[ardentrain]

hi all! im new to the forum, i actually came across it looking for information on Akitas.

currently, i have a 2 yr old siberian husky who i got at 8 weeks old and he is the most wonderful, complicated, stubborn, frustrating, beautiful, sweet, high maintnence dog i have ever owned!

my fiance and i are debating taking in a 3 yr old akita who now lives with an elderly couple. she has been through rounds of obedience training and *from what i hear* is a great dog, the couple has no problems taking care of her or walking her, even at their ages of 78 and 80. the only reason they are thinking of getting rid of her is they are relocating (their house burned down) and cannot take the dog with them.

i'd love to hear from anyone who has any akita insight.

[CorkyMax]

Originally Posted by ardentrain

hi all! im new to the forum, i actually came across it looking for information on Akitas.

currently, i have a 2 yr old siberian husky who i got at 8 weeks old and he is the most wonderful, complicated, stubborn, frustrating, beautiful, sweet, high maintnence dog i have ever owned!

my fiance and i are debating taking in a 3 yr old akita who now lives with an elderly couple. she has been through rounds of obedience training and *from what i hear* is a great dog, the couple has no problems taking care of her or walking her, even at their ages of 78 and 80. the only reason they are thinking of getting rid of her is they are relocating (their house burned down) and cannot take the dog with them.

i'd love to hear from anyone who has any akita insight.

Have no info for you--Just wanted to say HI! I suppose you put akita in your browser? Don't know (haven't checked yet) but you could try putting the word akita in the search box--blue strip across top of page(s) in this forum--find word search--click and try either threads or posts or both.

[Lara's mom]

I wanted to welcome you to the forum. Unfortunately, I don't know the first thing about your breed except that they are beautiful dogs!

[CorkyMax]

Might find this of interest---The Administrator posted this recently: Akita: Native to Japan

The Akita originated in a section of Japan called Tōhoku on the island of Honshū, which ia the biggest one of the Japanese islands. During the 17th century a nobleman that was intensely interested in canines was exiled to Akita Prefecture, whose terrain is harsh and weather very cold. This nobleman dared the local landowners to a contest of breeding a group of strong hunting dogs to hunt wild boar, deer, and bear. They held the prey at bay for the hunters to kill them.



These were the forerunners of the Akita called the matagi-inu meaning hunting dogs. They were breed as such for about 300 years and then in the 1800's , they were used as fighting dogs. Some owners cross-bred them to compliment the fighting ability. The Akita-inu Hozankai Society of Japan began in 1927 and its purpose was to sustain the rudimentary breed. In 1931 this breed was recognized as a national treasure of Japan.



With a food shortage in Japan during World War II and the ruling to use all dogs pelts as fur to produce army uniforms (except for German Sheperds) the Akita were into decline. But when the war was over many servicemen shipped Akitas to the U.S.A., but the initial Akita came to the United states in 1937, arriving with Helen Keller on her return from Japan. At this time Japanese breeders began to scoop up the Akitas that remained and bred them to a standarized look, which was a new approach.



Today there are two kinds of Akita: the Japanese kind bred for a more artistic dog and the American cousin selectively breeding for the bigger more robust appearance. The U.S.A. bred Akita can be any color, but the Japanese restrict the colors to white, fawn, bindle or red. The American Akita can have black masks and can be pinto colored. This breed was recognized by the AKC in 1972.



The temperament of the Akita is daring, smart, self-reliant, steadfast, and forceful. It is affectionate and protective concerning its owner or family. It isn't outgoing to strangers and can be combative to other canines. and pets. It is best to introduce this breed to other pets in the home, while it is a puppy. They are friendly with children, but too romping like for small kids to play with them. They also become excited and then get somewhat snappish.



It gets bored easily and needs exercise and something to do to keep it occupied part of the time. It needs training to b a good house dog along with sufficient exertion. Its coat needs brushing every week.



It is a big breed and a strong one. It has large bones. Its coat is doubled—the inner one is thick and the outer coat is rough and straight haired. The coat resists water and insulates against the cold. It walks briskly with an air of power.



The Akita lives from 10 to 12 years. The UK Kennel Club's survey of 2004 stated that the major causes of death were: cardiac aliments, cancer, and gastrointestinal problems.

[CorkyMax]

Found this in this forum too:

Is she enrolled in puppy class? Akita's are very sweet dogs, but pretty hard headed dogs. Plus they have a high prey drive, and small cats and dogs can be seen as prey.

If she starts that up, immediately put her in a time out. Put her in a kennel or in a room by herself. Play time STOPS when she gets out of control, period.

[CorkyMax]

This is another reply to the same post above:



I dont want to sound harsh in my post, but..............did you do much research on the breed before you got an Akita?

