LIKES CHILDREN

Akita lore tells us that the dogs acted as babysitters while the mothers

worked in the fields, Do you believe this? I didn't until I got the dog I'll call

Babe. At eight weeks, she left her breeder who did have small children and

spent the next two years in a childless environment. I picked her up at a

show. At a rest area on the way home, she was squatting taking care of her

business as I looked out at the park, when a toddler seized her from

behind. Hugging her, he put his head up against her spine. I was so

alarmed, I was frozen to my spot and could only watch as she gently turned

her head and gave him a big lick. Lucky me and lucky child!

Later on another trip, I walked by a statue of a man and child sitting on a

park bench. The sun was behind them, so they appeared in silhouette to

me and were so lifelike, I thought they were real. So did Babe. She trotted

right up to the child and stood there wagging her tail. Then she did a

double-take and sniffed the child statue, sniffed the adult, then tried

another wag. When this didn't make them move, she gave up and walked

off.

After these experiences, I started watching Akitas around small children,

especially at shows. My observations convinced me that in its finest

expression, Akita temperament should include a natural affinity for

children. Retrievers like balls and sticks, pointers will freeze when shown a

bird wing, and Akitas should be attracted to children.

I've seen many Akitas change their whole demeanor in the presence of a

child. They wear an ingratiating, very non-threatening expression and may

well try to accompany the child if it wanders away. This attraction is very

different from the protectiveness of guarding and herding dogs. It is a

genuine liking for our small folk even if they are strangers and can occur

with dogs that are none too fond of the large ones. It also seems

independent of the dog's exposure to children, although in adult dogs

unfamiliar with them it may not appear instantly.

Liking children is very important in our breed because when Akitas do bite,

if a child is bitten, the damage is likely to be severe. Akitas, especially

males, are very aware of status and, in addition, are rather independent in

nature. Dogs with a special regard for children are less likely to see them

as threats and more likely to tolerate from them what they will not tolerate

from an adult.

Again, I am reminded of the centerfold on Ashibaya Kuma. Leslie Bair says,

"[M]y daughter, Heidi, was four...when she walked across the living room

past the slumbering Kuma. His tranquility disturbed, Kuma growled at the

source of the irritation. An equally independent and unafraid female toddler

walked up ... reached over grabbing this powerful head in her tiny hands

and before I could move, lifting the head and slamming it down on the

floor, and saying `shut up.' I was frozen ..Kuma, though not in the least

harmed, was stunned, and made a visibly conscious decision. Mutual

respect was established and each went their own way."

In the same vein, when my younger daughter was about ten, I asked her to

put our three-year old male in his run while I talked with some people

interested in Akitas. The wife had just asked me how the breed was with

children when I noticed Meredith and Bart were having a "meeting of the

minds!" Not wanting to go back to his run, Bart had planted his 120 pounds

into a sit and was steadfastly resisting the tugs of his 60-pound mistress.

Meredith picked up a metal food pan which happened to be close at hand

and whacked him on the side of his head with it. "Come on, Bart," she

demanded. He looked at her with an appraising glance, then, literally

shrugged his shoulders and followed her off to my complete surprise.

While he is a rather easy-going dog, I honestly don't know if he would have

tolerated this treatment from my husband, for instance, who has little if

anything to do with the dogs.

Like retrieving, I believe this is an inherited component of temperament. I

feel so strongly about this that I will not breed any Akita that does not like

children. I also try to ensure it is a component of any breeding partners I

select. If you don't have children, you may not feel so strongly about this.

However, you should at least try to never double up on dogs that do not

like them. You may have none, but puppies that you sell may well be

around children all of their lives even if your dogs are not

ACCEPT STRANGERS

If an Akita bites, its next most likely target after a child is a visitor to the

house. He may even be someone who has come to your home frequently.

To lessen this possibility, a valuable part of the dog's temperament is the

ability to accept the presence of a non-threatening stranger whether he is

neutral or friendly.

