Akita breed...

jo06555

Hi,
Im thinking of bringing a akita into our home we have 3 kids aged 6,10,13 and a medium sized garden , We plan on bringing the dog on daily walks and getting whatever training is needed done , has anyone any info on this breed , i have done plenty of research and as far as i can see as long as they are brought up well from a puppy and well socialised they should be a very good family dog . Have any of you had expieriences good or bad which can help along my decision , plus any good breeders in which i could get a puppy , we are more likely looking for the akita inu breed .
Thanks .

Shanao

Well first of all, have you much experience with dogs prior to this and what breeds? They are not the breed for the firsttime owner, they need firm, consistent handling at all times and can/will challenge their owners at various times during their life. They are amazing dogs and brilliant with kids, once raised properly, and if you are going to get one, do yourself a favour and ensure that you are going to a responsible, reputable breeder. There are far too many akitas appearing in the pounds and rescues over the past few months. You can contact the akita association of Ireland for info on breeders.

jo06555

Shanao wrote: »

Well first of all, have you much experience with dogs prior to this and what breeds? They are not the breed for the firsttime owner, they need firm, consistent handling at all times and can/will challenge their owners at various times during their life. They are amazing dogs and brilliant with kids, once raised properly, and if you are going to get one, do yourself a favour and ensure that you are going to a responsible, reputable breeder. There are far too many akitas appearing in the pounds and rescues over the past few months. You can contact the akita association of Ireland for info on breeders.

Its not a first dog no , I have grown up with dogs all my life too, I am willing to put in the effort to bring up a good pup to be a good dog, the Akita Inu is our preffered option but do you know if their is much difference in temperament and other things between American and Japanese akitas?

Shanao

TBH, I'm actually doing research into that right now. I have an american but I am hoping to add an inu to the pack next year. I have met inus and so far I have found them a bit more aloof, but again that may just be down to how well they were socialised.

My experience on the american so far is that being careful about which pup you pick makes a huge difference. My boy is very laidback, excellent with children and other dogs, very friendly with everyone he meets and hasn't shown an ounce of aggression to anyone or anything. I know the crowd who got his brother though and there is a huge difference; their dog is far more excitable and giddy and was very hard to train from what I can see.

They can be very food oriented so they aren't too difficult to train as long as you use positive reinforcement. The whole dominance theory will not work with these dogs; you need to gain their respect as the pack leader, not their fear so I would most definitely reccommend doing things only with positive reinforcement. They are highly intelligent too and you really do need to think up different training methods to get them to listen and to keep them from getting bored. This intelligence means they need a lot of mental stimulation as well, a bored akita is an akita who is going to be destructive and a digger.

They have an incredibly high prey drive and must NEVER be left off lead, I cannot stress that enough. If they see a cat running, a bird flying, even a small dog darting about, the prey drive will kick in and they will most likely kill it. Not out of malice or anything of course, but this is one of the oldest breeds and one of the breeds closest in relation to the wolf. They are hunters and guarders by nature and they will do these things without any training, and nothing can take that instinct out of them either.

They are very clean, my boy will only go to the very back of the garden to go to the toilet, and when walking, he will actually search for a bush to go under or long grass to go into. I had to stand and watch one day as he squished himself in under a holly bush just to go to the toilet.
Whether male or female, I would reccomend neutering between 8-12 months if you're not going to show.

Early socialisation is a must. As soon as your pup is fully vaccinated, socialisation must start. With other dogs, other people, other animals, and it is best if you bring it around by playgrounds etc so it can hear kids screaming and playing. Without being exposed to this, the dog will not understand the difference between play screams and fear screams and may end up in trouble if there are other kids around.

I'm probably just repeating most of what you've already read up on, but these are my experiences of the breed coming from my own fella.

jo06555

Shanao wrote: »

TBH, I'm actually doing research into that right now. I have an american but I am hoping to add an inu to the pack next year. I have met inus and so far I have found them a bit more aloof, but again that may just be down to how well they were socialised.

My experience on the american so far is that being careful about which pup you pick makes a huge difference. My boy is very laidback, excellent with children and other dogs, very friendly with everyone he meets and hasn't shown an ounce of aggression to anyone or anything. I know the crowd who got his brother though and there is a huge difference; their dog is far more excitable and giddy and was very hard to train from what I can see.

