Akitas

[Kayak]

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Haven't seen any akitas in posts but is anyone experienced with the breed? My OH and I are looking into different breeds at the minute as we're planning to add a dog to the household next year after we've moved.

I have a rough idea of what the breed is like but am hoping to get someone with first hand experience of handling akitas or owning them to tell me a little more about their temperament and breed behaviours from a first hand perspective.

Specifically I'm looking into the American Akitas.

 

[Violet Turner]

I have experience with them but only walking as i did dog walking for a while. They are lovely dogs very energetic and fun! But they may need to be observed when around dogs and children. Good luck with finding another canine companion!

 

[leashedForLife]

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hmmm. Let's start with the basics.
Superficially, they resemble Sibes, Sammies, & other fluffy Nordic types. However, looks are deceiving.
The package & the contents are quite at odds: Akitas have more in common with a well-bred Rottie than a Sibe, & IME, a Rott is less-likely to bite under any given set of circs than most Akita.

Akitas are guardians; they are territorial, paranoid, may bite 1st & ask Qs after, tend to dislike other dogs [especially of the same sex], & are self-willed.
They can also be predatory - if U have a cat, even after years on end of happy cohabitation, I wouldn't leave the cat at home sharing the dog's space, unsupervised. I'd sequester Kitty for their own safety - just in case.
They don't suffer fools - tease an Akita, & friends may begin calling U 'Stumpy'. They don't respond well to punishment of any kind; they can defend U from a genuine threat, or defend themselves from U - it's Ur choice.

Akitas are intelligent.
This isn't a 'plus' - any Akita puppy worth the name can, & very-well may, out-think U regularly. They don't like to be bored, but can be very content homebodies. They like to have jobs, but won't work "because U say so". Make-work or unreasonable demands turn them off; ask any Akita to fetch a fat stuffed-toy on a hot day, & s/he is liable to walk off in search of shade, or better yet an air-conditioned space, & moreover, walk off in the opposite direction from that mouth-jamming, tongue-tacking toy.

They're not very vocal; U need to be a good & accurate observer of telltales to know how they're feeling physically, emotionally, & what their intentions might be.
They're reserved - devoted, but not usually demonstrative. They're stoic - which also isn't a good thing; if they're hurt or ill, they're their own worst enemy, 'cuz they won't TELL U how bad they're feeling.

Unlike most dogs, they may engage in self-play with a toy - like a cat. Also like a cat, many are fastidious groomers; my bitch, as a pup, would walk AROUND any puddle we encountered, which was just as well, as she had white legs under her black body! - Yet she'd gladly wade in any clear water, whether it was a stream, lake, pond, or the ocean.

They're not speedsters; if U want to compete in agility, pick another breed.
I knew by the time she was 4-MO, that just in order to get a novice title on her, there'd have to be 6 to 12 inches of snow on the course! OTOH, they have power & endurance. Hiking with a backpack? - bring it on! Bike-joring? - not so much.

U can teach them to do anything they're capable of, physically - just bear in mind that the higher the temp & the humidity go, the slower they move.
Carting, guiding the blind, messenger dog, freighting with a sled, Rally-O, prompting & balancing someone with Parkinson's, ski-joring, bear-hunting, finding scat for a conservation researcher or contraband for the Border Patrol - these are all jobs or hobbies or sports that an Akita would excel at.
Agility, flyball, or disc-dog? - unlikely.

My bitch was my right arm when it came to working with dog-aggro dogs - so long as the other dog wasn't an active threat, & was either confined or safely restrained at a distance, she was completely nonreactive. She was the perfect stooge - ignored them as totally as if she was deaf & blind. She'd watch birds fly over, or nibble-groom her pristine white legs needlessly, while the reactive dog snarled, lunged, cursed her ancestors, & issued death-threats.
OTOH the day an off-leash GSP charged us on the beach unexpectedly, she went up on her hindlegs, rumbled like a diesel engine, & showed every tooth in her head - it was all i could do to hold onto her harness & restrain her bodily, while the eejit who owned the GSP told me, "U shouldn't have that aggressive dog ON THE BEACH!..."
really? - whose dog launched at the other?!
that particular day, we'd spent the morning & early-afternoon at the VB SPCA's fund-raising walk at the oceanfront, with over 200 dogs & owners. Funny, how my "aggressive" dog did fine in that crowd, & can't cope with his supposedly-'friendly' GSP.

Be aware that if yer Akita takes agin somebody [human or non], U'll have to work hard to change their opinion.
GF / BF, spouse, near-relative, the neighbor who's yer best bud... it can be very awkward, if yer pigheaded dog decides s/he doesn't like 'em.

- terry

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[Kayak]

Thank you terry, very informative.

Anybody know the temperament differences of the Akita Inu and American Akita? I'm having some trouble finding much info when I'm comparing the breeds!

From what I've read so far it seems the American Akitas have a similar temperament to a really alert EU Dobe. One person dogs, aloof with strangers, impatient (? Not sure if that's the right word) with other animals/dogs. It seems the only huge difference in temperament between a typical American Akita and a typical working line Dobe is the train ability. Akitas seem more stubborn when it comes to training I suppose.

Feel free to share any first hand experiences you've had with Akitas. I'm just breed shopping!