Shikoku, Different character than the Shibas in our house. He definitely wants to be more of a companion to the humans - lays under my office chair much of the time. Less of his own agenda, so to speak (but not overly clingy at all). Comes off as "smarter" to us, yet w/out a lot of obvious cunning - where the "goofiness" comes in, I guess. But there is that "lion" side (I guess I should say "bear" as people call these akitas - but somehow lion seems more appropriate w/ his deep chest, legs, and build - more lion like than bear, for now) and that very deep growl and short warning bark he can go to when he thinks boogie men and creatures are beyond our fence. Its quite impressive, stands rock solid tall, ears straight up - like a sculpture(or posed for dog show). That goofiness is gone, and you see the ancient need he was bread for, protection of hearth and home. He's already shown it's deeply ingrained in his DNA - why we did so much socialization early on. When walked, men stare at him, and women want to hug him - so, he's got that charisma thing going on. Same thing that my oldest daughter and wife got infected by when they saw their first Akita being walked around the local park lake (and now we have Kaiju)!
Went well, despite folks saying more dogs were there than normal (bad weather coming in days). He surprised me by acting slightly timid at first, but that went away quickly. After a while his attraction to smaller dogs(like the 3 others in our house) started to show, but it was great for him to mix it up w/ dogs who look him in the eye. Course it wore his butt out, as he's crashed.
L to R, biggest pure German Shepherd I have ever seen (1 year old, giant everything - look at the tail! Can cover ground. Male), some sort of female "rare non drooling" mastiff, Kaiju, Lab/Pyrenees mix
Akita Poodle face off (There was no issue) but show pose by Kaiju, eh? He got a lot of compliments on his markings/coat - was friendly and easy going to all humans there (and dogs)
Not sure what this was. Very large - Long haired malamute ... but not w/ those blue eyes. So maybe husky/malamute mix w/ longhair gene(not a fan of that gene)? One of the few dogs(only?) that acted kind of aggressive w/ stomps up and down and firm repeated short "woofs" - Kaiju was not impressed. Our great husky(lived to 17) loved all dogs and was silent!
Oh, and this dog in the background (15 week pup), brown and white - look at that long whippie tail! The owner swore up and down it was German shepherd/Pit Bull mix - that was Rumplelstilskin to me as I NEVER woulda called that?
1 Year old today. Kuma, the male Shiba, is now Kaiju's running mate. They are actually friends. Kuma now lets Kaiju nibble and gnaw on his neck, etc. Months ago, a complete no-no. Kaiju has held at around 95 lbs for a few weeks now...and of course he will fill out. We see subtle signs of that now, face getting rounder, etc(he's into his first shedding right now - trying to stay on top of it).
Kaiju is almost 14 months old now and our first Akita (on NILF treatment). As the oppressive heat dropped this evening, we were playing cooperative fetch in the backyard. After a while, he rolled on his back in pure pleasure mouthing his ball, hoping I'd rub his belly(I did), after several rounds of this, I spotted a dog tick near a relatively thin haired(his coat has blown) spot by his "arm pit". I touched it and he immediately growled - uhh, so much for the legendary pain threshold of akitas (really?). I said, shhh, reached near again, more growl slightly more intense. I remain calm but inside I am livid. I do not tolerate this "disrespect"(for lack of a better word) from a dog very well. Not to mention I have never had a dog growl at his owner. Ever. They might be unhappy when touch ing them on sore spots or having to do something unpleasant to them like trim nails , etc., whimper/whine, etc., but NEVER growl... so it really, really bothers me.
We took him inside, muzzled him (not screwing around w/a possible bite - the whole time I'm fuming inside that I have to do all of this to remove a tick from my own dog. Ridiculous - yes, I'm being very honest and frank here) while giving him special treats. Had him sit, he did promptly. He then would not go in a "down" position (he knows the command). My wife reached under for his armpit, he starts growling, upon touching the area he snaps/bit (who knows how far if w/out the muzzle? - it was quick and short). We then hooked up the leash. Me holding him in a sit. He growled, and leaned back into me like he does for affection, as she reached in. I held the hair apart and she removed it w/ out too much hassle. He had actually stopped growling, but was stiff. We then praised, treated(not growling). Made him sit, up, sit, and finally got him to do a down/treated. He went to the door w/ his leash expecting a walk. Made him sit and then out we went for brief walk w/ muzzle still on. Came back inside and after while, sit, then removed muzzle.