They can be very food oriented so they aren't too difficult to train as long as you use positive reinforcement. The whole dominance theory will not work with these dogs; you need to gain their respect as the pack leader, not their fear so I would most definitely reccommend doing things only with positive reinforcement. They are highly intelligent too and you really do need to think up different training methods to get them to listen and to keep them from getting bored. This intelligence means they need a lot of mental stimulation as well, a bored akita is an akita who is going to be destructive and a digger.

They have an incredibly high prey drive and must NEVER be left off lead, I cannot stress that enough. If they see a cat running, a bird flying, even a small dog darting about, the prey drive will kick in and they will most likely kill it. Not out of malice or anything of course, but this is one of the oldest breeds and one of the breeds closest in relation to the wolf. They are hunters and guarders by nature and they will do these things without any training, and nothing can take that instinct out of them either.

They are very clean, my boy will only go to the very back of the garden to go to the toilet, and when walking, he will actually search for a bush to go under or long grass to go into. I had to stand and watch one day as he squished himself in under a holly bush just to go to the toilet.
Whether male or female, I would reccomend neutering between 8-12 months if you're not going to show.

Early socialisation is a must. As soon as your pup is fully vaccinated, socialisation must start. With other dogs, other people, other animals, and it is best if you bring it around by playgrounds etc so it can hear kids screaming and playing. Without being exposed to this, the dog will not understand the difference between play screams and fear screams and may end up in trouble if there are other kids around.

I'm probably just repeating most of what you've already read up on, but these are my experiences of the breed coming from my own fella.

Thank you for detailed review , much appreciated, my mother had a dalmation and a king Charles who I bring off in the car for a run each few days so I'm thinking I can bring a new pup with them maybe to get them use to dogs plus bring him to schools early too when I drop my kids off.

As for the training do you recommend bringing a Akita on a dog training course or does an Akita need a different type of training? Thanks again.

Shanao

When it comes to training you are best off taking it to a few classes, but be aware that some trainers get frustrated with the akitas because they are so stubborn and some conventional methods wont work with them. The socialisation that they get from group classes is definitely worth it and a good trainer will get inventive with their methods if they have to. Make sure you're going to a good, reputable trainer though; there are far too many trainers coming out of nowhere with their 'internet diplomas' that consider themselves the best trainers around when they really shouldn't even have a dog. Avoid anyone who advocates the use of shock collars, prong collars or choke chains and find someone who works with either clicker training or with 'nothing in life is free' training methods.

Just realised I forgot the subject of coat. I knew well that akitas were going to be heavy shedders before I got him, but I did not count on our bloody weather messing things up. Because of the way our weather was this summer, he started shedding in about April, stopped by may, started again halfway through may, stopped again at the start of June and so on until about mid-august when his winter coat started to come back in. And they drop some amount of air. One night spent sleeping in the dogs' room for him meant a carpet of dog hair for me to hoover up the following morning. I would reccommend a good bath when they first start shedding and they will need to be brushed every single day to help get out the dead coat

Exercise is another point i forgot. This is a heavy breed for its size. My boy is ten months and 56kgs. Because they qualify as a giant breed, the golden rule for walking is a minute per week of life. So at eight weeks, eight minutes is as long as the dog should walk, by six months you'll be looking at twenty-six minutes and so on.

When you're looking into a breeder, make sure you ask for proof of hip scores, eyes scores and elbow scores. All good, responsible breeders will have these tests done before breeding. Most of the info on how to avoid backyard breeders and puppy farmers is in the sticky thread above and I included some info on what questions to ask the breeder.

jo06555

Shanao wrote: »

When it comes to training you are best off taking it to a few classes, but be aware that some trainers get frustrated with the akitas because they are so stubborn and some conventional methods wont work with them. The socialisation that they get from group classes is definitely worth it and a good trainer will get inventive with their methods if they have to. Make sure you're going to a good, reputable trainer though; there are far too many trainers coming out of nowhere with their 'internet diplomas' that consider themselves the best trainers around when they really shouldn't even have a dog. Avoid anyone who advocates the use of shock collars, prong collars or choke chains and find someone who works with either clicker training or with 'nothing in life is free' training methods.

