Reptile & Amphibian Forums

It's been almost a year -though it doesn't seem that long- since I rescued my Akita, Tani, from some homeless men who were feeding her hotdogs at seven eleve. They didn't care when I suggested I take her off their hands. I took her, intending to find her previous owners (I found out that she was microchipped) or to find her a good home. All of the information on her chip was out of date (if you have a microchip in your dog and want it to be effective, KEEP IT UPDATED!) and I searched and searched with the information I did have, and contacted the chip company to do a search as well, but after months I could not find her owner (she is from Alaska and I am in Oregon). I started to fall in love with her in the meantime so when I was contacted by several people who wanted to take her I could not let her go. She had grown very attached to me as well. The hard thing is that I am a college student. I am either at work or school for about 6-8 hours, 5 days a week. I have fenced off a large yard for her but I hate to leave her alone for too long. Luckily I have 5 other roomates and she gets along well with all of them...we are all her “pack” as far as she’s concerned. It has been good to have a house full of people for her to interact with. Occasionally though, we have parties or she has to be left alone for 6-8 hours when none of us happen to be around. I am wondering if this is detremental. She has been very good at all of our parties. I keep her upstairs where noise is minimal and check on her all the time. She’s also been around large groups of people and responds well to them most of the time, as long as no one approaches her aggresively. In the future I am considering leaving her with a close friend of mine that she trusts when we plan on having a show/party at the house. I guess I am just asking for any advise on anything about Akitas' needs because I want to be the best for her that I can be. I want her to be happy and healthy (I just got her spayed and she's gotten regular check-ups...so far so good). After moving from home to home she just feels a little insecure I think. There are certain friends of ours that she does not like. Can I find a way for her to get used to these people? There are some people she reacts to really well off the bat. Is there something I can do to help her react better to some guests? How can I boost her confidence? How can I ensure her comfort? Any other tips?

Akitas are a sensitive breed- that doesn't mean they are push overs, but they don't like change very much. Think of them as big cats and you'll start to understand how they work and think. The people she's uncomfortable around are probably people who throw themselves at her and use very dominant body language. Typically it's people who are used to golden retrievers and labs that do this to a dog.

Basically, your best bet is to desensitize your akita to stupid human antics. My shibas are very similar and I've taught them to accept being pet on the head by first me and my family doing it while giving them lots of treats for tolerating it and then slowly letting strangers that know dogs and dog language do it. My dogs still don't love when people pat them on the head, hover over them, directly stare at them, but they know I'll offer great treats for putting up with it. They alos know I'll step in if it gets too bad and the people get too rough with them. Yet, that took time to develop that trust. Sometimes my dogs would give me quest that an individual is going ot be too much for them far in advance of them getting near. I'd just not let that person touch my dogs. If they insisted, I'd move and take my dogs with me. Sometimes NOT putting your akita in a situation where things are going to be stressful for it is better than making them deal with it. In fact, until you've worked on desensitizing your dog to rude human tricks, it's bette rto not put them in uncomfortable situations and it reinforces their trust in you as pack leader.

Good luck with her- she sounds like a real treasure!
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Chelle and the rest of the crew including, but not limited to Kita and Taiko (the shiba inu wrestle maniacs), Adi (reserved and dignified tabby cat), and all 28 reptiles

thank you for your response. Tani deffinetly acts as you described around strangers with dominant body langueage or people who invade her space before she has any time to check them out. She tends to reacte fairly well for an Akita but I never know for sure if something will just be way too much. Would you say that over time you become very certain of what exactly is too much for your dog and when exactly to step in or take her away from a situation? I feel like I have a pretty good grast on that but sometimes I am still a little unsure.

That's a great picture! I agree with Chelle that treats work--and that protecting your dog from people works even better. I can tell by my dog's body language whether she is uncomfortable. Her tail will go down, or she'll try to dodge the person. You probably know your dog's signals. And if your dog is uncomfortable, you can simply say something about your dog being shy and then excuse yourself. Or you can say exactly what your dog does/doesn't like: "He doesn't like having his head pet, but here's a treat that he might take." If my dog doesn't like someone, I don't force her to interact with that person.