What to expect when you're expecting...an akita.
Hello All! I am on the search for an akita inu! I have submitted my application to the closest JA breeder to me and I am hoping and praying that I get picked! Meanwhile, I had a few questions I was hoping someone out there might be able to answer. =]
1] Separation Anxiety: I know all dogs are different and have their own personalities...but in general....are JA's prone to separation anxiety? My boyfriend and I have different schedules and I am only in the office 4 days out of the week so we are able to stagger our work day and minimize the time that the puppy is alone. I am trying to keep it at 6 hours max. I was thinking crate training was the way to go but would prefer if the dog was free to roam the entire house while we are gone once trained. My last dog was a shiba and she could not care less whether I was around or not as long as she was fed lol. Most of the time I would just give her a kong filled with peanut butter and treats and she'd be content for hours. I am hoping my Akita can roam around the house and ideally just sleep while we are away. Is there any sort of training while it is still a puppy that I can do to help prevent this from even developing?
2] Going Fishing: We were thinking of putting a koi pond in the backyard. Some of the koi will get pretty big [ hopefully the size of a small cat ]. Do you think a fat slow moving fish would spark the prey drive of an akita?
3] Allergies: My boyfriend is slightly allergic to dogs, however, we went to a dog show so I could show him some Akitas. He seemed to do okay with them so I am not sure what exactly triggers the allergic reaction. We have decided on a plan to keep the dog out of the bedroom to allow him to have a place to escape to if an attack does happen. It is nothing remotely close to life threatening but he may get whiplash from sneezing =X. I also intend to buy the most expensive air purifiers I can afford. I was hoping someone with allergies can chime in on suggestions on keeping the attacks to a minimum and I was wondering if those with dog allergies seem to be less allergic to Akitas than other breeds of dog.
4] Red Brindles: At least I think that is what they are called? I am in LOVE with them. I have been speaking with a breeder who has an upcoming litter and he had a picture of one who seemed predominantly light orange/red with very pronounced black stripes. I believe it was Tora pictured here:
Sorry I used your image! I believe the taker of the photo is also the owner of this wonderful brindle. My question is: Is this coloration rare? Here are photos of the prospective parents:
Aya from Kobun kennel
Kita from Kobun kennel
The more tiger-like the better! I know that temperament should be first and foremost but darnit can't fault a girl for wishing =].
Thank you all very very much for dealing with all these questions at once. Any information would be very very much appreciated!
1] Separation Anxiety: I know all dogs are different and have their own personalities...but in general....are JA's prone to separation anxiety? My boyfriend and I have different schedules and I am only in the office 4 days out of the week so we are able to stagger our work day and minimize the time that the puppy is alone. I am trying to keep it at 6 hours max. I was thinking crate training was the way to go but would prefer if the dog was free to roam the entire house while we are gone once trained. My last dog was a shiba and she could not care less whether I was around or not as long as she was fed lol. Most of the time I would just give her a kong filled with peanut butter and treats and she'd be content for hours. I am hoping my Akita can roam around the house and ideally just sleep while we are away. Is there any sort of training while it is still a puppy that I can do to help prevent this from even developing?
2] Going Fishing: We were thinking of putting a koi pond in the backyard. Some of the koi will get pretty big [ hopefully the size of a small cat ]. Do you think a fat slow moving fish would spark the prey drive of an akita?
3] Allergies: My boyfriend is slightly allergic to dogs, however, we went to a dog show so I could show him some Akitas. He seemed to do okay with them so I am not sure what exactly triggers the allergic reaction. We have decided on a plan to keep the dog out of the bedroom to allow him to have a place to escape to if an attack does happen. It is nothing remotely close to life threatening but he may get whiplash from sneezing =X. I also intend to buy the most expensive air purifiers I can afford. I was hoping someone with allergies can chime in on suggestions on keeping the attacks to a minimum and I was wondering if those with dog allergies seem to be less allergic to Akitas than other breeds of dog.
