@NotoriousScrat My dogs get dandruff when they blow coat. They also like to clean themselves often. My assumption is that when the fur blows, the saliva and dander blows with it.
It was sad for my godparents, because they really wanted an Akita, but if that was the reaction he had when he was already taking allergy meds, well, obviously, it was not going to work. I'm glad they were able to find a dog that would work even if it wasn't what they initially wanted (but their poodle is super funny and sweet, and they feel at least they were able to find a big dog that would work.)
If I had a chance, I'd love to meet an Akita, not only to see how my boyfriend would react, but simply because I never saw one. But as far as I know, no one in Slovenia has a Japanese one (even AAs are very, very rare). Oh and by the way, as soon as I showed some JA pictures to my boyfried, he fell in love with them as well. But I know that no matter which breed we end up with, we'll love our dog.
Sorry I didn't reply sooner but, I wanted to say thanks again for all the input and answering my questions. Also thanks Niniel for asking more questions. Glad this thread has been useful to other Akita fans
Also thanks for the pitbull suggestions. I actually like pitbulls a lot, they're really awesome. I'm really in love with the idea of a larger dog but, a good fit for my lifestyle is more important so, I'll definetly do more research on them with my list of other possible breeds.
1 cant say as i have two aa 2. they have bonded with all the family although kuma a little more i think maybe because of him being abused in first home. 3 my girl never loves her comfort too much but kuma i do have to call in he gets too warm in house two coats and all i have fans on makes no difference. 3 love meeting people outside on walks kuma a bit wary of people that call. 4 an hour in the morning another hour in evening with play in garden. 5 zarah i let off lead when younger but after about 12 - 18 months prey drive kicked in and so never let kuma off leash 6 its just team work constantly keeping everything clear and speaking with your akita all the time it works for me as for agility yes it could be done but my two it would only be while they could be bothered. or the look that tells you if its that good you do it then well watch. 8 recall not if squirrels cats leaves or anything else is around to amuse them 9 yes independance if that means trying to get onto settee bed or somewhere where they can just watch you all day 10
niniel, eurodogshow was in slovenia last year, in Celje. Lovely region, we really loved it! Check out fci.be and you can find next year's dog shows, I am sure some akitas will attend.
Consider a Saluki, independent hunting dog but love their owners and can literally walk forever. Not to mention they look beautiful, are clean and quiet in the home and are equip to deal with hot weather.
I am biased though, I have the most lovely Saluki ever.
I have Three male Akita, Two JA and one AA. And one JA thats in heaven.
1. What is the difference in temperament and behavior for the American vs. Japanese Akita, is there one?
I don't see a difference in Temperament. But personality is all different. Each has their own unique little things.
2. Who does your Akita bond most with? Is it the entire family, a couple individuals or just one person?
They bond most to Me. Cuz I give them the most attention. I know this cuz thye run to me first when we all come in the door. But they love the whole family.
3. Does your Akita love to meet new people or are they somewhat wary of strangers? Do you notice any difference between meeting strangers on the street or strangers in your home?
They are suspicious of strangers and don't generally like someone who is scared of them. No difference. If they don't like someone that person will not approach. Nor enter my home until the dogs are put up.
4. What kind of activity level does your Akita have? Does it prefer to sleep all day or are they excited to go for exercise?
How about their endurance, how long can they exercise?
They lay around all day. But get very excited when the leash comes out. The will trot for about two miles. Then you will be taking a break. I found out by bike Joring with them. They did pull a little. My AA did most the work but he is older.
5. Is it true Akita can’t be trusted off leash? – I saw this in a lot of places, I’m assuming it has to do with their high prey drive, liability issues, other dangers and maybe they’re not known for recall? What’s been your experience? (Also, obviously I don’t mean off leash just anywhere. I mean somewhere remote where you won’t be around a lot of people or more then 1 or 2 other dogs.)
No off leash and no dog parks. All of them are prone to fight if they meet another Alpha or dominant dog. All of my Akita were quick to get real and fight. No off leash and no dog parks. Get a lab if you want those things.
6. Dog sports? I'm really interesting in doing some sort of dog sport in the future. I've seen some people do agility with their Akita(someone on this forum and then of course youtube) and it looks like fun. Does anyone else do a dog sport with their Akita?
I do Bike Joring. They won't fetch but they will play interference and keep away. They also like a flirt pole. After about 9-11 months old. I would be expecting to be around other dogs off leash to much. Keep that in mind while choosing a sport.
7. How trainable was/is your Akita? I know they're not as easy to train as a German Shepherd and they're a little easier to train than some of the Ninon ken but....that doesn't really help me a terrible amount since I've owned neither. I mean I kind of get the idea but...why don't you explain how long it took you to learn basic commands and what were your training challenges? How good was your dogs attention span?
It's like training a house cat. Seriously.
8. How good is your dogs recall and how hard did you work with them on it?
It's good in the back yard... Sometimes... And if there are no distractions.
9. Can you describe your dogs "independence." I'm assuming this means they don't have to be by your side constantly but, does that mean they just chill on their own all the time? Watch you do stuff Able to entertain themselves when you're busy and can't play?(I don't mean all day, I just mean like you're cleaning the house and the dog wants to play.)
They won't care about a lot of attention but they do like to say hi if you leave and come back 15mins later. They do like hugs and kisses. They follow me around. They help me by getting in my way. They want to be where I am at watching me. If I am watching TV they want to be in the living room.
10. Other? Is there anything important about the breed, or special about your dog you want to share? Any insight on what about your lifestyle has made your Akita ownership successful?