If you researched you would know that it is very possible for an Akita to be inclined to hunt and kill smaller animals, and that they dont usually tolerate other dogs in their home of the same sex.

You may be able to temper some of this behaviour with clever and patient training, but I would ALWAYS er on the side of caution with her.

Wilst in saying that Im not saying it is a hopless case, however you really should have been prepared for this possibility right from the start and should have begun heavy sociallisation and training of tolerance from the moment she came into a home with other animals, if for nothing else but the fact that she is going to be so much bigger and stronger than them all.


Another reply to same thread: Yea, that particular breed isnt very suited for other animals in the home.

You can give it a try, let them interact but with you watching. Give it some time, see how it works out.

If it turns out bad, then you'll just have to decide

[CorkyMax]

This is a reply by Nattiej --same thread. You wanted to know about the breed---This all pertains to a new akita pup---The one you are thinking about getting sounds like it is well trained, etc. But it is a breed that has a mind of it's own and the question is: Can you trust this breed entirely? I am just the messenger---Here is her reply about the akita pup;

Hi, and welcome to the forum and weclome to the world of Akitas.

The Akita can break some of the rules when it comes to training and forming a bond. These can come a little slower to an Akita, not because they are a dumb dog, they are far from dumb, but being so independant, they need to understand the purpose of your expectations, before they are willing to comply.

First thing first, answering your first question. Try and avoid pinning down and holding an Akita, particuarly at this early stage, while you are still building a bond and trust this exercise will potentially damage an Akitas faith and trust in you. Some books and trainers may suggest the pin and hold to express dominance........with an Akita we have found that this is very unsucsesfull and generates a stronger detirmination to get one over you.

I would suggest given that you and your akita are only just becoming aquainted to not pay any real attention to any specific training at this stage, your focus should be creating a bond, and a trust, once you have established this, you are in a better position to begin training.

Remember at only 7.5 weeks, preferably a pup should still be with its litter and its mother, it is at this stage that they begin learning their bite inhabition, but now that he is with you, you need to be the litter and your pups mum to begin teaching him not to nip and bite.

The most commonly used technique which is usually pretty reliable and mimicks what would happen with the rest of the litter, is when a pup bites, yelp like a pup would when being hurt, once it stops walk away, dont remove the dog, remove yourself. If he approaches you again, and is gentle, play a bit as soon as the nipping starts yelp and walk away. Keep this up, you should find a decrease of nipping over time. If not, let me know, there are other methods, but try this one first, as it is the closest to what would naturally happen within a pack of dogs.

Dominance training.........We found a wonderful method of teaching dominance particuarly good with breeds like the Akita. When Kato was a young pup, he spent his first many weeks attached to a member of our household by a long lead, we used this technique to teach him that he needed to rely on us for absolutely everything. Play, sleep, feeding whatever it was all done with a lead attached to human and pup. We would carry on our normal dayly tasks, Kato was made to follow us doing whatever it was we were doing. This helped in several other things, we were able to watch closely when it was near toilet time, we very quickly were able to recognise the signs of needing to go and get him outside in time. Also with food control. Keep in mind that Akitas can be very food and toy possesive, the earlier you teach them that you control these things, not the dog, the better.

We began feeding Kato his meal touching and patting him stroking his face and touching the bowl, if he growled we removed the food and come back to it a couple of minutes later. If he accepted our touching and stroking we would add a special little treat......a tiny bit of bacon or cooked chicken were the favorite.

Once he accepted us handling him whilst eating we began removing his bowl mid meal, if he growled or got upset we would as before, leave it for a few moments then come back to it, if however he accepted the removal the extra treat was added and the bowl returned.

This all only took a very short period of time, really only within a week. We then moved onto making him wait to eat, we would put the food down, and hold him just a small distance away by the lead asking him to "leave it" once he settled down the lead was released and he was allowed to eat, we then began practicing removing of food mid meal using the "leave it command" so we could get to the point of him relinquishing food without us having to physically move him or the food bowl out of the way. You can follow similar methods when it comes to playing with favorite toys too..

The point of these exercises is it does build trust, and a bond, with your Akita pup beginning to rely on you for these things, it will not take him long to realise what behaviors lead to really yummy or fun things. And that poor behaviour generates no response whatsoever from you. You have now begun to exert dominance using no physical dominance excersize, you are beginning to win an Akitas respect which will then lead to an ability to have him start working for you to please you and a want to make you happy. Doing it all on lead also prepares him in readyness for heel training, he will have become farmiliar with the sensation of resistance against a collar and lead, and will not fret when it comes into play for further training. This however i suggest you leave for the next couple of weeks, and focus on building your relationship and help your pup to understand that you are boss, you are in control, and that you are always calm and a person worthy of leadership in his eyes.