Breed decisions are imminent! (corvus)

I've met quite a few nice shebas. Tend to be pretty healthy - I think. Playful, SMART. Not overly tolerante of kids - at least the ones I met - but I'm sure that's mostly in how you raise them

Not sure how breeders are in Australia..i know in the US alot of reputable breeders are very divided on what "correct" temperment is for an akita...some feel that the breed is traditionaly a guard dog, and by standard should be very aloof, sometimes even unaccepting of strangers...and some breeders feel that despite history, there dogs should accept everything and everyone...so just make sure you ask the breeder what there ideal of temperment is and make sure that matches with something you can live with.  I didnt know when i bought my Diesel, but have since then found a few others from the same breeding (some of different litters), that have all had some temperment "issues" of being aggressive- Diesel loves women and children, and generally is accepting of men as long as they arent overly confident and dont approach him wrong, but it has taken extensive training to get him to even tolerate another dog (besides the ones tha tlive with us)...and hes been like that since 12 weeks old- definatly no lack of socialization, it has been obvious from his upbringing that genetics have played a big impact in his attitude towards other animals.  Even though he will tolerate other dogs, id never turn him loose to socialize with other dogs i didnt know...he would not accept that well at all!

 Other than that, keep in mind this is a very independent breed, very intelligent, but that does not mean that they will obey you at every command!  I can watch how he handles things and see that he comprehends alot of what i do with him, but asking him to perform can be another story! , so if your wanting a highly obedient dog- this may not be the dog for you.

On a good note, very clean breed of dog, very affectionate and attached with those they love....and who can say an akita isnt a beautiful dog!

 Obedient? Meh, I've no interest in dogs that routinely do what they're told.

Kivi Tarro's recall has come really good lately and someone with an Aussie and a Golden told me they were hugely impressed with how fast he recalls even when someone else is giving out food. I shrugged it off, thinking to myself that it was pretty easy. Then I thought about it and realised it actually hadn't been that easy. For all that Kivi is pretty into people and so laid back and easy going, he is still a spitz breed and he won't do anything that he doesn't think is in his best interests. If he doesn't want to do what he's been asked to do he won't. The only difference between him and my mother's super independent Vallhund or my friend's Sibe is that he sometimes does things he's asked to do because he can't immediately think of something he'd rather be doing. The Vallhund and Sibe carefully weigh up the pros and cons of doing something every time you ask and "I don't want to" rates as a really high con. I love that about them. You can't be lazy with a dog that thinks like that. 

Akitas are a good deal more uncommon over here than they are in the States. I've only met a few, but they have all been pretty mild-mannered. Certainly confident and quite self-contained, but not aggressive by any stretch of the word. It pays to be very careful about who you are getting one off, though, no matter where you are. It's not a breed to be taken lightly, is it?

Definately not to be taken lightly.  Two out of the three that I know are very much like my chow, aloof, unaccepting of strangers, not great with other animals.  And, they started out GREAT and changed once adolescence hit. 

The third one I know is extremely well trained and realiable off leash and with people.  But, again, he's trained formally and constantly. 

Maybe you would like a Keeshond, they aren't Japanese but sort of along the look/type you seem to like. 

 We decided we didn't want anything with as much hair or more than Kivi. It takes time to care for it all! Shibas are at the top of the list at the moment, but we'll see how it pans out over the next few weeks in talking to breeders.

I walk a Shiba 5x per week for 2 years now. She's very aloof with strangers and a major escape artist. She's very cat-like, also.

 I've heard that Shibas are very independent and not reliable off leash.

 Any particular reason you want a purebred dog?  Seems like a mix might fit your needs *and* you'd get a very unique dog. ;)

The above being said, I've heard a lot about how scary intelligent shibas are, their acrobatics, and their independant nature.  They are neat dog, but not for the faint of heart!

stardog85

 Any particular reason you want a purebred dog?  Seems like a mix might fit your needs *and* you'd get a very unique dog. ;)

The above being said, I've heard a lot about how scary intelligent shibas are, their acrobatics, and their independant nature.  They are neat dog, but not for the faint of heart!

 

Yeah, good thinking Stardog! I think a "mutt" would be perfect!

 Isn't it kind of hard to find a mutt puppy with a very, very specific temperament? In my experience, it's a little hard to tell what a dog's personality is going to be like in 2 years, unless you know the temperaments of the parents and relatives. I had no idea that Emma would turn out like she did, and if I had, I might have had a little more patience for her idiotic puppy years.

For me it's not been too hard to find pups that are exactly what I need, but part of that may be that I work at a shelter so i see a LOT of pups.  Z was adopted at 5.5mo and she's the happy-go-lucky socialite and fast, focused agility dog I was looking for.  Kes was 4mo when he came home and so far he's the hard-headed, rough and tumble, speedy, and scary smart dog I thought he would be.

The key for me was not settling for a pup just because of a cute face or the right timing, but taking the time to interact with a lot of dogs *after* I had made a list of what I needed.  Z is literally everything I had on my "what i want in my second dog" list except for breed and gender! I'll be honest that I didn't have a list made up before Kes came home as a foster, but the more I got to know him, the more I realized he could teach me and that he had some of the traits I'd been leaning toward.

One of the other things that helped me was being able to foster the dogs I liked before adopting to ensure that they were healthy and had the temperaments I was looking for and that they fit in the household (Maggie is a difficult dog to get along with at times).  This foster scenario can easily be set up if you connect up with a rescue ime.

A mix isn't right for everyone and there may be factors at play in the OPs situation I'm not aware of, but I can't help but promote mixed breeds when someone isn't completely set on a breed yet and I know would be a great dog owner for almost any dog.

 I dunno, I just prefer purebreeds. I like getting a puppy from a breeder who will have lots of advice and always be ready to help out. I like having a pretty good idea of what to expect. I like knowing the pup's parents have been health tested.

I don't really want to get an adult dog as we have the rabbits to account for. I don't want a shelter dog. We did that once and it was a disaster and I don't want other people's problems in dog form. It's just not my scene. Having said that, I think we're going to check out the shelters just in case, but I don't expect to find anything I'd be interested in because the shelters over here are full of Staffy crosses, Kelpie crosses, ACD crosses, Sibes and pigdog mixes (Wolfhound/Bullmastiff things). And a whole bunch of terrier things.

corvus

I don't want a shelter dog. We did that once and it was a disaster and I don't want other people's problems in dog form. It's just not my scene.

First, let me say I completely understand your desire for a purebred dog.  The ability to know with a fair amount of certainty what a dog will look and act like is important for many people.  I owned Labs for that very reason for many years.  I just want to say that adopting a shelter dog, though not for everyone, is not always a case of taking on someone else's problem dog.  There are wonderful dogs in shelters and given some love and training (just as you would a puppy) they can make fantastic pets.  My own dog Rex is a perfect example. :)

I'm posting this on behalf of shelter dogs everywhere and for the lurkers who might not have adopted from a shelter or might assume that all shelter dogs are damaged beyond repair.  I respect your desire for a purebred and am not directing any criticism toward you.