"The nicest Akita I’ve ever met”
I’ve had Jade just over two and a half years. I consistently hear, “Jade is the nicest Akita I’ve ever met”. It was no different at a recent weeklong Canine SAR seminar I attended in September. People remarked at how friendly Jade was to people, dogs and just seemed to take everything in at the seminar. As I heard this over and over and heard stories of other Akitas that were not as friendly as Jade. I started to realize that this was a repeated experience over the past two years from people and it made me sad. I started to wonder is the current state of the Akita breed due to the Akita breeders, purists and owners themselves?
Take a look out on the Internet and on Akita rescue and breeder sites. There is a list of restrictions that you are unable to do with an Akita, this list is longer than the Pit Bull, Rottweiler or other breeds much maligned by society. The Akita websites put all these restrictions on the Akita owner, at PUPPYHOOD! Tell a new puppy owner that no matter what you do with your Akita you will never be able to:
- Go to a dog park
- Acclimate another dog in the household
- Be around small dogs
- Let your Akita off leash
- On so on….
Now you begin a self fulfilling prophecy for the Akita breed by keeping them under socialized and perpetuating the public view of Akitas. Most of the advice from the Akita purist sites, indicate to go to a puppy class and walk around a pet store weekly for socialization.
I’ve had the pleasure of working with just a few Akita puppies over the years, since they generally don’t come to puppy classes and few attend dog training as a rule. I see most of mine as adult dogs. Owners tend to say “Well, I knew when I got an Akita there were things I wouldn’t be able to do…”
The Akitas I’ve worked with from puppyhood that I have worked with and pushed in multiple training sessions and twice weekly doggie daycare have developed in to nice social dogs, friendly to people and dogs. Why? The owners gave them opportunity to meet and greet multiple people in their development years. Given the opportunity, Akitas can enjoy agility, therapy work or even become working dogs. Or even enjoy time in a river with their Akita friends.
This socialization and training should last through the age of at least 2 years. If I were to get an Akita, or any puppy here just a small part of the routine I would follow.
Puppy classes
Two sessions of puppy classes. Either weekly or back to back and they must include off leash play.
Dog Classes
I would start as soon as possible, around 6 months. At this time I would also look for a beginning Agility, Scenting, Frisbee or other non-traditional class.
Dog Parks
If you attend doggie daycare up until 6-9 months, then I would go to a Dog Park 1-2 times a month. This can be a double edged sword, since there will be some bad experiences at the park, but even these can help you understand your dog and teach your dog how to handle those not-so-nice dogs.
Doggie Daycare
Once old enough, doggie daycare no more than twice a week. The dogs must be provided two breaks during the day, but can be valuable to maintain your dog's social skills.
Weekly
Two weekly excursions out to meet people (lots of people!). I would go out with them as early as 8 weeks. I consider the risk of disease less of an issue than the risk of an undersocialized dog. One trip would be into a wooded area or park. I also start off leash control work as soon as I get the dog. If I have friends with social dogs I will start to hold some dog social gatherings.
There is no reason you can’t follow this same routine with any breed of dog and create a safe well socialized dog at the end of two years. Jade should not be the “nicest Akita” you ever meet. She should be the norm and not the exception. The more you do with your dog, the more you can do.
Careful what you wish for
Part of the problem is I think overall some Akita owners, like other big dog owners, like the fact that their breed has some hint of danger to them. They use words like protective, dominant, indicate no one would mess with an Akita, or demand you must be a strong owner have an Akita. It’s almost like they want people to fear their dog. I’ve met many dog owners who had this attitude, only later to call me to report that their dog was now to aggressive to take anywhere and what should they do about it. Please, please socialize any dog you get and realize, your dog's potential is only limited by you - not it's breed.
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