I understand Akitas can be a tough breed to deal with than other, ok! But as a former owner of well known aggressive dog breeds i believe that if you socialize and train your dog all throughout their lives the will be the pet you want them to be. Most aggression come from FEAR so make your dog confident and comfortable when around different people, areas, and animals. Also, exercise your dog and take them on long walks...a tired dog is a good dog. The owner helps build the dogs personality and behavior, never put your dog in a situation that will set them up to fail. I learned this from a Dog trainer that help my rescue my first pitbull/rotti mix that was very aggressive. After years of building trust and bonding he became a great confident dog that my whole neighborhood loved. So please spare me with the you know everything about Akitas (people who come up to me while i am out walking my dog) and they stubborn, no you just bore them. Had to rant have a nice day lol
Such a wonderful expert - three weeks and the "expert" knows it all. Marc I do not know you, or the breed, but I would trust whatever you say.
I do agree with most of what you say - up to the last sentence. However, dogs are individuals, and many fear-aggressive dogs will never fully recover, no matter how much training or socialisation they get, and these dogs have to be managed to avoid difficult situations. They may well improve over time with controlled exposure and sensitive handling, but nature plays just as great a part as nurture, and, like humans, choosing the right parents is important in building a well-balanced temperament. All breeds have their own particular character traits, which can often be traced back to that breed's original purpose. Buying from a breeder who knows their own lines inside out, and has placed a high value on temperament when planning their litters, is the best way that you can try to ensure that you do not end up with a reactive dog. However, the training methods that you mention will certainly help. Have a little sympathy for others who may be less skilled at handling their difficult dogs. Allow them plenty of space, and a little time, they may have tried just as hard as you, but not been as successful. Best wishes for your new puppy, but not too much tiring exercise until those growth plates settle.
Temperaments vary depending on genetics and environment, therefore you cannot make the blanket statement that a specific breed is aggressive. For example, a high energy dog isn't going to learn to be a laid back, couch potato. If you have a fearful, shy dog it will always be shy and fearful to an extent. You can socialise and get them used to certain things, but in new situations the first reaction will always be fearful and shy. You do know that the Akita is banned in some countries and can only be kept under strict conditions in others. https://petolog.com/articles/banned-dogs.html
Thanks for that link Vee - very interesting. Not easy to be any kind of a dog owner in Ukraine or Belarus!
Training and socializing your Akita is very important but I absolutely do not agree with the part about aggression coming from fear with an Akita.. Akitas are pretty fearless, they are not scared of much.. I think (this is just my personal opinion) that the potential aggression comes from them being such great guard dogs, it’s literally part of their DNA. You don’t need to train an Akita to guard, and I’ve read and been told not to train them to do this, they just know how, and when, to guard. You can screw themup trying to train them to guard (I read this somewhere). My previous Akita Darkstar stopped a person who walked down my dirt road many years ago. This guy was up to no good, had a very strange story as to what he was doing there and had a hatchet tucked into his belt on his back, he had a shaved head and appeared to me to be a tweeker (methhead, speed freak. I think he was casing the neighborhood).. My dog stopped him on the road just around the corner and was barking at me to check out what was going on. After a few minutes of barking (I was busy hauling firewood up the fence line) I went and investigated. He had the guy stopped in the road and was circling him. Not overtly threatening him but also not allowing him to move, at all. I had never tought him to do this, he just instinctively new what to do, stopping the guy and alerting me!!!! This was the only time in his almost 12 years with me that he needed to do this, and he knew what to do. He earned his keep with this one incident!!!! Some Akitas can be aggressive with other dogs, and it’s not out of fear. Many if not most Akitas just don’t like other dogs, particularly of the same sex. This is a FACT. My last boy hated most other dogs. He generally ignored them (aloof) as long as they kept a distance when I did occasionally walk him around other dogs. He didn’t allow other dogs to get near me, he considered this his job. Maybe I could have trained that out of him.... but I don’t think so. He had one friend his whole life, a male littermate that belonged to a friend. They were each others only friend, and generally Akitas don’t get along with dogs, especially of the same sex, especially as they get older. Just because your pup behaves one way now, doesn’t mean he will always behave that way, they change as they mature. And yes they are very stubborn dogs, in general. They bore quickly with repetitive training. It has absolutely nothing to do with their owner boring them. I absolutely do not know everything about Akita behavior but have lived with them for over 14 years. If I ever think I know everything I hope someone gently reminds me that I don’t. I did not respond with much to your post, originally, because I was just taken aback by it. To me you came across as arrogant and funnily enough, a know-it-all, exactly what your post was complaining about or commenting on.. how ironic. To round out my long (and you may think I’m sounding like a know-it-all) post I’ve a question/comment for you. You started a thread on August 18th in which you stated that your pup was 9 weeks old. It’s two weeks later so now your pup should be 11 weeks old (this is from info you provided). A puppy that age does not have immunity yet and shouldn’t be walking around other dogs, shouldn’t even be on the ground in public places. You do not want to take a chance of him getting parvovirus. I do agree with you that a tired dog is more likely to not misbehave, but a young pup should only be walked for about 5 minutes a day, per month of its life. I’ve read this here many times. You do not want to over exercise a large breed dog while it’s a young pup.
Juli you put way to much confidence in my knowledge.. but I appreciate the sentiment although I’m not sure what I’ve done to earn it and I’ve only been around here a few months. In that time I think I’ve learned much much more than I’ve given back...
