May I ask why huskies have been taken off the list?
Me, I'd look for a husky/shep mix, of which there seem to be a surprising number. Usually mid sized, most are very attractive looking and have the best of both worlds. Intelligent, friendly, and yes many will play fetch.
But if you are looking for a purebred, I think the Mal is a great choice. I used to petsit for a family that had a mal and an aussie with 3 young boys. He was awesome. But as with most northern breeds need a special kind of training b/c of how their minds work.
Besides the samoyed, the american eskimo is a very similar breed. Comes in 3 sizes, I'd think he'd want to look at the largest size.
Other japanese breeds may work as well, but would obviously be harder to find. The kai, sanshu, hokkaido (or ainu), kishu, and shikoku. Or the korean jindo dog. They all vary in size and coloration.
How about an eurasier/eurasian? Very attracive dogs, not necessarily like an akita but they are a hairy chow/sheperd looking dog.
Finnish lapphund is another northern breed. Although considerably smaller than an akita, they sound as if they would work great with children.
Icelandic sheepdog? Again, not a big dog but attractive and active. They come in 2 coat varieties.
Karelian bear dog.........ag
ain, not a large dog.
Norwegian elkhound
Keeshond
Tibetan mastiff
Swedish lapphund......
.similar in size to the finish lapphund
but I think the largest are the tibetan mastiff, akita and mals. So I guess it depends on what size he is looking for and what would work best for him.
Of course many of these breeds are not that easy to find in the US sooooo........
a mixed breed or rescue may be his best bet.