4] Red Brindles: At least I think that is what they are called? I am in LOVE with them. I have been speaking with a breeder who has an upcoming litter and he had a picture of one who seemed predominantly light orange/red with very pronounced black stripes. I believe it was Tora pictured here:
Sorry I used your image! I believe the taker of the photo is also the owner of this wonderful brindle. My question is: Is this coloration rare? Here are photos of the prospective parents:
Aya from Kobun kennel
Kita from Kobun kennel
The more tiger-like the better! I know that temperament should be first and foremost but darnit can't fault a girl for wishing =].
Thank you all very very much for dealing with all these questions at once. Any information would be very very much appreciated!
Comments
I don't have a JA, but do have an AA. I just have to say this about allergies: be super careful. I think they are a pretty bad choice for someone with allergies, as they shed most of the year (with that double coat) and that means more dander in the air. My godmother had her heart set on an Akita, but her husband is allergic, so they went and visited an Akita person, and spent an hour or so there, and he played with the dog, and petted it, etc. All looked fine. 2 hours later they were at the emergency room with his face swollen and his throat closing. The got a standard poodle instead.
Obviously, he has worse allergies that it sounds like your boyfriend does, but I would not underestimate how bad an Akita can be for the allergic, and while keeping the dog out of the bedroom will help, it might not be enough. My friends that have allergies take a benedryl before visiting, and usually only have mild reactions while they are here, but they couldn't live here, obviously. (I have dogs).
I would proceed with extreme caution.
Don't know about Akitas with the fish, but I know my Shibas would go after them for sure.
Also, yes, crate train the puppy, and when the dog is an adult, you probably won't need the crate, but will need it for a young dog. I usually crate them up to one year, then can forego the crate, though they are out and available for dogs to retreat into on their own, and for feeding.
thats my pup!
Going fishing: eh? Well. Toki is probably more prone to dip his toes in the water and wade around rather than actually go fishing. His prey drive really kicks in with bunnies.
Allergies: Ya know. Its hard to say. I read @shibamistress's post, and then I look at my own experiences and they are rather varied. My boyfriend is allergic to cats, dogs, pollen, typical southern allergies, ect... But hasn't really had any problems with Toki. They DO shed a lot during some parts of the year, but right now, Toki is barely shedding anything. Perhaps it is a case by case basis.
You should visit a kennel. Where are you located?
RED BRINDLES WE SHARE THE SAME LOVE OF RED BRINDLES
The first dog you posted is my puppy, Toki. (unfortunately he is misbehaving in that photo, uh oh). Toki's official name is "tora go hyozan" and his dad's call name is Tora, whose official name is "toramaru go shirai"
The kennel I got Toki from is Hyozan Akitas, (Carol and Jim). They're awesome and they have Toki's sister, Zuma, who is also a red brindle.
http://www.hyozan-akitas.com
Don't get me wrong, I can appreciate a good dog regardless of color, but i do love red brindles for their variation. Its like a kaleidoscope of lines, colors, and shapes coming together with perfect gestalt, to put things in an artistic sense.
Of course, the only thing I love more than a red brindle is what I call a "white brindle", basically a "white" dog with very sparse brindling. This isn't usually favored by judges and the dog isn't actually white, but a very diluted red. Its genetically impossible to have an actual white dog with black stripes. But I digress, they're rare, and i love red brindles!
May I ask what kennel you're looking into?
@shibamistress thank you for the input on the allergies. We have taken him to meet some akitas his father also raises ChowChows who shed like crazy lol. He has also lived with dogs at his previous place. I think he is more allergic to rodents [his ex gf had hamsters and it drove him nuts ] than dogs but dogs do give him a little itch in the nose. I have taken him to places like the SPCA and the dog show. It seems claritin does work for the most part except for extreme situations like when we came across a herd of pomeranians lol.
I know it is a disqualifier but i LOVE longcoats....those little furballs behind the ears are the cutest lol. I would not mind having one at all.
