I'll chime in the the guarding thing, from a slightly different perspective. I suspect Mike is just using the word guard dog in the way a lot of us did before we learned (here in my case) about the difference between a watch dog which alert barks and an actual dog trained to do personal protection work or schutzhund. It doesn't sound like he's actually looking for a guardian dog.
I don't have a JA, so I'm not sure how they would be, but my impression is that they will alert bark (ie could function as a watch dog) but not a lot more. I have an AA (American Akita) which I believe tend to have more "protective" instincts. My AA is mostly also just a watch dog, though he's not a big barker, so he's not actually that good as an alert system. He is, however, very large (110 pounds) and he has a strong sense of his territory, so there is no way he is letting anyone in the yard. He may alarm bark a few times, but mostly his (completely untrained) instinct is to block an intruder. He will bark and growl if a person looks to him like they are coming in the gate, and he is impressive looking, so that's all he needs to do. His behavior is pretty typical of the breed. He's a good companion, and has the need to be with his people that is typical of the breed.
So my thoughts are, if you want a dog that will do this, an American Akita might breed might be a better match (though JA people will know, better than me, how common this is in JAs as well).
However, he is not a runner. Akitas in general are sprinters not long distance runners. The reason they can adjust to apt. life ok is that they tend to be, well, rather lazy dogs. My Shibas and Kai Ken are much more active than my Akita!
So it depends on how important to you those things (guarding/running) are. I think if you wanted a serious guard dog, one you could work in personal protection with, you wouldn't be looking at this breed. (People keep saying GSD, which is true, or Malinois or Dutch Shepherd even).
I personally don't think it matters much on the hunting aspect. I read that as you saying you don't like hunting, which is fine. (My point, earlier, had simply been not to make assumptions about the people who hunt with their dogs). You don't have to hunt with them. You need to be aware of their prey drive, but it sounds like you are. And frankly, of the various NKs, I think the Akitas probably have the lowest prey drive, which means it is still higher than average for other breeds, but they aren't as crazy prey driven as say, a Shiba!
I think you'll do fine--and you'll have time to learn more here, too. And don't worry too much about the differences of opinion--we love our dogs and love the breeds and are passionate about them, and so it's easy to get into heated discussions, but this is a good place to learn.
@shibamistress A GSD may not be the perfect fit. I tend to only recommend dogs that I've had personal experience with. As far as guardians, I only really know the Anatolian. I would not recommend that dog at all. So, I went with GSD. Not sure, but I wouldn't recommend Rott in this situation. Maybe it's because I think that he wouldn't care for the breed.
@Mike287 there may be a better fitting dog out there for you. It's worth the research.
I completely understand what both you and your gf are going through. I would say if you can put 3000 dollars aside, in addition to puppy purchase cost then you can do it. That $3k is just for your puppy. If that seems impossible then I would advise waiting.
@cdenney they are high drive aggressive working dogs. I don't think that they should be put in a home let alone an apartment.
I think it was a year ago but with how time flies maybe two that I was walking at a local park and saw a woman with an Anatolian. She was walking by me when I asked her about her dog. I was a little shocked to see one living in our suburban area. The woman was telling me how sweet and social her dog was when out of nowhere she attacked another dog walking by. I moved away because I had Koda and I didn't want him to get hurt but her dog messed up the other dog. There was blood everywhere. I just think that guardian breeds need a certain type of owner and home without that they will not thrive and become neurotic. That's why I don't recommend them for an apartment setting.
PS as kids we weren't allowed to go near the stables where the Anatolians were. They were working and it was very well known that we would get bit. Their job was to protect the farm animals from predators.
@mike287 - not sure how serious of a runner you are, but I'll second @wrylybrindle about running breeds.
I had a housemate fall in love with my NK so we went to a show. Her primary goal was to speak to the NK breeders but she ended up speaking to a wide range. In the end everyone thought that rhodesian ridgebacks fit her needs best. She wanted a large dog who would be affectionate and loyal but not clingy or neurotic, and with whom she could run. She runs about 15-20 km a day and the akita folk recommended rhodesians too.
We know little about what you want in a dog (only the brief bit you wrote) but it doesn't hurt to keep an open mind. Once you start speaking with breeders it may be the case that they'll point you to a breed you weren't initially considering, or it may be that the JA is exactly the right breed for you.
Comments
I don't have a JA, so I'm not sure how they would be, but my impression is that they will alert bark (ie could function as a watch dog) but not a lot more. I have an AA (American Akita) which I believe tend to have more "protective" instincts. My AA is mostly also just a watch dog, though he's not a big barker, so he's not actually that good as an alert system. He is, however, very large (110 pounds) and he has a strong sense of his territory, so there is no way he is letting anyone in the yard. He may alarm bark a few times, but mostly his (completely untrained) instinct is to block an intruder. He will bark and growl if a person looks to him like they are coming in the gate, and he is impressive looking, so that's all he needs to do. His behavior is pretty typical of the breed. He's a good companion, and has the need to be with his people that is typical of the breed.
So my thoughts are, if you want a dog that will do this, an American Akita might breed might be a better match (though JA people will know, better than me, how common this is in JAs as well).
However, he is not a runner. Akitas in general are sprinters not long distance runners. The reason they can adjust to apt. life ok is that they tend to be, well, rather lazy dogs. My Shibas and Kai Ken are much more active than my Akita!
So it depends on how important to you those things (guarding/running) are. I think if you wanted a serious guard dog, one you could work in personal protection with, you wouldn't be looking at this breed. (People keep saying GSD, which is true, or Malinois or Dutch Shepherd even).
I personally don't think it matters much on the hunting aspect. I read that as you saying you don't like hunting, which is fine. (My point, earlier, had simply been not to make assumptions about the people who hunt with their dogs). You don't have to hunt with them. You need to be aware of their prey drive, but it sounds like you are. And frankly, of the various NKs, I think the Akitas probably have the lowest prey drive, which means it is still higher than average for other breeds, but they aren't as crazy prey driven as say, a Shiba!
I think you'll do fine--and you'll have time to learn more here, too. And don't worry too much about the differences of opinion--we love our dogs and love the breeds and are passionate about them, and so it's easy to get into heated discussions, but this is a good place to learn.
@Mike287 there may be a better fitting dog out there for you. It's worth the research.
I think it was a year ago but with how time flies maybe two that I was walking at a local park and saw a woman with an Anatolian. She was walking by me when I asked her about her dog. I was a little shocked to see one living in our suburban area. The woman was telling me how sweet and social her dog was when out of nowhere she attacked another dog walking by. I moved away because I had Koda and I didn't want him to get hurt but her dog messed up the other dog. There was blood everywhere. I just think that guardian breeds need a certain type of owner and home without that they will not thrive and become neurotic. That's why I don't recommend them for an apartment setting.
PS as kids we weren't allowed to go near the stables where the Anatolians were. They were working and it was very well known that we would get bit. Their job was to protect the farm animals from predators.
I had a housemate fall in love with my NK so we went to a show. Her primary goal was to speak to the NK breeders but she ended up speaking to a wide range. In the end everyone thought that rhodesian ridgebacks fit her needs best. She wanted a large dog who would be affectionate and loyal but not clingy or neurotic, and with whom she could run. She runs about 15-20 km a day and the akita folk recommended rhodesians too.
We know little about what you want in a dog (only the brief bit you wrote) but it doesn't hurt to keep an open mind. Once you start speaking with breeders it may be the case that they'll point you to a breed you weren't initially considering, or it may be that the JA is exactly the right breed for you.
Anyway, good luck with your search