Big Paws Only Dog Forums
Akitas => Akita Discussions => : Elizabeth August 15, 2005, 09:19:59 PM
-
I have a 7 month old akita boy and have worked very hard to socialize him, thinking enough socialization would make him a little more predictable. He did fine until he hit 6 1/2 months and began to assert his dominance with other dogs by laying on top of them. We are trying to break him of this habit because he will be over 100 pounds as an adult.
Do you think it's possible for an akita to be able to handle an off-leash park as an adult?
-
Of course!
A dog, regardless of breed, is only as good as its' Master.
You have to be diligent, understanding, forgiving, diligent, forgiving, etc., etc.
Your boy will someday meet a dog that doesn't want to be layed upon, that's when the lesson will be learned. It will up to you to determine what his reaction will be, and be prepared to deal with it.
There are various forms of agression and dominance.
Be prepared to handle your animals reaction to another animals reaction.
If they can walk away unscathed and unscarred, physically and emotionally, then you've done a good job.
If you walk away cursing the other dog, or its' Master, then you have to go back to school!
It's OK to tell the other dogs Master that he/she is F%#ed up, when your dog has done everything right.
Just make sure that you know your dog!
John
-
I agree.....but the reality is that you have a dog that was bred to be a fighter (fought bears in Japan) and if stressed, can revert to his breeding. DO be careful. I had an Akita for 13 years who was absolutely wonderful for the first five. My 7 year old daughter went through training with him and she could walk on the bike path at the beach and he was PERFECT. At around five years, he became incredibly territorial, and would attack meter readers, the UPS man, the wild animals who live here, cats who strayed in to our yard. It was SO stressful. We ended up having to keep him confined even though we live in area with no leash laws. I agree that training is absolutely key but also understand that Akitas can be very difficult to handle!
-
One of my fears is that without the dogpark, he won't be able to get the socialization he needs, and honestly, he has become noticeably more dominant the past two weeks (puppy puberty is what I've been told by his obedience teacher). He is a doll with me and my family though, and of course we couldn't love him more if we tried.
Are there alternatives for dogs who are working on being good dogs, but haven't quite achieved the title ?
-
By the way, I love your photo! What a sweetie!
-
i would keep taking him everywhere you can and train him alot over and over he is so young you san mold him into a perfect dog ,akitas are one of my favorite breeds they are so beautful and noble i'm sure you will do everything right keep us posted........ ....
ann
-
I agree with the others ... akitas can be socialized to accept other dogs. Our akita, Joji, absolutely *loves* other dogs. I have yet to see her act aggressive with a dog, although, she tried to assert dominance in one setting where she was temporarily staying with a friend and the friend brought a new dog into the household.
Overall, I've found that dog parks can be a crap shoot; they really depend on the people who go. The regulars generally don't let anything get out of hand between dogs and the dogs have a good time, but once-a-year visitors tend to bring in dogs who are not socialized and fights break out. Just a thought ... usually regulars show up at parks about the same time every day (or at least routinely) ... you might want to try to find a such a group and go regularly. I'm sure your dog will benefit from the regular dog-interaction. Good luck!
-
Sorry not much help with akitas here. I just want to thank everyone for the information on dog parks. In my city they are in the process of setting up a dog park right in my neighborhood. I can't wait to take Kiah. She loves to play with other dogs. I feel sorry for her when another doesn't want to play with her.
-
We rarely go to the dog park anymore for a few reasons...
1. Maia will fight if another dog crawls and gets in her face
2. Rocco jumps on random humans if they sound too excited or look like they need some Rocco love.
3. Maia will take toys and keep them if someone is trying to play fetch with their dog and will run away if the person tries to get the toy and growl if the dog tries to get it.
4. Rocco plays rough with all dogs.
5. Small dogs like to snarl and attack my dogs and I am afraid that my dogs will inadvertently (Rocco) hurt them or eat them for lunch (Maia).
I prefer to get together with my friend who breeds goldens. Our dogs have a pecking order, her mama female is the top, then her male, then Rocco, then one of the pups (who is 3 now), then Maia, then anyother pup who is around. They don't see each other everyday so it is fun to see them, but they see each other enough that we trust them all together.
-
Of course!
A dog, regardless of breed, is only as good as its' Master.
oh crap lol
-
I'm sure that wasn't directed at anybody in particular.... . ;)
-
still....im screwed ;D
-
Oh, a little (or a lot) of pooh on your poohjamas is nothing to beat yourself up over. He was just sharing his special-specials....just like Bear with his drool. You must be SOOOO special to have that effect on dogs! ::)
-
i'm nicki...cummon, we all know im special. special that is lol. i so glad everyone needs to share thier poo and drool with me, i guess im one of them now
-
I agree.....but the reality is that you have a dog that was bred to be a fighter (fought bears in Japan) and if stressed, can revert to his breeding. DO be careful. I had an Akita for 13 years who was absolutely wonderful for the first five. My 7 year old daughter went through training with him and she could walk on the bike path at the beach and he was PERFECT. At around five years, he became incredibly territorial, and would attack meter readers, the UPS man, the wild animals who live here, cats who strayed in to our yard. It was SO stressful. We ended up having to keep him confined even though we live in area with no leash laws. I agree that training is absolutely key but also understand that Akitas can be very difficult to handle!
Was he altered? Sounds like alot of people have had problems with aggressiveness in their male dogs due to testosterone. Not to say that this is the sole reason, but it can be a contributing factor.
