Hey there! I just recently got my first Akita 4 days ago. He’s 13 weeks old. I’ve done extensive research, and feel I’m very well versed the breed (or the two breeds, depending on where you’re from), but it’s impossible to really understand an animal until you own it. So I’m just wondering if anyone has any advice or tips for me, going forward. Thank you! P.S. for anyone wondering, his name is Rusty, and yes, that is him as my avatar.
Hello there! I'm not really familiar with that breed, I hope someone else here could help you out so that both of you would just get along just fine.
Not my speciality, but we do have some knowledgeable Akita folk on here. I think you will get a reply once the holidays are over.
What a gorgeous pup They need slightly different handling, to other breeds but they need a confident and firm hand. Correction based training doesn't work, It needs to be positive training but with clear communications of what is expected and acceptable and not. They get bored very easily, and wonder what’s in it for and have a very low tolerance for repetition, if they think it's a waste of time to "sit" or "stay" one more time, they will simply not do it’ most don't do balls or fetch, might the first time you throw it, but if you throw it away again you obviously don't want it! It’s a case of every day regular short training sessions.
@GsdSlave is spot on with her post. Training sessions need to be short, they bore easy, if they don’t get why you want them to do something they may just not do it. They need positive training. Not all dog trainers/classes are helpful with Akitas, IMO . My Akitas generally don’t like other dogs anymore, although my older boy liked other dogs, up until I got him a playmate, when he was about 18 months. Now he is protective of her, so it’s just easier to walk them where we run into as few people as possible. I took him to dog parks to play off leash up until he was about 6 months old, at which point he was unwilling to back down to older male dogs, so we stopped going. After that I let him interact with other dogs only on leash, and generally females. He had a thing for female golden retriever puppies. My dogs have plenty of room to run and stretch their legs at home, so they have no expectation to get off leash when we are out. I don’t think Akitas should be allowed of leash after a certain age, pretty young, as the are very powerful dogs with a mind of their own, and they can be unpredictable. My previous Akita would be wagging his tail and then lunge at other dogs. I did teach my boy to play fetch, but it took a year, and lots of treats. Now I can say drop it and he’ll drop the ball, rope, etc in my hand. My younger girl puppy just watched him do this and picked up how to play fetch. My previous Akita had absolutely no interest in this game. They are unique in their behaviors and attitudes. I’m sure you will end up having specific questions, so when you have them, ask away. The first thing I taught them was kisses, which means licks, instead of nipping. Unfortunately now my girl puppy is obsessed with licking, and it’s actually starting to drive me crazy... I need to figure out how to get her to do this less. What a cool looking Akita. I’d love to see some photos from other angles to get the full picture
Hi & welcome It was about this time 2 years ago that we brought out Japanese Akita home, Yoji. My hubby had two sister in his previous life, so, I felt with his knowledge we were all set. As you say until you have one it’s difficult to believe how amazing they are. If I had my “ puppy “ time again with him the one area I would do differently is his socialising. What we did was mistake socialising, I would change the word to “ de sensitising “ I let everyone touch and fuss him, that included dogs aswell. He barked at everyone & everything so I hit the streets more regularly trying to get him to calm down. What I wish I had done was take him out & about, but, don’t go nose to nose/butt with other dogs and not let people fuss him. They are not that kind of dog, even though they look like teddy bears they really don’t take to strangers well or other dogs ( generally ) What I would teach my next one is to walk past with no interest and to stay calm We crate trained him and that went well No beds or sofa ( that was our choice, I know others do it ) No negative punishment Stay calm & gentle We found Yoji learnt quickly including toilet training How are you getting on up to now ? Philippa & Yoji
Thanks for the advice! I’ve also decided to make the decision of no furniture for mine. I feel the more structure I can set, the better. I’ll definitely take into consideration your recommended method of socializing. I agree that it makes more sense to try and teach him indifference and toleration rather than to be best buds with everyone and everything, knowing that isn’t a realistic expectation. So far everything had been great considering I’ve only had him for 5 full days. He stays almost glued to my hip when I take him for walks, whether that be on or off leash, and he’s slowly learning not to mouth on hands and fingers. He is almost fully potty trained; a few accidents during the night, but we have “potty pads” for that, which he is very good about using. He was shipped from Serbia, which is something I totally regret. The long flight left him a little shaken up for the next 24 hours, which makes crate training difficult because he is a little traumatized of it. If I had to do it over, I definitely wouldn’t have gone international (it’s not fair to the pup). But he recovered quick and seems to be adjusting great to his new home.
Thank you for the reply. Yes, I’ve been doing the training in about 10 minute intervals, a few times throughout the day. So far my Akita does great off leash; stays close to me at all times, and comes when he’s called. Slowly learning “heel”. Although as you said, I’m sure once he reaches a certain age, things will start to change, which is why I’m also trying to take him on as many walks on leash as of leash. It’s great you’ve got your boy to play fetch! Hopefully mine will pick up on it. So far he’s pretty typical. Will chase if sometimes, other times won’t even look up. Here a few photos:
I know I have commented before, but, I hadn’t seen the photos at the time. What a stunning looking boy One thing that you mentioned about him being “ off “ lead, Yoji was great with that until he was about 8\9 months, I think it coincided with him gaining confidence. He would wander off and when we called him he would look at us and go do his own thing. As he got older we ran into a few heart stopping moments whilst off lead. We don’t let him off lead now, he has a horses 8 meter lunge rein so he can still skip about and investigate things. Akita are well know for bad recall !
Yeah, I should probably start keeping on leash whenever we go for walks. It’s just that the only dog park nearby is an off lead park, and even though once he matures I probably won’t be able to take him there anymore, it’s the best place for socializing. I hope you got my reply to your first comment. I didn’t do it right, and messed up the thread, it was posted as a separated comment.