Multiple Akita's are a big handful. Akita require a tremendous amount of training and time training to get your basic commands you could easily get from a lab. There are success stories and Akita with good canine certificate and all that. But it requires a lot of skill and time to get those results. It really is like training a cat. If obedience is important to you than this is not the dog for you. The only difference in my opinion is their size and how they look.
Okay, so my JA is only a year and a half old, and I've been told he's a weird Akita, so take everything I say with a grain of salt.
1. What is the difference in temperament and behavior for the American vs. Japanese Akita, is there one?
I've only owned one akita who is my current JA, Nanaki. I have not seen another JA in the state I live in and every AA I've met here seems to be dog aggressive. Not sure if that's due to not enough socialization or breeding, or what. AA are bigger than the JA. I have read that male JA get to be a max of 75lbs, and Male AA can be up to 120 lbs. My male JA is 56 lbs. I don't think he'll get any bigger.
2. Who does your Akita bond most with? Is it the entire family, a couple individuals or just one person?
He definitely bonds with me more than my husband because he will greet me when I come home and he really only listens to me. But that's mostly because I'm the one who trains him/does everything with him. My husband doesn't do anything except take the dogs out at night.
3. Does your Akita love to meet new people or are they somewhat wary of strangers? Do you notice any difference between meeting strangers on the street or strangers in your home?
My JA loves EVERYONE. And I mean EVERYONE. He will jump all over people and lick them in the face which we've been working on because it's really rude and sometimes when he gets really excited he nips at their clothes, yet most people encourage this behavior and it's very frustrating. I try to tell people to not pet him unless he is sitting and calm but people don't understand when they see a cute dog like an akita. They have to touch him. I honestly didn't expect I would have that problem with an akita, but yep.
4. What kind of activity level does your Akita have? Does it prefer to sleep all day or are they excited to go for exercise? How about their endurance, how long can they exercise?
Nanaki can play for HOURS. Like...it's kind of insane. We used to go to the dog park for about an hour and he'd still have energy to run around the yard. But again, only a year and a half old.
5. Is it true Akita can’t be trusted off leash? – I saw this in a lot of places, I’m assuming it has to do with their high prey drive, liability issues, other dangers and maybe they’re not known for recall? What’s been your experience? (Also, obviously I don’t mean off leash just anywhere. I mean somewhere remote where you won’t be around a lot of people or more then 1 or 2 other dogs.)
We do offleash walks sometimes with big groups of other people and dogs. I would worry if I was by myself that he wouldn't come back, but I know he'll follow the other dogs in a big group. I used to do offleash walks once a week with my friend and her two labs, but then her lab puppy started to become aggressive and she's working on that now. She doesn't want to do offleash walks anymore until she has that under control. The labs had amazing recall so I would never worry about Nanaki wandering because he would always follow them. We started this when he was a puppy, so his recall is pretty good. I just worry about a deer running across the path or something and him chasing it. I'm not sure he'd come back. He does have an emergency recall but I have never tested it in a situation like that so I'm not sure how he'd react.
6. Dog sports? I'm really interesting in doing some sort of dog sport in the future. I've seen some people do agility with their Akita(someone on this forum and then of course youtube) and it looks like fun. Does anyone else do a dog sport with their Akita?
We are working on agility with Nanaki. He is very distracted and has little focus right now. Not sure if it's because of his age or what. He has been doing better recently but he is afraid of the teeter, and is very skittish with loud noises, so it's been a bit of a struggle. Last class someone knocked down a metal chair while he was running and then I couldn't get him to jump for about 5 minutes. >.< He finally got over it and we finished our run. I think we'll get there eventually. With patience and lots of training, I think you can do it. As with most Nihon Ken, you have to convince them what they are doing is fun and enjoyable, otherwise they won't do it. You also may have to explain to the trainer that you shouldn't practice the stuff ad nauseum in class. That's something my trainer had to figure out with Nanaki. He hated the beginning stuff but now that we're actually running courses he seems to enjoy it more. They are very smart and if they get bored or frustrated, they will start to backtrack and be naughty. I can tell when Nanaki is getting annoyed or if we've practiced something too much because he will stop doing it completely, or if he gets REALLY annoyed, he nips at me. It's like he's saying, "What the heck, I got this already, why are we still doing it?!"
7. How trainable was/is your Akita? I know they're not as easy to train as a German Shepherd and they're a little easier to train than some of the Ninon ken but....that doesn't really help me a terrible amount since I've owned neither. I mean I kind of get the idea but...why don't you explain how long it took you to learn basic commands and what were your training challenges? How good was your dogs attention span?
Nanaki is brighter than my shiba and can pick up on things really quickly. He has better weave polls than my shiba and I've been training with my shiba in agility for nearly 4 years now. Nanaki has been really easy to train. He has immediate sits and downs and even does commands at a distance. My shiba looks at me like i'm an idiot when I ask her to sit.
8. How good is your dogs recall and how hard did you work with them on it?
We work on recall in the back yard every day. His recall is decent. It's not as good as my shiba's, but he's also young and very distracted most of the time.
9. Can you describe your dogs "independence." I'm assuming this means they don't have to be by your side constantly but, does that mean they just chill on their own all the time? Watch you do stuff Able to entertain themselves when you're busy and can't play?(I don't mean all day, I just mean like you're cleaning the house and the dog wants to play.)
Nanaki is a little needy. He will lay down next to me most of the time and just sleep, but he needs to be in the same room as me all the time. And when he wants to be pet, he puts his head in my lap. I don't know if it's a boy thing or what, but my shiba hates being in the room with me lol.
10. Other? Is there anything important about the breed, or special about your dog you want to share? Any insight on what about your lifestyle has made your Akita ownership successful?