I am located in San Francisco, CA. I think the closest kennel to me is one who breeds AAs in Gilroy. However, I think I may take a drive down to Ben's kennel once the pups are born in March.
2] Going Fishing: Ninja never had problems with fish. We have a koi pond but she had no interest in the fish. She also saw cats as family when I introduced a cat when she was 7 years old. Ninja does not swim but will wade in water. She's also caught birds and squirrels in our backyard.
3] Allergies: I cannot say anything about allergies but our Akita has allergies to processed chicken (the ones in low grade food such as beneful) and has some unknown environmental allergies where I need to wipe her paws when she comes inside.
4] Red Brindles: Toki is a hottie ;P
RE: separation anxiety
While you can address it if and when symptoms develop, I think the tendency runs in certain lines, and I don't think you can prevent symptoms from developing if the pup inherits the tendencies from either parent, you just have to be ready to address them
My JA puppy Meichan shares the same sire Kita as the litter you're looking at, and had separation anxiety. Kita also no longer lives at Kobun but is living at Junketsu, who is @dogmom8's kennel in Fontana. We spent some time w/ both parents of our puppy before putting a deposit down. Kita is needy and loving, kind of a velcro dog, and he's on the small size for males (about 60#). He more or less sealed the deal for us. Though in hindsight, his neediness could explain Meichan's separation anxiety.
Meichan came home to us at week 8. She liked going into her crate, but panicked, cried, and lost bowel control/peed when the door closed or when left alone in the ex-pen. She also chewed up/shredded laminate flooring when there're stuffed toy and chew treats nearby. We also have an older shiba, but he wanted nothing to do with the puppy. We initially thought this was just a case of housebreaking, but found out Meichan's full sister from a litter 2 years prior behaved the same way at a younger age, and grew out of it later (she's at Junketsu). I then got a copy of Patricia Mcconnell's book (link below), and confirmed Meichan has a mild case of separation anxiety. Crating/ex pen while at work was going to make it worse...
So there was a period when I came home every 4 hours from work just to clean her and her ex-pen up. As soon as Meichan got all her shots at week 16, she started attending puppy daycare a few days a week, and we work from home the other days. She's never been destructive outside her ex-pen, I have a full bottle of bitter apple that was never opened. She just doesn't want to be left alone. She's now almost 8 months old. I have no idea if she's outgrown her separation anxiety yet, but her neediness makes her a very sweet dog who wants to be with people (thanks @jellyfart for the testimony)
In summary, I shared my experience not to scare you from getting one of Aya/Kita's pups. Kita's is the father of many litters in the AKIHO LA branch club, I've met a few owners who have full siblings or half siblings of my puppy. Only @dogmom8 and I seem to have experienced the worse end of separation anxiety, but it's nothing crazy like what's described in Patrica Mcconnell's book. It just required extra planning (and some $$$) once we realized what was going on.
http://www.amazon.com/Ill-Home-Soon-Separation-Anxiety/dp/1891767054/
ps, I'm in the SF Bay Area too. You wouldn't happen to know Tabby and Johnny Szary do you?
Tora's brindling is pretty uncommon, so I wouldn't expect something like it. All of Tora's brindled puppies have been like Toki, like this picture of Toki. This photo shows him in several levels of lighting (very minimal differences), but the lighting accurately reflects his brindling. (sunny day but in the shade lighting with good white balance....that is the best way to get an accurate reading of a dog).
This is Toki about a year ago....maybe when he was about 6-7 months old? give or take. He hadn't entered his "lanky teenager" phase yet, lol!
If you want to see a white brindle.... well. I'm not sure if this really constitutes as "white brindle" but the photo quality makes the dog seem like a "white brindle". Keep in mind, lighting and angles greatly affects coat colors and stripes. I'm a master at these things
This dog is likely a silver brindle, but the angles make the dog look lighter than it is. Still, you got to be a pretty light dog to look like this in any kind of light.
But don't get your hopes up for this dog. They're super rare and to my knowledge, none exist in the states.
