I was recently the owner of a large Akita bitch that was given to me by a friend. She was large at about 90 lbs and although not an alpha dog, she displayed alot of dominance over my other two dogs ( one of which was a working GSD). This made for some exciting moments when the working dog wasnt in the mood to be muscled around.
Ive heard that at some time in history the Japanese used these dogs for police/security work. I can certainly understand why as they are powerfully built and quite agile. She is about 6 years old now and Ihad to put her in her place on a semi-regular basis to remind her who is the pack leader.
Any general info on the breeds' working history would be appreciated. Ive read the easily obtained periodicals concerning their personality, care, family compatibility etc., but Im sure someone out there can provide further points of interest.

The literature I've read indicates a varied working background, lots of typical spitz stuff-some large game tracking and hunting, draft work, and fighting. This was, from what I read, all in their native land- American soldiers changed the breed a bit in the 40's by some interbreeding with shepherds ( I assume military dogs?) but I don't know if the military tried to use them for work.
Having achieved popularity here, they probably are no longer the same "working" dog they may have been once. The American type is very different in apearance from the Japanese one, -the japanese dogs are shorter, more slightly built, and look much more agile-do not have that big blocky head.

Hi Howard,
I have two Akitas, a male and female. I've had both dogs since puppies. Both dogs are obedience trained and my male has been protection trained. He is a very steady dog and a delight to be with. My female did not possess the proper mindset for protection work. She is shy around people but an absolute terror around all 4 legged mammals. If there is anything specific regarding Akitas you would like to know please feel free to ask.

I think their original job was a bear hunting dog.
Pretty much they are now a popular yuppie dog, and give uninformed owners a lot of problems. These dogs seem to be magnets for the wrong owner types, I guess due to their attractive appearence.

Will,
You are correct about them being good looking dogs, mine was all buff with a blask mask, really beautifull. I cant comment on the yuppie thing as I see very few here in central Florida.

Kevin,
My female was much like your male. Very animal agressive and headstrong. Had I the time I believe she would have been a good candidate for protection training because she exhibited a lot of the qualities needed for that type of work.

Will Rambeau wrote:
"Pretty much they are now a popular yuppie dog, and give uninformed owners a lot of problems. These dogs seem to be magnets for the wrong owner types, I guess due to their attractive appearence."

Will,
I totally agree with you on that statement. And In general,I think alot of people should just own small/toy breeds; especially this woman that lives down the road from me that has a male and female Akita. They get out ALL the time. She has a 4ft. chain link fence to contain them (duh). She thinks that they are only "unlatching" the gate to get out. I've watched them jump over the fence. I'm sure they can unlatch the gate, but when she has the latches covered and they get bored, they just jump the fencing like it wasn't even there.
One day the male got out and came up into my yard. He scared my 4 year old who came running into the garage where I was and fell down, hitting his head. I was NOT happy. I went out and told the dog to go home.. Well he did, but brought back the female. I yelled at them some more thinking they would leave, but instead they just got their hackles up and started charging at me, coming up into the garage. That's when I decided to call the animal control. Of course it was on a Sat. and it took them an hour to get out to my house. By then the dogs were long gone.
The woman finally came out looking for them, and I told her what happened. She told me that they were "just playing with us" (HAHA!). Well, atleast she appologized :rolleyes:
People really have NO CLUE when it comes to their dogs. Unfortunately the Akita gets a lot of female owners that like their "teddy bear" appearance, and buy them on a whim; then treat them like little babies. And I don't know whats worse, Men with the machoism attitude that buy dogs to stroke their egos ,or the females that I mentioned above. Of course this applies to any dog breed, not just akitas.

Men buying Rotties are the worst.

A lot of people need to be told "sorry, a big dog doesn't make up for the small size of your...."

Well, you know what I mean! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

And yes, I owned Rotts for many years - usually small, female ones...

Alot of people who own large breeds are just clueless. They dont realize how a dog works, nor do they care. That is why you see so many horror stories in the news about large dogs attacking people.
Ive owned Rotts, Dobermans, Boxers and German shepherds for years with no problems attacking people or running amok if they get out. I cant stand , nor bear to watch as someones dog runs for the hills as soon as it gets out. Obviously these dogs have no obedience training.
Unfortunately I had to give up my Akita when My second PSD retired. I then had A retired PSD, a working Psd, my wifes Cocker and the Akita. My wife has no problem controlling the working dogs but she never got a handle on the Akita. With 2 young children at home inviting their friends over while I was away I could no longer gaurantee the Akita wasnt going to do something that was going to cost me. Being a responsible dog owner, I found someone whom I could trust that took her. A person who I knew would spend the time this breed needs and a strong willed owner. So far all is good. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

I own a 6 yr old female, co-own a male litter mate.

Yes, Akita's are not for everyone. It takes someone that can handle these fantastic dogs.

The BIG PROBLEM as I see it!! breeders that sell these dogs without checking the backgrounds of the buyers. So some of the blame goes to the breeders just wanting to make money.

I'm lucky, only other Akita owner in my area owns several banks. Not to many Yuppi types where I live at present.

You can read some of my post on Akitas here.

Its definately about the almighty dollar. At least our local humane society scrutinizes the heck out of would be owners of many of the so-called "dangerous dogs". At least someone has decent morals.