I would just say socialize the bejesus out of your akita if you get one. People tell me all the time they've never met one as nice as Nanaki. He loves other dogs and people and rarely gets into a scuffle at the dog park. If he does, the other dog always starts it and hes' always the first to "give up" the scuffle. He may also be the exception to the rule too, there's always dogs that don't quite fit the breed. Just depends on what you're willing to work with and expect that you'll have to put in a lot of work. You may be pleasantly surprised in the end.
Dog sports -- My dogs LOVE Nose Work, Barn Hunt, and Lure Coursing. As activities that rely more on the dog's hunt drive and prey drive (not the same thing!) than following commands like Agility, Obedience, and Rally, I've found my Akitas to be much more suited to them. Not to mention its better bonding and more fun for me as well. I have no interest in ordering my dog around and having a perfect little machine to do what I tell it to do; if I did, I'd program a robot or something.
Don't have long experience with the breed. My JA is 3 years old at the moment.
1. What is the difference in temperament and behavior for the American vs. Japanese Akita, is there one? Leaving this blank, don't know the american akita well enough.
2. Who does your Akita bond most with? Is it the entire family, a couple individuals or just one person? He likes the rest of the family, but he's most bond to me. Mainly because I do all the walks, feeding, etc.
3. Does your Akita love to meet new people or are they somewhat wary of strangers? Do you notice any difference between meeting strangers on the street or strangers in your home? Love is a strong word. He greets strangers, but is not overly interested in them. He will let them pet him as he loves cuddles, but is not acting super excited. Strangers in our home.. if they knock and are let in he will be wagging his tail, but if they come in without knocking he'll give us a warning bark to let us know something's up.
4. What kind of activity level does your Akita have? Does it prefer to sleep all day or are they excited to go for exercise? How about their endurance, how long can they exercise? I think he's a bit more than average on the activity level for akitas. He loves to pull (bike, jogging, ski). I'm not super fit, but he gladly joins me for the occasional 5km jog. Inside he will sleep all day, but outdoors he's impossible to tire.. so good off-switch on this one.
5. Is it true Akita can’t be trusted off leash? – I saw this in a lot of places, I’m assuming it has to do with their high prey drive, liability issues, other dangers and maybe they’re not known for recall? What’s been your experience? (Also, obviously I don’t mean off leash just anywhere. I mean somewhere remote where you won’t be around a lot of people or more then 1 or 2 other dogs.) If he finds a deer/moose trail he's gone.
6. Dog sports? I'm really interesting in doing some sort of dog sport in the future. I've seen some people do agility with their Akita(someone on this forum and then of course youtube) and it looks like fun. Does anyone else do a dog sport with their Akita? Also interested One of our goal for 2016 is to take a class in obedience, and maybe start a competition if we get anywhere.
7. How trainable was/is your Akita? I know they're not as easy to train as a German Shepherd and they're a little easier to train than some of the Ninon ken but....that doesn't really help me a terrible amount since I've owned neither. I mean I kind of get the idea but...why don't you explain how long it took you to learn basic commands and what were your training challenges? How good was your dogs attention span? In my experience they get bored quickly, so training is best done at short intervals, eg. ten minutes training, then a break and then a few more ten minute sessions. He's very quick to catch on to things.
8. How good is your dogs recall and how hard did you work with them on it? This is still a work in progress. I think we're up to about 90% at the moment with little distractions (as mentioned in question 5: if he finds a trail he's gone).
9. Can you describe your dogs "independence." I'm assuming this means they don't have to be by your side constantly but, does that mean they just chill on their own all the time? Watch you do stuff Able to entertain themselves when you're busy and can't play?(I don't mean all day, I just mean like you're cleaning the house and the dog wants to play.) If I study all day he'll come over a couple of times for a few "pats on the back" before going back to sleep. Other than that he won't interact with me unless I initiate it. He likes me being in the room with him and will most often change room if I do so, but only after a while. He never follows me to the bathroom or anything, kinda just wait and sees where I decide on sitting down.
I don't have an Akita, so that isn't why I'm commenting, re the comment about Agility, Rally and Obedience "I have no interest in ordering my dog around and having a perfect little machine to do what I tell it to do; if I did, I'd program a robot or something."
...but I do have Shibas and Hokkaido and an Ovcharka and have had Kai Ken...I do all of these activities with my dogs, and I think it unfortunate that this is a perception of the sports. It is not an accurate depiction of doing sports with NK imo and would be a shame if people were discouraged from trying something fun for them and their dogs at all because of misinformation.
Certainly with my CO, Shiba, Hokkaido and former Kai, having little programmed robots is far from the reality of doing performance events with NK breeds. It's more about the handler than the dog, and the team rather than making a dog a robot. I do see AA here doing these events and I am always so impressed at the teamwork the teams have. You can tell they spend a lot of time doing training games and fun bonding activities so the dogs want to play and enjoy it.
That's all We love agility and all the sports, especially Flyball. If I had an Akita, I would take it to Agility classes and try Rally and CGC, it's good for the dogs to "go to school" and get new experiences in a fun way. It is what you make it!
I thought the comment was strange, too, @Lindsayt. That isn't the perception I have of those sports. I view it more of a team-building and bonding experience. I've often thought about doing obedience/rally or agility with Fionna and Nami. I just haven't found a place to do it in Portland that I like yet.
If you're doing the sport for the sport, it is bad.
If you're doing the sport because you and your dog enjoy it and it can add enrichment to your lives, it is fucking amazing.
