just wanted to put in that my akita, axle, is 3 and we have NEVER had an attitude change, but we have never changed our routine either, we go the same places typically on the same day at the same time, so he knows what's going to happen, no surprises to throw him off. he does awesome off leash, but i will say though that we avoid dog parks only because we used to have a "get-together" with neighborhood dogs, and some people didn't take their dogs health seriously, and everyone's dog's ended up with with hook worms AND whip worms at once, which did a real number on axle's weight very quickly, as well as everyone else's dogs health, too! axle went through extreme training, and is still very good with it, but if we don't work with him for a while, he does start to get pushy sometimes. you really just need to continue training, even after the classes are over. axle weighs anywhere from 130-150#s and plays awesome with chihuahua's so long as they don't get too nippy, then he stands up and puts his nose in the air (he's not allowed to pay too much attention to dogs so he just looks over them). it's all just the dog, every one has a different personality!