Hello All-

Please be so kind as to share the experiences you've had with Akita's. I love their aesthetic, and in the casual interactions I've had with them, their dispositions seem very mild. I hear their not all that bright, and the only one I've spent significant time with was dumb as a stump, but so was his owner.

Are they generally successful working dogs? Are they generally "nice but dumb" as I've heard in passing? Do they have notable health issues that vary from the standard issue big dog problems?

While I am no expert, I have dealt a fair amount with german shepherds in a pet capacity, so if in assesing an Akita you can compare them to a GSD that would be especially informing.

Thanks.

I have never seen one in Schutzhund. I have never seen one in AKC obedience. I believe your best bet to get answers will be Akita breeders.

Never saw one in schutzhund but I have seen one in AKC obedience though it pretty much sucked.

I had a couple of Akita's for 15 years. Akita's are not dumb they are aloof,independent very cat like in personality. They tend to do whats asked at their own pace. My female could do bitework but not to the level of my GSD's. My Akita male was intimidating with his look and bark but was all bark and little bite. Akita's are bred for looks not performance so finding one that will work is rare.

Thanks for the input so far. Would love to hear more

Also, please read "...their not all that bright." in my original post as "...they're not all that bright."

My embarassed apologies!

In what capacity are you looking at them for?

My husband had a friend who had one. The guy lived down in Fla. and was going to college. He had a roomate when he got the puppy, and when it grew up the dog was fine with him. They got another roomate and the dog was fine... if the owner was present. One night they were all going out to a club and the newer guy to move in wasn't ready to go when everyone else was, so they told him to meet them there. The guy got in the shower, and when he got out the dog cornered him. When he tried to get back into the bathroom or escape the dog would snarl and go for him. He was stuck for 6 or 7 hours till everyone finally got home that night... I think he even peed his pants. The guy said the dog goes or he goes. He ended up going and they still don't speak to each other <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> This dog had shown aggression to others in the past and would bite from what I've heard.

I knew someone else who had one and it would attempt to attack and kill any animal it saw. It eventually injured someone elses dog pretty bad and he got into a lot of trouble. The dog was also aggressive to people even with corrections. I *think* it was put down.

One of my brothers has a neighbor with one and it kills any cat that goes into it's yard. Most of the neighbors are terrified of it, and one said they weren't going to start a family until the dog was gone. I think it also escapes.

I would definitely say unless you bought a show bred one, they aren't for NYC living, and even if you did get a show bred one, I'm still not sure it's a good idea... I've never heard anything good about them.

Hey Barbara-

Good question- as to what capacity I'd own one for. Most likely as nothing more than a housepet, maybe with some small concern for giving off the appearance of a "guard dog" to repel the un-dog educated burgular.

Likely I'd stick with the German Shepherds as I am crazy about them and familiar with them, but the Akita aesthetic with those big bear heads and fat wide feet does have some appeal.

So, likely no attempt at any sort of advanced training/ppd/schutzhund et al, but with my GSD's in the past their capacity for advanced training made for an easier and shorter path to learning the simple household pet commands that make life with a dog that much simpler. Wondering if my road to a well behaved, responsive dog would likely be harder to achieve with an akita, and from all I'm hearing and reading the answer seems to be yes.

There was a lady in our old neighbourhood that had one... He was gorgeous and fit, and went jogging with his owner on a flexi-lead every morning and evening. Never once bothered anyone. In the park off lead he had a perfect recall and would down from a distance. Really nice, polite dog.

I'd have to assume that the amount of interaction and exercise he got had a lot to do with that.

I dabbled with the breed for about three years and then got rid of my stock, I never grew too attached to them due to their weird personalities.

They tend to be dog aggressive, so good barriers and crates are a must.

I worked very hard in Ob with them, but they don't have very good work temperaments for the most part ( there are two Akita's with a UD as far as I know in the history of the breed ) and that was one of the major reasons for me selling mine.

Think of a siberian huskey on steroids with no need for human interation and you pretty much have what an Akita is like for the most part.

They'd probably be a ok choice of dogs if you have a big problem with bears, otherwise I'd look at a different breed for a companion dog.

An akita was the dog I grew up with as a child. My parents spent a huge amount of time on his training and exercise and he was always a dignified and calm gentleman in the house. He was insanely dog-aggressive, but was great with people (after he had been introduced to them). My dad traveled a lot on business and with his size and huge bark, my mom, sister and I always felt safe with him in the house. He would also always run to my elderly great-aunt when ever she was getting in or out of a chair and let her use his back for support.

Our Akita came from a show breeder, he had the recessive trait for a long coat so he was sold to us as a pet (they are not to breed-standard, but the long coated ones are beautiful). We had that dog 14 years and 3 days after we had him put to sleep, we had people in our neighborhood come to our door to ask where he was. We actually had one lady whom we had never spoken to, tell us that seeing him go by on his walks always cheered her up because he was so pretty.

I only have experience with that one dog, so he may have been atypical; but he was NOT dumb. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />