We would like to welcome Ella.im sure we will be needing some of your advice in the coming weeks/months
Ella is a beauty. We have had Yoji for 12 weeks, he is 5 months today. Before we got him I was researching about Akitas and I nearly changed my mind as there seemed to be so many comments about them being ' challenging '. I would agree with that comment, but, they are so intelligent that if you put the time in to their training they are a delight to have. Have you had an Akita before ? I haven't. I also find myself just sitting and watching him, Do keep in touch, I'm not an expert, but, let me know what's on your mind and maybe I can help as we are a few months ahead of you with Yoji
Thanks,loving yoji. They definitely are challenging but I love them.i had one for a very short time some years ago but she come down with a problem in Wich I lost her.i know what u mean very much time wasters. Lol. she is not liking night times she cried all nyt again.thanks.
Welcome to Breedia, Lee and cute Ella, and Philippa and little bear Yoji, from Malka and little Tikva
For the separation anxiety I would keep her as close to you as possible when you sleep, not in your bed of course but close enough that you could reach down and give her a quick pat on the head when she get scared or has a bad dream. If she knows you are close she will sleep much better. You probably know all this already but I thought I'd say it anyway, maybe for someone else in a similar boat. Try your best to get her around very young children as fast as possible, the smaller the kid the better. Mine loves children around 5 and above but gets very weird when she see's babies and toddlers as no one in my family had a child that young. So when she see's a baby in a push chair or being carried in the parents arms, she gets very alert. I have no idea if babies scare her or she wants to attack, but the heckles go up with a few muffled barks as if she is saying "What the heck is that?"; And, its not like I can ask people "Hey can I test my Akita with your baby?" So its something you will want to do when she is tiny rather than leave it too late. The good thing is with having multiple dogs yourself, you won't need (but obviously still should anyway) to socialize them with other dogs 'as much' as say an Akita who is in a house alone. The P's and Q's will be mostly taken care of by her interaction with her fellow house buddies, so they'll be teaching her every bit as much as you will in those early days. DO feed her separately though, can't stress that enough. Even though she is 1/10th of her full size she will still be as brave as a 100lb Akita, so if another dog tries to eat her food or she tries to eat the other dogs food, a bad reaction might start bad blood between the two dogs. You can give them treats when together but keep their bowls as separate as you can, or even just feeding them at different times work too. But know your alpha dog gets fed first until the order changes, and it will change to your Akita being the alpha sooner or later. Also during every single meal you lay down in front of her, put your finger in the food while she is eating it and swirl it around for a few seconds. I did this for months, I also took away chew treats seconds after I gave them to her, and told my wife and son to do the same. One single snap bite could mean a lost finger down the road, so all family members should be able to put fingers in and even take away the food while she is eating without any growling. To make this easier you could wait until she is almost finished and then grab a few extra bits of kibble and show her that a hand coming in could mean bonus food is on the way too. Bikes too, mine is mesmerized by people on bikes, so get out your bikes and ride them around the garden to get her used to them. Hope some of this was helpful, I envy this time for you. They are an absolute trip to observe, so small yet you can see the stubbornness and sheer bravery of the ancient Akita even in that tiny fluffy package.
Thank you for your advice we have 5 children and have there friends around she doesn't even move when the door goes.
(Long post, sorry) Perfect situation IMO, lots of kids will keep her from being scared of unpredictable things, 5 kids can make a heck of a racket. The more physical, audio and visual experience she has, the less she will freak out when she comes across something she doesn't understand. Mine was pretty skittish at first, cars, trucks and especially motorcycles would have her full undivided attention until out of sight, people on bicycles still don't compute with her either. The great thing about these dogs is there ability to (in their eyes) not to let anyone creep up on them. They will warn you about anything that looks out of place. Even among loud noises and people around, day or night, mine will just point to a direction and give that muffled "mmff" sound which obviously makes me look, and every time there will be someone in the distance just walking. My Husky however will be just as fixed gaze as her but he will remain silent. So silent in fact that I was at my front door getting out my keys, and my post man had turned a corner around my house and came up behind me while looking down reading the mail. He didn't even see me either and only for the leash pulling I wouldn't have known anyone was there. So while my Husky is lightning quick, has very sharp teeth with a razor blade like ridge at the back, they are inevitably for killing every chew toy I give him within minutes. Enter the Akita, no one and I mean no one gets within 50 feet of me without me knowing they're there, and to be honest around my neighborhood that's worth its weight on gold. Its no wonder why these dogs are one of the very very few that will protect their owners without any training to do so. This is where the responsibility in owning one comes in. We as owners are ambassadors for our Akita's. To show that these dogs are a credit to humans and are nothing to be feared by an "honest heart". But mean to do them or their family harm and this dog already has your number. We did the whole pet smart training thing too, its a great if you can't get specialized dog training some of them cost a pretty penny. The socialization aspect alone was priceless for her though, she approaches new dogs with interest now, no "pre heckle" strutting. She's even had a few bad reactions from dogs but still remains calm. I would gladly reverse time until she was a puppy, and do it all over again, they are that much of a trip to watch grow. Enjoy every minute.
Thanks Branco Snow, we are thoroughly enjoying Yoji, I am so desperate to get all his training right as I heard so many bad things about Akitas. He is so much fun and well behaved for a 5 month old, I think we will all be ok
