Those dogs are so cool. I think I've asked wordy before but how do you guys find the temperament of the dogs and how are they like with strangers and kids? Have been thinking of getting one for ages but am put off by stories I hear of them being very dominant and not for people who have not had dogs before. It would be unfair on the dog.
Oh and someone needs to put a caption above wordy's dog
Hi Jazz
Yeah I remember you aksing about him. You were gonig to wait until you were in your own place if I remember rightly?
Don't envy you with three of them, Archie is blowing his coat at the moment and we're having to sweep the ground floor three times a day, god knows how you get on with three of them blowing their coats!
Archie is our first dog, but from deciding to get one we waited nearly a year, doing research on the breed, dog training, going to breeders to see litters, attending dog shows & talking to other Akita owners. I'd agree they probably aren't the best dogs for first time owners, but if you're willing to put the work in then it shouldn't be a problem.
I'd agree with what you say about them being a handful, for people who don't know much about them or are looking for more info they have been bred over the centuries as hunting and guard dogs, when hunting they would work in a male and female pair and be away from their handlers for long periods of time so only the most independantly minded dogs were bred. As hunting dogs their prey drive is very high, they are very inquisitive and intelligent and if you want them to do something you have to make it worth their while, which added up mean they don't have the best recall in the world and the vast majority of owners/breeders etc will say never let them off the lead unless they in and enclosed area.
It's not just their strength that is impressive(there are bigger and stronger dog breeds) it's the way in which they use it can be daunting, they are very alert and can apply their all their strength in explosive bursts. Fortunatley with having him since a puppy we've learned to read him very well, but for someone getting an adult Akita from a rescue centre could find handling them quite challenging.
They can be aloof with strangers, and not be interested in them until they have met them a few times. Ours gets really excited when he sees people he knows, but we do get stopped by a lot of people wanting to ask questions about him, and to a person they will just stand and stare at him, which the dogs see as a direct challenge and don't like one bit ours sometimes will growl at people doing that.
Also they can be aggresive towards other dogs, as a puppy Archie was quite and aggresive with dogs he didn't know. Now as he's getting a bit older he tends to ignore those that ignore him, but the dogs that adopt a challenging stance towards him he will kick off at if you don't distract him in time.
When we went around the rescue centre they had 2 abandoned Atikas brother and sister and I was all set to work on wifey to get them.
We went to the counter to chat about the breed and behind the counter was a skinny thing in a pet bed with a fluffy toy, a cone on his head, all the edges of his ears stitched, stitches in his side, a shield over what was left of the end of his tail, and his nose is wobbly from when he was so distressed about being in a cage he stuck his nose in the gaps so hard he got it trapped then struggled... truly dumb dog.
It was a lost cause, wifey took one look at him that was that, no Atikas for me.
Looks like you made a good decsion, he's a lovely dog!.
As an aside those that know a lot about Akitas might be interested to know they are making a film about Haichiko.
