Japanese Akita

[dazza]

where does that stat come from Dazza got the evidence to back it up?

 

Yes. Book a flight over and I'll present it to you. It'll do you good to get away from behind that keyboard. I'll even take you to see the Polish policeman

[Gordon R]

I never cease to be amazed at just how quickly some people put the boot in certain breeds. Sometimes it's Staffies - another time it will be Rotties.

 

I have posted honestly just as I see my own dogs. I have had years of training GSDs, before we got Akitas. My dogs have been to training classes and I have spent a considerable amount of time with them. I don't have untrained dogs. They are not small and a certain amount of responsibility goes with owning large dogs. I take it seriously.

 

If I wanted to be as quick to judge, I would be putting the boot in to Collies and Labradors - which represent the dogs which have attacked my current dog and my GSDs years ago. I have also been attacked by a Collie. I despair of the non- Akita, dog owning public who let their dogs wander around creating havoc, with those immortal words about - my dog has never bitten anyone or another dog before, which is always true until it does. Then it is too late.

 

Akitas are dogs - not robots. They have their little foibles, but they are genuinely excellent dogs. For every horror story printed about Akitas, I will dig up one for just about any breed on the planet.

 

The original poster asked for opinions about them, with a view to owning one. I stand by the advice - by all means get one, but accept that they are large dogs.

[Mungler]

I like all dogs, apart from Collies. Well, Welsh Border Collies to be precise. Can't stand them.

 

Mind you, having typed that, I got bitten by an ill tempered one called "Taffy" but whilst typing this I have been reminded that my God Mother has two of them and they are proper softies.

 

So, disregard this post in the normal fashion that my posts are to be disregarded.

[al4x]

the difference being a collie nips you a Japanese fighting dog has your arm off.

 

Ignore the real negatives and you have a dog as a pleasurable ownership experience. Its not fun having to always walk a dog on a lead or having one that you have trouble holding onto. Thats aside of trying to fit one in the average car boot etc Yes they look very nice but fun dogs they aren't. Dogs live too long to really take on something that isn't going to be easy and fit in with your life. Mine comes most places with me, friends houses and would live in the car if she was allowed. I know she won't be an issue with other dogs and as far as you can trust any dog I can trust her with friends kids. You've only got to look at the sale section on here with dogs people can't keep / handle and its pretty sad for me a dog is with me from a pup till it dies not something to pass on when it doesn't do what you want it to.

[Gordon R]

Each to his own. My dogs are better behaved than 99.99% of dogs we come across.

 

al4x

the difference being a collie nips you a Japanese fighting dog has your arm off.

I am not sure that is valid. Ideally, neither should be biting anyone. I have never been bitten by an Akita, but a Collie - yes.

 

Mungler -

GordonR has them and has experience of them and his words appear the most inciteful to me.

 

I presume that is a legal term?

Edited August 18, 2010 by Gordon R

[Mungler]

Met a client at noon. Then had a long lunch with another.

 

The posts have suffered as a consequence.

 

Usual service will resume shortly.

[Gordon R]

Mungler - mystery solved. I thought I was being accused of starting an uprising. Perish the thought.

[Paul in North Lincs.]

once saw one pull away from his owner, and chase a GSD that was being walked by an elderly man down into my in laws back garden....and subsequently pulled it throat out in a frenzied attack.............Im a 6ft 2 120kg powerlifter....and I struggled to pull it off.

 

I could just imagine what one could do to a child....slightly prejudicial, I know...but I wouldnt want one......ever!!!!

[Gordon R]

Paul - I'm not totally sure that is the correct way to deal with an angry Akita.

 

All a bit melodramatic -

subsequently pulled it throat out in a frenzied attack

.

 

I once saw a hamster attack a Labrador. It was a veritable monster - vicious and mean, with a sly look in it's eye.

[brian28]

My brother had one of these ,note the word had

Totaly unpredictable dogs not too be trusted

[UKPoacher]

as i said ive no first hand experience of owning an akita myself, i know a few people who have/had them, ive never heard any bad reports apart from them being a bit energetic and bouncy - ive heard more bad reports about miniature german schnauzers than any big dogs ; any akita's ive come across have been fine, but again as i pointed out before i never owned one. one thing i will question, and dont take this the wrong way, but you keep saying about having police dogs. ok, its great that they can walk around freely without hassle, but surely being a police dog they are far better trained (and to a more rigorous degree) than the average pet would be; in fact better trained than the average owner would be capable of

 

as for walking the dogs on leads, personally i think thats a GOOD thing. i never trust a dog, no matter what type or how well trained it is. on top of that if im in a public place i always keep my rotties on a lead, not for the protection of the public but for the protection of the dog - if some idiots dog is off a lead and it attacks mine itll be cries of "of that rottweiler attacked my springer/lab/corgi" whereas if mine are on a lead theyre safe as the third party doesnt have a leg to stand on also if the woman felt the need to walk her dogs through private land to avoid other dogs i'd question her ability to control her dogs more than the breed itself. one shout and my dogs cower, im not proud of it but its necessary. also im a big lad, 16ish stone (seasonally variable...) and 6' 2" so im big enough to control them

 

This is true. Then, you consider that in selecting a police dog you choose the dogs that are most likely to cause the average owner problems. A dog that can and will take out a man. In fact, these were exactly the type of young dogs that were offered to us by owners who could not control them. I have worked with Akitas and that is what I base my opinion on. You might get a good one, but you are more likely to get problems in my humble opinion and anyone getting one should go in with eyes wide open.

