Choosing a puppy (Akita/German shepherd)

[Tengu]

Hey all, I'll just take this opportunity to introduce myself as a new member and novice owner here.

A friend offered me one of his akita's latest litter of pups. Right now they're a month old and all healthy. Btw, technically they're 3/4 akita (the mother was pure, father has a mixed ancestry of akita/german shepherd) I've been doing a little research on akitas and since this is my first I have a few questions about what I should look for in choosing one.

I keep hearing that males dont do so well with young children, and tend to be aggressive, so as its my first 'Northern' type dog should I defintely look for a female?

Would it be safe to assume that they'll all basically have Akita traits (dominance etc) and vulnerabilities (hip problems, etc), or are the GS genes likely to have a significant effect on this?

I read about Puppy evaluation tests on another site, does anyone have any experience with this? Basically, I'm looking for a calm, tolerant temperment. In my experience with akitas they're either fiercely aggressive or mellow bordering on apathetic. Is it safe to assume that a puppy with these traits will keep them in later life?

I've got a pic of the litter in my email, and I'll post it if I can find somewhere to host it, is anyone wants to have a look.

Thanks in advance for any help offered.

 

[Renee750il]

Oh, I'd love to have a look! You should be able to post it without a host if you post on the Dog Pictures site (you can click on the link at the top of the page). You can post the link to your photos in a thread-post to make sure we don't miss it.

You're on the right track about a puppy's personality. I always like to choose the one that comes to me and is more interested in me than its littermates. That tells me several things: the pup is alert and curious - both signs of intelligence, and it's unafraid of new people. It's a real bonus if the pup sits on my feet -

My wonderful Bear was a GSD/Akita mix. He was an amazing beast; calm, loyal, loving, wonderful with children, tolerant, but very intelligent and able to distinguish between acceptable behaviour and what needed to be warned off. I got him as a rescue from the pound - he was supposed to have been put down because his time was well past and it was his second "unfortunate incarceration," but they just kept passing him over because he was so special.

He was even certified as an animal therapist with the University of Tennessee's HABIT program and visited a shelter for abused women and chilren once a week. He was a big favorite of everyone, and a local rescue organization would always ask me if he would make an appearance at their fundraising events.

I think the real trick to these dogs is to keep them with you as much as possible; take them places, let them meet people, walk in crowds - just teach them to be the well-mannered social creatures they can be. One of Bear's favorite trips was to go to Gatlinburg and walk around town, just mingling with the tourists and being admired and petted. He was a real favorite with a lot of the shop owners, and people would come in to a shop just to see him sometimes.

I think I've got the scanner at the store set up and running now, so I can digitize and post some of my old photos of him. He looked like a large Timberwolf - just with a curled tail. He weighed between 100 and 108 pounds, depending on whether it was summer or winter.

 

[hotdoggy124]

yeah, i agree with Renee75oil. i would pick the one pup that really is sweet and i would more so go with a female from what you heard. well, i would love to see some pics so post 'em soon!

 

[Barb04]

Renee, can't wait to see pics of Bear!

 

[Barb04]

I just found and scanned a pic of Max as a puppy! He's 11 weeks old and 26 pounds in this pic.

 

[milo]

Ahh cute puppy!whats his name?

 

[Tengu]

Hey, this is pretty neat! They weren't in the mood for doing much, unfortunatey, but here's some pics anyway.

 

[Renee750il]

Ohhh! Now I'm going to get all weepy. The lightest one - in the bottom corner (right hand as you're looking at the screen) looks so much like my Bearsie.

I really like the way the one in the top picture is sitting up and looking straight at you.

I don't think it makes much difference whether you choose a male or female. I've always found the males tended to be a bit more laid back and playful and don't tend to take things so seriously, but other people have found that with females as well. You just choose the puppy that your heart tells you is the right one.

 

[bubbatd]

I like male dogs...find they bond better and aren't what females tend to be...B***hy. Why won't the forum accept the name for a female dog ??? Do they accept Stud ??

 

[Renee750il]

ROFL! You wouldn't be talking about US, now would you?

Ever wonder why male dogs bond better than male humans?

 

[smkie]

Besides being a midwife and kennel kid..one of my jobs at the kennel was to drive to where there were a litter my boss's dog had sired and pick out the first one. I would watch the litter for a long time..seeing who was bossy, who was shy, etc. Once, when I made my decision, the owner said "oh please not that one...i want that one so badly". It was a problem..my boss would never know, what would you have done..I don't even remember now what my decision was, but I sure remember the pup.
Sally was our omega in Tate's litter. The other pups would not play with her much. If she picked up a toy everyone would stop and take it away from her. She was the last one of our litter when someone came and said they wanted her. They wanted me to keep her until the end of the month. They were the new kennel care where I use to work. After I saw (and cleaned up their job..oh it was just that bad) I wouldn't give them the puppy. They were angry. I told them I wouldn't give them a dead dog. In the meantime she was growing to the stage where it becomes harder to find a home.. and I already had too many dogs for city limits. They tried to send someone else,so now I couldn't give her away. Sally stayed for 4 years with us. I made a special toy that was hers and hers alone. She would do the real dog grin where they pull the front lip up! Wednesdays were Sally's day to sleep with me and she would race to bed, jump into her place and show all the others her teeth in a growl. She would stay up late at night when others had crashed to '"get her special time". Picking a puppy is hard, but each is unique and special. That is all sally ever wanted was to be someone's special. I finally found a home for her with a retired Gentleman.He took her everywhere he went.Always by his side, she was the happiest dog ever. He called a year later to tell me she had been hit by a car. I thought it never a mistake to let him have her because I think she would have traded 14 years of life for one year of being the special one. Good luck to all your pups, and especially the omega,,,for little sally had loads of personality.

 

[Tengu]

Just a little update, here's a pic of my Yoshi, at 6wks right before I brought him home. So far he's doing okay, had his 1st shot and worm meds today. He has what I'd call a mildly assertive temperament. He's been testing us with little ankle bites and somewhere I read that yelping at him will help teach bite inhibition, and its working for the most part. Im worried about him showing signs of dominance with my mother, who refuses to take part in most of his 'training' (Im working on controlling his aggression/dominance) Other than that he's been playful with me, and needs almost constant attention.

 

[avenlee]

He's adorable. Seems like you have a good handle on training him too!l Please keep us updated.

 

[gell914]

HEy that looks juz like frodo's face ...i think frodo's like 3/5 akita too ..i dunno i'm juz guessin cuz he really looks like those akita photos in the websites...but now his ears are standing up and i'm juz guessing which breed he's from..