That said, every dog is motivated by something different. If your dog doesnt enjoy working with you and taking commands, then i agree that Barn Hunt, lure coursing, and nose work, where you're not really invovled, is a better venue. However i feel all dogs should value and be excited to work with their owners. Even if you dont compete.. i just love the gleam in Tavi's eyes as she flattens herself like a pancake, tail wagging furiously while she awaits my next cue.. Just to execute it flawlessly. My dogs being so excited and eager motivates me so much more.
Doing agility classes are fun... competing obedience and rally, I don't see the joy in it. You give an arbitrary direction, the dog does it, and is graded on how well and how quickly it does it. Is it challenging for an NK? You bet. Is it more rewarding because its challenging? I suppose it could be to some people. But the objective is still the same... see if your dog will do what you've programmed it to do.
"programmed" is a really loaded word. It implies that the dog is a passive participant and doesn't enjoy the activity. That may be true for some teams, and they are probably not very happy people or pets, but that hasn't been my experience at all with Agility or Rally or Obedience on the competition level. It's been about team work and fun and lots of homework on my part. The really exiting thing for me is getting the chance to work with a dog who WANTS to work, or learning something new about what motivates my dog.
Liked the post because I think its a good sentiment. I'm really glad for you and your dogs that you find it fun. I mean that.
But when you say "homework" that's really EXACTLY how I view it. Its not fun for me to ask my dog to do the same thing over and over to practice (even mixing it up with multiple commands), and I don't think its fun for my dog either. But that's ME and my dogs - not everyone else, and definitely not meant to discourage those who like it. I think if I enjoyed stuff like that more, I would be more drawn to breeds that are more obeisant and want jobs and direction all the time. As it is, I find dogs like that kind of needy and annoying. XD
I know I've competed with an Agility trainer from Portland who Sandra (Koji and Maluko) recommended in the past. I believe she also teaches other training at her facility besides agility. If I can recall her name, I'll pass it on in case you were interested.
I'm one of those who like to do dog related "homework" as it's a chance for me to indulge my obsession and have 1 on 1 special time with my dogs, that is an outlet from a very stressful career where everything is very controlled and rigid. So, my training time with the dogs tends to be the opposite of control/rigid and it forces me to laugh at myself (which is important) and get those feel good endorphins flowing and it's also a total adrenaline rush to participate in lure coursing and the more hands off activities where they dog gets to act on instincts, that's a thrill. That and Barn Hunt and NW are some of the activities I will recommend people to try first as they are highly entertaining.
I agree with both of you, @poeticdragon, I also think that that the typical dogs who like to do repetitive dog sports are annoying. (border collies, labs, goldens, etc.) That's why I like doing dog sports with my shiba and Akita. For me, it's more rewarding because I know they're only doing it because they enjoy it. If they didn't enjoy it, they'd give me the duclaw all day and refuse to do anything because that's how they are. haha. But I have to say that I do think my dogs enjoy the activities we do. We don't do any repetitive practice. Once my dogs have it down, we stop practicing it, otherwise they definitely get really bored. I also have a similar view to lindsayt in that I view dog sports as a way to have fun with my dog. Our training is "fun time" more than homework and I think the dogs do enjoy it. My shiba will literally pull me to class/the ring when it's her turn to go. She loves it. And Nanaki, my akita, is starting to like it now that we're doing more of the running stuff and less of the practice. There were times during beginning training that I thought, "maybe this isn't for him," he's not liking this. But I gave it a couple more classes and now, he perks up when I ask him if he wants to work. He has always enjoyed going to class though. All I have to say is, "Nanaki, it's class day." And he whines and runs to the door. It's pretty fun. But if my dogs didn't like it, I definitely wouldn't keep doing it. We would have to find something else to do. I think you just have to fight the right thing to do with your dogs that makes you both happy.
First real post here! I know this is an old thread, but it was helpful to me when I first got my AA girl Hilda about 2 years ago, and so I am happy to contribute my personal experience in the hope that it is helpful to someone else ... even though the OP opted for another breed.
1. What is the difference in temperament and behavior for the American vs. Japanese Akita, is there one?
I only have an AA, so can't speak to difference.
2. Who does your Akita bond most with? Is it the entire family, a couple individuals or just one person? Hilda LOVES people and she LOVES her daddy and various other people. But she is definitely my dog first and foremost because I am the one who does everything.
3. Does your Akita love to meet new people or are they somewhat wary of strangers? Do you notice any difference between meeting strangers on the street or strangers in your home? Again, Hilda loves people. She is extremely social; I joke that she never got the memo about being aloof. People who are invited in--no problem, also very friendly. But she is territorial, a good watch dog. We have this weird private drive that people are always walking down, and if someone is where they shouldn't be, she will alert us.
4. What kind of activity level does your Akita have? Does it prefer to sleep all day or are they excited to go for exercise? How about their endurance, how long can they exercise? Both! She is very mellow through the day, and excited to go out when we do. She is definitely not an endurance dog, and I think this is pretty typical. However, a typical walk for us is anywhere between 3 and 6 miles, and she may need a breather in the middle of the longer one. All bets are off when it's hot, defined as anything about 70. Then I am lucky to get a mile out of her. 5. Is it true Akita can’t be trusted off leash? – I saw this in a lot of places, I’m assuming it has to do with their high prey drive, liability issues, other dangers and maybe they’re not known for recall? What’s been your experience? (Also, obviously I don’t mean off leash just anywhere. I mean somewhere remote where you won’t be around a lot of people or more then 1 or 2 other dogs.)
I think it's pretty safe to say that most akitas can't be trusted off leash without a huge amount of work, and that training is, in general, more challenging than with, say a GSD or a lab or something. We do more formal obedience training; her on-leash obedience is really good (after much work). We are currently working on off-leash; this is my goal. (Whether I can completely get there is another story, but it's a good goal to work towards.) We can walk in public places on a heel off-leash at this point, do distance sit/downstays, and recalls.
