are they generally good with children? easy or hard to train? please tell all you know from personal experience. Thanks!
2007-01-04 08:20:52 · 5 answers · asked by Psalm91 5 in Pets ➔ Dogs
We got ours when she was 6 months old. Our son was under 2 at the time. She was wonderful. Very playful. We had to watch her because she would get very excited and knock him down. We also had 3 cats. She always tried to play with them. Remeber it's a large dog, so she needs someone to roughhouse with. My husband came in very handy for that. Akitas are natural guard dogs and she was very protective of the house. Make sure you socialize her well. Bring people into the house and let the dog get used to that otherwise she'll act agressive towards your guests and that's a very hard habit to break.
Our experience was very positive. Good luck
2007-01-04 08:34:48 · answer #1 · answered by jewel68 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I almost rescued a purebred Akita from the SPCA a few years ago.
I knew their reputaion and legends (Tokyo train station dog, samurais, etc) and he was handsome fella.. BUT .. I also new it was a "serious" dog and did a little research - and called a local breeder.
what she told me:
Loyal to a fault - while they will be great with your kids, if your kid is roughousing with another child - the dog may mistake it for a threat to his pack and attack the playmate. A full grown Akita would have NO problem killing or maiming a child.
Not a "dog park" dog - you will never be able to take your Akita off leash, and he can easily kill any dog attempting to dominate or fight your dog.
They are not the most receptive to training, and necessitate a real "alpha" who is dedicated to training them. They are known to be stubborn and independant minded.
on the upside , that breeder I spoke to was involved in the local Akita rescue, and has a farm - so I told her about the fella I saw and ultimately he went to a good home!
2007-01-04 08:35:32 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Akitas are INCREDIBLY smart and easy to train with the proper upbringing. They're used as police dogs for a reason!
However, they might not be a good dog with children. They are friendly and fun loving, but they're also very large dogs. My own experience was that my mom's best friend had an Akita and I LOVED her but as I was 12, she definitely outweighed me. However, that didn't stop her from wanting to be a lap dog. So, it would take some training for the Akita to realize that the child needs to be treated very gently - otherwise the dog might hurt the child by complete accident.
Personally, I love Akitas and think they are very smart and beautiful dogs. I'd love to own one but they do need their own space and we just don't have enough space for one. Make sure that you do have the time to train one if you do have kids.
2007-01-04 08:30:57 · answer #3 · answered by SGTCharity 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I'm a huge dog lover...but have also spent much time learning about the different breeds. Akitas are lovely dogs, but NOT GOOD with children or other dogs. I'm certain you will get many ringing endorsements from Akita lovers and owners...and I'm sure their dogs are lovely. But I would never introduce a breed that has the ability (note - not tendency) to kill into a house with children.
2007-01-04 08:29:35 · answer #4 · answered by Super Ruper 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Visita the Akita clubs website. Here is to start you off
http://www.akitaclub.org/info/breedinfo.html
2007-01-04 08:28:52 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