Quick Links: Table of Contents
- Akita Breed Overview
- History of the Akita Breed. Where Akitas came from
- What the Akita Looks Like
- How Much is the Akita Puppy?
- Best Akita Breeders
- Adopting or Rescuing the Akita
- Akita Growth
- What Colors do Akitas Have?
- The Temperament of the Akita
- How Long Akitas Live
- Akita Litter Size
- How Fast Akitas Can Run
- Good Names for Akitas
- How Intelligent are Akitas?
- How Popular are Akitas with New Dog Owners?
- Health Problems in Akitas and How to Prevent Them
- How to Take Care of Akita
- Dog Breeds That Are Similar to Akitas
- Other Things to Know About Akitas
Akita Breed Overview
The Akita is a large-sized dog.
The adult Akita stands 2 feet to 2 feet, 4 inches tall at the shoulder.
The Akita belongs to the Working Dogs group.
Dogs in the Working Dogs group, like the Akita, were developed to assist humans in some capacity – including pulling sleds and carts, guarding flocks, guarding homes, and protecting their families.
Breeds in the Working Group are known for their imposing stature, strength, intelligence, and fearless.
Because of their size and strength, working dogs require a structured home life and firm, fair, consistent training by someone who can provide leadership without resorting to anger or physical force.
The fact that the Akita belongs to the Working Dogs group is one of the reasons why Akitas have the personality and temperament that they have.
The temperament of the Akita is generally described as:
- Composed
- Docile
- Faithful
- Receptive
History of the Akita Breed. Where Akitas came from
The Akita originated in Japan in the early 1600s and was used as a guard for Japanese royalty and for bird hunting.
Helen Keller is actually responsible for bringing the first Akita to America.
She fell in love with the loyalty of this dog and brought it back to introduce to the United States.
Thomas Boyd was the first to sire an Akita litter from the Akitas in 1956 in America.
This breed has been around for quite some time and breeders are rather familiar with what it takes to breed an Akita.
Owners of Akitas have to have good dog-training skills and lots of patience with this breed.
First-time dog owners are not encouraged to get an Akita because an Akita has a head-strong temperament that can turn aggressive if not handled early on in its life or during relearning exercises as an adult.
The Akita is willful and needs a strong guiding owner in order to be well-rounded and successful.
Akitas can be aggressive to other animals especially if they haven’t been socialized around them.
Early intervention with good socialization skills will help an Akita become its best.
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What the Akita Looks Like
The Akita has two standard sub-types that are the American Akita and the Japanese Akita.
An Akita is typically a large dog (with variations between the standard sub-types) and has a pretty imposing presence.
This makes them useful as guard dogs to protect properties and persons.
The Akita can be of various colors including black, white, chocolate, brindle, or a mixture of these colors.
The Japanese Akita standard only recognizes certain colors, however, unlike the American Akita standards which recognize the Akita in all colors.
This dog has a thick double coat and will shed and shed often.
An Akita should be groomed regularly either by the owner or by a paid professional grooming service to ensure that they have healthy coats and bodies.
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How Much is the Akita Puppy?
The average price of a Akita puppy is $1770. The price of a Akita puppy ranges from $1100 to $2200.
A lot of factors determine the price of the Akita. These factors include what health records the Akita puppy has, the lineage of the Akita puppy, the US state the breeder is located in, etc.
To estimate how much you can expect to pay for a puppy Akita based on the many factors that determine the price of the Akita puppy, check out our calculator that lets you estimate how much you should expect to pay for the Akita puppy based on what you want in the puppy.
When looking to buy a puppy, look at buying a puppy only from well-established breeders that breed puppies primarily for the love of the Akita breed, and secondarily for profit. Do not buy a puppy from a puppy mill. Puppy mills mass-produce puppies in bad living conditions for maximum profit.
You may also consider adopting instead of buying a puppy. Adoption costs are very low compared to the price of a puppy.
Best Akita Breeders
We have researched reputable Akita breeders that you can buy a puppy.
Go to this page for our complete list of reputable Akita breeders in various states in the United States.
On this page, you will see how much these breeders sell their puppies for, and how many puppies they have available.
A few of these breeders are listed below.
