Extremely aloof AA puppy

edited December 2011 in Akita (秋田犬)
Last week I adopted Breezy an AA puppy. She has been with me for 8 days now and is still extremely aloof with me and every human she comes in contact with. She dosent want to play, if you try she will look at you like your crazy and walk away. She seems to be indifferent about being petted and touched most of the time opting to get up and move. I understand that the aloofness is part of her temperament and but she dosent seem to like anybody except my other dog. I'm trying to train basic commands but she is not food motivated..at all. Like I said I know that AA's are naturally aloof I just don't want her like that with me.  I love her to death and have just signed her up for puppy classes. Any suggestions on how to bring her out of her shell would be very welcome.  Thanks guys

Comments

  • She is adjusting. Give her the first week or two to acclimate herself and get accustomed to you. Is she toy-driven? Squeaky toy or chew toy?

    Jesse
  • How old is she?
  • @tjbart she is 9 weeks old
    @CrimsonO2 Yea, that's what I was thinking. It just kind of threw me off because I have never had a puppy act like this. I've also never owned an AA though.
  • @Jmary21 - You say she is not food motivated, does she take treats from you at all? What types of treats have you tried to give her? How do you feed her?

    If she will take food from you, you might want to consider feeding her meals to her from your hand. That will help her realize that you are a valuable resource provider.

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  • @brada1878 She usually will just spit the treat out when I give it to her. And I've tried to give her everything from regular store bought dog treats to bologna and hot dogs. But really feeding her by hand? Never thought of that.
  • edited December 2011
    @Jmary21 - Does she eat her food (from a dish)? I'm wondering if there is a health reason why she's not eating...

    RE: Feeding out of your hand, you might want to check out this book: http://drsophiayin.com/perfectpuppy

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  • Yes she eats her food out of the dish but a lot of the time she will ignore her bowl of food and go straight for my roommates dogs bowl. Any idea on why she does this?
  • @Jmary21: Are they eating the same kibble?

    Jesse
  • @CrimsonO2 No, they eat 2 different kinds of food.
  • My pup was "aloof" the first week or so as well. I was concerned, like you. He wanted to keep to himself a lot, and did a lot of sleeping. It took about two weeks for him to settle in, but that doesn't mean your pup will have the same time limit.. It just took him some time to settle in and its different for everyone. Give your pup some time :)
  • edited December 2011
    I got my AA at 8 weeks and now she is 6 months. She began super "cat-like" in that she accepted affection on her terms when she wanted it. It is better now that we have a mutual trust and a bond that we built. But, she isn't like other peoples dogs. I appreciate that because she is independent and can play alone or just hang out near me without needing constant attention. It takes time, and every pup is their own personality, but I'd try to be patient. Also, mine is super finicky about food. I had to change her food twice to get one she likes and her stomach can tolerate. One thing she always loves is tuna on her kibble, I do it about about once a week. Recently I have had trouble with recall, I got dried minnows at the Asian market (Niboshi). She LOVES them. She even comes when out playing in the snow. Good luck with her, share pics!
  • I agree, share pics!! :)
  • edited December 2011
    Well the was a cluster. I deleted me response, Did you adopt from a breeder or fro another place? If another place, how old was she when she left the breeder?
  • Thanks for all the responses guys.
    @sachismom I was just wondering if she would go for tuna, I'm going to have to try that out. And yea cat- like is definitely how I would describe her right about now lol

    @jellyfart Thanks for the encouragement I guess just need to give her a little time. Glad others have dealt with this problem though

    @JackBurton I got her from a breeder. She was8 weeks and a day when they shipped her to me.

    And I would absolutely LOVE to upload pictures but I'm on my iPad and I can't figure how to upload from here.
  • She's only 9 weeks old. Don't worry about it. She will come around.

    I always tell this story to my friends/neighbors who get puppies. My dog and I have a very close bond. People get puppies and worry that they don't have it. When I picked up Koda for the first time, he looked at me like "who the hell are you" and I looked back at him and thought "hey I don't know who the hell you are either but we are in this together now." He liked me, but he would go under the desk in my bedroom to sleep or stick to himself with a bully stick. It took a while, but now I'm his everything. I don't think we had the close bond that we have now until he was 4 months old at least.

    I'm with Brad on the feeding from your hand. I fed Koda's first few meals from my hand. I think it also helps with food aggression as well as teaching them that treats come from your hand. Just my theory, not sure if there's any proof to back that up.

    Maybe she doesn't like her food. Also make sure she's hungry when you are giving her treats. If you try right after a meal, that's not going to work out. She's full.
  • You're also going to have to work out an agreement with your roommate and their dog. If your roommate is leaving food in their dog's bowl because their dog free-feeds you will have a harder time managing your puppy's eating and potty schedule. It will be harder because you'll have to associate your dog's food bowl as being of higher value than your rommate's dog's food bowl.

    Jesse
  • Yup, Jesse is right...the roommate free feeding thing is going to be a problem for a number of reasons, so you'll have to get your roommate not to do that. It's not particularly good for dogs anyway, so perhaps you can work from that angle, but certainly you'll have problems with training and potty training with the dog able to eat whenever she wants to. Also, many Akitas have problems with resource guarding, and no doubt your girl will start to "guard" the other dog's food, which could cause problems. And if you feed different qualities of food, too, this could be a problem.

