Akita breed guide

Quiet and fastidious, Akitas are wary of strangers and often intolerant of other animals. They share a silly, affectionate side with family and friends and thrive on human companionship.

The large, independent-thinking Akita is hardwired for protecting its people, so early and extensive socialization matters: it must learn to accept a wide variety of strangers without seeing a threat.

Akitas live 10 to 14 years. Like many dogs they may experience bloat, a life-threatening condition in which the stomach can twist. It is a medical emergency owners must learn to recognize.

Reputable breeders test breeding dogs for eye and thyroid disorders and for hip dysplasia, a malformation of the hip joints that can cause pain and arthritis.

Akitas are clean with little doggy odor and need no extensive grooming, but the thick double coat should be brushed at least once a week. The dense undercoat sheds heavily twice a year, in clumps all over the house.

The Akita is not a highly active breed but one needing moderate exercise: a jog or brisk walk around the block each day meets the needs of most. With enough daily exercise it can do well in a relatively small home.

The breed as we know it was developed in the early 17th century in Japan's Akita prefecture, in the north of Honshu. An exiled nobleman who loved dogs encouraged local barons to compete in breeding a large, versatile hunting dog.

Generations of selective breeding produced a powerful hunter that worked in packs on wild boar, deer and the fearsome Yezo bear. Ownership was once restricted to the imperial family.