Comments on: How to Care for an Akita Inu

on 8/30/2006 My Akita is my most faithful friend ever. Once you build a trusting relationship with these noble creatures, they will be there with you every step of the way. They do require one on one time with owners, and don't like to be 'left out' of family time, even if it's just watching the TV. They just like to be close to the ones they love. So having them outside is like punishment to the poor things.

Another tip, great escape artists! The strange thing is, mine only really escapes the back yard to sit on the front porch and make sure the house and everyone in it is OK. They can climb fences like cats!

on 8/9/2006 My husband and I have 3 dogs and four cats. The oldest dog is a three year old American Akita, the middle is a 3 year old coyote mix and the youngest is a two year old long haired Japanese Akita.

First, owning an Akita has been the greatest joy of my life. They are clever, funny, regal, stubborn and silly. Obedience training is a must, as is early socialization. All of our dogs get along well with the cats, and see us as the "Alpha" parents.

However, having had the most dog and human socialization of the three, our oldest Akita, Sable, is extremely dog aggressive. She cannot be off leash ever, whereas up until a year or ago she was wonderful at the dog park, etc. Nothing happened to make her aggressive, that is just her temperament. Also, she is fairly protective of us around strangers, but seems to sense when a person is "OK", even if she hasn't met them. She is slightly more aggressive when her "sisters" are around, as she has always been protective of them, and the only problem between them was a fight over a rope toy (between her and the mixed breed).

Our long haired Akita, Rowan, has the sweetest temperament anyone could ever ask for. She is occasionally food aggressive, but has not once had a problem with our other Akita. She has never had any obedience training but is wonderful on leash and at the dog park. She sees me in particular as her alpha, so whenever we play- and this is true of any Akita- I make sure that I end up in the dominant position.

We don't have children, though the Akitas don't seem to mind them too much. We are looking into getting an Alaskan Malamute in a year or two and, considering the temperament of our oldest Akita, we know we have to get a male, as close to 8 weeks as possible, so that she doesn't feel threatened. Anyone looking into getting a new dog who already has an Akita should take that advice- same sex dogs don't do well unless raised together, and there is nothing more terrible than to see your Akita violently attack another dog because he- or she- feels threatened.

on 8/8/2006 I first met an Akita in 1976 at a dog show. My daughter and I were sitting ring side watching a group of females being shown. Suddenly a female closest to my daughter leans over and gives her a slurp on the eye!

I discovered two things then and there. First, my daughter was deathly allergic to dogs! Her eye immediately began to swell! Second, I liked Akitas!

Twenty years later after my daughter left home, I got Kogumo Mukai [little bear by the well], aka Mookie.

He is now an eight year old male and I've treasured every minute with him. A day doesn't pass that he doesn't make me laugh.

Some things I've learned over the years are:

1. The breed responds extremely well to intelligent, psychological handling; like Caesar Milano the dog whisperer. They don't like to be physically pushed or physically forced to do anything.

2. They will like or dislike whatever races they are exposed to positively or negatively. For example, my dog doesn't like white males. That is because he had a negative experience with a white male in a kennel. He loves all women regardless of race or age. Conversely, he doesn't like young black males wearing hooded sweatshirts. That is because as a puppy such a person frightened the puppy trying to sneak into our yard to steal him.

3. My Akita is in an aggressive dog period. But there are logical reasons why this is so. One, the breed is aggressive. Two, as a puppy I didn't do a good enough job socializing the him with other dogs. We took him to my wife's third grade class to spend the day with her kids. So he got used to kids as a puppy. Three, my Akita has been attacked while on his leash by other people's dogs running loose. This has happened nine times, as we walk the neighborhood twice a day. My guy absolutely will not permit any thing to threaten me. I suspect his aggression is sometimes a result of my own anger and attitude toward other dogs let loose by irresponsible owners. I don't want him to fight because he always destroys the other dog and I don't want him hurt.

4. My Akita is never alone with my grandchildren. Not because he is vicious. He is very protective of them. He considers my grandchildren an extension of his pact. And that is the problem. The only pack leader he accepts is my wife and myself. He is inclined to nip or whatever any child who in his considered dog opinion usurps pack social structure. Plus he was there first and I think he thinks he is the biggest baby in the pack. Whatever. He obviously loves the grandkids. But our instincts say be careful. Eternal vigilance is the price of freedom. We treasure the dog and our grandchildren too much to have an accident.

5. The dog will bark. But he is not an excessive barker. I would say he barks sparingly. I know he will not bark before going after any perceived threat to his pack or territory. I have never trained him to be an attack dog. He doesn't need it. I have, however, trained him on the "out" command to release whatever is in his mouth. The reason for this is obvious.

