corvus
Posted : 8/24/2007 4:30:01 AM
When I was researching Akitas about a year ago, I met some really lovely dogs. One unfixed male was very gentle and the breeder said he'd only ever hurt another dog once and that was in exceptional circumstances and only after his attempts at a peaceful resolution failed miserably. He lived with small children whom he happily allowed to take toys out of his mouth and basically do whatever they liked to him. He lived with a mature female Akita, a young male and a young female with no worries at all. The breeder didn't seem to think any of her dogs had a particularly worrisome prey drive. Fairly average, she seemed to think. She said they were all fine interacting with small dogs and thought that I would be able to trust one with my rabbits provided I'd raised it from a puppy alongside the rabbits. I'm not sure about that one, but I'm just throwing it out there. She thought there shouldn't be any problems with my corgi, and none of the other breeders I spoke to thought the corgi might be in danger if I brought an Akita into the household. I've since decided that she would be, but only because she's small and has a bad back and any large puppy could hurt her.
I think it comes down to the breeder and the way you raise it. The breeder whose dogs I met had not really taught her dogs anything, but she sure had their undivided attention when the liver treats came out. She said you can't let them get away with trying to push you around, but it's not like every Akita tests its humans all the time. I got the impression they're not dominant so much as very self-confident and independent. It's just hard to motivate them to do what you want them to do. Which makes them a hard dog to train and not for everyone.
Why not go for something like an Akita, but not so big so the doxie has a chance to stand up for itself (which it will do anyway if I know doxies [
]). Shiba Inus are similar, but much smaller and not quite so willful. Samoyeds are similar in temperament, but toned down a bit and a lot more dog friendly.