Just realised I forgot the subject of coat. I knew well that akitas were going to be heavy shedders before I got him, but I did not count on our bloody weather messing things up. Because of the way our weather was this summer, he started shedding in about April, stopped by may, started again halfway through may, stopped again at the start of June and so on until about mid-august when his winter coat started to come back in. And they drop some amount of air. One night spent sleeping in the dogs' room for him meant a carpet of dog hair for me to hoover up the following morning. I would reccommend a good bath when they first start shedding and they will need to be brushed every single day to help get out the dead coat

Exercise is another point i forgot. This is a heavy breed for its size. My boy is ten months and 56kgs. Because they qualify as a giant breed, the golden rule for walking is a minute per week of life. So at eight weeks, eight minutes is as long as the dog should walk, by six months you'll be looking at twenty-six minutes and so on.

When you're looking into a breeder, make sure you ask for proof of hip scores, eyes scores and elbow scores. All good, responsible breeders will have these tests done before breeding. Most of the info on how to avoid backyard breeders and puppy farmers is in the sticky thread above and I included some info on what questions to ask the breeder.

Thanks very much I will take everything on board and look into that thread too, hopefully I can find a top breeder and be successful in getting the right pup in time.

jamesd

We have a 2.5 yr old male american akita, lovely dog and so friendly towards people.
The poster above is correct in all that they said, needs to meet people from young to get used to others and we did this by bringing him to local dog shows when he was about 5 or 6 months old as this meant he met old and young people and was used to people coming over to him.
He patrols our 1 acre site like he was trained to do but he ever got any training for this so it was build into him - he does not like anyone outside of the fence and lets them know but once we open the gate he is then fine with people inside.
They are so stong - our lad has a habit of jumping on people when playing and with his weight its something we have to watch as he could hurt someone.

You should defn meet someone with an akita and spend a bit of time- even just a half hour and see how they behave.

fishfoodie

jamesd wrote: »

We have a 2.5 yr old male american akita, lovely dog and so friendly towards people.
The poster above is correct in all that they said, needs to meet people from young to get used to others and we did this by bringing him to local dog shows when he was about 5 or 6 months old as this meant he met old and young people and was used to people coming over to him.
He patrols our 1 acre site like he was trained to do but he ever got any training for this so it was build into him - he does not like anyone outside of the fence and lets them know but once we open the gate he is then fine with people inside.
They are so stong - our lad has a habit of jumping on people when playing and with his weight its something we have to watch as he could hurt someone.

You should defn meet someone with an akita and spend a bit of time- even just a half hour and see how they behave.

I saw someone the other morning doing my favorite socialisation exercise. Sitting on the corner near a national school I live near.

The Pup gets the whole gamut of experiences, young children, adults, prams & cars. Lots of petting, & unnecessarily nervous parents too. In 10-15 minutes they get a heap of socialisation.

Shanao

fishfoodie wrote: »

I saw someone the other morning doing my favorite socialisation exercise. Sitting on the corner near a national school I live near.

The Pup gets the whole gamut of experiences, young children, adults, prams & cars. Lots of petting, & unnecessarily nervous parents too. In 10-15 minutes they get a heap of socialisation.

This is something I've accidentally done since the kids have gone back to school. I usually go for a walk around three if I'm home and of course forgot all about the schools being back in. Cue me turning a corner and meeting a gang of eight-ten year olds, and like you said, unnecessarily nervous parents. Of course, the dog was in his element with so much petting. It is an excellent idea though and is great as well to help the dog differentiate between screams as you're bound to get squeals of excitement when you're walking a 'small bear';)

jo06555

Iv bein doing lots of research into this breed and im still fully convinced the akita is the one for our home , my only problem now is either akita inu or american , i love both them but it seems akita inu are harder to come by and are way more expensive , am i right and has anyone got some advice to help me choose , the different colours and bear like head + lower price has me tipped towards american as of now

Shanao

jo06555 wrote: »

Iv bein doing lots of research into this breed and im still fully convinced the akita is the one for our home , my only problem now is either akita inu or american , i love both them but it seems akita inu are harder to come by and are way more expensive , am i right and has anyone got some advice to help me choose , the different colours and bear like head + lower price has me tipped towards american as of now

