Hello first post here Ive have a loverly 14 month old spayed female. Had her a few months and she is really great although training taking a while as she is a rescue. She is very gentle and is fine with people and ignores strangers however as soon as she sees another dog she immediately runs over and tries to roughhouse with it. This is fine with dogs similar to her size or if the own or if the owners know shes being playful however she gets interpreted as being aggressive and I do not want to have to refrain from socializing her. I use a line lead in a park with her to try and curb her from having the freedom to bolt over to them however it can be difficult to stop her being so interested. Any advice? thanks in advance and sorry for the long post
Hi and welcome. I have a very bouncy Standard Poodle (he'd love to play with your Akita!) but we always put him on the lead when we see a dog we don't know, in case they don't want to play. He always responds to a whistle so is easy to put on the lead. I find a whistle immediately followed by a treat works well to get a dog's attention, or does she have a favourite toy you could use to distract her when she sees another dog? I can imagine that some people might find an Akita running over quite intimidating - at least with Pepe, though he's big, few people are scared of a poodle!
Akitas tend to play rough and being big powerful dogs can be very intimidating for people and other dogs, she is probably just hitting that adolescent stage where she will test situations. id advise you don’t give her the opportunity to approach other dogs unless owner says so, and only then when you allow her to ,I never took any chances with mine and always had them on normal leads that I could control them with, i agree with Janet in that you should get her attention when she sees another dog, but do so 'before' she starts moving toward it.
Thank you yeah I already don't use the line lead unless its late and no one around it a bit more would just be nice to be able to let her have a bit more freedom but she can't as won't come back immediately if she gets distracted by another dog.
Hi Amie - I do not know anything about Akitas but Pereg and I would like to welcome you to Breedia and look forward to seeing photos of your girl!
I got no idea about Akita's but when I had my Rottweiler's I use to have an toy (squeaky one) & if they just looked at another dog I would use toy to get their attention & put them all back on their leads.
Welcome to the forum. If you don't already do so, I'd suggest taking her to obedience classes where she'll learn to meet and mix with other dogs in a controlled environment. My 16 month old Shar-Pei and year old Miniature Schnauzer, go to classes twice a week with a qualified Police Dog Trainer and Handler who puts a great deal of emphasis on teaching dogs to focus on their owner and not be distracted by other dogs, people, strange sights or noises. Last Sunday for example, whilst we were training, about 20 metres away, 3 GSD's, their owners and another trainer were practicing schutzhund. The noise they made was horrific with the 3 GSD's, barking and lunging, the trainer cracking a whip to simulate the sound of gunshots and the owners shouting commands! At one time, my two would have been so terrified, they would have bolted, but because over the past couple of months they've been trained to concentrate on what they are supposed to be doing, they completely ignored the other dogs. I should also add, no treats or unnecessary conversation is allowed during training - the dogs are rewarded with physical affection which strengthens the bonding process between owner and dog.
If you have friends with dogs, work on training her to stay and sit beside you, until you give the command she can play. Recall and holding her attention are the key things you will need to work on.
I did a few one on one sessions with a trainer for both my pups and it definitely gave me more confidence and some excellent advice. I know how it is socializing big strong doggies. Callie is an American bull dog. Sweet, easygoing and happy to play with other dogs. But also built like a tank. He will greet other dogs and humans by bouncing on his back legs sometimes. If he were a beagle it would look rather adorable to a stranger. Given his looks however some people are scared witless. I err on the side of caution when I pick his playmates. We do go to one of the local dog parks. However before we go anywhere near the gate I observe every dog in the run for a few minutes. If any one dog seems to have dominance issues or seems overly excited If there are any fragile looking dogs-greyhounds for instance If there are any apparently unneutered males Any of the above and we do not go anywhere near the dog park but instead take a walk on our own. The kind of playmates he does well with are close in size and either equal in strength or speedy enough to duck a tackle. I think Akita's are similar to the bull breeds in that they do play rough even with the best of intentions. Our dogs play at home and it sounds like dinosaurs wrestling. Funny enough that one of Callie's best friends is a pug. She's a quarter his size but feisty. When we go to her yard to play Callie adjusts his moves for her size. They race each other through the yard, poor guy isn't built for speed. He wipes out running around corners, but they have a grand time together. Something I would never do is allow Callie off lead on trails or anywhere else not fenced in. He is just too strong to take a chance of him greeting another dog or human with too much enthusiasm. He has good recall in the house but I wouldn't trust him to listen as well in public. I don't ever want to put him in a position where he feels he needs to defend himself. You have to consider that with your pup as well.