It is not confidence in your knowledge as such, although of course I have confidence in what you say, it is more confidence in the sense that I feel I can trust what you say. If you understand what I am trying to say. And you are open to discussion and I do not think you have ever insulted anyone - NOT something I can say about myself. I can be a horrible person at times although not deliberately, but when I apologise I really do mean the apology. The link that Vee @GsdSlave slave gave was very interesting. If, since 2004 Rottweilers are prohibited from being imported to Israel, how come there are so many of them around? I know for sure that the guy who used to live opposite to the previous place I rented on this Moshav was breeding them. And why ban import of Staffies? Personally I would ban all apartment-living people in towns, and most places in towns are only apartment blocks, from buying cute little puppies because their children nag for one and then, when that cute little puppy grows into an uncontrollable dog they are just driven to the nearest Moshav, Kibbutz or Army base, and dumped.
Up until 2006 they were classed as the same breed,(Japanese Akita Inu) the Japanese Kennel Club believed that the American Akitas were not thought to be true Akitas and were to be recognised as two separate breeds. In most of the countries which operate under the FCI, the Japanese are considered the "country of origin" and therefore control the Standards for both FCI breeds. When the breed was first split in the FCI, the Japanese refused to allow the American type to even be called Akitas. Eventually the Japanese approved a name change internationally to "American Akita." Unless things have changed, I believe in America and Canada, the two strains are considered different types of but one breed. Most other countries, however, consider them two separate breeds. The Kennel Club in the UK approved the recognition of the Japanese Akita Inu as a separate breed of dog, from the Akita, in 2006.
@GsdSlave Thank you, very informative. It is a breed that I have had little experience of. @Malka Yes, some of these restrictions surprised me. They do have General Championship shows in the Ukraine, and I know of one Ukrainian Champion Bouvier des Flandres! I can only guess that ownership of those breeds is permitted if certain criteria are met - possibly through some form of licensing. I am usually benched next to a imported Ukrainian Beagle, but as Beags seem to be permitted everywhere, that isn't much help!
yes 3 weeks but i was raised with these dog, my grandfather had them all my life. This is my first time owning one and raising him from a puppy. I been working with dogs for 15 plus years. Dogs are dogs. My Akita parents are very social dog ones a show dog and the other was a service dog. Yes all dogs have people and other animals they don't like but no dog is born aggressive.
Does the first time raising a human baby also count then? Because you were raised with them all our life also count?
Some of what i am saying is general about all dogs and not just Akitas. I just really dislike when people tell me stories of how an Akita attacked or killed another dog and uses the streotypes against my dog. My grandfather had 3 and we never had an problems. Yes we found dead rabbits, and small critters but the mailman, pizza delivery guy, groomer and all other people the dogs encounter wasn't never threaten. A bark and coming to get my grandfather was how the dogs responded. In fact when Henry (the 3rd akita) was being teased by a younger child at a family cookout he simply took her by the arm and took her to her mother. I'm a believer in giving a dog their role and meaning in life and they will always want to fulfill it. My dogs work for every meal, and take at least two 20 min walks a day. I also send them to trainers to work with them so they work with and trust another person besides just me. I am only 25 years old so i still have a lot to learn but since I was 10 years old i been working with all dogs. Everyone will have different stories and not dogs are the same but please don't think just because your dog is aggressive so is the next. This link can help with understanding dog behaviors: Behaviorist dog trainer Rob Peladeau, of NexGenK9, will be here to share strategies for training your dog. Rob Peladeau has been training dogs for almost twenty years. Rob specializes in behavior modification/rehabilitation of aggressive/reactive dogs as well as problem solving for unwanted behaviors. Join us for a talk about how a dog learns, the concepts of Marker Training, and behavior modification through counter conditioning.
I don't know if you are trying to be smart or not. I personally do not attach human personality behavior and traits to any animal.
But of course - you are 25 years old and know more than anyone on Breedia. I am only 76 years old and know nothing. I was not trying to be smart, you are the one who who is trying to be smart and show how clever you are. But I do know one thing, two 20 min walks a day for your new baby Akiva is far too much. And thank you very much for pushing your expert behaviorist dog trainer Rob Peladeau, of NexGenK9, but I think we have more than enough trustworthy behaviourists already on the forum
Two twenty minute walks? Is this for an adult Akita? I'm surprised if you think that is enough for an adult, and it is too much if your puppy is less than 4 months old. My 9 and 10 year old Beagles have an hours exercise each morning, - and we are 76 and 81. Elder Beagle likes to help with jobs around the house - there are photos of him working on here somewhere - and he also has qualifications in Obedience, Scenting and Working Trials. I would never dream of sending him away to a trainer though! I'm afraid the last paragraph just reads like an advert.
Nor for an adult Akina - This is for a puppy he has had for just three weeks. Saying he has had been working with and been a former owner of well known aggressive dog breeds for 15 plus years and he is still only 25 years old? Yes Carole, advertisement also comes to mind. As well as does a load of male bovine excrement.
Both of my Akitas were socialised, went to training classes and dog shows, they were fine with other dogs until they hit around the 11mth mark, then things changed and both ended up being aggressive to strange dogs. I strongly believe if behavioral traits are so strong nothing will change it. Quote I also send them to trainers to work with them so they work with and trust another person besides just me) I’m interested as to why would you want to send your dogs away to be trained, to trust someone else? The point of having a dog is to work with it to build a relationship and close bond. Personally I would never send any of my dogs away for training. You are unlikely to see significant results from a training course that is less than three months,and an incompetent trainer / or a trainer who doesn’t fully understand the breed can do a lot of damage, I have known dogs come back from residential training a nervous wreck, and some developed real anxiety problems, others took no notice of their owner once home.