This dog comes from Kazuo Mori. His kennel is my latest obsession. i LOVE this guy's dogs!
It seems like the way to predict the kind of brindling a brindle puppy might inherit is an aggregate of the two dog's brindling. Meaning, you'll never get a black brindle from a dog like Tora, Toki's daddy. But then again, you would have thought that Tora would have produced more dogs like his sparse self. Though, if you look at Toki, he doesn't have a lot of stripes, per say, but they're thick and bold, so maybe he did inherit part of Tora's coat. Basically, no one really knows the genetics behind it, but it likely has something to do with incomplete dominance and more than just one gene...probably many.
Then again.... it is also good to look at the pedigree. Zuma looks a lot like her dad's brother in brindling. Sometimes things skip a generation. If you have a certain kind of look you want, there is absolutely nothing wrong with that.
@rikumom : Thank you for your input on separation anxiety. I have not dealt with a dog who had it before so it is nice to hear from personal experience what it may be like. And I will definitely look into that book! We are in the process of redoing our flooring and have decided to go with vinyl instead of laminate since it is way easier to replace a panel if the puppy goes to town on it lol. Would you say it is a good idea to slowly ease the pup into the crate? As in, have it go in when we are home with the cage door open, then move to closing it the cage door while we are home, etc?
I am sorry I don't know Tabby or Johnny
I would actually love the idea of a velcro dog if it did not come with separation anxiety =]
I must say I am quite happy with this forum so far. I was part of another akita forum before and they seemed more focused on akita aggression and managing it. while I understand this is an important topic everyone here seems a bit more helpful with training rather than dominating. I cannot wait to sign up for some puppy socials =]
You're on the right track with the crate training.
One of the most useful things I did with toki when he was just a baby was to teach him "go in your crate" with tons of treats and praise. Givin that Toki ended up being pretty independent and needing his personal space, it became an invaluable bit of his vocabulary.
Weve since done away with the crate because now he simply goes in the other room when things get a little overwhelming, but I think he misses it. We went on a trip to cali and took the crate in the hotel room and he immediatly layed down in the crate.
Well to start, you are dealing with a fantastic breeder. I got my puppy from him 4 years ago. As you already know he loves to talk on the phone. In fact I just got off the phone with him. I would take advantage of that and communicate with him when the puppies are born.
Not only is rikumom in your neck of the woods. Sachio(brindle with the snow on his head) and Sachiko (Kaede X Kita) are both located in norcal. When you get your puppy, I can put you in touch with Dominque and Greg.
You also have a core group of people on this forum who are in JACA(Japanese Akita Club of America) and or Akiho-LA. So you have lots of Japanese Akita people and a solid club connection to support you.
Rather than respond to your posts now, I'm going to link to my posts on this forum. You'll get to see what I went through, when I brought Kaede home in 2009.
Kaede comes home:
http://www.nihonken.org/forum/index.php?p=/discussion/3389/say-hello-to-kaeda-photos#Item_32
Separation Anxiety help topic
http://www.nihonken.org/forum/index.php?p=/discussion/comment/144061#Comment_144061
Day 1 to 8/1/2010 - I'm including this because it shows Kaede's littermate Tora.
http://www.nihonken.org/forum/index.php?p=/discussion/3438/kaeda-photo-spam-08-1-10/p1
Per your original post:
2] Going Fishing: We were thinking of putting a koi pond in the backyard. Some of the koi will get pretty big [ hopefully the size of a small cat ]. Do you think a fat slow moving fish would spark the prey drive of an akita?
Maybe, Kaede loves wildlife and has a decent prey drive. Kaede HATES water so I it depends if your pup will like water and or fish. Honestly these dogs should not be unsupervised in the backyard anyways. That's how they escape.
3] Allergies: My boyfriend is slightly allergic to dogs, however, we went to a dog show so I could show him some Akitas. He seemed to do okay with them so I am not sure what exactly triggers the allergic reaction.
