Adopted Abused Akita
Hi, I'm new here. I'm looking for a place to learn how to help my Akita, Kylee. I recently adopted her. She was badly abused. They had to shave her due to matting & she had surgery to remove her collar because she was tied to a tree in the backyard for a very long time. She is a real sweetheart, loves to cuddle but she has some fears that I'm working on. Her main problem right now is that she hasn't had any training at all. When I try to train her if I say the word "no' or "leave it" ect. she goes into panic mode, shakes, cringes, cries, it's awful to watch. I am now trying to use different words. Instead of "no" I'm using "uhh,uhh", she seems to be coming around slowly but I think she's going to have to learn at her own pace, I'm fine with that. She is about 2 yrs old. I'm going to jump around & read some of the threads. I look forward to meeting you!
Comments
First thank you for rescuing, and from the sounds of it being patient and kind. Truly the two most helpful things you can do for Kylee. everything else will come, slowly, but it will happen.
You have been promoted to member and are now free to post wherever you like in the forum. We look forward to your future contributions.
Thanks for resucing Kylee! I'm sure she appreciates it more than she can express.
It's a great thing that you have put your heart out to a rescue, many thanks for giving this pretty girl a second chance and a new, happy beginning.
The thumb sucking thing could be a calming behavior. Some dogs lick or nibble obsessively as it supposedly releases endorphins and makes them feel good. Then again, Akita are known to be mouthy. As long as she isn't obsessive about it I wouldn't worry too much.
Knowing that this is a source of comfort for your dog, perhaps you can reward a training session with baby carrots or ice cubes or other treat items that work well with that sort of attention. Otherwise, things like filled kongs and the like may give Kylee something more appropriate than fingers to explore before she goes for fingers if it's something you wanted to prevent/move her away from. As it is, it sounds rather endearing but I would understand if certain guests didn't think so. lol
Thank you so much for rescuing. Look forward to seeing more of your adventures in life and training.
Congratulations on having the generosity to adopt an abused adult into your home. Keep being patient with her, give her good experiences and she'll come around. She seems to already love you.
We're making very good progress on our own. She's been with us for under 3 weeks & so far she has learned, sit, shake, down, stay (OK, so she knows the WORD stay we're still working on putting it into action :-) ). Teaching her when it's not OK to bark seems to be the hard one. We have a church next door & elementary school across the street. She thinks it's her job to tell me whenever she she's kids fighting (playing) on the playground or somebody walking down the street or.. well you get the picture, she's diligent. She's doing very well learning to walk on a loose leash & she seems to enjoy seeing other dogs with the exception of a large off leash Shepard which came running up to us, his tail was wagging & he looked happy but before he could reach me my lil princess turned into cujo, we're working on it :-). Actually, I expected that it would take her 3 months or so to settle in with us but she seems quite happy here. We don't have kids so it's just me & hubby. He fell instantly in love with her too but I think he's a little jealous because she's like my shadow. I think it's because I'm the one training her & she'll bond with him as time goes by.
Sorry this is so long. It's just REALLY good to have people that understand this precious dog.
But remember, don't listen to the bad things these people say, she is your pup now and you know her better than any of them ever will.
I know that someone who judges me or my dogs on appearance only, is not worth knowing. And certainly not deserving of the privilege meeting us!
When I contact a vet, or trainer, the first thing I ask them is how they feel about pit bulls. If I don't get a resounding "I LOVE pit bulls! They are the best!" they have no business getting my business.
One day maybe we will live in a world where both dogs, and humans will be judges on the quality of their character and actions, and not appearances and myth.
I do not have much advice for you on her rehabilitation, but I know that the two of you will figure it out.
It sounds like Kylee is in good hands and I'm sure things will get better at the weeks go by it has to be hard for her to be chained up like that, but that's all in the past what matters now is she's with you and your husband who love her so much.
Please post if you need any help with anything I don't have any experience with Akita or rescues, but I'll try to help in any way I can and I'm sure others will help too.
I cannot add anything else, everyone has already gave great advice. Just take is slow and make it positive - super positive. Kylee is lucky to have you, I think you will find that Akita love is a powerful thing!
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Oh, I do have a tip...
Turkey flavored Natural Balance, buy a tube and cut it into little cubes (like 1/2 bite size) and use it as treats. The Turkey version works the best as it stays cubed forever. Keep it refrigerated (freeze the extras). I dunno what it is about that stuff but our dog FREAKING LOVE IT. I mean they are CRAZY about it. Our 4 Akita will do anything for a Natural Balance cube - same for our COs (and the rest of our dogs).
That may help with training, treats are great but there is something special about Natural Balance. we learned about using Natural Balance as treats from Jean Donaldson, she swears by it as well.
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If treats seem boring on walks, assess the situation to see if you can catch her being good sooner, before she is too distracted. For some dogs the present stimuli (another dog, squirrel, choose your favorite) is far more important than a treat at the moment. I second the rolls Brad mentions- its healthy dog food, not garbage treats, and you can control the shape and size you use for treats. I also use rolls for walky treats.
I don't know where you live, but you may want to search the Internet and look for Akita clubs or "meeutps" in your area. If there is one, it could be a resource for you.
How is she doing now?
All the advice above is excellent. Double ditto on what Jessica stated, you don't need a trainer who can not except diversity, plain and simple.
As far as dog to dog interactions that is where you will need a management plan I think from the sounds of it. If your dog was chained or had bad experiences and not socialized with other pets it will be much much less tolerant of other animals.
There are some great resources on the forum...so good luck and happy reading.
Snf
Thanks for sending me here, I love it! Kylee is doing really well. We're making progress. I think some things will take time. Last night my hubby picked up his golf club to putt in the living room ( don't ask) anyway, when Kylee saw the golf club she freaked out big time, she started shaking, whining, crying, then she tried to get under the bed. It was very sad to watch her deal with her demons. Her freak outs seem to be happening less now so I'm hoping time will teach her that she will always be safe with us. I've never had a dog that likes to cuddle as much as she does, we're a perfect match. I bought her a harness as was suggested by these wonderful people, in the long run I think it will be good to keep from hurting her sore neck but right now she's not very happy when she sees me get it out. Hopefully before long she will associate the harness with a walk & stop worrying about it. There I go again, rambling. I just love getting good advice to help my princess! Thanks a bunch!!
Congrats on your new princess!
Give her some time, she should pull through and bond closely to you
Nice to read about how you rescued the akita. Too bad many people are saying an Akita is dangerous breed. Is that common in the US? I have never heard about anything like that here in Sweden.