6. Dog sports? I'm really interesting in doing some sort of dog sport in the future. I've seen some people do agility with their Akita(someone on this forum and then of course youtube) and it looks like fun. Does anyone else do a dog sport with their Akita? Not yet, but once we get the off-leash dialed in a bit more, we're going to start some scentwork.
7. How trainable was/is your Akita? I know they're not as easy to train as a German Shepherd and they're a little easier to train than some of the Ninon ken but....that doesn't really help me a terrible amount since I've owned neither. I mean I kind of get the idea but...why don't you explain how long it took you to learn basic commands and what were your training challenges? How good was your dogs attention span? Again, my experience has to be caveated with the fact that I do more formal obedience training, which IME most people--with any dog breed--don't really do. (I'm talking about those of us regular joes who don't show or do competition anything, and I am not making any sort of judgment here, it all comes down to personal preference and what people want.) It has taken me far longer to get where we are than with previous dogs. I find that Hilda picks up commands very easily, but it's just a question of whether she wants to do them or not! I would say that her attention span is undivided when we're "working"; she concentrates very hard. But she's also done faster. Call it getting tired, call it getting bored. This is true of pretty much anything though--whether it's chasing a ball, playing tug, playing with another dog.
8. How good is your dogs recall and how hard did you work with them on it?
Work in progress. A lot of work. Recall is excellent when she's in "work" mode. Currently working on alternating between switching between "free" mode and "work" mode -- i.e., dog is on heel, spies cat, wants to go after cat but doesn't vs. dog is on free, spies cat, knows she's on a free and craftily works the situation ....
9. Can you describe your dogs "independence." I'm assuming this means they don't have to be by your side constantly but, does that mean they just chill on their own all the time? Watch you do stuff Able to entertain themselves when you're busy and can't play?(I don't mean all day, I just mean like you're cleaning the house and the dog wants to play.)
She's pretty independent. Likes to know where I am (I work from home, but ignore her a good chunk of the day), but can totally entertain herself. Pretty chill actually. That said, she is very snuggly and friendly, and loves affection and love, and will often come up for a good scratch and nose kisses. And when she brings me a toy to play tug with, that's the sign that it's time to get some exercise!
10. Other? Is there anything important about the breed, or special about your dog you want to share? Any insight on what about your lifestyle has made your Akita ownership successful? All our akitas are special!
Seriously, though ... I don't think most akitas are a good choice for anyone who has a hard time setting boundaries. As it is, my girl will work situations. You can see her independent akita brain assessing whatever is going on, and trying to figure out the loopholes. Also--and this is true of all dogs, but doubly true of my experience with akitas--fostering mutual respect. When people talk about akitas being standoffish, this is what I think about. It's not standoffish in the traditional sense, just that they don't unquestioningly follow your lead no matter what. There's a kind of proving yourself as worthy to follow.
Comments
Oh and by the way, as soon as I showed some JA pictures to my boyfried, he fell in love with them as well.
But I know that no matter which breed we end up with, we'll love our dog.
Also thanks for the pitbull suggestions. I actually like pitbulls a lot, they're really awesome. I'm really in love with the idea of a larger dog but, a good fit for my lifestyle is more important so, I'll definetly do more research on them with my list of other possible breeds.
I am biased though, I have the most lovely Saluki ever.
1. What is the difference in temperament and behavior for the American vs. Japanese Akita, is there one?
I don't see a difference in Temperament. But personality is all different. Each has their own unique little things.
2. Who does your Akita bond most with? Is it the entire family, a couple individuals or just one person?
They bond most to Me. Cuz I give them the most attention. I know this cuz thye run to me first when we all come in the door. But they love the whole family.
3. Does your Akita love to meet new people or are they somewhat wary of strangers? Do you notice any difference between meeting strangers on the street or strangers in your home?
They are suspicious of strangers and don't generally like someone who is scared of them. No difference. If they don't like someone that person will not approach. Nor enter my home until the dogs are put up.
4. What kind of activity level does your Akita have? Does it prefer to sleep all day or are they excited to go for exercise?
How about their endurance, how long can they exercise?
They lay around all day. But get very excited when the leash comes out. The will trot for about two miles. Then you will be taking a break. I found out by bike Joring with them. They did pull a little. My AA did most the work but he is older.
5. Is it true Akita can’t be trusted off leash? – I saw this in a lot of places, I’m assuming it has to do with their high prey drive, liability issues, other dangers and maybe they’re not known for recall? What’s been your experience? (Also, obviously I don’t mean off leash just anywhere. I mean somewhere remote where you won’t be around a lot of people or more then 1 or 2 other dogs.)
No off leash and no dog parks. All of them are prone to fight if they meet another Alpha or dominant dog. All of my Akita were quick to get real and fight. No off leash and no dog parks. Get a lab if you want those things.
6. Dog sports? I'm really interesting in doing some sort of dog sport in the future. I've seen some people do agility with their Akita(someone on this forum and then of course youtube) and it looks like fun. Does anyone else do a dog sport with their Akita?
I do Bike Joring. They won't fetch but they will play interference and keep away. They also like a flirt pole. After about 9-11 months old. I would be expecting to be around other dogs off leash to much. Keep that in mind while choosing a sport.
7. How trainable was/is your Akita? I know they're not as easy to train as a German Shepherd and they're a little easier to train than some of the Ninon ken but....that doesn't really help me a terrible amount since I've owned neither. I mean I kind of get the idea but...why don't you explain how long it took you to learn basic commands and what were your training challenges? How good was your dogs attention span?
