Hi pps, I'm relatively new to the American Akita breed so I wanted to know your opinion on my dog which is 7,5 months old. It's a male dog . If you have any advice regarding the best diet and other important stuff, I would really be thankful for it
I am sorry but I cannot help you as I do not know anything about Akitas, but your boy is very handsome!
What a handsome lad. It’s advisable to put large breeds on adult feed to slow down growth, to stop putting a strain on bones and joints. They can be picky eaters, I always fed mine as adults twice daily, and they can also be prone to skin problems so a good grain free food would be best
Thank you for your advice I have been feeding him twice a day for quite some time now. He get's his regular dry dog food, sometime he gets some kefir onto his dry food, once a week he gets some fish and I'm thinking about bringing in some vegetables and cooked meat. Do you think that'a a good diet? He is the whole day outside running and playing around, at night he has to go into his cage and sleep there, so he is quite active )
Best diet is one for large breed pups. I feed Royal Canin. They will give a discount to breeders. I used to feed Hill's, but they don't offer a discount to breeders. Cheaper to feed Royal Canin. As for the better food, Hill's is what I would prefer. Purina is also good.
Three foods that feature in the latest list of America's worst dog foods! It is unlikely that a single dog owner would qualify for a breeder discount anyway. Feeding dogs is not about feeding the cheapest. We don't always have the same brands over here, but I would choose a 'grain free' or 'sensitive' brand, which has the protein source as the main ingredient, and does not contain vague ingredients like 'by products'. Have a look at, https://topdogtips.com for a list of America's best dry dog foods. Edited - this link is not putting up the list, but it is working on a Google search under this address!
I recently got a telling off from my vet for over walking my akita, I didn't know there was such a thing as too much exercise. But he said large breeds under 12 months who are prone to hip problems ect should not be walked for45 minutes at a time. And advised me to do two 30-40 minutes walk a day. Thought it was worth a mention if you didn't know. As for food, grain free food to avoid bloat. I personally feed ava sensitive and a mix of tins or fresh chicken or liver to mine P.s thats a gorgeous chunky dog you have. He's lovely!
Oh, that's good to know. I'm changing his diet a little bit, more meat and less dry dog food and adding some supplements (Ca,P). Thanks a lot for the walking advice
This is my first post on this awesome looking forum. Bare with me I don't want to sound like a know it all here, and I am always prepared to be wrong. That is an awesome looking dog OP, I have a 5 month old female Akita myself and I can tell you that you will need certain things. Firstly a decent brand of dog food. Never ever give your dog wet or dry food containing "Carrageenan", just research that first and understand it is a vile and nasty additive that you don't want in your dogs food or your own food either. It is commonly called Irish Moss and it is organic believe it or not. It is used as a thickening agent in vegan/vegetarian food as an alternative to gelatin and it is very poisonous. Its used in high doses in lab rats to inflame the intestinal tract in order to test anti inflammatory drugs. It acts to the stomach and intestines what poison ivy does to the skin. Slowly but surely it is having an affect on your dogs and on us, its in a ton of dairy products too except those that specifically say "Carrageenan free".. I watched my beautiful 8 year old white female Siberian Husky (Gaia) die due to stomach ulcers, she was bleeding from her stomach and constantly throwing up and pooping black blood, after two months of basically daily vet visits, nasty drugs and hand feeding her with a syringe as she would not eat period, I had to put her down. One of the worst days of my life (no different than a human family member dying). She always did have a sensitive stomach but when I researched the symptoms more in depth, Carrageenan kept coming up as a culprit. Most people don't know about Carrageenan but I feel it my duty to other dog lovers to inform them, even if I sound all preachy about it, i just don't care. I love dogs, all dogs, more than humans I'll admit that. Stick to the best foods you can find, one without a doubt is Blue Buffalo Wilderness Salmon recipe. Its expensive compared to other brands but you get exactly what you pay for, and specifically "Carrageenan" is not in it. Akita's have an issue with Iodine, they can't get enough from kibble or any store bought food or meat for that matter. You will need a bag of powdered "Norwegian Sea Kelp", it lasts ages as just a sprinkle over their food is enough and they love it. If Akita's don't get the proper amount of iodine in their food their coat and skin can suffer, it can become dry and flaky (like dandruff) and in a worst cases