Avalon Akitas
Puppy Price: $1900-$2100
Adirondackakc
Puppy Price: $1000 and up
Shadow Ridge Akitas
Puppy Price: $1100
Daniel Stoltzfus
Puppy Price: Check with breeder
Halo Akitas
Puppy Price: Check with breeder
Adopting or Rescuing the Akita
You may consider adopting a dog instead of buying a puppy. Many dogs, Akitas included, are currently available for adoption in your local dog shelters.
These helpless but adorable dogs are waiting in dog shelters hoping that someday someone will rescue them. Dog adoption costs are lesser than the cost of a new puppy. Dog adoption costs are usually around $300 or even less.
In addition to your local dog shelter, another good place to find dogs that are available for adoption is petfinder.com.
Below is an adorable Male Akita named Buzz Lightyear that is currently available for adoption on Petfinder.com. You can find other lovely Akitas like Buzz Lightyear on pefinder.com.
Koda is the name of another Akita (Male) on petfinder.com that is looking for a new forever home.
You can find more Akitas that are available for adoption on petfinder.
Akita Growth
New Akita owners need to know about the growth of their Akitas. This will help them plan their living spaces accordingly.
Also, knowing the typical growth pattern of the Akita will help new owners catch the abnormal growth of their Akita early.
See our calculator for predicting how big your Akita puppy will get. You will also learn about the typical weight of the Akita at different ages and how to catch abnormal growth in your Akita
What Colors do Akitas Have?
Akitas come in the following beautiful primary colors:
- Tricolor (Brown, Black, & White)
- Brindle
- Bicolor
- Black
- White / Cream
- Sable
- Brown / Chocolate
- Yellow / Tan / Blond / Fawn
- Red / Chestnut / Orange
- Gray / Blue / Silver
The Temperament of the Akita
The temperament of the Akita based can be summarized as in the table below.
The table shows the scores of the Akita for 13 important dog behavioral factors.
We obtained these scores by analyzing raw data from the C-BARQ dog personality survey tool. The higher the score of a dog for a factor, the worse the temperament of the dog regarding that factor.
The C-BARQ tool was developed by researchers from the University of Pennsylvania, and it is a scientific tool that is used worldwide for reliably measuring the temperament of dog breeds.
See our complete analysis of the temperament of the Akita here.
| Factor | Score |
|---|---|
| Dog Directed Aggression | 80.9 percent |
| Prey Drive | 69.5 percent |
| Stubbornness | 37.5 percent |
| Dog Rivalry | 36.9 percent |
| Energy Level | 34.1 percent |
| Stranger Directed Aggression | 33.6 percent |
| Attachment Attention Seeking | 27.8 percent |
| Excitability | 27.8 percent |
| Separation Related Behavior | 26.1 percent |
| Dog Directed Fear | 23.4 percent |
| Nonsocial Fear | 22.9 percent |
| Owner Directed Aggression | 16.4 percent |
| Touch Sensitivity | 16.4 percent |
| Stranger Directed Fear | 15.8 percent |
How Long Akitas Live
The lifespan of the Akita is typically from 10 to 12 years.
Moreover, a few years back, veterinarian researchers performed a scientific study to determine the lifespan of the Akita. In this study, the scientists collected data on how long 28 pet Akitas lived.
From the study, it was found that Akitas have an average lifespan of 9.92 years. Furthermore, the study found that it is not uncommon for Akitas to live as long as 13.6 years.
Note that you need to put in some effort if you want your Akita to live long.
Akitas live long if they eat well, drink well, exercise well, and visit the veterinarian regularly.
There are also dog supplements that you can give your Akita to improve your Akita`s quality of their life.
Click here to learn more about how to make your Akita live long.
Akita Litter Size
Researchers from the Norwegian School of Veterinary Science did a study where they counted the numbers of puppies in 16 different Akita birth litters.
From this study, the researchers found that the average number of puppies that Akitas can have is 6 puppies. Also, the Akita can have as few as 1 puppies per litter and as many as 11 puppies per litter.
The number of puppies that the Akita will have depends on factors such as the age of the Akita, the method of pregnancy, etc.
Click here to see our calculator for predicting how many puppies your Akita will have and how the litter size of the Akita compares to the litter size of other dog breeds.
How Fast Akitas Can Run
How fast a dog breed can run is a good measure of how athletic the dog breed is.
The American Kennel Club (AKC) regularly conducts dog running competitions. The AKC records the running speed of competing dogs in these competitions. These competitions are open to all dog breeds.
Based on our analysis of the speeds of 81 different Akitas, the average speed of the Akita is 21.8 mph (35.1 kmph).
