akita adolescence

porchmoreporchmore
edited December 2013 in General
Hi
My Akita Ted is 13 months old now and is starting to get troublesome. Will not sit for his food. Will not come back when called etc. He was fine up until 3/4 weeks ago. I'm just wondering how I should read into this? Is this normal for male akitas at this age? He's also been showing aggression to some of my family. Ive consulted a trainer but she's not around for a couple weeks. Any advice would bee so helpful!
Thanks

Comments

  • BearMomBearMom
    Many akitas seem to forget all training during adolescence and try to test the pecking order or prove themselves, especially with other dogs of the same gender. What type of aggression has he shown to your family?
  • porchmoreporchmore
    He was never territorial about anything only his bed. Usually he would lay on the floor and sleep no problem. But I took out his bed lately because it's winter and straight away he growled when I went near him. So I do not take it out anymore. He was asleep when my brother came up behind him and petted him. But he had warned us a few times about his bed.he puts up with alot and never really got his own space so I gave him the benefit of the doubt and consulted the trainer. But I have noticed since his attitude has changed. I don't wanna be another person who gave up there akita because they couldn't handle adolescence. thanks
  • BearMomBearMom
    If that's the only thing he is possessive about, that is easily remedied by getting rid of the bed. But if he has become aggressive about other things that's a problem that needs to be nipped in the bud. Did he growl at your brother when he came up behind him and petted him while sleeping? Does your trainer have experience with akitas?
  • porchmoreporchmore
    edited December 2013
    He had growled other times before. But this time it was his body body language that was the warning I'm sure. She didn't say much yet.I must fill out a form about what happened. she's on holidays till the 6th. I'm thinking of getting him neutered but I know that won't solve all the problems. What's the best way to punish you're Dog? A verbal? I know it varies but roughly how long is Akita adolescence in males?
  • cdenneycdenney
    Don't punish the growling what ever you do. The growling is good its him giving you a heads up. If you punish the growing and he stops that warning of "I don't like this I might bite" and then you have a dog that be comes more in predictable/ bites out of no where
  • cdenneycdenney
    Also akitas have an interesting rap and I think alot of trainers come into work with them with a closed mind. I know nothing about your trainer but I would get a trainer who has worked with akitas before and uses positive reinforcement techniques. I don't believe your trainer should ever roughly handle your dog, do shutzhund type training with the NK breeds.

    I'm not a trainer but for now ditch the bed. Have everyone carry around kibble or a low value treat. When your pup approaches a human he gets a treat. When they walk by his spot drop a piece of kibble so he associates people with kibble and people near where he is chilling with kibble. (This is of course if he doesn't resource guard his food from other dogs or people). In the meantime try and have people just be careful around him. If he's knocked out cold don't go for the pet have them make some noise as they come up to him and if he wakes up drop a piece of kibble and move on. You want all associations to be good ones.

    If he growls don't correct the noise but put him in a time out or call him away and work with him, sit, down, up, stay to distract him from his behavior. Again not a trainer just a suggestion.

    I'm tagging in other akita people as they probably have more experience with this. @akita123 @shibamistress @poeticdragon
  • Kuma123Kuma123
    What type of training has he had up to this point? What socialization methods have been used? (i.e. parks, pet store visits, etc.)
    As stated above, the growl is his warning- if you eliminate that then there is no warning- just a bite. Don't correct the warning but do separate him from the stressful thing. In my opinion, if the bed is causing this level of resource guarding then the bed needs to be removed. Is this reaction over anything he considers his/ his bed or just that one thing specifically?
    Does your vet have a behaviorist that is familiar with Akitas? Have you looked for behaviorists in your area?

    One thing to keep in mind is that you never want to set your dog up for failure i.e. if a certain toy or bed or treat is the cause of his growl then remove those things. Does he have a crate or room that his own personal space? If not, give him some place to chill that isn't invaded by friends, other pets, children, etc.
    If petting him while he is asleep causes him to reactive negatively then do as suggested and make noise, call his name or something before the petting. Set him up to succeed and thrive.

