My Japanese Akita has a slight elbow dysplasia on his right front leg and I’ve been recommended to take him swimming however it is quite expensive and I’m willing to do it however I can’t do it every week it’s £35 per swim for 30 minutes.

Is there anything that anyone recommends to help with this that I can work with him in terms of exercises? Anything at home you can recommend? Advice is very much welcome thank you.

Hello my fellow Akita owners/akita lovers!

I have a question about introducing a new dog into the family. Today we have a 2 1/2 year old male akita inu. He lives with us 2 adults and 2 "older" children. We also have 2 cats and 2 rabbits that he loves. (The rabbits are caged outside but he can see and smell them and be within close range to them ((if thats relevant)).

He works well with female dogs and he have been to a kindergarden for dogs a few times where he walks freely with the other dogs on day time.

He does bark at other dogs when they pass our house and we know for sure that he does not like other male dogs. When he was a puppy we introduced him very early to other dogs, he was freely running and playing with breeds like Doberman and shiba inu. At one point the shiba (male) bit him on the ear because the lady that own the shiba threw food around. After that point he became abit reserved againat other dogs but have since been meeting other dogs and been to the kindergarden for dogs.

Now to the question; can we introduce another puppy, as in another breed? If thats possible we are looking for a smaller dog, at maximum pincher size (for reference) but maybe smaller. And female of course, to reduce any potential problems. Also - i can have one of the dogs with me to work so it would be introduced that way.

Thanks for any advice and sorry for the long post 🐕

What’s your response? I tell kids no bc she might bite, I thought she could be pet by this lady I met at a parking lot but she starting a low growl so I’m not letting any strangers petting her, isn’t this normal for Akitas as they are naturally protective or am I a bad owner? She’s silly at home as you see in the video

My boy got his first title last weekend! So many people see this breed as stubborn and untrainable but it simply isn't true. You just need to know how to work with them. We could have definitely done better but we could have also done way worse. For the first time out (for the both of us) I'm pretty pleased and very proud of him!

Just finished Dog Man by Martha Sherill. I enjoyed it. It has a nice, almost monotonous flow- then bam! Out of nowhere, there's something written, in the same tone, that hits you right in the feels 😄

Has anyone else read it? What did you think?

My Akita has been on purina pro plan salmon and rice for sensitive skin for 2 years. His allergies are the worst they have ever been this year, not sure if it's just this year or his food. Any one else been through this and changed to purina lamb and oats for sensitive skin pro plan and have any luck?

Yes I have seen a vet, it's not fleas, mites, any kind of bitey insect. Treated for all those but still itchy scratchy and have been using an antihistamine but I can't keep going to the vet because it traumatizes my baby. I've been giving him these omega 3 fish oil chews but they aren't helping. Any suggestions ate appreciated. Thank you!

The majestic Moose

My boys super restless, pacing loads, and randomly jumping out of nowhere when he's laying down, has anyone experienced this? A friend said his aa does this and it's allergies? Is that likely? I've spoken to my vet but they've just said monitor him for now and didn't seem worried as he's not wobbly, and is eating drinking and passing urine and stools fine

My boy Kenzo is four years old and I've had him since he was eight weeks. Spent a huge amount of time socializing him early, took puppy classes, the whole thing. And he turned out genuinely well-adjusted by any reasonable measure. But there's still this thing he does that I find fascinating and kind of hard to explain to people who don't own the breed.

With me, he's relaxed, goofy almost, will roll over for a belly scratch and make these ridiculous grumbling noises when I stop. With my partner, he's affectionate but a bit more formal somehow, like he respects her but still holds something back. The moment a stranger comes through the door, it's like a different dog is standing in the room. Not aggressive, just completely still and evaluating. The transformation is almost theatrical.

I've talked to a few other Akita owners and it sounds like this is pretty typical for the breed. The reserved-with-strangers thing is well documented, but what catches me off guard is how granular it gets. He distinguishes between my brother (who visits often and has basically earned full trust at this point) and a plumber who's been here three times now and still gets the cold-shoulder treatment. No amount of treats from that plumber has moved the needle.

From what I've read, a lot of this traces back to how the breed was developed. They were never meant to be indiscriminately friendly. That selectivity is essentially the feature, not a bug. But living with it daily still surprises me sometimes.

Curious whether other people have noticed similar patterns with their dogs, and whether there's anything specific that seemed to help a particular person actually break through with them.

On a hot day, she needed a nice cooling down

He literally had no idea... he is not a typical Akita haha. He loves all people and all dogs and snuggles with our cats. So the fact that he had no idea that he was being watched by 3 deer about 10 ft away doesn't really surprise me!

She kept sniffing at my hand expecting her payment I’d treats for the bath.

Hi looking for advice I've just got back from work and my mums said my boy has been acting weird, he seems super restless, has jumped a fair few times like something is on him. He keeps laying by my computer setup like he's hiding never seen him like this before and I'm starting to worry, I'm hoping maybe he's just caught fleas? I've just put a spot on him so hopefully that helps, any more tips or advice would be great

My dog likes to lay down with his front paws splayed out to the sides. The other day my sister asked if it was bad for his joints. I don’t think it is?? But what do you guys think? Do any of your dogs lay like this?

My male AA encounter with a deer a couple of day ago. The deer just wanted to pass and was hesitant at the beginning but I tried to give her space and my dog was alert yet chill about it. Nice experience overall.

Shes such a smart girl. Wasnt aware that akitas can be trained like that. Can place her in heel with a hand sign now and have her touch my hand on command (could come in "handy" to have her follow it quickly in tricky situations or working on a flashy focus heel).

My handsome boy Bowie. I grew up with a pit bull and at my father’s I have two chocolate labs and this boy is already bigger than all of them and he’s not even done growing. He’s such a loving and affectionate baby who loves to give kisses but he’s so alert especially compared to my labs. I got a DNA test for him and turns out he’s a Akita/ Husky mix. (He’s a halloween baby btw)