Akita inu

edited October 2011 in Akita (秋田犬)
I have done alot of research and have decided i would like to import a red and white akita inu next year. I have been looking into different breeders but can not find alot of information as most of the sites are in japanese. Does anyone know of a good breeder they have or have a friend that has purchased a pup from?

I have heard of grace garden's and have been considering contacting garce garden's has anyone got their akita from there?

Comments

  • My Ayame is a daughter of the grace garden akita. You can find her mother Hana in my themes on this forum.
  • might be worth contacting keith gullis, i believe he as set up a business helping people transport animals including in and out of the uk, plus he as also imported Ja himself in the pass including 2 amazing males from japan. he'd be the person i'd be speaking to if i was to import, his knowledge of the breed is extensive.
  • Honestly, I do not know why you are thinking of importing. Is there a lack of Japanese Akita breeders in the UK? The cost of importing a dog is going to be an easy $2000USD and the dog itself is going to be above $2500USD. If you are worried about finding a full Japanese Akita - just look for dogs with Kennel Club papers that say Breed: Japanese Akita Inu.
  • i know of atleast 2 breeders that have multiply litters planned before the end of the year here in the uk. there could be others with breeding plans in place also.
  • To my mind there is a need for new bloodlines in UK. But I support the advice venus gave you, contact Keith Gullis!
  • we desperatly need new bloodlines but unfortunatly anyone importing seems to be fetching in dogs that are related to dogs already here. we've had a male fetched in by a guy in the north of the country who is from unrelated lines and possibly a bitch (didn't really look at her pedigree). we really could do with some decent dogs over here both males and females.
  • Yeah, I have noticed a lot of linebreeding and even inbreeding in the uk and it is a pity, there are some good dogs in the neighbourhood. Spain, Italy and France have quite a few nice Japanese imports you can use in your breeding programs.
  • to be honest the state of the breed over here at the moment is very worrying. because of the limited number of good quality stud dogs most people are using the same males time and time again. very few seem to take their bitches abroad to be mated, but as things change next year that may start happening. i guess only time will tell.
  • UK breeders might need to form a co-op to bring in new stud dogs from Japan. In effect that is what we did out here. Two dogs were imported male and female. Club members were given a discount stud fee (no puppy back). Then for litters between the dog and bitch the rate was set above what our breeders charge. Money from the sale went back to the club for a new stud later and money for health etc etc.
  • @JackBurton....that's a good idea. Really helps with those who love the breed and want to breed good dogs.

    I'm curious about the situation in the UK. Is this problem only with JAs? I have an AA whose dam is out of the UK and wondered if there were similar problems in the AA lines.
  • From what I can tell - my source is facebook so consider it gospel lol. Is that people are not importing Japanese Akita into the United Kingdom. So people are line-breeding and inbreeding more and more. To add to the issue part of their JA stock comes from FCI-nation dogs that have pre-split akita in them (pre1998). So there is a chance of mix heritage as well.

    On the American Akita side, I think there is some confusion on how the UK chose to name their breeds. American Akitas and Akitas that could not est. themselves as JAs are in the breed Akita. So people in FCI-member nations see Akita and think Akita-inu. When they should see Akita = American Akita in the UK and Akita-Inu = Japanese Akita Inu in the UK. For an FCI person this does not make sense. To them an AA is just that and the rest are called Akitas. For the UK and those of us that are pro-split in the US it makes perfect sense. Think of it... why take the AKC breed and just rip it into American Akita and Akita? Even worse... take the breed name you grew up with and put another dog into it. If I owned an AA I would be pissed off. So leave it the same and then make a new breed for the Japanese Akita.

    Your AA came from a good breeder out here who is aware of the issues with tweenies. My guess is that all pedigrees and breeders were researched. I doubt there is an issue.
  • edited November 2011
    Yeah, I wasn't worried about my dog....I was just curious if there were problems getting "new blood" into the AA lines as well as the JA lines, or if this was mostly a problem with JAs.