6. The dog is extremely easy to train. But the training must be intelligent. I describe it as getting inside the dog's head. For example, when first introduced to a lease my Akita literally flipped out at only eight weeks old. He would not tolerate the thing on him period. No way no how. And walking on leash was out the question. So I forced it on him, but distracted him with cooked chicken in my hand. Walking a few feet away I enticed him with the food. He came - grudgingly! But he came. At only eight weeks old he was smart enough to understand he was selling out!

7. The only difficulty with this Akita was his teenage years, between two and three. Like any teenager he was inclined to want to have his own way. And he wasn't difficult, I just stayed inside his head. I enjoyed the dog tremendously.

8. I will never have any other breed. The intelligence, integrity, nobility, independence, and character of these dogs makes for an animal companion and friend without equal.

9. The dog is loving, very loving, and vocal. But he does not love like, say a golden retriever. This large dog is dignified, reserved, kind of cool. I have learned to understand his vocalizations. He doesn't growl, so much as he communicates! Because, what I thought were growls of anger; might in fact be growls of pleasure because of being rubbed! A growl might be the response to the question, "Do you want to go out?" This is a very intelligent breed. I've never known anything like it.

on 6/30/2006 I am the proud owner of a bear-like Akita with a great personality. He has accepted two dogs that we socialized with him from an early age, but is aggressive with dogs he does not know. He is the perfect house dog in many ways, but needs tons of affection and patience when he is in one of his stubborn moods. We have brought our young daughter up to say "NO" when he plays too rough and he always responds in a positive way. We also made sure our neighbors children socialized with him as soon as he came to our home. We believe that it is our responsibility to ensure public safety and not our neighbors.

on 3/6/2006 I have a very loving and loyal Akita Inu. Her name is Yuki and she is almost 2 years old. I brought her home at 5 weeks old (I would not suggest bringing them home until they are at least 8 weeks old). At the time I brought her home, we had a 4 month old Toy Poodle and over time the Poodle got used to Yuki. Yuki has been a most loving dog in the world, very smart and harmless. She loves to play with other dogs, as long as she is off leash. We have been taking her to the dog park since she was 3 months old and she has never had a problem with another dog (unless that dog was mean to Kodi, the Toy Poodle).

I've been amazed at how patient and smart she is. I am still teaching her and she is still learning. She knows sit, stay, down, up (stand on her hind legs), roll over, shake, and come. She loves kids, I have been, again and again, amazed at how patient she is. She lets the kids pull at her ears and tail, climb all over her and ride her back. She does very well with a lot of people. We just had a Super Bowl party and had close to 50 people over. She was fine with all of them. I would recommend the Akita to anyone. The biggest thing that you need to do with a Akita is to love them. They need to be trained (they are party of the working dog class and they need to do something for you). They need to be socialized (good socialization is key if you want your dog to play with other dogs and be completely nice to other people). Never hit your dog and never try to train them to protect you, they will automatically protect you, your family, and your property.

on 2/16/2006 I've owned 4 Akitas. Every single one of them were absolutely wonderful! All you need to do is make sure they get a good amount of socialization early on with regular worldly goings on and they will be fine. Take them on an occasional walk down to a school yard or park, let the kids pet him (under watch of course). If you can afford to, take them to puppy obedience classes, which is not only great socialization but great to get the dog to learn basic commands and for you to learn how to assert that you are pack leader! Let them experience different noises, machinery, cars (so they get use to riding in one), cats, other dogs, and they will become the best family member! They will always look out for their owners and family, and other pets. My Akitas were Riko Hoshi, Kuma Hachi-Ko, Suki Sachi-Ko, and Gizmo. They're my babies!

on 2/8/2006 I got my 3 year old Akita from the Humane Society. He was brought in at 10 months old because he was jumping the previous owners fence. He is a big teddy bear! He instantly loved my kids and was great with my cat, and even when I brought a new dog home a year later. If the little kids are bothering him (like jumping on his back), he just gets up and walks in the other room; never growling or snapping at them. At our old house, we had several acres of land and Milo would roam the neighborhood all day and lay around the yard. He would walk my daughters to the bus stop every morning and loved everyone in the neighborhood and vice versa. They all knew him by name. The only thing he didn't like was other dogs on my property that didn't belong there. He would corner them off so that he would always be between his family and the intruder. He is aggressive if necessary with other dogs until they learn who is boss. Even if it means pinning the other dog down (but not hurting him) he will do so. He is the same way with delivery men that come to the house until I say, "It's OK Milo." Then he lets them come in. One day there was a large snake in the yard near my 2 year old son. Milo went right over and started stomping on the snake and he ended up getting bit instead of my son. Milo has been a joy, and I honestly don't think I'll ever find another dog like him!

