Loyal And Faithful, The Akita Inu Dog Is A Great Companion

The Akita Inu is a dog that many people say come from royalty, meaning that a couple of hundred of years ago, in Japan (the Akita Inu's native home) this dog was bred and kept by royalty, other people say that this is not true.....they claim that the royalty bit came from Japanese pet shop owners trying to sell their product. Well whether that is true or not we will never really know, what we do know is that the Akita Inu was used as a hunting dog in Japan, hunting wild bore actually. The Japanese used male and female pairs because two dogs of the same-sex were to aggressive and liked to tear each other up more than hunting the wild bore.

The Akita Inu has a long and interesting history; another thing that the Japanese used the Akita Inu for was dog fighting, during this time the number of Akitas shot up, but there was one problem, they were interbreeding with other dog breeds. The result was a bunch of animals that looked like mutts... when people realized what was happening and when dog fighting became illegal, breeders started trying to preserve the breed; one way of doing this was to have the Akita Inu breed declared a natural monument in Japan, thus the breed was saved, but not for long.

World War II came along and the Akita meat was used for food and his fur was used for lining soldier's uniforms; not only the Akita but all dogs except for the German shepherd, the Akitas that were surviving during the war were bred up to German shepherds so that they would not be taken by the army.

By the end of World War II there were very few purebred Akitas left in Japan; the very first Akita to make it to the United States was a dog that had been given to Hellen Keler herself. Although dogs used for breeding did not make it over until later, belonging to servicemen who had taken a fancy to the Akita's royal appearance.

The Akita is a big dog that requires a nice big yard to fulfill his exercise needs, this is a dog that is very animal aggressive because of his background as a hunting dog; if raised from puppyhood with other small animals, he might consider them part of the pack.

However, this dog needs intensive socialization at an early age and because of his guard dog abilities he will consider anybody that he doesn't know an intruder. He is an excellent watchdog, it is even reported that Japanese mothers used to leave their babies home alone with nobody to watch them, except for the family Akita Inu, this is not recommended today though because a dog this size could easily injure a child without meaning to.

Did you know that in Japan, before World War II, a small statue of the Akita Inu was given to families with newborn babies as a sign of blessing and long life, also a small statue of the dog was given to people that were sick and injured as a get well soon charm; very interesting.

The Akita Inu is a big dog that needs to be on a leash whenever outside the yard because of his strong prey drive, never leave this dog alone with strangers because they are guard dogs and they just might consider your friend an intruder.

When looking for an Akita Inu never look for him at puppy mills or backyard breeders because these animals usually do not have any vaccines, no socialization and are usually poorly bred, no regard is given to the breed standard and the potentially aggressive nature of the Akita is usually acute in such animals...however if you look for a puppy from a good responsible breeder you will usually get an animal that has had all vaccinations and has been properly socialized, these dogs are usually bred specifically to reduce the aggressive nature of the animal and to minimize health problems specific to the breed, not to mention the fact that these dogs are bred to conform to the breed standard.

Well, wherever you get your Akita from, raise him well and you will get a lifetime of love and loyalty in return.