The inu are definitely harder to come by, and most good inu breeders have imported dogs from Japan so the pups will be more expensive as they will have excellent bloodlines. I cant really help you choose as I'm stuck in the middle of that decision myself, trying to decide on an inu or another american. You would probably be best off if you headed to a couple of shows and meet the individual dogs themselves and talk to their handlers to get a real feel of the breed. Are you anywhere near Dublin? The pet expo is on on the 8th of October in the RDS and they will have both akita inu and american type at the breed village for anyone looking for information.
When it comes to colours, there isn't much of a difference, but stay away from pure white akitas if both of the parents are white. Some people, I wont call them breeders, are breeding two white akitas together to get pure white puppies to try and make them more appealing to sell. White akitas were revered in Japan for their 'purity' and for years, only whites were bred to whites, but this of course led to a lot of inbreeding and genetic problems. The white gene can appear in litters still, but anyone breeding a white should only breed it to a different colour.

jo06555

Shanao wrote: »

jo06555 wrote: »

Iv bein doing lots of research into this breed and im still fully convinced the akita is the one for our home , my only problem now is either akita inu or american , i love both them but it seems akita inu are harder to come by and are way more expensive , am i right and has anyone got some advice to help me choose , the different colours and bear like head + lower price has me tipped towards american as of now

The inu are definitely harder to come by, and most good inu breeders have imported dogs from Japan so the pups will be more expensive as they will have excellent bloodlines. I cant really help you choose as I'm stuck in the middle of that decision myself, trying to decide on an inu or another american. You would probably be best off if you headed to a couple of shows and meet the individual dogs themselves and talk to their handlers to get a real feel of the breed. Are you anywhere near Dublin? The pet expo is on on the 8th of October in the RDS and they will have both akita inu and american type at the breed village for anyone looking for information.
When it comes to colours, there isn't much of a difference, but stay away from pure white akitas if both of the parents are white. Some people, I wont call them breeders, are breeding two white akitas together to get pure white puppies to try and make them more appealing to sell. White akitas were revered in Japan for their 'purity' and for years, only whites were bred to whites, but this of course led to a lot of inbreeding and genetic problems. The white gene can appear in litters still, but anyone breeding a white should only breed it to a different colour.

Thanks, I'm actually in Waterford, do you know are their any shows in the south east? I'm hoping to meet a man who has 4 American akitas to get a look up close and talk about them.

Chris_Heilong

Akitas are great, they are one of the strangest breeds as there are so many types, you can find some that look like bears, others that look like GSD and many types inbetween, comes from their mixed heritage.

jo06555

I have bein in contact with akita inu breeders and they say average price is 1200 , they are show dogs they have so is that the only option if i want to get an akita inu ?

Shanao

That sounds about right to me for a show dog. The americans can easily be up to 1000, but the inu are much rarer and, like I said, most of the dogs are imports, so are worth a lot of money. I would expect them to be 1000 and upwards for a good quality dog. These dogs are brought into the country, fed high quality food, shown, hip scored, eye scored, elbow scored, some of them may even have thyroid panels done etc to ensure they dont pass on any hereditary problems, then you have a litter of usually 5+ that need to be fed a good food, vet checked, vaccinated, wormed, microchipped, and registered with the IKC so unfortunately, the money does add up for the breeder and they have to try and recoupe their losses a little. No reputable, ethical breeder makes a profit from breeding.

Did you ask about pet quality pups? Not every pup born in a litter is going to be show quality. Or was it a show dog you were looking for?

Chris_Heilong

jo06555 wrote: »

I have bein in contact with akita inu breeders and they say average price is 1200 , they are show dogs they have so is that the only option if i want to get an akita inu ?

No it is not your only option but they are considered a rare breed over here and if they are coming from show lines then they will incur more expenditure. You could Import from the UK where they are more readily available, how much would you like to spend?

jo06555

Shanao wrote: »

That sounds about right to me for a show dog. The americans can easily be up to 1000, but the inu are much rarer and, like I said, most of the dogs are imports, so are worth a lot of money. I would expect them to be 1000 and upwards for a good quality dog. These dogs are brought into the country, fed high quality food, shown, hip scored, eye scored, elbow scored, some of them may even have thyroid panels done etc to ensure they dont pass on any hereditary problems, then you have a litter of usually 5+ that need to be fed a good food, vet checked, vaccinated, wormed, microchipped, and registered with the IKC so unfortunately, the money does add up for the breeder and they have to try and recoupe their losses a little. No reputable, ethical breeder makes a profit from breeding.

Did you ask about pet quality pups? Not every pup born in a litter is going to be show quality. Or was it a show dog you were looking for?

No we only want one as family pet we have no plans for showing , i understand how the price can be so high , it is a pity they are not more readily available , i will need to see what i can do .