Ian Dunbar makes a particularly cogent observation about Oriental breeds,

especially Japanese ones. He says the most stable dogs can be unreliable

around strangers because the culture in which they were bred far longer

than they have been here does not select for that trait.

When asked why, he pointed out that privacy there is at a premium and

most homes are small by our standards. So, in Oriental countries little if

any entertaining is done at a person's home. Instead, social activities

occur at communal baths, restaurants, hotels, clubs, parks, etc. Only

intimate friends and family are invited home.

As a result, dogs that do not like strangers may never be weeded out of the

gene pool. Further, in guard-type breeds, distrust may be encouraged,

since any stranger at the house would be a subject for alarm. Just as the

herding instinct may or may not be present in city dogs, Oriental dogs such

as the Akita may have a profound distrust and dislike of strangers that is

never identified because it is never tested.

Changing Temperament

With Akitas, this tendency to be wary of strangers is something that

needs to be selected away from in breeding and trained away from

throughout the dog's life. Unfortunately, if you don't realize it exists, it's

hard to do either. And, yes, doing so will change the character of the breed

from its original state. I think it's ironic that those who quibble the most

about attempts to make the breed's temperament more socially acceptable

see nothing wrong with the drastic changes in structure and type

accomplished over the last two decades.

Acceptable Behavior

Please don't think I'm advocating a temperament incompatible with the

character of the breed. We are not raising Poodles or Golden Retrievers,

and if we wanted that type of dog, we certainly wouldn't be in Akitas!

However, when a visitor comes to your house, gets in your car, come up to

you when you're in your yard, or is talking to you at a dog show, your Akita

at least should be neutral. He should show no sign of anxiety or hostility

toward this person. He should be tolerant of the stranger's presence.

Many Akitas totally ignore strangers, and that is a perfectly acceptable

response. If the person is particularly "doggy-acceptable," you may find

your dog making a few overtures, especially if you're at a show and the

stranger has ever had liver in his pocket. This breed, though, likes to make

the first move, and you may find the friendliest dogs seem uncomfortable

with someone who forces attention on them. That is not a cause for

hostility, however, and your dog should accept this attention even if it is

not with enthusiasm.

This reserved demeanor is part of the breed's innate dignity. I'm still

waiting for a few of my bitches to develop this! At ten, Mikki remains a

terrible clown who will do absolutely anything for a cookie. You may find

you have a few of these, too, and their temperament is just as much an

Akita's as her cousin's. He gazes off into the distance when strangers pet

him as if no one is there. If they disappeared into a poof of smoke, he

wouldn't notice or care about their absence. He really only cares about his

family and a few of our friends, but he tolerates strangers.

Problem Areas

You may see problems with your dogs or puppies you place depending on

how they are raised and trained. Certainly, the worst-case scenario is a dog

that is left outside all the time in a house with little social activity and that

is rarely taken anywhere else. These dogs can be time bombs. The best

way to avoid tragedies is to make sure you sell puppies only to homes

where they will be kept inside.

encourage this, I help buyers locate classes and provide information about

them and rebate $50 when they bring me a certificate that says they

graduated from a class. First this gives the owners some handle on the

dog when he is still at a size that is easy to work with. Secondly, the dog

gets exposure early on to strangers who are friendly and to other dogs. If

at all possible, I strongly recommend classes that use clicker training and if

they are not available, classes that use positive training methods (usually

food).

Stranger Children

Another inclination that is not uncommon in Akitas is a distrust and even

dislike of non-family children. The most distressing thing about these dogs

is that frequently the are devoted family pets who adore their own children

and will tolerate anything from them. They may be tolerant or even friendly

to adult strangers, but visiting children are at risk.

Until he does something overt, identifying these dogs may be difficult for

inexperienced owners since the beginning signs of hostility are often very

subtle. Even more unfortunate, because the dog is so good with his own

children, the owners tend to justify the first obvious signs of trouble by

blaming the child or extraneous circumstances.