on 1/26/2006 We got our Akita before all the press came out about their negative attributes and before we had children. She has been a wonderful dog. Never aggressive with children or people. She will bark at strangers that enter the yard, but once she has met them she no longer cares. My only comment is that over the years the few times she has tried to assert her dominance over other dogs or cats, she would just pin them down by the neck to the ground. She would never leave a mark, just hold them there to scare them. It was an amazing trick, but over the 12 years we have had her it probably happened about 10 times.
They are extremely sweet and lovable dogs. She would put up with anything from kids and was known (if she was in the mood) to cuddle up with the cats or our other dogs. Don't let their reputation scare you away.

on 12/16/2005 I have an Akita that was rescued from an emotionally (and possibly physically) abusive home. She was rescued at what we can estimate was about 6 years of age. We have had her for 3 1/2 years now, putting her at almost 10. When we brought her into the house we had one other dog and 3 cats. She adopted the cats right away. She and the other dog had a couple of dominance issues, but for the most part were best of friends - often sleeping nose to tail or head to head. She is very loving with us, and has become more tolerant of guests in the house over the years - but is still very protective. Her shedding is incredible sometimes! Akita's are by far and away my favorite breed of dog, and has been a joy to have around. She barks only when she is warning us of something - usually only at people coming up to our door, or people in our house. She doesn't like our guests to move about once they've come in and settle. However she is all bark and no bite! I can't say enough about the joy she has brought into our lives. I will most definitely find another Akita after my girl leaves this world.

Training, training, and more training are so important with an Akita or any other dog (big or small) for that matter. But once trained, an Akita will be one of the most loyal and rewarding dogs you could ever have be part of your family.

on 11/22/2005 I have a 2 year old all white male Akita. He is perfect for our family. He was very easy to train. Any kid can run up and play with him, climb on him, or pull his tail and he just stands there. He will let almost any adult pet him while outside on walks, but he is super-suspicious of anyone that comes to visit. He just parks himself right down on the floor between the "stranger" and his family member making sure that they know he is watching. He's perfect for our family. I am a single mother and he's great with kids, but very protective of his pack. Akitas are very independent/dominent and I had to make it clear to him that I am the alpha, but with proper training, akitas are excellent family dogs.

on 11/22/2005 I have three Akitas, my male is a long hair. I spin his hair and encourage all Akita owners to do the same. It makes for a soft, fluffy, luxurious sweater and a great keepsake of your pet. The three get along incredibly well and delight in teaching each other. The Akita is eager to please, so be clear in telling your Akita what you want and give them lots of love and praise when they demonstrate they understand. This need to please is the key to your Akita, use it wisely.

on 11/22/2005 My main advice to someone looking to have an Akita join their family is to be firm and very consistent with your training. Never hit an Akita! I have found that dominating your dog by laying on them, or holding them still until they submit, is the best way to train and keep your alpha status in the pack. My Akita does have some health problems. He has skin allergies that he has to take medicine for. If you have an Akita that has skin problems, take them to a veterinarian that specializes in dermatology. Do not waste time and money with your regular veterinarian.

In response to another postings mention of their Akita being uneasy with certain races. It is not the persons race, it is the fact that dogs have a hard time seeing a persons expression. Especially if they have on a hat, are in a dimly lit area, or have darker skin. I love my Akita and will always have one in my home.

on 11/22/2005 I have a beautiful masked Akita who does the muttering and grumbling. I explain to visitors that she is very vocal and will come to you when she wants to. Let your Akita come to strangers when they want to. If they won't, let them stay next to you (where they are comfortable).

on 11/22/2005 My Akita (a 2.5 year old Alpha Bitch) is intolerant of some other dogs (but not all). She is never allowed off her lead except when supervised in the garden. Her two best friends are a couple of gerbils, and she will allow ANY child to clamber all over her and pull her ears, tail, and tongue. We don't encourage this, but when it has happened once or twice in the park, we have been amazed by her patience.

on 11/22/2005 My big teddy bear of an Akita is terrific. He loves cats and gets along fairly well with other dogs (he is unaltered, and I have to watch him around other unaltered males). He barks loud and proud when someone knocks on the door, but is quick to settle down if no threat is perceived. I can tell, with the way he reacts to certain people, where I could have done better at socializing him. People of certain races or with certain features make him nervous, and if he had learned that they were alright when he was younger, perhaps he could be more calm around them. Overall, I have a happy, well-balanced dog, but it's really ALL about the time spent with socializing.