My dads wolf hybrid became extremely agressive at around 41/2 years, after he neutered, his personality changed for the better. (too bad my dad didnt do this sooner, or he never would have had to get 12 stitches on his face)
-
One of my fears is that without the dogpark, he won't be able to get the socialization he needs, and honestly, he has become noticeably more dominant the past two weeks (puppy puberty is what I've been told by his obedience teacher). He is a doll with me and my family though, and of course we couldn't love him more if we tried.
Are there alternatives for dogs who are working on being good dogs, but haven't quite achieved the title ?
I agree with everything being said here. We don't have a dog park out this way (the boonies, dontchaknow!) however, we keep an eye on several dog clubs, and when they have public events, we'll contact one of the organizers and request permission to bring our pups out for socialization. Unless they're having a "work-day" the responces have been overwhelmingly positive. You might look for an Akita group in your area as well, they might hold events or training days that might help.
Best of luck!
-
[
Was he altered?
Yes. He had been altered at about 6 months of age. He just got TOO territorial!
-
Hi There,
I have an Akita mix...& the Akita is thru & thru w/ his temper, & traits. But I personally, wanted to tell you. That Gizmo loves off-leash parks/areas & he does well. Socialize Socialize Socialize. Now he's not always an angel & yes, we've had time outs, nothing huge. And yes, other dog owners will get concerned once they see your dog's curled tail & how big she/he is, but that comes w/ the terrority of having an akita is the stereo-type reactions you will recieve from people. If you train your pet correctly & have faith in her/him, I see no reason why you two can't have a great time @ the park. Hope you have good time!
Sarah
-
I'm telling you, I had NO problems for months- socialized him well, the whole 9. Around 13 months, overnight, it seemed, he became ornery to other males. It WILL happen.
Off-Leash? Akitas just aren't that kind of dog. Besides, if I get into it with another owner due to his dog's behavior, and Thor sees me getting riled up, then he is going to instinctively go into security mode.
It's not going to be your fault when some other dog starts a fight, and your Akita decides to finish it. That's not going to stop them from villifying your already stigmatized Akita and banning you from the dogpark or worse.
:-(
-
Hi all! Thanks for all of your input. My baby boy just hit one year and 100 pounds.
We don't go to dog parks anymore, both he and I prefer environments with more control these days. We do have some dog friends that we get together with (one of them is a pit bull, people avoid us on playdates) and he is playful, happy and fine.
This board has been a godsend. I mostly just lurk and read these days, and I've learned alot about my large breed babies here.
Thanks again!
-
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!
-
I was reading abotu dog parks the other day, becuase I used to take Pepper constantly and was starting to think about when to take Bella. The information I read said a couple interesting things. One, it's bad for socialization purposes to take a dog before the age of 6 months because they tend to get picked on the most when they're the young one, which results in not-as-positive socialization expereieneces. The other thing that I thought was a good idea was to take your dog there on a leash at first. A decent length of course so they feel more free, but then when a behavior pops up that is unacceptable (like laying on top of another dog), you can recall and if they choose to ignore, you can "reel" them in while using the recall command to teach them that even at the dog park they must listen to you and your rules. The only issue I can see with this is dogs that are aggressive when on a leash. Otherwise, I thought that was a good idea for "Dog Park 101"... Bella has yet to experience a dog park... the ones here are open space, so we can go for hikes, but she's not big enough to do that yet.
-
my last dog a chow akita mix was a wonderfully trained dog. but he was never social, he just liked his family and our other dog and a small world to guard. we would go for walks, which he loved but he was always too much on guard to be social to strangers and other animals. he never attacked anything or anyone, because we worked so hard on training but you could just see him change when someone wanted to pet or come up to us while out. with his family he was just a big suck. patti
-
"Many people think that socializing is a "puppy period" thing...I believe it is always on-going and they continue to learn"
YAAAAAAAAAAAAY!!!!
You are absolutly, %100 correct! i couldn't have put it better myself! training is nothing if you don't socialize, and too many people don't realize this!
you just made my day!
Leah
-
My Akita is just over one year old. I used to take him to the dog park as well. He unfortunately likes to let everyone know in a "friendly" way that he's the boss and it doesn’t always go over well. Akita's are very independent and stubborn. We are very good dog owners and trainers. We make our Akita work for everything and he loves it! Still... he cannot be trusted in a dog park. Sorry, I wouldn't risk it.
-
I agree that a dog is as good as its handler, but a responsible handler. I do not believe a responsible Akita owner would put their dog or other peoples dogs into that situation. It is dangerous and unpredictable.
The Shepherd owner (above) obviously has not had an Akita. You do not want "a lesson learned" at the expense of another dog or your. I say the other dog first because the out come for the other will probably be worse. Akitas are fast and powerful.
Not a good way to "teach" a dog anything.
Take a look at the discussion on Akita temperament. It will help you a lot I think.
-
I have found it incredibly stressful to take our akita boy to a dog park. When he was a pup we did it regularly (4-5 times a week) and things were always tentative. He was naturally bigger and rougher than his same age counterparts. It was more the people at the dog park that we dreaded. They would react negatively as soon as they saw him ("ahhh...it's an aggressive akita")they would start scooping up their shiz tu's and heading toward the exit. It was ridiculous.
Now, he is 2/5 years and we will not take him because he has shown some aggression toward my neighbors bulldog. I think it's just a bad mix (Bulldogs are known for not being tolerant of other dogs). We are flirting with the idea of getting another dog who can really ruf and tumble with our akita since we think that him growing up as an 'only child' is going to be a disservice in the long run.
It's a tough situation...on e I have been hoping to find a solution to as well!