Is my akita too small?

Nathan

Hello,
I just had a question about my female american akita named korra. She now is about 9months old and somehow I think she is to small for her age. Her dad was a massive akita so that's why I want to know that she will still grow a lot or that she will stay this way. She now weights 27kg. I'm not worried I just want to know if she will grow on a later age.

WrylyBrindle

From her photo, she looks healthy and strong, fit and agile. Akita people can correct me here but I think after 9 months they are usually about done getting taller, but will fill out a bit more. Her feet and legs dont have that "Im still growing" thickness to them, and her shoulders are above her hips now, so probably she is what she is. Remember too that Nihon Ken show sexual dimorphism, and females are more petite - sometimes much more so- than their fathers and brothers.

Korra looks really fantastic and fast! She has a nice waist, a gorgeous fluffy tail and a head/muzzle shape that looks really natural and beautiful to me!

Nathan

Thanks, she is really sweet too. I just tought it wasn't normal that she was that small or something because I have seen some very big female akitas before but you're probably right. I don't care if she's small or big as long as she is as sweet as she is now.

shibamistress

American Akitas do grow taller after 9 mos. Most of the growth is before that, but they do continue to grow. My girl is almost 9 mos. old, and is 22 inches high, one inch under what she should be to show (since she's not a show dog, it doesn't matter though!). My breeder saw her this past weekend and said she'd grow more, at least a few more inches, and she will for sure fill out more. My Zora is also around 60 pounds, and she will for sure fill out. My breeder didn't think she'd be more than 70 pounds as an adult, and I'm thinking somewhere in the 70-80 pound range, as I've noticed they do continue to grow up til 2 years of age.

Your girl looks pretty fine boned, so she's not going to be huge, but she's very pretty! And as Chrys noted above, the females are always smaller, more petit. It's true, though, that her legs don't look like they're going to grow much more, but she might gain an inch or so and some weight. (In comparison, my girl's legs are chunky, with still quite prominent growth plate bumps).

Your girl is very pretty!

Nathan

Thanks

kbbd83

I agree with @WrylyBrindle. She looks great!

BearMom

Agree with shibamistress, most AA's continue to grow in height beyond 9 months. I'd say between 12 to 16 months, you will definitely max out in height. Then she will continue to fill out. My boy added about 4.5 kg every month until he hit 8 months. Then the rate of growth slowed dramatically. He hovered at 37 kg for the longest time. He is 4 years old now and just reached 45 kg.

Also a lot depends on the breed lines she comes from. Some mature faster, others very slowly. My breeder's lines do not completely mature until age 5-6.

Second checking the growth plates.