  • shibamistressshibamistress
    I didn't answer at first, because, frankly, I was disturbed by the part about giving up dogs in adolescence. To me, that is always a failure of the owner, who does not deal with the dogs issues in a way that lets the dog succeed. There are rare circumstances in which I think giving up a dog is reasonable, but because the dog has problems that the were not addressed is not one of them. I think you want to work with your dog, which is good, but it may be a lot of work at this point. I actually think Akitas come into adolescence earlier than this: this is probably just more of a sense of what your dog is going to be like as he matures.

    I think we need to know more about the training methods you've used in the past to get a better sense of what this is. This is an example of resource guarding. There are ways to deal with resource guarding, but you need to be working on it now, in a positive fashion, so it doesn't get out of hand. The basic thing is what Kuma said: set the dog up to succeed. Positive reinforcement training is going to be the way to handle this,perhaps with some "time outs" (not positive reinforcement, but also a not terribly aversive method) when the dog resource guards. (Time outs should be very brief, a minute or so, and we put our big male Akita in his crate when he resource guards).

    But if you aren't already doing positive reinforcement training (and I don't know if you are or are not) than I can't explain it all that easily. Look in our training book section--there are many good books that will give you the basics. You'll need to do some counter-conditioning to get him not to guard his bed.

    Re: the trainer: a bad or aversive trainer can do a lot more harm than good. What kind of training methods is this trainer using? How do they propose to fix the problem? If they want to do any type of aversive training, this is just going to make the problem a lot worse.

    You might also consult a behavioralist rather than a trainer.

    Resource guarding, especially when aimed toward people, is a problem, but it is a problem that can be fixed with careful work. You may, however, need to get more help on this one. You might read the book Mine! for help.


  • BearMomBearMom
    @porchmore, you will be amazed at the results the right behaviorist/trainer can give you. Nothing beats having a professional show you proper techniques and, more importantly, watch and critique your interaction with your Akita. Take your time to finding one that has experience with Akitas.

    You may also want to get your Akita's thyroid levels tested next time you are at the vet. A majority of Akitas (something like 70%) suffer from hypothyroidism...with one symptom being sudden onset aggression.
  • porchmoreporchmore
    The bed is gone.I removed it straight away. However my mother wont allow him in the house any longer so he his staying with my dad for the time being. It's after making everything harder now that he's detached from his home.

    I did allot of socialisation with him as a pup. Brought him to my friends houses with me. In the car, walks in different places etc. However I have not done alot of socialisation with in the last 2 months roughly as I find it hard with Work. As far as training goes he is made work for his treats and food. No freebies. He eats after the family and is not allowed on the furniture etc. I realise now that he was given too much love in a way. Hugs and kisses etc. Heavy petting.

    The trainer is actually a behaviorist and is the only qualified one in Ireland. She's only back to work yesterday so I'm waiting for a reply. He's a good dog I know it.I just feel like he's trying to do what ever he wants. I cannot get over the change in him. If I say black he'd say white.

    Thanks for the advice. There's allot of conflicting information out there about training akitas and it sometimes gets confusing.

    Any advice will be greatly appreciated

  • BearMomBearMom
    If the aggression continues or gets worse even with the help of your behaviorist, I strongly advise you to get the thyroid test. Hypothyroidism is easily treatable. I think the meds are less than $0.25 (0.14 IEP) a day. A lot of Akitas are dumped in animal shelters because they seem to "turn" on their owners when in fact they have hypothyroidism.

    A dog does not become aggressive from too many hugs, kisses and petting. It sounds like you are doing a decent job teaching your dog boundaries and rules. Wait until your consultation with the behaviorist before you go blaming yourself!

    :)
  • shibamistressshibamistress
    I agree....dogs do not become aggressive from getting on the sofa or from eating with the family or being given treats. In fact, giving treats as a reward can be a great thing (clicker training). It sounds like straight up resource guarding, which can be worked with.

    But moving him around is not going to help him that much. Most dogs who resource guard or show guarding behaviors are doing it out of fear that they will lose something--fear of having something taken away. So the more uncertain he becomes about his place, the worse he may become. There's an element of fearfulness in this kind of behavior usually, so you need to build up his confidence. Look at some of the books by positive trainers--that will help.

    And it certainly wouldn't hurt to get his thyroid checked either.
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