    In the meantime, you just got your pup, and it will take awhile for her to get used to you. I'd follow Brad's suggestion and try hand feeding, but I imagine with a lot of play and attention and feeding, she'll soon be thrilled to have you around. She does sound like a cautious dog, though. Did you meet the parents? Or did the breeder tell you much about the parents temperament? I'm just asking because you'll need to socialize her like crazy anyway, but if you know that she tends to be shy, or if the parents do, then you'll know now you need to double up on the socialization, and make sure she meets a ton of different types people and sees new things. With a shy dog, this can't be overstressed. My AA was quite outgoing and friendly as a puppy, and I thought I did a lot of socialization (and I did in his puppyhood) but kind of slacked off as he got older and bigger, and he's showing a bit of nervous barking around people he doesn't know now that's 1.5 years old. I wish I had continued with more serious socialization (and that was with a friendly, outgoing pup!) So work on it as much as possible, and that will help her be a confident adult. Puppy socializations classes are a must!
  • I have been really good on watching her and correcting her every time she tries to get in his bowl. But your right, I agree that a discussion with my roommate is in order.

    @shibamistress I agree 100 %, but I was curious when we're out for walks is it necessary that she meets all the people that walk by or is seeing them enough?
  • edited December 2011
    Some thoughts...

    She is young and you will notice over time that a bond will grow...Some of the most sensitive or aloof dogs actually develop some of the most impressive talents. Never underestimate it.

    IMHO I don't think she needs to meet everyone that passes unless she is comfortable doing so. Not all dogs (regardless of breed) want to greet, some prefer to observe and come to their own conclusions on approaching people. After observing many dogs and owners, forcing interacts does not seem to change that reserved tendency. However, providing general exposure by hanging out and providing opportunity to engage is important so she can choose. Use treats and good things so she is encouraged to try and investigate new people and things. Target training can help with this hurdle as well.

    I would make sure that you do a lot of food work with her and targeting. It may seem impossible now but she will develop more of a food/treat predilection as you work with her over time. You have to test and discover what she likes and then expand on her palate.

    If she does not take treats when you are out this usually indicates she is stressed or possibly she values another type of reward, toy tug, ball or favorite "wobbie" more. Work on ferreting out her likes etc. Note, dogs favorites will also change over time as they develop so don't get too frustrated just keep up with the change up.

    Your Akita may always be a reserved pup as an inherent part of her personality though. However, as others point out you can mold and direct her a bit more. Timed quality interactions that continues over the long haul (decent play with friendly dogs in short spurts - 5 to 10 mins) and positive contact when she is comfortable in regard to people. Even with the most shy, early age staging of small positive events can be so helpful in developing a more emotionally secure dog, of course backed with training classes as things progress.

    I don't know that I would "correct" about eating out of another dog's food bowl but I would reinforce with treats etc to make sure that she eats out of her own dish, your hand and redirect her to another activity when she finishes her meal or move her away from the other dog and its food when she is done eating.

    If she is really interested in the other dog food I would use that brand as treats for starters in training, say when the other dogs is eating. That way she does not feel left out that hers is "different" and she will get the idea to do something other than focus in on other animal feeding.

    Basically work with the room mate to get on the same page with management and then follow up with a puppy sessions. I think petco and petsmart in some locations have puppy social hrs for basic interaction of young pups. Look up your regional area stores to ask. It is a good time of year for that since a lot of young pups will have been purchased around the beginning of the yr. ......you should be able to find a slot somewhere if you check around.

    Snf
  • Wow all of you are a great help!! I have another question, whenever breezy poops in the house she tries to eat it but only when she poops in the house why is this.
  • edited December 2011
    There are a number of theories as to why dogs like poop. My opinion is they like it *gag*. Puppies will put anything in their mouth to investigate so that can start the ball rolling. You do not want to habituate her to this habit so clean up is of utmost importance on your part. Get her on a schedule as soon as possible and make sure your yard remains cleaned up after elimination as well. Avoid free feeding so you can maintain a schedule on meals and potty times.

    Snf
  • I second what @StaticNfuzz said. The "why's" of dogs liking their poop are varied and inconclusive. Regardless, many forumites have resorted to having their dogs eat a small amount of pineapple (or pineapple juice) with their food. Apparently the food tastes good on the way in, not so good on the way out. Also, you can try to redirect your dog's attention to their poop by treating your dog with stinky, high-value rewards right after they poop outside. Best of luck on your feeding and potty schedule. As a safe guideline, depending on your dog's play and energy level, a puppy will want to pee/poop 30-120min after eating...

    ...and if you haven't already, buy yourself a gallon of Nature's Miracle to clean up after your puppy now (and in the future).

    Jesse
  • A gallon lol.....
  • Puppies need human interaction most between weeks 12 and 14. Some sooner. starting with week 11 but not before. Give it time :-)
  • edited April 2013
    @Jmary21, are you still on this forum? Your pup sounds almost like mine, and I was wondering how he is growing up??? Yours would be almost 3 now? Mine is almost 1....
  • @Kitagrl For future reference if you want to tag someone in the conversation you have to type @ + screen name, otherwise they will never know you're addressing them. :)

    Luckily this is Jmary21's post, so he will get a notification.
  • I haven't seen jmary21 around though in quite awhile so may or may not be still checking in.

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