.... Yet LC owners all over the internet and Facebook get very defensive about their dogs' coat lengths, make wild claims about temperament, longevity, preservation, and so-on, and many also "put down" normal coated Akitas and their owners...
Well, we won't make any wild claims about temperament, longevity, etc, but I can see it's easy to develop a inferiority complex when one keeps getting questions like
Well, we won't make any wild claims about temperament, longevity, etc, but I can see it's easy to develop a inferiority complex when one keeps getting questions like
"what kind of mix is that?" "is that a chow mix?"
Well, given even without a long coat, I'd guess 90% of the world (or at least people in my neighborhood) couldn't identify an Akita on sight, I'd get other questions like "is it a wolf, is it husky, etc."
People asking about the dog and attempting to associate it with something they "know" never upsets me at all... I look at it as my job as an ambassador for the breed to take time to explain what she is, how she's "defective" (a term of endearment, I assure you - since my Kai is also a "defect" being cream/white), and what a wonderful, albeit not for everyone, dog Akitas are. Ushi is awesome because she's so damn friendly - she wants to love and lick everybody, and most people are intimated by her size, if not her appearance, until they spend 30 seconds with her.
We have friends who come over to see the dog more than to see us! If that's not a great boost for the breed, don't know what is!
As an aside: with regard to "quality" of LCs, our breeder has told us that about 9 out of 10 longcoats the she breeds, are initially choosen as POTL - until the coat reveals itself. It's her opinion that structurally they are what she considers ideal dogs.
She feels that the wooly dogs have better standard conformity, in general, other than the coat. Which obviously bums her out, but again, this could be relative to HER dogs. She breeds a few times a year and winds up with a handful of LCs, which she does NOT discount from "regular" dogs for pet homes - same price with/without the bonus fur.
It's very ironic that when I used to have only the shiba, people will ask me if he's an Akita or a Husky. That was before the shiba inu puppy cam and its 4 litters of cuteness.
Now that we have both a shiba and a midget long coat JA, people mostly assume they're the same breed, she just has fancy ears.
Well since we are all being honest here. The fact is people can spin this anyway they want it. Don't like a certain standard then go somewhere else and change it. Don't like a certain breeding practice then go do it anyway and lie about it.
It kills me that people lecture on and on about the LC. From experience and not the science of big words I see the long costs having a different personality. They make fantastic pets for people but I stop there. They do not need to be purposely bred.
I think the normal coats who have soft temperaments get overlooked. Long coats with soft temperament get noticed because of the power of suggestion; people are looking for them to have soft temperaments, and lo and behold, they do! Nevermind that most of the dogs the puppies in that litter are also soft, because that's what the breeder selects for in his lines, both parents are soft, etc.
The fact remains that if the long coat alelle is linked to some temperament alelles, those alelles would also be present in the normal coated parents. After all, how could two carriers pass on that temperament genes to their offspring if they were not carriers of the temperament genes, too?
The soft coat attracts every burr and thistle for miles around and requires regular attention. They do not blow their coat like a normal coated Akita and must be brushed constantly to aid removing the old hair. The fine hairs mat easily and prevent good airflow against the skin, which ruin's the dog's insulation against heat and cold. The hair also does not dry very quickly, and must thoroughly be blown dry whenever wet, otherwise water stays against the skin and cause skin irritations and infections. They lack the oils that keep the coat clean and dry and can get musty, dirty fur or have a noticeable smell. In cold climates, frost and icicles can build up in the fur, which causes the same problems as mats.
Even my regular coated AA is pretty high maintenance in coat care. More so than my Shibas or Kai. His coat mats much more easily (especially at the elbows and in the "pants"), and the old hair doesn't come out as easily. His coat seems a little longer than normal to me, but I don't really think it is--I think it is just longer than the Shibas coat.
Is he softer than your Shiba? How well does his fur stand out from the body, particularly in the problem areas? My AA has a much finer coat than my JAs, which makes it softer, lie flatter, and yes, be more prone to the same problems long coats have. Fortunately her coat is also pretty short (typical for an AA) so no real issues with mats. Mostly she gets hot spots if not thoroughly dried or if we don't help brush her during her shed.
Yes,his coat is softer and finer, and stands out from the body more. It's also just longer than the Shiba coats. He's lovely, and he LOVES cold weather (and doesn't do so well with heat in the summer), but I really do have to stay on top of coat care. Now that he's shedding, and I'm pulling clumps out of his "pants" area, I've found he actually had some pine needles in there that got matted up in there very close to the skin. Poor boy!
Meichan's puppy coat was as @PoeticDragon described, but she started to grow guard hair around 6 months of age. The guard hairs are about 3-4 inches long, but water proof & easy to care for like the shiba. But the rest of her that is either fuzz or feathering, is high maintenance and requires daily combing.
I just measured the long guard hairs on his neck--almost 3 inches long! I knew it was long and thick--when I'm petting him, I'm often surprised how long his hair is in the "ruff" area. Since he's having his first really major coat blow, most of his hair is much shorter now--he lost all his undercoat and the really long hair, but this winter it was super long and thick!
In terms of coat management... think of it like a Chow Chow. In a perfect world they'd get daily brushing, monthly baths (or more depending on your environment) and you'd own stock in Swiffer & Hoover.
You could knit sweaters for all of Texas with what comes off of here. I don't find her to be lacking in the typical oils, however, as somebody above said - it's there, but there's just a lot more fur to cover. Matting is an issue (behind ears, underarms, and wings on the hind and forelegs) if she gets wet and isn't brushed/blown dry.
