[Isabel]

:shock:

HI - I'm new to the Akita dogs - new to dogs! I've read that an Akita is not good for new dog owners, but we picked her up from the street after watching her roam around our neighborhood for 3 weeks. My kids 14, 12, 7 yrs old. would play with her a bit every once in a while abd one day she showed up on our front steps and didn't want to leave! We felt compassion and took her in, called the local police station and several other places but no one has reported her missing. We've had her for one week now and are waiting a bit longer before taking her tothe vet and getting the local necessary paperwork.
She seems to be about 7-9 months old and was being well trained. By her looks and behavior - seems to be pure breed. We feel very blessed to have her and already adore her!
Our main concern is that we've left her alone in the house twice for a couple of hours and she totally freaks out. The first time it wasn't too bad, she scratched a bit of the wood on the door frame - but tonight she literally shredded the wood frame and cracked the glass a bit on the french door. She also did her "business" in one of the upstairs bedrooms even though we cloed the door shut and made sure she had "gone" before we left the house.
What should we do to control her "separation anxiety"? She shows no agressive behaviour when we're home. How should we train her to be able to stay alone n the house? We certainly don't want her to get hurt - and we also wan to protect our property! Any words of wisdom out there? Thank you - I love your site!

[zig280]

This is a problem I've never dealt with (have owned akitas my entire life), but many people I know have. If you arent already a member, I strongly urge you to join the akita forum. http://www.akitaforum.com it's an extremely helpful and useful forum. Your girl is young, so you can still correct this behavior (hopefully) easier. Someone else on the forum recently had a similar issue with an 8 month old rescued girl.

-Nikki

[fibromite]

Have you tried a kennel? If you keep the puppy, it's the best way to reassure them. Usually, when a dog has seperation problems it is best to provide them with a place where they can feel safe. she might whine when you first start using it, but eventually, she will get to consider it as her den. it also might help to put an old blanket that has the scent of whoever she sees as the "master", and believe me, it is absolutely necessary that a master be recognized, otherwise, she will rule you and will be nothing but problem after problem. i recently adopted a akita puppy and she still has seperation issues when my husband leaves, but she goes in her kennel and just lays there until he comes home. remember, a dog is a pack animal. you must establish a "pecking order". set rules, play time, and "alone time" for her. remember, reward all good behavior. training and socialization is mandatory.
hope this helps.
another tip, give your new pet a can of tuna fish once a week to eliminate the "dirty dog"odor that akita's sometimes develope.

[KumaSan]

Can you or someone else, elaborate on this Tuna once a week thing???

How does it work? mix it in with their normal food??

Newbie here,
thanks in advance

[nattiej1976]

Hi Isobel,
I think it might be worth you considering crate training. This does several things, helps with house breaking (although being an Akita you might have found she already has very few if no accidents in the house), it provides a safe secure place for your pup when you are not around, dogs will quickly learn to love their crates and learn that they are a safe and good place to be, and also help protect your home and posesions from damage. Some may tell you that crating is cruel, but in actual fact it provides a secure sanctuary for your dog, where they can remain inside your home, safe from escape from yard, being stolen, and being destructive. Crate training is particuarly easy with an Akita in my experience, because they are quite docile and lazy by nature, our boy is more than happy to hang out in his crate/ little room when we are not around.

Given that you are very new to the Akita, I would like to encourage you to have her inside with the family as much as possible, I would warn you against leaving her in the back yard alone for long periods of time. As a very dominant, protective and territorial breed, an Akita left alone will assume top dog, and then make your back yard a missery to visit.

Firm, kind training is certainly a must, Akitas will respond to more aggressive approaches with aggression, and then make everyones life a missery. I would suggest finding a really good puppy school and enrol ASAP keep her socialisation up, so as she gets older her tolerance of other dogs and strange people around her has a fighting chance.

Good luck with it all.

[reeskujo]

As an experienced Akita owner I agree with nattie's advice as usual....Especially about the puppy training...Akita's are very dominant and willful and it is a most that you establish yourself as the pack leader right away and puppy classes will help you do that...They will also help to get her socialized with people and other dogs which is another absolute must...Akita's can be very dog aggressive if not socialized at a young age...They also are not fond of strangers which also means socialization to prevent future problems...They are guard dogs and take their job of protecting the family very serious so it is important for them to be around people at a young age and to really know you are the boss...Female Akita's a lot of the time can also be more aggressive then the males so establishing their place in the pack is crucial....Also be sure to get her spayed....In my experience my females had a desire to wander and spaying helps with that...As nattie also said be sure to give her a lot of time with the family...Akita's have a very strong need to be with their family especially since they have such a strong guarding instinct and when they are prevented from doing so will generally develop behavior problems...Crate training is an excellent idea as it will let her know she has her own safe place she can go...She will most likely cry and fuss for a few days but do not let her out unless it's time for her to potty...That will only reinforce to her that she can get her way by fussing....Get into the habit of not allowing her to exit or enter a door before you as well as that will allow her to believe she is ahead of you in the pack and make sure that the family eats before she does as in any pack the Alpha's(leaders) eat before the rest of the pack...I hope this helps you some and feel free to ask any questions you might have...Those of us who know the breed are more then happy to help.

[akitaowner]

I own an Akita also. I got her from the SPCA. She is very well trained, but she still has very bad separation problems. I crate her, otherwise she will tear my house apart.

[simbasdog]

i have to say ,all the advice given is top class!
with an akita,you really do have to do your research.
for a first time owner of a large breed,you have to be committed big time.
id agree that the akita forum will help you understand the breed ,personally you need to know the ins and outs.
are you prepared to put the training in ,are you strong enough to walk the dog?
ive seen women being pulled across the road because there akita want to get to another dog.
are you prepared for a large breed which can be a liability?
i dontmean to be disheartening,this is a hugh commitment,very rewarding if you work at it.

[nattiej1976]

Originally Posted by simbasdog

i have to say ,all the advice given is top class!
with an akita,you really do have to do your research.
for a first time owner of a large breed,you have to be committed big time.
id agree that the akita forum will help you understand the breed ,personally you need to know the ins and outs.
are you prepared to put the training in ,are you strong enough to walk the dog?
ive seen women being pulled across the road because there akita want to get to another dog.
are you prepared for a large breed which can be a liability?
i dontmean to be disheartening,this is a hugh commitment,very rewarding if you work at it.

You are right simbasdog, an akita is a huge commitment, and a potential liability if owner does not gain control of the dog.

How are you going with it all isobel? do you still check in here every now and again? I hope things with your growing lady are working out for you, dont hesitate to yell out if you need help or just suggestions from experiance trial and error, more than happy to let you learn from our mistakes (and trust me we have made a few, but worked out how to fix them)

[lil mutt]

Akita also even if very well trained can tend to have bad separation problems. If you want to own an Akita its better to do some research or ask someone who already has an Akita... This kind of dog breed needs a lot of commitment in training and attention.