skin infections can occur. Its also packed with the same minerals and vitamins of their ancient diet. Historically they would have been getting large amounts of fresh fish and even their meat also had a diet of fresh fish, considering they originated in Akita, Japan its a huge fresh fish culture. Next is as stated before, Bloat. Akita's for all their size and strength have a genetic defect, their stomach isn't situated right inside. When we eat too much we get gas and burp, an Akita's stomach inflates but "twists" inside, this twist can cut off blood supply to vital organs and the dog can literally die within 24 hours! Scary I know. I feed my Akita pup 3 times a day, when we wake up (1 cup), 6 hours later (1 + 1/2) cup) and 5 hours after that and maybe an an apple before we sleep. This extra feed annoys my other Husky male (Hugo) as he see's it as a slight on him, he's 6 years old. Sooner or later he is going to lose pack leadership to my Akita (Luna) when she begins to tower over him, which is going to be a nervous time. My 9 year old Maltesse poodle has already accepted the Akita as above her in the pecking order so they should be cool, no challenge means no problem. Still, I feed them all separately just to be sure. There are simple tips in reducing the risk of bloat, more frequent smaller meals, letting the dogs food soak with a bit of water so it fully expands before you give it to the dog, this is something you would do anyway if giving them the sea kelp powder, a little water, mix it up and leave for 10 mins. One that I am about to employ myself soon is the special feeding dish that has raised insides and grooves, the dog will have to work harder to eat out of this bowl. It slows them down and makes them enjoy the food instead of eating it like its their last meal on earth. For the first 4 months my Akita didn't chew anything, she just swallowed her food like a handful of pills. Glad to find a place for good advice on Akita's. Hugo and Luna Best buds for life!
Id be interested to know where you got this information. Bloat mostly affects deep chested breeds there are several theories and precautions one can take to reduce the chances of bloat but none proven.
What did the breeder feed or ask them suggestions. If a rescue dog, you could look to other owners. I don't know specifically about Akita, but in general I think raw diets is one of the best you can give when fed properly.
Not really dog related, but I was very interested to read your comments about Carragheen seaweed, as in the early Sixties I worked in an industrial laboratory which tested products such as these. (Yes, I am talking of mechanical quality testing, nothing animal related). Our product was called Pellugel, and had a wide range of uses such as toothpaste, desserts, cosmetics etc. An example of the need for diversification as the cotton trade went into decline. The factory site is now a country park in Stockport, and while carrying out the landworks, they discovered a pond filled with the waste from this operation - the works employed a Shire horse to cart the waste product away. Of course, this illustrates that the whole plant was not used commercially - just the gelatin extract. I have enjoyed reminiscing while following up on your comments, and discovered that the history of our product, together with an article on Irish Moss by my former boss, John Charles, appears on the following website. http://www.reddishvalecountrypark.com/history Click, The Print Works, and select the option, Seaweed. Today's history lesson over. Hope you weren't too bored!
When reading about Akita's only it was something that shocked me about them, you of course are right about it being larger deep chested breeds, I never really looked in depth into it happening to other large dogs as well, I figured why would I read about Great Danes or German Shepherds if I needed specific knowledge about Akita's ya know? So my bad on that one and seriously thank you for the quick correction, I actually feel a little better knowing its a common problem and not Akita's specific. I have had GS's, Boxers and Labs in the past but we are going back more than 30 years here and never had or heard about gastric torsion. I've had a dog eat the best part of a 35lb Xmas turkey from the kitchen table once and basically not move for 12 hours with a permanent smile on its face, not once did I think it was a life and death possibility. When I first got the Akita pup and read about bloat it literally scared the crap out of me to be honest, so its something I have been extremely weary of since I got her. It never sat right for me either if I'm honest. I thought that someone's Akita at some time has bound to have raided the food storage and ate themselves silly, and how are they still alive? I was just forearmed about worst case scenarios really, still with this breed being the way it is I am just too weary about screwing up. This is precisely why I need feedback from you guys in a place like this where I can dispel fears and be made aware of others. Forgive my ignorance