Is this reaction from him in the range of "normal" Akita? Love the dog, love the breed, but this growling crap(is deep adolescence at the root?)... I'm not a fan (again, honest and frank here). It's a tick for cripe's sake. I get it that it maybe irritated, but this was an overreaction in my book... or is it? Btw, he was boarded recently for the first time for 4 days and the owner told my son "He was the best behaved dog we'd ever had (guess those yorkies are terrorists!)
We kept the tick in a bag. Believe it or not another bad thing just happened. We think after playing w/ the other dogs he may have hurt his the leg(different leg than the tick) in some manner, as he's favoring it? It's also the same leg that he has mysterious black spot... last week, I was looking at it, again if it's bothering him, he didn't like the pain or more increase of it due to what I am doing. I used a bright small flashlight to look at it. He remembered... My wife wanted to look at the spot. I got the flashlight. I was in front of him, he was growling when he saw it. We told him no and to stop it. I'm probably 4 feet from him, he lunges w/a warning bite. Yep, that just happened (wow, this akita planet!). Wife muzzled him, as he sat, as I still stood in front of him. Then released him. He walked into the kids TV room. I go in w/ flashlight, yep, instant growl, very stiff as he sits. We talk about things. I eventually put flashlight away. He walks up to me, sits calmly, I praise and treat him. I do not bring out the flashlight again. Muzzle still on. As I type this he comes into my office and lays at my feet. Dealing w/ breeds like huskies and shibas in past, I would've met fire w/ fire if that happened (old school training?). But all of the reading I have done re: Akitas (and "aggressive" breeds) over and over say you don't do that. Being harsh back backfires. I'm telling myself not to go there (and I haven't!)... yet I'm dealing w/ this crap from a dog that I have never experienced...?!? Wow.
Tim, you should take him to the vet. If he's favoring his leg and growling when touched he's probably in pain.
Also, I know it's tough to have your dog growl at you, but even with smaller dogs like Shibas and Huskies, you don't want to punish them for it or force them to tolerate what upsets them. If you teach them not to communicate their discomfort (growl), they might not give you a warning next time.
Do not force your dog to submit to being handled. This can actually backfire and cause a fearful dog to resort to aggression. There is also a chance that your dog will become moresensitive to being touched on other parts of his body.
Thanks for all the links Zandrame. Much to read. We are being praised on another message board on how we handled the tick situation. It had to be done... I get the "no force" line, but yet we needed to get it done. We are also being told to check his thyroid because my gut it telling me he is overreacting to several things, and it's been relatively recent. Is it adolescence that he is getting so "opinionated", cranky? Or is it start of thyroid stuff? Anyway a trip to the vet and begin the process probably as thyroid needs to be rule out(?). I will say this - his light limp, most of us would notice and observe, but very, very few would rush to vet over in and of itself. But add to this, the small black spot needs to be checked out (where he started to get pissed/fearful of last week w/ flashlight when I first looked at it and touched it so gently. The growling is very, very unsettling... and now followed it up w/ snaps. Not fun.
Comments
Different character than the Shibas in our house. He definitely wants to be more of a companion to the humans - lays under my office chair much of the time. Less of his own agenda, so to speak (but not overly clingy at all). Comes off as "smarter" to us, yet w/out a lot of obvious cunning - where the "goofiness" comes in, I guess. But there is that "lion" side (I guess I should say "bear" as people call these akitas - but somehow lion seems more appropriate w/ his deep chest, legs, and build - more lion like than bear, for now) and that very deep growl and short warning bark he can go to when he thinks boogie men and creatures are beyond our fence. Its quite impressive, stands rock solid tall, ears straight up - like a sculpture(or posed for dog show). That goofiness is gone, and you see the ancient need he was bread for, protection of hearth and home. He's already shown it's deeply ingrained in his DNA - why we did so much socialization early on. When walked, men stare at him, and women want to hug him - so, he's got that charisma thing going on. Same thing that my oldest daughter and wife got infected by when they saw their first Akita being walked around the local park lake (and now we have Kaiju)!
Went well, despite folks saying more dogs were there than normal (bad weather coming in days). He surprised me by acting slightly timid at first, but that went away quickly. After a while his attraction to smaller dogs(like the 3 others in our house) started to show, but it was great for him to mix it up w/ dogs who look him in the eye. Course it wore his butt out, as he's crashed.