It's like training a house cat. Seriously.
8. How good is your dogs recall and how hard did you work with them on it?
It's good in the back yard... Sometimes... And if there are no distractions.
9. Can you describe your dogs "independence." I'm assuming this means they don't have to be by your side constantly but, does that mean they just chill on their own all the time? Watch you do stuff Able to entertain themselves when you're busy and can't play?(I don't mean all day, I just mean like you're cleaning the house and the dog wants to play.)
They won't care about a lot of attention but they do like to say hi if you leave and come back 15mins later. They do like hugs and kisses. They follow me around. They help me by getting in my way. They want to be where I am at watching me. If I am watching TV they want to be in the living room.
10. Other? Is there anything important about the breed, or special about your dog you want to share? Any insight on what about your lifestyle has made your Akita ownership successful?
Multiple Akita's are a big handful. Akita require a tremendous amount of training and time training to get your basic commands you could easily get from a lab. There are success stories and Akita with good canine certificate and all that. But it requires a lot of skill and time to get those results. It really is like training a cat. If obedience is important to you than this is not the dog for you. The only difference in my opinion is their size and how they look.
1. What is the difference in temperament and behavior for the American vs. Japanese Akita, is there one?
I've only owned one akita who is my current JA, Nanaki. I have not seen another JA in the state I live in and every AA I've met here seems to be dog aggressive. Not sure if that's due to not enough socialization or breeding, or what. AA are bigger than the JA. I have read that male JA get to be a max of 75lbs, and Male AA can be up to 120 lbs. My male JA is 56 lbs. I don't think he'll get any bigger.
2. Who does your Akita bond most with? Is it the entire family, a couple individuals or just one person?
He definitely bonds with me more than my husband because he will greet me when I come home and he really only listens to me. But that's mostly because I'm the one who trains him/does everything with him. My husband doesn't do anything except take the dogs out at night.
3. Does your Akita love to meet new people or are they somewhat wary of strangers? Do you notice any difference between meeting strangers on the street or strangers in your home?
My JA loves EVERYONE. And I mean EVERYONE. He will jump all over people and lick them in the face which we've been working on because it's really rude and sometimes when he gets really excited he nips at their clothes, yet most people encourage this behavior and it's very frustrating. I try to tell people to not pet him unless he is sitting and calm but people don't understand when they see a cute dog like an akita. They have to touch him. I honestly didn't expect I would have that problem with an akita, but yep.
4. What kind of activity level does your Akita have? Does it prefer to sleep all day or are they excited to go for exercise? How about their endurance, how long can they exercise?
Nanaki can play for HOURS. Like...it's kind of insane. We used to go to the dog park for about an hour and he'd still have energy to run around the yard. But again, only a year and a half old.
5. Is it true Akita can’t be trusted off leash? – I saw this in a lot of places, I’m assuming it has to do with their high prey drive, liability issues, other dangers and maybe they’re not known for recall? What’s been your experience? (Also, obviously I don’t mean off leash just anywhere. I mean somewhere remote where you won’t be around a lot of people or more then 1 or 2 other dogs.)
We do offleash walks sometimes with big groups of other people and dogs. I would worry if I was by myself that he wouldn't come back, but I know he'll follow the other dogs in a big group. I used to do offleash walks once a week with my friend and her two labs, but then her lab puppy started to become aggressive and she's working on that now. She doesn't want to do offleash walks anymore until she has that under control. The labs had amazing recall so I would never worry about Nanaki wandering because he would always follow them. We started this when he was a puppy, so his recall is pretty good. I just worry about a deer running across the path or something and him chasing it. I'm not sure he'd come back. He does have an emergency recall but I have never tested it in a situation like that so I'm not sure how he'd react.
6. Dog sports? I'm really interesting in doing some sort of dog sport in the future. I've seen some people do agility with their Akita(someone on this forum and then of course youtube) and it looks like fun. Does anyone else do a dog sport with their Akita?
We are working on agility with Nanaki. He is very distracted and has little focus right now. Not sure if it's because of his age or what. He has been doing better recently but he is afraid of the teeter, and is very skittish with loud noises, so it's been a bit of a struggle. Last class someone knocked down a metal chair while he was running and then I couldn't get him to jump for about 5 minutes. >.< He finally got over it and we finished our run. I think we'll get there eventually. With patience and lots of training, I think you can do it. As with most Nihon Ken, you have to convince them what they are doing is fun and enjoyable, otherwise they won't do it. You also may have to explain to the trainer that you shouldn't practice the stuff ad nauseum in class. That's something my trainer had to figure out with Nanaki. He hated the beginning stuff but now that we're actually running courses he seems to enjoy it more. They are very smart and if they get bored or frustrated, they will start to backtrack and be naughty. I can tell when Nanaki is getting annoyed or if we've practiced something too much because he will stop doing it completely, or if he gets REALLY annoyed, he nips at me. It's like he's saying, "What the heck, I got this already, why are we still doing it?!"
7. How trainable was/is your Akita? I know they're not as easy to train as a German Shepherd and they're a little easier to train than some of the Ninon ken but....that doesn't really help me a terrible amount since I've owned neither. I mean I kind of get the idea but...why don't you explain how long it took you to learn basic commands and what were your training challenges? How good was your dogs attention span?
Nanaki is brighter than my shiba and can pick up on things really quickly. He has better weave polls than my shiba and I've been training with my shiba in agility for nearly 4 years now. Nanaki has been really easy to train. He has immediate sits and downs and even does commands at a distance. My shiba looks at me like i'm an idiot when I ask her to sit.
