Akitas off the lead
Hi All
I would be very grateful for some advice. We have recently taken on an 18 month old Akita Inu bitch, more by circumstance than informed judgement as she is our first dog and all information available suggests that this is not a breed for the novice dog owner. We have taken her on after a period of settling in during which we took care of her for a few weekends to ensure that we could offer her what she needs and to get to know her. Needless to say we have fallen on love with her - she is wonderful, loving and friendly. She has however had no training. She is learning very quickly and is generally obedient, responding well to praise based training. She is desperate to play and loves other dogs but I have difficulty recalling her when she scents prey (rabbits and squirrels generally) or sees other people or dogs when we are walking. I have only recently been confident in letting her off the lead and only in stock fenced areas where I know she can only go so far. I read a lot about Akitas being unsuitable for control off the lead and can't bring myself to believe that it is not possible to let her run and play with confidence. I have signed us up for some training, largely based around socialising and recall (she has so far displayed no aggression towards people or other dogs). Does anyone have any general observations or advice?
We are anxious to do everything we can for her well being and Akita Inu owners are few and far between in the UK, with the general perception being a little negative I'm sad to say.
I'd be really grateful for some input.
Many thanks
Rachel
I would be very grateful for some advice. We have recently taken on an 18 month old Akita Inu bitch, more by circumstance than informed judgement as she is our first dog and all information available suggests that this is not a breed for the novice dog owner. We have taken her on after a period of settling in during which we took care of her for a few weekends to ensure that we could offer her what she needs and to get to know her. Needless to say we have fallen on love with her - she is wonderful, loving and friendly. She has however had no training. She is learning very quickly and is generally obedient, responding well to praise based training. She is desperate to play and loves other dogs but I have difficulty recalling her when she scents prey (rabbits and squirrels generally) or sees other people or dogs when we are walking. I have only recently been confident in letting her off the lead and only in stock fenced areas where I know she can only go so far. I read a lot about Akitas being unsuitable for control off the lead and can't bring myself to believe that it is not possible to let her run and play with confidence. I have signed us up for some training, largely based around socialising and recall (she has so far displayed no aggression towards people or other dogs). Does anyone have any general observations or advice?
We are anxious to do everything we can for her well being and Akita Inu owners are few and far between in the UK, with the general perception being a little negative I'm sad to say.
I'd be really grateful for some input.
Many thanks
Rachel
Comments
I'm also new to this forum and so far have learnt a lot more about our dogs behaviour etc as I also find it difficult to find any other Akita Inu owners who based in the UK to compare notes with. I'm from the UK but have recently moved to Germany for a year or so.
Though I'm no expert at all on dog training, hence referring here for advice as well. I just want to share my little experience with this breed. Hanzo, our Akita Inu boy is also our first dog (though my husband has experienced growing up with large breed dogs) and we know full well that they're not a great choice for novice either. Anyway, Hanzo will be 2 yrs old next month and again I have problems letting him off lead. He does respond but only when there are absolutely no distractions (and they get distracted easily!) He responds better to my husband's recall than mine. Training helps but I find it hard to lure him as treats can only work for a little while and he's not into playing toys at all..so hard to reward him.
Because of his high prey drive (mainly rabbits, squirrels) I would not trust him off lead besides since he got into a fight around a year ago, he can be aggressive to other male dogs (selected breeds!) therefore, another reason for me not to let him off as much as I love to. Because we used to live in an enclose army barracks with almost no dogs around and a huge unused airfield, we let him off every day and he loved it. Now, even though we live at back of forrest with miles of field, I still don't feel comfortable to let him off especially there are tons of dogs off lead around! I worried he might get into a fight and that I'll be very sorry.
So, I'm in a similar situation as you, trying to find ways to be able to let him have some freedom but still in control, I do used the longest extenable lead available but it is not long enough and when he starts running, the pulling will hurt his neck, so I'm not looking into lunge leads which many people seems to use them with dogs, it can go really long which is what I want. Good luck with yours, ours was quite well socialised when he was a puppy but most I heard they tend to change to be more dominant around 2 yrs or so, but there are always exceptions and I'll appreciate if you can share more about off lead techniques on the Inus if you come across any in the future.
Does anyone have any general observations or advice?
-I think if you work really hard at positive reinforcement based recalls with a great trainer, you have a high probability of being able to train a reliable recall. I do not have an Akita, I have a Kai, but he is very reliable with off leash recalls. I do not personally believe a dog should be off leash everywhere their owner takes them though. For instance busy streets, carnivals, the veterinary office, etc. are places I would keep my dog on leash. Safer places where I take Kohji off leash are on trails in wooded areas or open fields that aren't heavily trafficked by other people or dogs.
It might take many months of training under many different distractions to achieve a good recall, but I'm sure you'll be able to do it with your Akita.
Last week I was talking with a friend who owns a Kai as a pet, the dog is very well trained. Still he's had to stop the off leash walks since his dog got into a fight with a toy breed.
It's possible with a lot of training, and you'll have to keep it up. My Kai's recall has dropped off a lot since I don't work with her on it much anymore.
I'm not sure if it's age (he's becoming a man at 17 mos. old) or because I haven't worked with him on recall lately, but his recall is dropping off. It's still really good, but not like it was. What he will always come to is "walk with me." Whenever my Kai gets too far away, I just say that and he's right back to me in the heel position.
I definitely think it's possible to walk NK's off leash if properly trained and in safe places. My advice is be 100% confident that everything is safe and that both of you are ready for her to be off leash before you try it anywhere she could run off. If you are nervous, she will feel it. If you aren't confident that she won't run off then start some training with a 20-30 foot leash.