L to R, biggest pure German Shepherd I have ever seen (1 year old, giant everything - look at the tail! Can cover ground. Male), some sort of female "rare non drooling" mastiff, Kaiju, Lab/Pyrenees mix
Akita Poodle face off
Not sure what this was. Very large - Long haired malamute ... but not w/ those blue eyes. So maybe husky/malamute mix w/ longhair gene(not a fan of that gene)? One of the few dogs(only?) that acted kind of aggressive w/ stomps up and down and firm repeated short "woofs" - Kaiju was not impressed. Our great husky(lived to 17) loved all dogs and was silent!
Oh, and this dog in the background (15 week pup), brown and white - look at that long whippie tail! The owner swore up and down it was German shepherd/Pit Bull mix - that was Rumplelstilskin to me as I NEVER woulda called that?
What is the trick to embedding videos? Don't get it, and I'm not a computer neophyte at all?
Edit: My phone wanted to type farm mask... Wtf???
Kaiju is almost 14 months old now and our first Akita (on NILF treatment). As the oppressive heat dropped this evening, we were playing cooperative fetch in the backyard. After a while, he rolled on his back in pure pleasure mouthing his ball, hoping I'd rub his belly(I did), after several rounds of this, I spotted a dog tick near a relatively thin haired(his coat has blown) spot by his "arm pit". I touched it and he immediately growled - uhh, so much for the legendary pain threshold of akitas (really?). I said, shhh, reached near again, more growl slightly more intense. I remain calm but inside I am livid. I do not tolerate this "disrespect"(for lack of a better word) from a dog very well. Not to mention I have never had a dog growl at his owner. Ever. They might be unhappy when touch ing them on sore spots or having to do something unpleasant to them like trim nails , etc., whimper/whine, etc., but NEVER growl... so it really, really bothers me.
We took him inside, muzzled him (not screwing around w/a possible bite - the whole time I'm fuming inside that I have to do all of this to remove a tick from my own dog. Ridiculous - yes, I'm being very honest and frank here) while giving him special treats. Had him sit, he did promptly. He then would not go in a "down" position (he knows the command). My wife reached under for his armpit, he starts growling, upon touching the area he snaps/bit (who knows how far if w/out the muzzle? - it was quick and short). We then hooked up the leash. Me holding him in a sit. He growled, and leaned back into me like he does for affection, as she reached in. I held the hair apart and she removed it w/ out too much hassle. He had actually stopped growling, but was stiff. We then praised, treated(not growling). Made him sit, up, sit, and finally got him to do a down/treated. He went to the door w/ his leash expecting a walk. Made him sit and then out we went for brief walk w/ muzzle still on. Came back inside and after while, sit, then removed muzzle.
Is this reaction from him in the range of "normal" Akita? Love the dog, love the breed, but this growling crap(is deep adolescence at the root?)... I'm not a fan (again, honest and frank here). It's a tick for cripe's sake. I get it that it maybe irritated, but this was an overreaction in my book... or is it? Btw, he was boarded recently for the first time for 4 days and the owner told my son "He was the best behaved dog we'd ever had (guess those yorkies are terrorists!)
Dealing w/ breeds like huskies and shibas in past, I would've met fire w/ fire if that happened (old school training?). But all of the reading I have done re: Akitas (and "aggressive" breeds) over and over say you don't do that. Being harsh back backfires. I'm telling myself not to go there (and I haven't!)... yet I'm dealing w/ this crap from a dog that I have never experienced...?!? Wow.
Also, I know it's tough to have your dog growl at you, but even with smaller dogs like Shibas and Huskies, you don't want to punish them for it or force them to tolerate what upsets them. If you teach them not to communicate their discomfort (growl), they might not give you a warning next time.
A thread on growling on the Shiba forum (there might be another thread here?)
http://www.shibainuforum.org/forum/discussion/8309/thank-you-for-growling/p1
And more:
https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/virtual-pet-behaviorist/dog-behavior/dogs-who-are-sensitive-handling
https://www.peaceablepaws.com/articles.php?subaction=showfull&id=1282173843
We are being praised on another message board on how we handled the tick situation. It had to be done... I get the "no force" line, but yet we needed to get it done. We are also being told to check his thyroid because my gut it telling me he is overreacting to several things, and it's been relatively recent. Is it adolescence that he is getting so "opinionated", cranky? Or is it start of thyroid stuff? Anyway a trip to the vet and begin the process probably as thyroid needs to be rule out(?). I will say this - his light limp, most of us would notice and observe, but very, very few would rush to vet over in and of itself. But add to this, the small black spot needs to be checked out (where he started to get pissed/fearful of last week w/ flashlight when I first looked at it and touched it so gently. The growling is very, very unsettling... and now followed it up w/ snaps. Not fun.