8. How good is your dogs recall and how hard did you work with them on it?
We work on recall in the back yard every day. His recall is decent. It's not as good as my shiba's, but he's also young and very distracted most of the time.
9. Can you describe your dogs "independence." I'm assuming this means they don't have to be by your side constantly but, does that mean they just chill on their own all the time? Watch you do stuff Able to entertain themselves when you're busy and can't play?(I don't mean all day, I just mean like you're cleaning the house and the dog wants to play.)
Nanaki is a little needy. He will lay down next to me most of the time and just sleep, but he needs to be in the same room as me all the time. And when he wants to be pet, he puts his head in my lap. I don't know if it's a boy thing or what, but my shiba hates being in the room with me lol.
10. Other? Is there anything important about the breed, or special about your dog you want to share? Any insight on what about your lifestyle has made your Akita ownership successful?
I would just say socialize the bejesus out of your akita if you get one. People tell me all the time they've never met one as nice as Nanaki. He loves other dogs and people and rarely gets into a scuffle at the dog park. If he does, the other dog always starts it and hes' always the first to "give up" the scuffle. He may also be the exception to the rule too, there's always dogs that don't quite fit the breed. Just depends on what you're willing to work with and expect that you'll have to put in a lot of work. You may be pleasantly surprised in the end.
1. What is the difference in temperament and behavior for the American vs. Japanese Akita, is there one?
Leaving this blank, don't know the american akita well enough.
2. Who does your Akita bond most with? Is it the entire family, a couple individuals or just one person?
He likes the rest of the family, but he's most bond to me. Mainly because I do all the walks, feeding, etc.
3. Does your Akita love to meet new people or are they somewhat wary of strangers? Do you notice any difference between meeting strangers on the street or strangers in your home?
Love is a strong word. He greets strangers, but is not overly interested in them. He will let them pet him as he loves cuddles, but is not acting super excited. Strangers in our home.. if they knock and are let in he will be wagging his tail, but if they come in without knocking he'll give us a warning bark to let us know something's up.
4. What kind of activity level does your Akita have? Does it prefer to sleep all day or are they excited to go for exercise? How about their endurance, how long can they exercise?
I think he's a bit more than average on the activity level for akitas. He loves to pull (bike, jogging, ski). I'm not super fit, but he gladly joins me for the occasional 5km jog. Inside he will sleep all day, but outdoors he's impossible to tire.. so good off-switch on this one.
5. Is it true Akita can’t be trusted off leash? – I saw this in a lot of places, I’m assuming it has to do with their high prey drive, liability issues, other dangers and maybe they’re not known for recall? What’s been your experience? (Also, obviously I don’t mean off leash just anywhere. I mean somewhere remote where you won’t be around a lot of people or more then 1 or 2 other dogs.)
If he finds a deer/moose trail he's gone.
6. Dog sports? I'm really interesting in doing some sort of dog sport in the future. I've seen some people do agility with their Akita(someone on this forum and then of course youtube) and it looks like fun. Does anyone else do a dog sport with their Akita?
Also interested
7. How trainable was/is your Akita? I know they're not as easy to train as a German Shepherd and they're a little easier to train than some of the Ninon ken but....that doesn't really help me a terrible amount since I've owned neither. I mean I kind of get the idea but...why don't you explain how long it took you to learn basic commands and what were your training challenges? How good was your dogs attention span?
In my experience they get bored quickly, so training is best done at short intervals, eg. ten minutes training, then a break and then a few more ten minute sessions. He's very quick to catch on to things.
8. How good is your dogs recall and how hard did you work with them on it?
This is still a work in progress. I think we're up to about 90% at the moment with little distractions (as mentioned in question 5: if he finds a trail he's gone).
9. Can you describe your dogs "independence." I'm assuming this means they don't have to be by your side constantly but, does that mean they just chill on their own all the time? Watch you do stuff Able to entertain themselves when you're busy and can't play?(I don't mean all day, I just mean like you're cleaning the house and the dog wants to play.)
If I study all day he'll come over a couple of times for a few "pats on the back" before going back to sleep. Other than that he won't interact with me unless I initiate it. He likes me being in the room with him and will most often change room if I do so, but only after a while. He never follows me to the bathroom or anything, kinda just wait and sees where I decide on sitting down.
...but I do have Shibas and Hokkaido and an Ovcharka and have had Kai Ken...I do all of these activities with my dogs, and I think it unfortunate that this is a perception of the sports. It is not an accurate depiction of doing sports with NK imo and would be a shame if people were discouraged from trying something fun for them and their dogs at all because of misinformation.
Certainly with my CO, Shiba, Hokkaido and former Kai, having little programmed robots is far from the reality of doing performance events with NK breeds. It's more about the handler than the dog, and the team rather than making a dog a robot. I do see AA here doing these events and I am always so impressed at the teamwork the teams have. You can tell they spend a lot of time doing training games and fun bonding activities so the dogs want to play and enjoy it.
That's all
If you're doing the sport because you and your dog enjoy it and it can add enrichment to your lives, it is fucking amazing.
That said, every dog is motivated by something different. If your dog doesnt enjoy working with you and taking commands, then i agree that Barn Hunt, lure coursing, and nose work, where you're not really invovled, is a better venue. However i feel all dogs should value and be excited to work with their owners. Even if you dont compete.. i just love the gleam in Tavi's eyes as she flattens herself like a pancake, tail wagging furiously while she awaits my next cue.. Just to execute it flawlessly. My dogs being so excited and eager motivates me so much more.