Chris_Heilong wrote: »

No it is not your only option but they are considered a rare breed over here and if they are coming from show lines then they will incur more expenditure. You could Import from the UK where they are more readily available, how much would you like to spend?

I had planned Budget of 800, was i being way off the mark

jo06555

Shanao wrote: »

That sounds about right to me for a show dog. The americans can easily be up to 1000, but the inu are much rarer and, like I said, most of the dogs are imports, so are worth a lot of money. I would expect them to be 1000 and upwards for a good quality dog. These dogs are brought into the country, fed high quality food, shown, hip scored, eye scored, elbow scored, some of them may even have thyroid panels done etc to ensure they dont pass on any hereditary problems, then you have a litter of usually 5+ that need to be fed a good food, vet checked, vaccinated, wormed, microchipped, and registered with the IKC so unfortunately, the money does add up for the breeder and they have to try and recoupe their losses a little. No reputable, ethical breeder makes a profit from breeding.

Did you ask about pet quality pups? Not every pup born in a litter is going to be show quality. Or was it a show dog you were looking for?

I may be in luck iv bein in talks with a breeder and he is willing to negotiate on price , for an red and white akita inu , is their anything i need to look out for as the parents to pups are show dogs so do i need the pups health checks ect ??? I trust him as he seems very decent .

serenacat

I fell inlove with this breed after watching the film 'Hachi a dogs tale', but this breed is restricted and by law must wear a muzzle in public and is not allowed into dog parks which would turn me off them aside from which they are really working dogs not pets and need hours exercise to be happy

Latatian

Ask him about the health checks of the parents, particularly hip scores (and eye and elbow scores as already mentioned). If the dogs are show dogs, this should be done already so he'll have the results.

Ask about other problems which are reported in akitas, and how many dogs in his lines have or had them (hypothyroid problems, allergies, cancer etc are all mentioned by the Akita club of America). It's important to know about that stuff, and he'll probably be happy that you've done your research and shown you're serious about it.

http://ic.upei.ca/cidd/breed/akita Canine inherited disorders database
http://www.thekennelclub.org.uk/item/570 Kennel club survey on various breeds

jamesd

The Japanese Akita is on the dangerous dog list but the american is not,i know they are nearly the same but they are still different.

January

jamesd wrote: »

The Japanese Akita is on the dangerous dog list but the american is not,i know they are nearly the same but they are still different.

I think you mean the Restricted Breed list, no such thing as a dangerous dog list.

jamesd

January wrote: »

I think you mean the Restricted Breed list, no such thing as a dangerous dog list.

Correct - If a owner was stopped walking an american akita without a muzzel and the warden said he should be wearing one as a restricted breed does he have a case?

Realtine

This thread is so informative. I was in my local vets recently and met the most beautiful American Akita, my first introduction to this breed, as had only heard about the Japanese Akita before, I fell in love, and it did cross my mind that if I was in the market for another dog, this was the breed I would like but having read all the posts above I realise that it's probably not for me as I'm used to much smaller breeds, I have a little trio of cavalier king charles - but it's been fascinating shano, to read all about these beautiful dogs from someone like yourself, who obviously has a lot of experience of them.
Good luck with your search jo06555 and maybe you'll post some photos if you find a pup?

adser53

Just to weigh in myself, Shanao has hit the nail on the head with all his posts and I couldn't have put it better myself.

I have 2 American akitas and they're a fantastic breed. Unfortunately they are subject to the restricted breed conditions as they're a strain of Akita so they must be muzzled in public & kept on a leash. In my case I use a headcollar on them and its sufficient. I despise muzzles and completely disagree with the RB law but that's for another thread.
They're great with kids and other dogs when they're socialised properly and Realtine you'd be interested to know that I have a cav in addition to my 2 akitas (in fact we had 2 cavs until one passed away last year) and all four got on fantastically together. In actual fact Lola rules the roost
As for the differences between the Inu and American, like Shanao I find the main difference is in size (Americans are bigger) and the Inus are more aloof.

serenacat wrote: »

.....they are really working dogs not pets and need hours exercise to be happy

Sorry but thats not true. They arent working dogs like Huskys that need loads of excercise. While they were used for sled work on occasion, their main purpose was hunting, guarding and a companion dog. I find that mine could walk for hours upon hours if you want but theyre perfectly happy with an hour or so a day. I certainly wouldn't describe them as a high energy breed compared to a collie or even a lab but they do need mental stimulation or they'll be very unhappy dogs.

Realtine

adser53 wrote: »

Just to weigh in myself, Shanao has hit the nail on the head with all his posts and I couldn't have put it better myself.

I have 2 American akitas and they're a fantastic breed. Unfortunately they are subject to the restricted breed conditions as they're a strain of Akita so they must be muzzled in public & kept on a leash. In my case I use a headcollar on them and its sufficient. U despise muzzles and completely disagree with the RB law but that's for another thread.
They're great with kids and other dogs when they're socialised properly and Realtine you'd be interested to know that I have a cav in addition to my 2 akitas (in fact we had 2 cavs until one passed away last year) and all four got on fantastically together. In actual fact Lola rules the roost
As for the differences between the Inu and American, like Shanao I find the main difference is in size (Americans are bigger) and the Inus are more aloof. As for excercise, I find that mine could walk for hours if you want but theyre perfectly happy with an hour or so a day. I certainly wouldn't describe them as a high energy breed compared to a collie or even a lab but they do need mental stimulation or they'll be very unhappy dogs.

Gorgeous photos, adser, I've had a nose at them, I love cavvies myself hence, 3!
but maybe down the line i'd reconsider an akita, I have so say I love the last photo on page 8, thats a lovely smile!

jo06555

Realtine wrote: »

This thread is so informative. I was in my local vets recently and met the most beautiful American Akita, my first introduction to this breed, as had only heard about the Japanese Akita before, I fell in love, and it did cross my mind that if I was in the market for another dog, this was the breed I would like but having read all the posts above I realise that it's probably not for me as I'm used to much smaller breeds, I have a little trio of cavalier king charles - but it's been fascinating shano, to read all about these beautiful dogs from someone like yourself, who obviously has a lot of experience of them.
Good luck with your search jo06555 and maybe you'll post some photos if you find a pup?

I will do that and I'm so glad I started this thread as its given me more insight into this breed, I'm looking forward to hopefully bringing a pup home soon.

adser53

Realtine wrote: »

Gorgeous photos, adser, I've had a nose at them, I love cavvies myself hence, 3!
but maybe down the line i'd reconsider an akita, I have so say I love the last photo on page 8, thats a lovely smile!

Thanks Realtine

Hellrazer

adser53 wrote: »

Thanks Hellrazer

They are indeed American Akitas. The main difference between the Japanese & American Akitas is size. The American is much bigger and stockier than their Japanese relatives. The japanese Akitas are also a bit more aloof. Colour-wise in showing, any colour is acceptable in Americans where the Japanese are limited to a few types (if memory serves)
As for temperament, they're fantastic dogs. They're very intelligient so are harder to train than your average dog. They hate repetition so you have to keep things interesting or they'll just walk off. They have a bad name for aggression like Rotties, Pitbulls and such but like all dogs, if they're socialised properly they are just fine with strange people and dogs. They are natural guarders though and might not take too kindly to a stranger hopping the back wall. They also want nothing more than to be with their family and while they are aloof they don't do well being left in their own. They really do need to an active part of the household. Sorry if that post is a bit disjointed, its early and I've justwoke up

Im just continuing this from the other thread.
Thats great info Adser--they really are amazing looking dogs.My current dog is a Lab whos starting to get on a bit and Ive always found a new pup in the house to give an old dog a new lease of life for a few more years.
Unfortunately Im unable to have a dog on the RB list(as you said another thread for that) as we`re in the process of adoption and the HSE guidelines wont allow a family with a RB dog to adopt or Foster which is a shame as I think I`d love to consider one of these for my next dog.All of the dogs that I have a liking for are RB dogs--rotties,doberman pinchers,Staffs and now these---grrrrrrrrr.


I never knew that there were two types of Akitas--Never really liked the japanese one really.But I did always love the Shiba Inu which looksl like a smaller version of the Japanese Akita??

Anyhow thanks for the info.
Richie.

adser53

You're Joking Richie?! You can't adopt or Foster if you have a RB??? That's the most ridiculous thing I've heard in a long time!

No problem with the info, if anything i can talk too much about Akitas so ask away if you've any other questions
Oh and I agree with you, the Shiba Inu is exactly like a mini Akita Inu

Adam