogs.

Originally Posted by Kau's Mom

Aloha! My Akita's name is Kau and he just turned 1. He is an extremely good natured dog and seems to like everyone - dogs, cats, adults, children. I take him to the dog park several times a week as he LOVES to play with other dogs. Recently, other male dogs in the park will start a fight with him. At first, I thought it was ok, as he was just being a dog. But it has been happening a lot more. Kau never starts the fight, but defends himself. I don't want an agressive dog on my hands and that's why I have socialized him - going to the dog park, walks, to restaurants, etc. I'd hate to have to stop taking him to the dog park as, as I said, he LOVES to play with other dogs - it's really his favorite thing! Does anyone out there have a suggestion on what to do? BTW, Kau's neutered. Thanks!! Jan

would you show a cute Kau's pic here?

It is not a question of if a dog park is going to be problematic but when.

you could try taking him to the park at a different time of day. I usually go in the late afternoon and I find that the dogs are usually a lot more hyper at that time after being locked in the house all day then if you go in the morning, when dog are still tired. I don't blame you if you don't want to switch though, I know me and my dog have a bunch of friends at the park that we would miss if we went at a different time.