But when you say "homework" that's really EXACTLY how I view it. Its not fun for me to ask my dog to do the same thing over and over to practice (even mixing it up with multiple commands), and I don't think its fun for my dog either. But that's ME and my dogs - not everyone else, and definitely not meant to discourage those who like it. I think if I enjoyed stuff like that more, I would be more drawn to breeds that are more obeisant and want jobs and direction all the time. As it is, I find dogs like that kind of needy and annoying. XD
I know I've competed with an Agility trainer from Portland who Sandra (Koji and Maluko) recommended in the past. I believe she also teaches other training at her facility besides agility. If I can recall her name, I'll pass it on in case you were interested.
@poeticdragon
I'm one of those who like to do dog related "homework" as it's a chance for me to indulge my obsession and have 1 on 1 special time with my dogs, that is an outlet from a very stressful career where everything is very controlled and rigid. So, my training time with the dogs tends to be the opposite of control/rigid and it forces me to laugh at myself (which is important) and get those feel good endorphins flowing
1. What is the difference in temperament and behavior for the American vs. Japanese Akita, is there one?
I only have an AA, so can't speak to difference.
2. Who does your Akita bond most with? Is it the entire family, a couple individuals or just one person?
Hilda LOVES people and she LOVES her daddy and various other people. But she is definitely my dog first and foremost because I am the one who does everything.
3. Does your Akita love to meet new people or are they somewhat wary of strangers? Do you notice any difference between meeting strangers on the street or strangers in your home?
Again, Hilda loves people. She is extremely social; I joke that she never got the memo about being aloof. People who are invited in--no problem, also very friendly. But she is territorial, a good watch dog. We have this weird private drive that people are always walking down, and if someone is where they shouldn't be, she will alert us.
4. What kind of activity level does your Akita have? Does it prefer to sleep all day or are they excited to go for exercise? How about their endurance, how long can they exercise?
Both! She is very mellow through the day, and excited to go out when we do. She is definitely not an endurance dog, and I think this is pretty typical. However, a typical walk for us is anywhere between 3 and 6 miles, and she may need a breather in the middle of the longer one. All bets are off when it's hot, defined as anything about 70. Then I am lucky to get a mile out of her.
5. Is it true Akita can’t be trusted off leash? – I saw this in a lot of places, I’m assuming it has to do with their high prey drive, liability issues, other dangers and maybe they’re not known for recall? What’s been your experience? (Also, obviously I don’t mean off leash just anywhere. I mean somewhere remote where you won’t be around a lot of people or more then 1 or 2 other dogs.)
I think it's pretty safe to say that most akitas can't be trusted off leash without a huge amount of work, and that training is, in general, more challenging than with, say a GSD or a lab or something. We do more formal obedience training; her on-leash obedience is really good (after much work). We are currently working on off-leash; this is my goal. (Whether I can completely get there is another story, but it's a good goal to work towards.) We can walk in public places on a heel off-leash at this point, do distance sit/downstays, and recalls.
6. Dog sports? I'm really interesting in doing some sort of dog sport in the future. I've seen some people do agility with their Akita(someone on this forum and then of course youtube) and it looks like fun. Does anyone else do a dog sport with their Akita?
Not yet, but once we get the off-leash dialed in a bit more, we're going to start some scentwork.
7. How trainable was/is your Akita? I know they're not as easy to train as a German Shepherd and they're a little easier to train than some of the Ninon ken but....that doesn't really help me a terrible amount since I've owned neither. I mean I kind of get the idea but...why don't you explain how long it took you to learn basic commands and what were your training challenges? How good was your dogs attention span?
Again, my experience has to be caveated with the fact that I do more formal obedience training, which IME most people--with any dog breed--don't really do. (I'm talking about those of us regular joes who don't show or do competition anything, and I am not making any sort of judgment here, it all comes down to personal preference and what people want.) It has taken me far longer to get where we are than with previous dogs. I find that Hilda picks up commands very easily, but it's just a question of whether she wants to do them or not! I would say that her attention span is undivided when we're "working"; she concentrates very hard. But she's also done faster. Call it getting tired, call it getting bored. This is true of pretty much anything though--whether it's chasing a ball, playing tug, playing with another dog.
8. How good is your dogs recall and how hard did you work with them on it?
Work in progress. A lot of work. Recall is excellent when she's in "work" mode. Currently working on alternating between switching between "free" mode and "work" mode -- i.e., dog is on heel, spies cat, wants to go after cat but doesn't vs. dog is on free, spies cat, knows she's on a free and craftily works the situation ....
9. Can you describe your dogs "independence." I'm assuming this means they don't have to be by your side constantly but, does that mean they just chill on their own all the time? Watch you do stuff Able to entertain themselves when you're busy and can't play?(I don't mean all day, I just mean like you're cleaning the house and the dog wants to play.)
She's pretty independent. Likes to know where I am (I work from home, but ignore her a good chunk of the day), but can totally entertain herself. Pretty chill actually. That said, she is very snuggly and friendly, and loves affection and love, and will often come up for a good scratch and nose kisses. And when she brings me a toy to play tug with, that's the sign that it's time to get some exercise!
10. Other? Is there anything important about the breed, or special about your dog you want to share? Any insight on what about your lifestyle has made your Akita ownership successful?
All our akitas are special!
Seriously, though ... I don't think most akitas are a good choice for anyone who has a hard time setting boundaries. As it is, my girl will work situations. You can see her independent akita brain assessing whatever is going on, and trying to figure out the loopholes. Also--and this is true of all dogs, but doubly true of my experience with akitas--fostering mutual respect. When people talk about akitas being standoffish, this is what I think about. It's not standoffish in the traditional sense, just that they don't unquestioningly follow your lead no matter what. There's a kind of proving yourself as worthy to follow.