Poll: Hardest age

Kitagrl

Taking a poll..at what age did your Akita, if at all, show any sort of attitude or discipline problems? Or did it go in and out?

Mine is a good boy but he occasionally acts out and we have to really get onto him....he is about a year and two weeks and he was a bit naughty today...and I think back around 9 months he had some issues. And then right before being fixed at around 7 months, which helped his dog park experience a lot.

I'm going to start making sure he doesn't get ANYTHING without earning it with a sit or down-stay for awhile. He's good, but sometimes he's so quiet and laid-back that I end up not working on commands (because he is so low maintenance I don't remember that he still needs it) and then he gets a bit too big for his britches and then we have to remind him who's boss.

So.....worst age, in your opinion? Best age?

PoetikDragon

puppy puppy puppy I love everyone => 4 to 12 months old => oh no everything is scary => 1 to 1.5 years old => let's go easy for a while => 1.5 years old to 3 years old => raging bitch queen / nasty jerkface time => 3 to 5 years old => chill and wise matron / patron of the house => ??? => cranky curmudgeon

shibamistress

@Poetic Dragon....love it!

I don't know.....I never really think that I need to remind my dogs of who is boss. We have occasional issues, but I never think of it like that. But it terms of difficulty, puppy hood is fun but a pain because of housetraining issues. Then they're good til they hit adolescence. I think I find that time hard--because it's like the dogs are "nah nah nah I can't hear you!" all the time. It's like my sweet Akita boy forgot everything he ever learned. But my trainer at the time said, "don't worry, he'll come through this and he'll remember everything he learned" and she was right. But that was a bit rough.

Then everything was fine until he was mature, at about 2, but I think that's more because we ran into some health issues that made him grumpy. Now we have a few occasional problems, but most are handable. He's mildly dog reactive, but it's not much of an issue as he's not around other dogs (other than ours) too much. He's growled when I touch his collar, which is annoying, but he also has neck problems, and I think it started in pain, and now is just sensitivity to remembered pain. (he gets a brief time out if he does that, and in a way, it's been good for me as a trainer too, because I've had to learn to handle a dog that can not be physically moved into place at all--he can't be led by the collar at all, so I've learned 1) patience even when I'm annoyed with him for growling and 2) how to guide him with just the lightest of touches and luring if I need to refocus him.)

I find my akita pretty low maintence overall, certainly easier than the Shibas. And the Kai, who is a good boy, but really needs to be active and entertained, or he'll find his own fun.

paranoidparrot

Mine is between the "oh oh everything is cool" and the "shit, that's scary" periods. Both can be kinda stressful for me to handle. I don't feel like I have to remind him who's boss, but I do need to have him know that it is not ok to have a raptus while walking on a leash and no, it is not ok to wake up homeless people in the night barking like crazy because they're scary.

jellyfish

i'm going to go with "4 to 12 months old => oh no everything is scary"

For Tokes, I think he hit that stage more-so around 6 months. He decided to be macho man and bark and everything he didn't approve of, which was everything. After a year, has has calmed down somewhat. Its always a work in progress

Kitagrl

Ours seems to have cycles of moodiness. He might have a more "moody" week where he wants to be left alone, and then another week he might be more cheerful and fun.

I think the neutering means he now has a time of the month. LOL.

hordekeeper

My long coat girl was a heller up to about 3. For the first couple years, I wasn't even sure she liked ME. Despite my years (about 10 of them) of pre-akita research, nothing truly prepares you for the dog that looks at you with a shark stare. I'm sure you know the look "I hear you but you have yet to say anything worth listening to, and you might just be tastier than my dinner". She never did anything aggressive towards me whatsoever, but it is a very disconcerting look to receive from your dog. She did not like people. Again, nothing overtly aggressive, just wouldn't let people touch her, just the little sidestep out of the way. But it took me quite awhile to feel confident saying she wouldn't bite. Not that she ever even snapped, but more that she offered no signals. She is almost 6 now, and is still particular about who is allowed to touch her, but is more subtle and dignified about the avoidance. But if she likes you, holy cow, I've never heard a dog 'warble' before.
I've been quite lucky re: dog aggression. She has virtually none. Lets her puppy friends literally hang off her face, tolerates my shiba chewing on her face and 'punching' her. Not to mention the fact that I can do absolutely anything to her, as can everyone at her vet's office.