Therefore, when I sell puppies I tell buyers in written material and reinforce

it verbally that no children, especially toddlers, should ever be left

unsupervised with any dog. To do so is to bet with a child's life as the

stake. Even the most stable dogs can put two and two together and get

five. What happens, I ask them, when your son's best friend picks up a toy

and bashes your son in the head with it. Don't you think your dog will see

this is an attack on his child? What do you think he's going to do?

A dog that does not like strange children might not need even this much

provocation. My first encounter with this is an excellent example. Since it

happened, I've heard the same song, different verse, more times than I can

count which is what leads me to believe this is an inherited component of

temperament.

This family had two dog-loving boys and an indoor-outdoor Akita they had

had from puppyhood. The mother was firm but non-assertive and had had

dogs all her life. They did not go to a training class. The dog was wonderful

with her children. When he was almost a year old, she called me and told

me he was growling at one of her younger son's friends. I asked her if he

bothered any other children, and she said, "No, only this boy. He is partially

deaf and speaks differently from the other children." Of course, it wasn't

the dog!

I told her the dog's behavior posed a significant risk to this child. I asked

her to return the dog to me, offering her a replacement from an upcoming

litter. She refused because they all loved the dog. He was crate-trained, and

at my urging, she agreed to keep the dog crated whenever visiting children

were over at the house. I made several follow-up calls about the dog, still

asking them to return him, getting a refusal and an assurance that the dog

was crated.

Well, children just aren't always able to remember what is vitally important

to adults. One day, her son took his friend out in the back yard without

telling the mother and without putting up the dog. The visitor bent over to

pick up a toy on the patio. Unfortunately, it was next to the dog's food bowl.

He attacked. Hearing the screams, the mother rushed out and yelled at the

dog, who immediately let go.

Because the dog attacked the back of the child's skull rather than his face

and let go when commanded, the physical damage required only stitches in

the emergency room. The scars are hidden by the child's hair. He is now

terrified of all dogs. The mother, who is not afraid of Akitas herself,

becomes almost phobic when children are around them. She told me she is

sure the child would be dead if she had not been right in the next room.

They still refused to have the dog euthanized. Instead, they placed it with

an out-of-town friend. I talked to this man several times and finally agreed

that the dog had a chance with him. Despite my misgivings, the placement

has worked out well. At ten years of age, the dog is now nearing the end of

his life.

Dealing With Problems

I don't know what I could have done differently once the dog was out of my

hands. My mistake was in selling a male to this family in the first place, and

I no longer sell them to people who have not had at least Northern dogs

before unless they come over and just bowl me over with family

assertiveness. The incident sent me to several seminars on aggression and

to a number of books.

Now I would insist that the dog go to a training class, and that the lessassertive

mother be the one to train him. Instead of relying on isolation to

protect visitors from the dog, which is doomed to failure in the most

compulsive of homes, I should have encouraged a course of

desensitization and probably some sort of behavior consultation with a

trainer. Intervention with a young dog that has not become so distressed

that he attacks might have changed the course of events.

Dogs have a threshold of tolerance. Its height is determined first by their

inherited temperament, which differs among breeds and within a breed

among its individuals, and secondly by their degree of socialization to

strangers in and out of the home. Not only does the dog need to get out

and see people, people need to come to the dog's house and see him.

Of course, you normally don't invite people over for your dog's benefit, but

if you own an Akita you should make a point of it. Your dog may be less

than enthusiastic about visitors. Don't worry unless he shows signs, even

subtle ones, of hostility. This may include: looking the visitor in the eye;

sitting or standing (worse) between the two of you; anxious looks at the

visitor accompanied by whines; and/or pacing.

I even have a few that make monkey-like noises and blow through their lips

like horses. This is their equivalent to a growl and is a warning to me that

they are very suspicious and distrustful of the stranger. Of course,

sometimes these actions are justified, and I am not in any way suggesting

that you should not heed the warnings of a guard dog doing his job.

If the visitor on the porch is pitching magazines and you've never laid eyes

on him before, you'd be smart to shut the door and keep your dog around.

On the other hand, if it's your next-door neighbor or a friend from work--

someone you know, someone who is safe in your judgment--your dog is

out of line.

