The Personality and Traits of The Akita Dog Breed

For people who love dogs, the Akita breed offers them a loyal, friendly and protective companion. They are dependable and typically love their owners and family. The same cannot be said of them though when it comes to strangers. To strangers and other pets, they are hostile and unfriendly.

This dog breed is huge, powerful and always alert. They are a dignified and fearless working breed that originated from northern Japan. They are useful in a variety of ways including as guard dogs, for therapy work and as guides.

The Akita breed comes in two strains. These are the Japanese Akita Inu and the American Akita. While the Akita Inu comes in white, printo, or brindle. The American strain comes in a wide variety of colors. You may read more on this here.

For their appearance, the Akita resembles a combination of a bear and a fox with triangular ears, a robust body and enormous paws. They are cute and attractive and have thick but short coats. Matured adults can be anything from 24 -28 inches tall and may weigh up to 130 pounds.

This makes them quite big dogs with massive heads, broad jaws, pointed noses but with small eyes. One part of their appearance that is very distinct is their plush and curly tail that curls over their back.

Personality and Traits

Akitas are friendly dogs but only to those they are familiar with. They even like playing with kids. A stranger will cause them to be aloof and they may attack such a person if they feel threatened. To limit their aggressive behavior, it is good that you start to properly train them early.

Let them get used to seeing other people and other pets. This will help to make them be more social and friendly. While training them, you must learn to be patient, consistent and more importantly treat them with respect and love.

This is important because they will always reflect the way you treat them. If you treat them kindly and with respect, they will love and respect you and others. If you are harsh, that is how they will behave and respond.

The Akita temperament is possessive, jealous, and often does not show any kind of expression. They are dominant, tenacious, stubborn as well as territorial. They are also quiet and do not bark needlessly. When they do, it is often as a form of alert notifying you of a foreign entity in their environment.

They like staying indoors even though they look more like dogs who like the outdoors. In fact, they stick to their owners and follow them around the house protecting as well as asserting their presence.

Caring For An Akita Dog

Akitas although like the indoors but they also like spending time outside. You can let them roam around a fenced yard. They will sniff around and find a spot to lay down. They love cold weather and like to play in the snow a lot.

When it comes to feeding them, the Akita’s diet should consist of protein, fresh foods, and dry but top-quality food. For every pound of their weight, you should give them 1 gram of protein. This means that you should regularly check their weight to ascertain the amount of food to give them per time.

Akitas are not active breeds. However, rather than allow them to be sedentary, you should let them exercise daily by taking walks or playing around the yard. This will help to prevent them from getting bored or overweight.

Ensure to provide enough space for them to run and play. They may also get their exercise by working and going on hunting trips with you.

Akitas are clean dogs that like self-grooming. They are often not dirty and are odorless. However, if your pet plays outside a lot, its coat can become dirty. This means you should brush their coat and groom them often.

This can be once every 4 or 6 weeks. They may be bathed once a week and combed weekly as it helps to maintain their coat and prevent it from getting tangled and matted. Good bathing and drying technique will provide the foundation for an attractive coat. You will find how to groom your Akita here https://www.dog-learn.com/dog-breeds/akita/grooming.

Asides from bathing and brushing their coat, give them some prep work. This involves cleaning their ears, trimming nails, anal glands, pads as well as having good dental hygiene. Do not forget to also spend time with your dog.

They like to be around their owner a lot and may even cuddle up to you while you are watching a movie. This breed requires some attention but they will reward your efforts. You just need to be patient, loving and firm when relating with them.

Health Issues

The lifespan of an average Akita is around 10 to 13 years. This means they live for a long time. They may experience health issues such as eye problems, bloating, hypothyroidism and hip dysplasia. Akita owners can prevent some of these by speaking early to their vet.

They should also take adequate steps to prepare for occasions such as this by taking them for regular checks with the vet. They can watch videos of what to do when bloating happens or go for preventative surgery.

Conclusion

An Akita dog is cute, attractive and quiet. However, do not be deceived, they can be very fierce and feisty if you get on their wrong side. This is especially true when they meet strangers. To their family, they are friendly, loyal, devoted and protective.

If you love this breed, ensure that you begin adequate training early, provide them with a good diet and groom them regularly. Additionally, take steps to prevent any potential health issues they might develop.