Hi there! I'm going to try and make this as quick and short as possible since I've got a load of questions! I've never had a dog before (but I have had a cat). I understand that Akitas are generally recommended for Novice Owners to stay away from since these dogs can be aggressive if not properly socialized or trained from when they're young. Nevertheless, I was still interested. I have had a cat before although I don't know if any of those skills would ever carry over. Is there any circumstance that you could have an Akita as a Novice Owner? Have any of you been a novice owner and successfully trained and raised an Akita? Please let me know and please leave as much information as possible! I want to know everything I can/should do if I ever got this dog breed, both as a Novice or as an Experienced Owner. Thank you so much
I would highly recommend you get an easier dog as your first dog. Akitas are a more complex breed, definitely not easy for a first time owner. You should have a good understanding of dog training and behavior before taking on one of these dogs. Your cat owner skills will not transfer over to having an Akita. I had dogs before but was pulling my hair out with my first Akita. Eventually we worked things out, and he was a great and incredibly loyal dog. I currently have 2 Akitas, a male and a female. These dogs take a lot of patience to train. They can be stubborn and bore quickly with repeated training. Short training sessions work best with them, and only positive training methods. Not all dog trainers understand the breed. It’s not the same as training a poodle, or a lab. My current male, who’s the older of my two, was highly socialized. I walked him almost everyday where there was lots of other dogs. My previous Akita was not well socialized with other dogs and I was determined to try and raise this one differently. As a pup and a young dog he got along ok with other dogs, and even had a thing for female golden retriever pups. As he got older he got along with other dogs less and less. After I got my 2nd Akita, he just became protective of her, and no longer was able to interact with other dogs. It’s just the nature of the breed. Yes you read that correctly, he does not interact with other dogs, besides the one he lives with. These dogs are very protective. If you want a dog you can let run around in a dog park with other dogs, it’s not the right breed for you. When he was a pup I would take him to dog parks, but by around 8-9 months he got into his first fight, with another slightly older make akita, and we never tried that again. Just the nature of the breed. There are outliers, but they are rare. I am happy to answer other questions but I highly recommend you not get this breed as your first dog. I have answered questions from others interested in Akitas, and first time owners before too. You can find a lot of answers to your questions in the archives, and probably answers to questions you hadn’t thought of yet.
Thank you so much for the advice, I'll definitely be sticking to it now and hopefully referring back to it in the future! It's still amazing to hear about the breed though and I wish you good luck with all your beauties now and in the future, hopefully, there won't be any more fights.