I am asthmatic and so is my wife. We have zero issues with Kaede. My father is very allergic to dogs. 1 benadryl every now and then when it is bad for him seems to stop it.
It's kinda funny because Kaede gets very scratchy when she sheds and we give her a benadryl too. I have a photo somewhere of them popping pink pills together.
I hope this helps.
We live in an Eichler and have concrete flooring that's 50 years old and not well sealed. We laid down sheet vinyl to prevent urine/poo from seeping into the concrete, it was meant to be temporary but we were surprised how fast puppy shredded it. Vinyl and laminate are the same thing btw. If we were to do it again, we'd go w/ some rubberize flooring on top of concrete like the shiba inu puppy cam people used:
http://www.rubberflooringinc.com/all-tiles.html
B/c of our dealing with separation anxiety, we never tried to crate train Meichan. Our breeder @dogmom8 already had a shiba size Vari kennel in the pups' ex-pen w/out the gate on so Meichan was familiar with crate before she came home to us. She goes in and out of her crate -- both the tiny shiba size Vari kennel that she's out-grown and the 48" by 36" by 30" wire crate with a giant donut bed in it. We just don't find any need to lock her in. She sleeps in our bedroom and will get up and move around several times a night, sometimes wondering into the dinning room to sleep in her crate, then coming back to the bedroom in the morning. I suspect being a long coat has the disadvantages of overheating easily.
I'd ask others (such as @jellyfart) advice on crate training, but honestly if you get a Kita offspring and it panics when being confined, don't force it... the JA breeders like Kita b/c of his sweet temperament, you won't have to worry about getting an offspring who's aggressive or aloof/independent
Kita was bred from this kennel in Japan http://www.geocities.jp/shiraikennel/
Tora is from the same kennel as Kita, but I don't have Kita's pedigree handy to compare relations http://www.hyozan-akitas.com//males.html?galAlbum=6
Aya I believe was an AKIHO registered rescue
@*JackBurton* : Thank you! How did I ever miss that separation anxiety thread. It was chocked full of good info! I would very much appreciate getting in touch with other akita owners once I get my pup. Can never have too many play dates.
As far as off-leash. I know it is sort of a case by case basis and is generally not good for akitas. I have a pretty large grassy area behind my house and although not fenced in is pretty secluded since it is sandwiched between 2 rows of houses. I am wondering how I can utilize this space and still have control over the pup. Do they make extremely long leashes so the pup can run a good distance away? I live within a 10 minute drive of plenty of secluded dog friendly beaches as well...I am hoping the pup might like it for a change of scenery. I remember taking my shiba pup there and there really wasn't anything to distract him and he was off leash the entire time. I may have just been lucky lol.
If you decide to use a prong collar, use it only during training sessions and it should sit high up on the neck to be effective.
To answer your question, Tora come from the same kennel as Kita, but upon looking at their pedigrees 3 generations back, I don't see any blood relationship. There might be; I just didn't look. I don't know about Aya.
As far as being offleash.... nope. Toki will run away and never come back. He loves us dearly, but he has his own agenda and loves to follow his nose wherever it leads him. Frankly, if he got too far from the house, I would question his sense of direction. BUT you can get 30' leashes from Petsmart. Get a rope for the correct weight of your dog. I've used one for Toki on playdates out in parks and while they might get tangled up, its worth it verses the bad alternative for playdates: dog parks.
My shiba was a wanderer and hated dog parks so I was always concerned about him having adequate "free-roaming" time even though my backyard then was fairly big. I will look into getting the longest possible leash for the akita.
Or so ive heard.
but he let me cuddle the bajeebus out of him and that made it all worth it. ;3
let me know if you need a list of area pup socials and dog training places. We actually had to sign Meichan up for Sirius a month before she came home just b/c classes fill out so fast in our area
I did some digging. I think this dog is owned by Andrea Fey....if that is the case... and if I am right... this dog is actually Tora's brother (toki's uncle)....am i right?
And this is the dog I was alluding to talking about Zuma. Zuma looks like this dog.