    And yes, the name thing is utterly confusing....If there were a breed split here, which of course I'm in favor of, if the dogs were named American Akita and Japanese Akita I'd find that ok and fairly clear, but it doesn't make sense at all to call one American Akita and another just Akita! Even Akita Inu is a bit confusing!
  • the aa is a much more extablished breed here so to be honest doesn't have the same issues that we have with the ja.
    sean the though of a co-op is great but it would be unlikely to happen. they all seem to have their own goals and aims.
    very few people are importing, i'm hoping thats due to our silly quarantine laws. but those that do are importing from the same breeders so while they maybe fetching in good quality dogs they aren't increasing the amount of different lines available to each other.
    that coupled with over using dogs like athenas sire really is going to cause issues in the near future. athenas sire to date as sired 75 puppies over 15 litters since he was imported. doesn't sounds a lot but when you then consider that we have only had 232 dogs registered since 2006 thats alot of dogs with simialar pedigrees.
    if i was to breed from athena now my choices here are small. i can mate her to 1 of the 3 unrelated males that are of 100% japanese heritage, a number of dogs that are of mixed heritage, a half brother or a close relative on her dams side. of course there are other options artifical inseminating her with a stud from abroad (the red tape is unbelievable) or i take her abroad. both much more costly that using a uk based stud, so most breeders don't take those options up. and thats why our problems will only increase.
  • I remember attending Crufts last year and asking about directions to the Akita show ring. The guy I was talking to pointed me to the American Akita ring. So yeah, the name thing is really confusing . I think the AA in UK are doing much better, there are loads more than JA, and there are some of the best kennels in the world - to my mind. I am very bias towards Melodor and Ruthdale :-)
    Co-ops seem great but it is difficult to put in practice anywhere in the world. We are having difficulties in Central-Eastern Europe to find great stud dogs and it is a horrible 3-4 days trip to get to the right male that is on the other side of the continent. We have stricter rules regarding Artificial Insemination, it is not allowed for the first mating of the female and honestly I am not sure the vets over here have enough know how not to screw it up. So imports - as long as they are really well researched - is the way to go. Japanese breeders are unlikely to put their trust in just anybody. In fact, it is quite difficult to get their trust to give you a good dog. And they are even less likely to tell you about the auto immune in their lines.
  • I think I'll talk to Keith about adding to his services the possibility to take bitches to continental Europe for breeding. There is no one better at breeding difficult bitches than him and he has loads of experience with his own JA.
  • i think keith is already offering the service irina. kinda gutted i missed you at crufts last year would have been lovely to have spoken in person, but i was down in a different hall with athena doing obedience puppy displays all day i think i got down ring side for an hour and i totally missed the dogs in the ring.
    the rules on inseminating have recently been relaxed, prior to that you couldn't use on a maiden bitch. now you can but the stud has to have already produced a litter naturally. there is alot of red tape to get through prior to doing it from both the kc and defra. i'm assuming defra will relax things once the changes happen at beginning of the year. i'm really hoping that we have an influx of new dogs over the next few years once the changes happen but guess only time will tell.

  • I think I'll come next year, it would be great to finally meet you in person! And I will try to bring Tsuki and Kito the year after that for Crufts, we didn't attend the qualifying shows for next year.
  • i'll be showing athena next year seeing as we have her qualified. i'll be easily spotted as the one shaking like a leaf ring side lol. and of course the year after i think you should just leave kito with me when you head home, he really is a stunning boy, but then with his parents he was bound to be.
  • LOL he is one special boy, not just his looks but also his sweet character. So eager to please, he could stand on his head if he knew it would make us happy.
    Why don''t you talk to keith about doing some TTouch on athena? It works wonders, I guarantee you!
  • i might look into it, not something i know much about. athena is the same temperment wise, she is such a sweet girl. she isn't the best looking dog her head lets her down to be honest but she is looking better since we switched to a raw diet. just need her to get some coat back now. can't really enter any shows til she does cause she looks like a long haired greyhound lol
  • thanks for all the info it has helped alot.
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