Desensitization

Adults: A dog that is obviously hostile should be leashed and put on a

down stay next to you. If he is so suspicious you cannot get him into a

down, then put him in a sit stay. If he breaks the stay, correct him and put

him back in it. Otherwise, ignore him and continue your conversation with

your friend. Both reinforce your own dominance, although the sit less so,

and will eventually show him your friend is no threat. Giving him no

attention keeps you from inadvertently reinforcing one of his hostile

responses. Just like children, dogs can and will do things for your attention

even if the attention they receive is negative.

Never try to reassure a fearful or distrustful dog by petting him and telling

him, "It's okay." First, it's not okay and secondly, you're not allaying his

anxiety, you're rewarding it and, thus, encouraging it

My veterinarian gave me a great piece of advice about dealing with

anxious, fearful, or angry dogs. Physiologically, the dog's activated state is

maintained by the release of adrenaline. Since the adrenals can produce

only so much of it, eventually, the dog's hyper-attentive state will wear off.

The more agitated the dog is, the more quickly this will happen; the calmer,

the less so.

While you and your visitor are talking, observe your dog's behavior. He will

eventually have to relax, which will be evident from his posture and

demeanor. When you see this, you can acknowledge his good behavior

with some attention and a treat, so long as he remains on the down or sitstay.

If he gets so bored he goes to sleep-great, you've made a giant step

forward!

Take all this in small steps and realize you may have some set-backs.

When your dog is comfortable with visitors that sit and talk, have them

stand up and walk about. Reinforce the dog's down-stay and ignore any

signs of suspicion or wariness on the dog's part. Eventually, the visitors

can give him treats for good behavior. Perhaps you can teach him to shake

hands for a treat to break the ice. All sorts of techniques can defuse the

dog's suspicions.

Children: If your problem is with children, you will have to stand or sit

with the dog while your child and a visitor play quietly. Over time, the dog

will become more comfortable in the children's presence. Then, their play

can become more active. The trick here, as with adults, is to let the dog get

control of himself, learn that the situation is not dangerous, and develop

appropriate responses that get everyone's approval.

Desensitization should be reinforced repeatedly and done with many

different children. The dog should still not be left alone with them, but if

someone forgets, which will inevitably happen, the children and the dog

won't have to pay for the oversight.

In summary: If you have a dog that has a behavior problem, you not only

have to correct the problem, you have to give him a socially acceptable

alternative to that behavior. He doesn't like children, he has to learn to

leave them alone; he doesn't like visitors in the house; he has to learn to

accept them.

You have to learn how to recognize the initial indicators of problems and

instead of making excuses for them, you've got to move quickly to stop

them. You have to lead your dog on a path that makes him an acceptable

companion and pet.

Breeders must learn not to accept the owner's comments at face value. Ask

specific questions about the dog and his behavior so that you can identify

any problems that might be developing. You'll have to listen carefully to

the replies and be ready to offer constructive advice about handling

problems

Breeding

When the dog in question is a breeding prospect, you will have to evaluate

the strength of the problem and try to identify its source. In the above case,

we looked at the behavior of our dogs and decided the problem lay with a

common ancestor. Almost all the males and some of the bitches with her

behind them had some oddity of behavior, although it was by no means the

same from dog to dog.

Two dogs, for instance, disliked anything with wheels. No, they had not

been run over as puppies. In fact, they had only the one bitch in common in

their pedigrees; they just had the same phobia. Some males didn't like

children; others didn't like strange adults. We ultimately abandoned this

line completely in favor of ones that produced more stable temperament.

In fairness, this action wasn't all that difficult since none of these dogs

were big winners, and in accordance with Murphy's law, the very best ones

in terms of conformation had some of the weirdest behaviors. Breeding is

after all a balancing act, so had we been unable or unwilling to sacrifice

breeding these dogs, we would have looked at lines very strong in

temperament and bred to something line- or inbred on it. Then, to continue,

we would have used only the dogs that showed improved temperaments