[Gordon R]

I am less amused with the constant drip feed of tales about bad Akitas. The same would apply to any large dog:-

 

Rottweiller

Doberman

Dog de Bordeaux

Mastiff

Tibetan Mastiff

Rhodesian Ridgeback

Irish Wolfhound

Great Dane

Kangal Dog

Scottish Deerhound

Newfoundland

English Mastiff

Saint Bernard

Great Pyrenees

Neapolitan Mastiff

Greater Swiss Mountain Dog

Leonberger

Caucasian Shepherd Dog

Anatolian Shepherd

Beauceron

Karelian Bear Dog

Polish Maremma

Alaskan Malumute.

Greenland Dog

Husky

 

 

All the above would take more than one "power lifter" to remove. There must be hundreds more. When everyone gets fed up with bad mouthing Akitas, perhaps they might publish the breed of their own dogs. I will happily proceed to dish the dirt on them.

 

I remember well the Labrador that killed a French woman. Perhaps it had once met an Akita.

[aj85]

i have an akita, and a jack russel. my dad also has an akita and in my opinion if well socialised and brought up correctly they are as trustworthy as any dog.

with their immediate family (pack) if you are considering getting an akita, remember these dogs are an ancient breed that was bred for combat and hunting.

because of this they are very wary of strangers and fiercely protective of their owners. they will challenge anyone they deem to be a threat. and because of their hunting instincts they will chase any small animal that runs from them. we always walk ours on the lead under control and he couldnt care less about other dogs, just today we must have had 20 dogs running up and barking etc, the akitas dont even bat an eyelid!

 

if you keep in mind the history of the breed and structure training around this, keeping strict dominance and obedience. along with a calm loving home you will be rewarded with a tremendously loyal dog that would die to protect your family.

 

i agree they are definately not for everyone and in the wrong hands these dogs (like any other) can be potentially dangerous.

and in cases where children have been attacked im sure its partly down to the children not behaving correctly or thinking the big fluffy dog is a teddy bear.

which is not the childs fault!

i always tell visitors not to touch the dog until he approaches and is comfortable with your presence.

of course i wouldnt leave my dogs alone with a child or stranger the same as i wouldnt leave them alone near a pool or anything else.

i love my dogs and can honestly say they are soft as can be, and i know my mrs can take the akita for a walk through birmingham at night and return safe with the loyal brave warrior by her side!

 

 

[vampire]

Firstly,i own a gsd he is 45kg intact male and if he was inclined he could do a lot of damage,these were the devil dogs of the 70s.

Three pages ago i read the first post in which the person stated that they had owned rotties and other large breeds.........what happened to these dogs,where are they now !!!!!!!!!,and why are you wanting to add to your collectional list of devil dogs

Owning any large dog comes with the need to control your dog correctly so that it is a trusted member of the pack,which mine is but he soon knows who is suspect and lets em know and i would not want to enter his space unwelcomed because as far as he is concerned its life and death until proven other wise,having said all that he is compeletly trustworthy and fully trained at great cost to me and time by the wife of which he is putty in her hands,he would do nothing for me untill i relaxed and treated him calmly like a four year old girl at which it was like switching on a light the change was so dramatic.

All dogs have the ability to bite and kill,i have been bitten by labs and a chewowwa !,but when choosing a dog you look at blood lines,pedigree and temprament etc,but what do you do when choosing a fighting dog its in the breed and only experienced owners should have these beautifull dogs for the sake of the dogs.

Yes i know some one who had one,they got rid of it because it became nasty,which if we hadnt of had proffesional dog training sessions then our big soft sheperd could well have been a very different animal now.

[UKPoacher]

I am less amused with the constant drip feed of tales about bad Akitas. The same would apply to any large dog:-

 

Rottweiller

Doberman

Dog de Bordeaux

Mastiff

Tibetan Mastiff

Rhodesian Ridgeback

Irish Wolfhound

Great Dane

Kangal Dog

Scottish Deerhound

Newfoundland

English Mastiff

Saint Bernard

Great Pyrenees

Neapolitan Mastiff

Greater Swiss Mountain Dog

Leonberger

Caucasian Shepherd Dog

Anatolian Shepherd

Beauceron

Karelian Bear Dog

Polish Maremma

Alaskan Malumute.

