The Akita is a Japanese breed. In his native country the Akita has been declared a "national treasure." An Akita in a home is believed to be a symbol of good health, prosperity and good fortune. Helen Keller brought the first Akita to the United States in 1937. The breed did not come again to American shores until after WW2 when returning GIs brought Akitas to America. They are a wonderful, magnificent breed but certainly not a dog for everyone.
Akitas can be large. Females are usually 80-90 pounds and males can weigh over 100 pounds; they have great body strength.
Akitas usually do not bark unless there is a good reason. When an Akita is barking, pay attention. They are typically silent hunters who hunt low to the ground without growls or noise, similar to cats.
Akitas may consider small animals that they are not raised with as prey and hunt them. Although they can be raised and trained to accept small animals in residence. It's a good practice to be sure that an Akita be closely watched around the other small animals until you have established a peaceful co-existence.
Akitas are natural guardians of the home and do not require any training to turn them into guard dogs. When there is a reason to protect family and property, your Akita will act to do so. Guests welcome in your home when you are present may not be welcomed by your Akita when you are not home.
Male Akitas can show aggression toward other male dogs, and female Akitas often do not tolerate another female. There are many cases where Akitas can get along with a dog of same sex when raised together and properly trained although this is never a guarentee and is only recommend for someone with experience. Akitas typically live peacefully with a dog of the opposite sex.
Akitas, like other dogs, can be food possessive so it's important early on to be sure you can put your hand in your puppies food bowl and take food from him. If you have other pets, you should give your Akita its own food bowl or treat away from other animals and be sure that no other animal is allowed near your Akita until the food is gone. It's common sense to keep visiting children away from an Akita at dinnertime. Akitas not raised with children are not always tolerant of small children. A large dog can accidentally injure a child, even if they are only playing. Sometimes even an Akita raised with children will tolerate their own children but may not accept the neighborhood kids.
Akitas may consider eye contact a challenge and could react aggressively toward someone it doesn't know getting down in it's face. It is strongly advised not to get down on the Akitas level and close to the dog's face unless you are well acquainted with the Akita.
Some Akitas like to take charge--an inherited trait from their wolf ancestry and may at some time, challenge you for the dominant position. This behavior cannot be tolerated and a firm, consistent correction should be your immediate response. Most Akitas accept discipline well--not beating, but intelligent loving discipline. A good scruff shake is usually an effective form of discipline for an Akita puppy. Frequently, a firm verbal command or quick leash correction will also get your point across. Be sure to incorporate lots of positive reinforcement and praise when they're doing the right thing and you'll see a big difference.
It's best if Akitas are obedience trained by their owner and not sent away to school. A good obedience class will guarantee you a firm bond with your dog and a well-behaved dog. Remember though, Akitas are extremely intelligent and tend to get bored easily. They learn very quickly so short training periods are often best.
Akitas, unlike human beings, do not have the same short-term memory as we do. Do not discipline your dog hours after an incident--the dog will not associate the discipline with an incident, which occurred earlier in the day. If you can see and catch your dog getting into mischief, discipline should be firm and immediate for it to be effective. For example, if you return from work and find your Akita had been busy chewing your favorite shoes all day, you should not discipline the dog when it greets you since the dog will not associate the discipline with a shoe it may have eaten early that morning.
Do not call your Akita to you for discipline, that encourages the dog to avoid coming to you when you call. The "come" command is important and may someday be a life-saving command for the dog. Do not jeopardize that safety factor. Each time your Akita comes to your side, it should be rewarded.
Some Akitas are talkers! They may grunt, groan and mumble to entertain themselves and you. This conversational verbalizing is not growling and should not be interpreted as a growl, which sounds quite different. Akita "talking" is an endearing trait and should not frighten you. After living with your dog, you will easily distinguish between talking and growling.
Some Akitas enjoy carrying things around in their mouth. Like your shoes! If their "mouthing" is annoying to you, give them a job to do: allow your Akita to bring in the newspaper or teach them to put their toys away. They love to do these types of jobs. And contrary to the movie Hachi, they will even fetch although they'll tire of it much quicker than other breeds and want something new and exciting.
For such a large breed, with a reputation for aloofness, you may be surprised to learn that Akitas are very sensitive and are adversely affected by stress and/or changes in their environment. So don't be surprised if they skip meals and lay around and mope if you decide to go on vacation without them or drastically change their daily routine.
Akitas are very family-oriented and are not happy when kept apart from the family. Akitas can sometimes develop bizarre behavior patterns when raised alone as an outside "yard dog" with no family interaction. When left alone in a yard, the dog can regress in socialization and boredom may cause destructive behavior such as digging, chewing, etc. Akitas do love to be outside, but are a pack animal and need quality interaction with you and other dogs.
Akitas are not hyperactive and fit into a sedentary household, but optimum health requires that you and your Akita exercise regularly. A dog left alone while you’re gone does not usually exercise by itself, it typically sleeps until your return and will want to play when you get home. If your lifestyle includes outdoor activities like camping, hiking, swimming, or snow sports, Akitas adore being part of these pastimes.
Akitas usually live 10-13 years with good care and proper nutrition. Good nutrition for an Akita is an all-natural meat based food with high quality protein.