Akita...we think?

I think you actually got a small polar bear with an odd birthmark!

 
Oh man, doesn't he look JUST like a bear in the face? That was the first thing I noticed about him. I love it. []
 

Must add, when I first read this I was pretty nervous when I saw that it was an akita and realized you had other dogs. I thought to myself, I surely do hope this person knows what they are doing. After reading your responses, it really does sound like you do know what you are doing and I feel much better. I thank Gina for all of the great info she has given you too. I do hope that you continue as you have said and be very, very aware with your other two dogs, especially the little chi, as all it would take would be one bite. I have a dog not near the size of your akita...a catahoula and she is also one that will not give much warning if a dog gets too close.  I've been very, very careful and have not had any many problems but I know never to let my guard down. I've had her for 8 years now. I did have a couple of fights in the house with her and actually our neutered male dog. She was protecting a bag of bird seed []. He just happend to be running past it, but was too close for her happiness. Who would have thought?... a bag of bird seed. She is a scrounge hound though. The other fight they just got a bit too close to one another with nowhere to go. They were running between a couch and some other furniture and both tried to go at the same time. That was all it took. Then she snapped at one of the cats when I was petting her and the cat came over and rubbed underneath to try and get some attention. Just thought I'd give you a couple of ideas at how easy things can happen. Fortunately with my situations there were no injuries either time, but you have a much bigger animal and with probably a much stronger attitude.....although my girls is pretty strong. I think she's mellowed over the years though, but I still don't let my guard down.

 
Trust me, I know exactly where you're comming from. My entire life, I have lived with many small animals, and larger animals who would likely attack and kill them if given the chance. I bred rats for 6 years (just now getting out of it) and for the past 9 years there have been no fewer than 30 pet rats in my house, usually more. Add on top of that hamsters, mice, ferrets, birds, chickens, various reptiles, cats, large dogs...from the time I was born there were always predatory animals in my house and plenty of smaller, potential prey animals as well. I am completely used to having to be *constantly* on guard. When the rats are out playing, I have to make sure the ferret, cats, dogs, etc. can't get to them. Same with my chickens. When the ferret is out, I have to guard him from the dogs, and make sure he can't get any of the smaller animals. When the rats are out, I have to make sure that *they* can't get to the mice, hamsters, chickens, or into the fish tank. When my cockatiel is out, I have to guard him from everything. I grew up this way and there has never been a single moment in my life where I wasn't having to be totally aware of exactly what each of my animals were doing at the time, and where they were. I'm completely used to it...so bringing Ogre into my home really didn't change things much for me.
 
Yes, Ogre is a much larger animal- but when I was younger I was around horses and other livestock, plus many large dogs, and the size really just isn't a problem for me. I'm of medium height, but I'm VERY physically strong and even if he were totally out of control (which he should never be, as intensively as I'm training him) I really don't have to worry about him overpowering me. On top of that, having grown up with dogs, livestock, and pretty much every animal under the sun, and researching each of them to no end, I'm pretty in tune to animal behavior. I can generally read them very well and there is little that I have trouble figuring out. I've never really found myself wondering what an expression, or posture, or behavior meant. With a breed like an akita, you may not have the time to puzzle out what he's thinking- if you're not able to read a dog well enough that you know instantly, you probably won't be able to react quickly enough to prevent whatever he's about to do. So, while I don't have direct experience with Akitas, I have plenty of experience with large, strong willed dogs, and animals in general, so it's really not that difficult for me. I didn't go to the shelter looking for an akita, but I *definitely* didn't make an uninformed decision when I chose him. I knew what they are generally like as a breed and knew exactly what I was getting into.
 
I know that I will never be able to trust Ogre completely around my chi. He has never made a move for him, but I see how he watches him- with the same interest and expression that he looks at rats, cats, and chickens. It's very subtle, but it's there. Really though, all it takes is a little careful maneuvering to keep them apart. Luckily, my chi LOVES his crate and willingly spends most of the day inside it. Even when allowed out, he generally goes back to it on his own and goes to sleep after only a few minutes of freedom. So, for the most part, Pepito just stays in his crate and is safe from Ogre. When Pepito wants to come out, I either put Ogre on his tie-out in the yard so he can get a little sun or I send him in the next room with a stuffed bone to keep him occupied. It took a couple of days to get into the routine, but now it's just part of the day and it's really no big deal.
 
So I definitely get what you are saying...luckily I've been doing this with various animals for so long that it's not much of an issue for me. It's pretty much just become second nature. []
 
Ogre is continuing to improve- now that we have a strict routine he's doing very well. The only problem I see him developing is a little bit of seperation anxiety, but I went through that with my chi so it shouldn't be too hard to nip in the bud. He does push the limits sometimes- he'll boss anyone around who lets him and there are times when he needs to be reminded who's in charge, but doing NILIF very strictly is for the most part keeping that under control as well.
 
I posted some fall pictures of all of the dogs here:  [linkhttp://forum.dog.com/asp/tm.asp?m=190049]http://forum.dog.com/asp/tm.asp?m=190049[/link]
 
Thanks again for all of the responses everyone. []