Akita Puppy

If you would like to have an Akita puppy in your home, you’ve got to be ready for a long-term commitment and self-sacrifice. Akita dogs are very intelligent and thrive on attention, so they are not good for ever-busy career people. These dogs are excellent companions, but require specific obedience training, which can be a hard thing to do for a placid personality. In their owners, Akita dogs appreciate firmness, assertiveness and dignity. With lack of these qualities in their loved ones, they feel free to take up the position of a leader in their family “pack”, which is, to put it mildly, no great for the owner.

The breed originated in Japan, and Akita puppies were greatly favored by ancient Japanese nobilities as they grew up to be hunting companions. Today, the breed has two varieties: the Akita Inu – the Japanese breed, and the American Akita, being the only variety recognized by the American Kennel Club. In other countries, these two varieties are considered to be separate breeds.

American Akitas are larger and come in more diverse color variations. The Japanese Akita Inu comes only in five colors: White, Red, Fawn, Sesame and Brindle. In the USA, American and Japanese Akitas are often interbred, because hybrids are believed to be healthier and sturdier. Akitas have a thick waterproof double coat with a dense undercoat. Therefore, they were used extensively as waterfowl retrievers in the past. Akitas are excellent swimmers, because they have webbed paws. These dogs weigh 85-130lbs (males) and 65-110lbs (females), and measure 25-28 and 23-26 inches high at the withers correspondingly. Akita puppies bond with their owners easily, and grown-ups tend to be one-person dogs. Akitas are the largest spitz-type dogs.

Akita dogs are brave, intelligent and protective. They make superb guard dogs, and they are usually hostile toward strangers. However, they are capable of restraining their own aggression on the owner’s command. Akita dogs are extremely wary of other pets, both canine and non-canine. They are not rapt on seeing children either. Akitas do not usually bark without a reason. Akita puppies are very responsive to positive training, and they do not tolerate rough or abusive training. Being one-person dogs, they tend to obey the person they have chosen as their master.

These dogs are moderately active, but they do better in a country house with a fenced yard than in a city apartment. Akitas enjoy correctly organized training sessions and tend to follow their owners around. Loneliness can be destructive to their temperament and is likely to result in as destructive a behavior. A well-bred Akita puppy will retain devotion to his master for the rest of his life, providing the owner, in turn, endows him with sincere affection, true devotion and life-long encouragement.