All the issues of a Chow Chow, but not nearly as difficult to work with to keep clean (and they aren't really smelly - only if they get into stinky stuff. No more smelly than a regular coated dog, IMHO). At least with my Akita, she can go to a groomer and get washed/brushed, etc. - my Chows would not every allow a non-family member to be that intimate with them.
Poetic Dragon wrote: "The fine hairs mat easily and prevent good airflow against the skin, which ruin's the dog's insulation against heat and cold. The hair also does not dry very quickly, and must thoroughly be blown dry whenever wet, otherwise water stays against the skin and cause skin irritations and infections. They lack the oils that keep the coat clean and dry and can get musty, dirty fur or have a noticeable smell. In cold climates, frost and icicles can build up in the fur, which causes the same problems as mats."
I've had 3 longcoats--moderate longcoats, not the profusely coated ones--and none seemed to lack oils--they didn't get musty or dirty or have a noticeable smell, but they were basically house dogs. The first one I had lived outdoors in northern Alberta winters for about 5 years. She coped with the extreme cold in winter by developing the same kind of waxy coating that many LGDs develop. When I got her, it took 5 baths to get this chalky, waxy coating out of her hair. She was healthy after her outdoor years and had no skin problems.
I really like longcoats and wouldn't like to see them bred on purpose but think it would be a shame if every breeder used the longcoat gene test so there were no more longcoats. There are many more important considerations for a breeding than coat length.
BJ Andrews's book The World of the Akita (1996) had some discussion of longcoats and of the Karafuto dog. She was selling it at an ACA National when it first came out, and a very large longcoat of her breeding was often nearby. I'd seen her with one of her Foo dogs (basically a smooth Chow/Norwegian Elkhound cross in the beginning) at an Akita National and the notion came to me that perhaps she hoped to promote longcoats as the descendants of the rare Karafuto dog.
long coat is like white boxer. it's not rare at all. it is part of breed but not standard. long coat is also akita. it's just not within the standard. they can make good pet for some ppl. Still i don't think personality comes from coat length.
"Heavier bone" is another trait of long coats. We know that Mongolians brought horses, Tibetan Mastiff and Chows to the Akita region from the 9th century.. Heavy bone and longcoat may come from the TM. Akitas also sometimes have purple spots on their tounges, like TMs Hopefully, DNA may one day tell us the truth.
Comments
"what kind of mix is that?"
"is that a chow mix?"
People asking about the dog and attempting to associate it with something they "know" never upsets me at all... I look at it as my job as an ambassador for the breed to take time to explain what she is, how she's "defective" (a term of endearment, I assure you - since my Kai is also a "defect" being cream/white), and what a wonderful, albeit not for everyone, dog Akitas are. Ushi is awesome because she's so damn friendly - she wants to love and lick everybody, and most people are intimated by her size, if not her appearance, until they spend 30 seconds with her.
We have friends who come over to see the dog more than to see us! If that's not a great boost for the breed, don't know what is!
As an aside: with regard to "quality" of LCs, our breeder has told us that about 9 out of 10 longcoats the she breeds, are initially choosen as POTL - until the coat reveals itself. It's her opinion that structurally they are what she considers ideal dogs.
She feels that the wooly dogs have better standard conformity, in general, other than the coat. Which obviously bums her out, but again, this could be relative to HER dogs. She breeds a few times a year and winds up with a handful of LCs, which she does NOT discount from "regular" dogs for pet homes - same price with/without the bonus fur.
Now that we have both a shiba and a midget long coat JA, people mostly assume they're the same breed, she just has fancy ears.
It kills me that people lecture on and on about the LC. From experience and not the science of big words I see the long costs having a different personality. They make fantastic pets for people but I stop there. They do not need to be purposely bred.
The fact remains that if the long coat alelle is linked to some temperament alelles, those alelles would also be present in the normal coated parents. After all, how could two carriers pass on that temperament genes to their offspring if they were not carriers of the temperament genes, too?
You could knit sweaters for all of Texas with what comes off of here. I don't find her to be lacking in the typical oils, however, as somebody above said - it's there, but there's just a lot more fur to cover. Matting is an issue (behind ears, underarms, and wings on the hind and forelegs) if she gets wet and isn't brushed/blown dry.
All the issues of a Chow Chow, but not nearly as difficult to work with to keep clean (and they aren't really smelly - only if they get into stinky stuff. No more smelly than a regular coated dog, IMHO). At least with my Akita, she can go to a groomer and get washed/brushed, etc. - my Chows would not every allow a non-family member to be that intimate with them.
I've had 3 longcoats--moderate longcoats, not the profusely coated ones--and none seemed to lack oils--they didn't get musty or dirty or have a noticeable smell, but they were basically house dogs. The first one I had lived outdoors in northern Alberta winters for about 5 years. She coped with the extreme cold in winter by developing the same kind of waxy coating that many LGDs develop. When I got her, it took 5 baths to get this chalky, waxy coating out of her hair. She was healthy after her outdoor years and had no skin problems.
I really like longcoats and wouldn't like to see them bred on purpose but think it would be a shame if every breeder used the longcoat gene test so there were no more longcoats. There are many more important considerations for a breeding than coat length.
BJ Andrews's book The World of the Akita (1996) had some discussion of longcoats and of the Karafuto dog. She was selling it at an ACA National when it first came out, and a very large longcoat of her breeding was often nearby. I'd seen her with one of her Foo dogs (basically a smooth Chow/Norwegian Elkhound cross in the beginning) at an Akita National and the notion came to me that perhaps she hoped to promote longcoats as the descendants of the rare Karafuto dog.
it's not rare at all. it is part of breed but not standard.
long coat is also akita. it's just not within the standard. they can make good pet for some ppl.
Still i don't think personality comes from coat length.
Hopefully, DNA may one day tell us the truth.