Sounds like maybe you should just get to know her better for a bit before you take this step. :-) But I definitely think you can get there.
The big thing I've realized with recall training is that you need to set your dog up for success. Start with recalls in a low distraction environment like the house. Treat consistently. Then move to your yard or a fenced area you spend a lot of time in where there are some new distractions, but your dog can't go very far. Don't wait for them to be interested in something or really far away to recall them. If you do and they ignore it, you are only teaching them to ignore recalls. Wait until your dog offers you their attention, like a glance at you, from a short distance away (maybe 10 yards or so). Then recall and treat. When they are solid on that, then begin to recall when they are facing away from you but not especially interested in anything. Then increase the criteria to when they are sniffing something. etc. Then start to increase the distance you recall from 5-10 yards at a time.
By starting small and building a solid foundation, you can really improve the recall of your dog. Notice I said "improve" the recall. No dog is going to be 100% on recall, ever. Most trainers would be extremely happy with 80% recall. I strive for 90-95% before I up the criteria on recall because it is a command that could prevent injury or even death.
As evidence to how well this technique has worked with Tyson (my Kai), I was doing some training with him a few weeks ago and we were in a large field. In the neighboring field about 150 yards away there were some cows. The slope of the field was such that the cows weren't visible from where my truck was parked, but when Ty went to stretch his legs a bit he got a whiff of the cows and could see them. When I realized he was going to investigate, I started walking toward the cows and saw him standing at the gate trying to decide what to do. He was probably 100 yards away at that point. I gave him my recall whistle, he turned to see me, glanced back at the cows, and then came at a full sprint and skidded to a stop in a sit position in front of me. I couldn't help but grin from ear to ear. :-)
My AA doesn't seem that interested in chasing animals, and he always comes when I call and mostly wants jut to be by me, so I think he would be ok, though I plan to continue working on his recall. We're taking him for a hike tomorrow, and it's a hike I've even occasionally let the Shibas off leash on, so we'll try him out, but I don't expect problems. I wouldn't have him off leash in distracting situations (like with other dogs) but....
anyway, my point is that I believe that it is possible to train Akitas to be off leash at least some of the time.
I do, however, think that it's all about the dog and the training. If you train your akita and she has excellent recall and you feel it's possible to let her off the lead, then I say go for it (as long as there is no traffic or anything that could harm her around, and I would definitely start small/slow). I know someone from the shiba forums who has a shiba that will follow/return pretty much no matter what, so she is always off lead for hikes and such. Breed characteristics are guidelines, but not every dog fits in that kind of a box. Just be observant and vigilant, and have realistic expectations based on what you have observed that your akita can handle.
That said, there are plenty of ways to have fun outside on the leash. I bring Mitsu to parks and for long walks all the time. We have playdates to play with other dogs at friends' houses, and we also visit a fenced in field area so she CAN have some off leash time (technically a private park that we have permission to use). We have an extended leash that we use for parks and such, and sometimes in the park I'll play fetch with her. I just make sure not to throw the ball too far, so that her leash doesn't catch. We also enrolled Mitsu in a doggy daycare once a week so that she can continue to get socialized to other dogs/people. I'm not sure what the UK has by way of doggy daycares, though.
I've accepted the fact that Mitsu will never be able to let off the lead unless fenced in and so we find other ways to have fun outside
Good luck with yours, ours was quite well socialised when he was a puppy but most I heard they tend to change to be more dominant around 2 yrs or so.
Thanks Hanzo - that's interesting and I will be on the lookout for behavioural changes. I hope some of the other comments are useful for you too.
I do not personally believe a dog should be off leash everywhere their owner takes them though.
Absolutely with you there. I think there will be very few places likely to qualify as safe 'off-lead' choices for us.
It's possible with a lot of training, and you'll have to keep it up. My Kai's recall has dropped off a lot since I don't work with her on it much anymore.
Thanks for that - it does seem as though this is something we will have to keep working at.
My advice is be 100% confident that everything is safe and that both of you are ready for her to be off leash before you try it anywhere she could run off. If you are nervous, she will feel it.
That's a really good point and something I hadn't thought of - I suspect I have displayed nerves on occasion.
The big thing I've realized with recall training is that you need to set your dog up for success. Start with recalls in a low distraction environment like the house. Treat consistently. Then move to your yard or a fenced area you spend a lot of time in where there are some new distractions, but your dog can't go very far. Don't wait for them to be interested in something or really far away to recall them. If you do and they ignore it, you are only teaching them to ignore recalls. Wait until your dog offers you their attention, like a glance at you, from a short distance away (maybe 10 yards or so). Then recall and treat. When they are solid on that, then begin to recall when they are facing away from you but not especially interested in anything. Then increase the criteria to when they are sniffing something. etc. Then start to increase the distance you recall from 5-10 yards at a time.
This is so useful, thank you. I hadn't thought to start in the house and I'll be sure to work with her every day. I love the cow story and had a similar moment with an unfamiliar dog (a boxer) recently - a very proud feeling!
anyway, my point is that I believe that it is possible to train Akitas to be off leash at least some of the time.
Thank you - I am hopeful that with some work we will succeed.
That said, there are plenty of ways to have fun outside on the leash. I bring Mitsu to parks and for long walks all the time. We have playdates to play with other dogs at friends' houses, and we also visit a fenced in field area so she CAN have some off leash time (technically a private park that we have permission to use). We have an extended leash that we use for parks and such, and sometimes in the park I'll play fetch with her and she loses interest in the retrieve - it and it works really well if she is with another good retriever - she will join in the running and the chasing and the other dog brings back the frisbee!
Once again thank you so much for all of your comments - finally, somewhere to go for some help! I'll let you know how we get on.
That really is great to hear - thanks!