Hi Scott,

http://www.leerburg.com/groundwork.htm

For the first 15 days at least, you may NOT want to spend much time walking him, because the LESS attention you give him early-on, the MORE he will respect your leadership -- Remember, Akitas are an ALOOF breed & you want to "out-ignore" him right now NOT vice versa (while you might be an amateur with that type of power-play, this dog has 4 YEAR'S experience at it)...

My Akita acts downright angelic & sublimely ecstatic when she's killing live prey (sweety-pie facial expression, tail merrily wagging, happy-talk going on!) and I would NEVER trust her around any strange cat -- Maybe she'd make friends (?) but if not, the kitty would be DEAD before I could prevent it <:-(

You don't want to let him out of the crate just because he's upset in there, for whatever "understandable" reason -- You need to call ALL the shots with this dog & that includes expecting him to stay in his "bed" and keep still while YOU have welcomed guests in your home (allowing him to body-guard you around visitors & feel more empowered according to HIS rules is sending him the WRONG message that he's the head of your household, rather than you & your wife being his pack-leaders)...

With all that said, this sounds like a pretty low-drive Akita from your posts so far, but he seems territorially protective, so you definitely want to establish & maintain the alpha position with him on all fronts -- IMHO, using the tether or umbilical training method will go a long way to reduce the independent & stubborn tendencies he has; then AFTER the 1st few weeks, daily exercise is essential, because "a tired Akita is a GOOD Akita" <:-)

Candi--thanks for that input. I think I'm on top of that, although I would not have thought that the trade-off between attention and exercise would want to err on the side of less attention.

On the aggressive-in-the-crate thing: how best to correct him while in the crate and discourage that behavior?

On the lighter side: one of our cats was finally brave enough to sneak up on the sleeping, crated Akita. He woke up with a start! So the official cat acclimation evolution continues forward per the recipe in the article.

On the "all good" part I spoke a little too soon. :-) On the morning of the fourth day (today) we have finally reached the "whining" phase of crate training. And I thought we were going to skip that! I have also discovered this morning that deer poop is the most power distractor imaginable for him, WAY more than cats, dogs, food or anything else so far. It took 2 REALLY big corrections to get him to come away from it, and he knows "come" very well.

st

Scott, EF calls it Groundwork (GW) and Akita owners call it Alpha Boot-Camp -- Walking your dog involves a lot of interaction with him, which HE views as you lavishing attention on him (while the Akita pretty much ignores YOU in the early weeks of a new relationship) and that's WHY it should be kept to a bare minimum of brief bathroom breaks in your own yard for the first 15-30 days, at least...

Here are 4 Leerburg videos that I consider an absolute MUST to own:

"Your Puppy 8 Weeks to 8 Months" (Akita owners should still get this one even if their new dog is 8 YEARS old, IMHO)

"Basic Obedience Training"

"E-Collar Training for Pet Owners"

"Dealing With Dominant & Aggressive Dogs" (NOT because all
Akitas are aggressive, but because MOST Akitas tend to be domineering!)

I don't work for Ed & Cindy (just in case you were beginning to wonder, LOL) but these DVD's are worth their weight in gold, and can spell the difference between your success with an Akita, or an innocent dog's appointment with "the needle" <:-(

Now, to keep him quiet in his crate:

Leave a tasty knuckle-bone, or a big Kong stuffed with peanut butter or cream cheese, in the cage with him & darken the area, if necessary -- Keep an extra kennel back in the spare bedroom, out in your garage, down in the cellar, over in your barn (anywhere the sight, sound & scent of your houseguests is less stimulating to the dog) -- Always take him out for a bathroom break just B4 he goes into the crate & never let him out of his kennel unless he IS being quiet <:-)