Greenland Dog

Husky

 

 

All the above would take more than one "power lifter" to remove. There must be hundreds more. When everyone gets fed up with bad mouthing Akitas, perhaps they might publish the breed of their own dogs. I will happily proceed to dish the dirt on them.

 

I remember well the Labrador that killed a French woman. Perhaps it had once met an Akita.

 

You forgot the Russian wolf dog

 

Some in that list are pussy cats that just happen to have been born big. The hardest hitting dog I've come across pound for pound is the Malinois or Belgian Shepherd Dog. Docile as anything until you switch them on and then 'get ready!'.

[Gordon R]

Virtually all of the list I published have been bred to fight / guard, whatever label you want. GSDs have had bad press, as have Rotties. Currently terriers are the target. Nothing will be settled by this thread.

 

Vampire - I have owned 4 well trained and large GSDs - they were more agressive than any Akita I have met. I don't expect a flood of posts saying that I should have trained them differently. I have owned both breeds - 7 dogs in all - that is my experience. That said, someone else's dogs could be different again. That is why I dislike generalisations.

 

Below are my current two - the dog is slightly rare - being long-haired. They were both one year old in the photos.

[Gordon R]

Another photo of both.

[vampire]

Gordon,they look lovely mate,as for large dogs my favorite dog of all is the leonberger.

The only thing i would say about ALL dogs is once they think they can then they will,unless the owner is aware to stop the behaviour before it happens,i just wonder how many people buy a dog for its looks or reputation without knowing anything about what they have got or what it is going to turn into by there actions or lack of knowledge of the breed or dogs.

[toka_shigazu]

owned two now, or last one 'Toka' is 11 years old. Both were got from a trustworthy source at a local Akita rescue. Toka was ours from 5 weeks old, early but we knew what we were doing and he was weaned. he fitted in straight away and at 9 weeks we took him back to the rescue and met our second 'Sky' and left with both dogs. Sky always showed more of the natural Akita, more aloof and needed watching. never outwardly hostile to other dogs but once the usual sniffing etc had been done and she wanted to be left she would snap if another dog kept trying her attention. she was never aggressive with people or children, both were well socialised from early on. Toka, with his extra 4 weeks with us, has grown up completely different really laid back, loyal and soft. if other dogs caused any problems he was more likely to wait for me to sort it out rather than him...

The only time Toks has shown any aggression was last year having got our Plummer pup, on an outing with both a lab stopped to sniff Biblo and Toka took exception. i sorted that out with some appologies and no harm done. His hips are going and he doesnt enjoy his walks anymore so his excercise is playing with Bilbo in the garden.

We used to walk ours on the lead and let them off if there was enough room, like on the beach. more so as not to scare other people than worry for aggression from them.

they were trained normally and holistically...jan fennels books were the staple when we started out. They were a challenge as a breed and we loved them but i wouldn't have another as i do enjoy my country sports and want a companion there. learn as much as you can about bringing them up and try to get a good one and you wont go far wrong.

when we got ours plenty were going into the asian families as status dogs, loads were causing problems in the north east and parvo was a big problem. get one from a pup and you will get out what you put in!

 

atb

 

 

Edited August 18, 2010 by toka_shigazu

[Mungler]

Leonburger, that's a mad looking dog

 

EDIT:

 

Toka and Bilbo at play - lovely stuff. Do clean your windows next time eh?

Edited August 18, 2010 by Mungler

[Gordon R]

Toka - my wife just read your post and commented on its accuracy. Nice to see D Brian Plummer is appreciated.

[aj85]

i have been around large breeds all my life, so has much of my family.

growing up we had german sheperds, dobermans, boxers, and akitas as well as collies and jack russels.

and the only dogs i have ever been attacked by are collies and chihauhas!

 

...seems funny how the only people who have negative things to say about akitas are those that have never kept them?

[Gordon R]

Your cousin worries me. He should finish his training before he does anything so stupid again.

 

My cousin. who is also a vet, said Akitas were smashing dogs who inserted the hypodermic on their own, with minimal instruction.

[tweedledee]

my sister had 2 akitas. they ran down the lane when she let them out one evening.when she called they looked back and said i don`t think so. they went on a killing spree and my father had to pay out nearly 4000 quid for wounded and worried sheep. both dog and bitch had to be put down.up until then they were good family pets.she lived in the country and never needed to keep them on leads.

[njc110381]

I know a family who have an Akita. Can't really speak with a great deal of experience but he seems fine? I've been to their house as a stranger to the dog and you could tell it meant business, but once I was invited in and we were introduced he was fine. No bother since, just walk in?

 

This dog was picked up young but mature. He failed his training in security work because he was a bit thick so they passed him on. He seems a great pet, although reading the info from other posts I can see how if they weren't kept on top of they could become a problem. As I say, the first time we met I knew exactly what was on his mind. He wasn't there to let me walk out with the TV and I wasn't about to take him on. They're big heavy creatures and I wouldn't want to get on the wrong side of one!