The fastest speed on AKC record that the Akita ran in a race is 28.55 mph (45.9 kmph) and the minimum speed on record in a race for a Akita is 12.44 mph (20.0 kmph).
Click here to see how the speed of the Akita compares to the speed of other dogs and other mammals such as cats, horses, humans, etc.
Good Names for Akitas
Here are some really good names that are typical for the Akita ranked by popularity:
- Yoshi
- Kuma
- Rocky
- Zeus
- Dog
- Tank
- Ace
- Devo
- Jettson
- Neiko
How Intelligent are Akitas?
| Akita | |
|---|---|
| Intelligence Rank | 54 out of 130 dog breeds |
| Trainability | Tend To Learn New Commands After 25 To 40 Repetitions |
According to Prof. Stanley Coren, a Canadian psychology professor/dog trainer, the total intelligence that a dog demonstrates is the addition of three types of intelligence. These intelligence types are:
- Instinctive Intelligence: This is the natural intelligence that comes from instinct. For example, dog breeds that have been historically bred to be guard dogs will have a high `guarding` intelligence compared to dogs that were not bred for guarding.
- Adaptive Intelligence (learning and problem-solving ability): This indicates what a dog can learn to do for himself or herself. Adaptive intelligence is specific to each dog, and not breed specific. You can improve your dog`s adaptive intelligence by investing time to train your dog.
- Working/Obedience Intelligence: This type of intelligence is breed-specific. Certain dog breeds tend to have higher working/obedience intelligence than some other breeds. This intelligence is the closest to what we might call school-learning ability and it is based upon what the dog can learn to do when instructed by humans. This type of intelligence can be measured for each dog breed and compared to that of other dog breeds.
Professor Stanley Coren measured and ranked the working intelligence of about 130 different dog breeds.
Prof. Coren found that the Akita has an obedience intelligence rank of 54 out of 130 dog breeds. Thus, Prof. Coren put Akitas in the `Average Working/Obedience Intelligence Dogs` category.
This means that Akitas tend to learn new commands after 25 to 40 repetitions.
However, we should mention that a dog should not be judged based on its intelligence alone. There are other important factors you need to consider when deciding on which dog breed to get. These other factors include sociability, adorability, and compatibility of the dog breed with your lifestyle.
See the intelligence ranking of some other dog breeds below:
| Breed | Intelligence Rank |
|---|---|
| Doberman Pinscher | 5 |
| Australian Cattle Dog | 10 |
| Pembroke Welsh Corgi | 11 |
| English Cocker Spaniel | 18 |
| Weimaraner | 21 |
| Border Terrier | 30 |
| Norwegian Elkhound | 36 |
| Affenpinscher | 37 |
| Curly-Coated Retriever | 41 |
| Scottish Deerhound | 47 |
| Ibizan Hound | 53 |
| Akita | 54 |
| Skye Terrier | 55 |
| Italian Greyhound | 60 |
| Chinese Crested | 61 |
| Dandie Dinmont Terrier | 62 |
| Basset Hound | 71 |
| Pekingese | 73 |
| Basenji | 78 |
| Afghan Hound | 79 |
How Popular are Akitas with New Dog Owners?
Every year, the American Kennel Club (AKC) publishes information on how popular a dog breed is in that particular year. The AKC gets the popularity information of a breed from how many dogs of that breed the owners register with the AKC every year. The AKC collects this data for about 200 dog breeds.
The graph below shows the popularity trend of the Akita.
The popularity of the Akita averaged over the years is Number 47 out of about 200 dog breeds.
Do not get a dog breed just because it is a popular dog breed. And do not reject a dog breed just because it is an unpopular breed.
Health Problems in Akitas and How to Prevent Them
Every dog breed has its own set of health problems that it tends to develop. There is nothing like a perfect dog breed.
The Akita is prone to certain genetic health conditions. The Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA) is an organization that keeps track of genetic health problems in dog breeds.
From the extensive records that the OFA keeps, the OFA knows what health problems each dog breed is naturally prone to develop.
Hence, the OFA recommends which health screening breeders should perform on a dog breed to make sure that the breeders won`t breed `defective` dog parents that can pass down defective genes to their puppy offspring.
If you want a Akita puppy that will grow up to be healthy, make sure that your Akita breeder screens your puppy or your puppy`s parents for the health problems that the OFA recommends for your puppy`s breed. This will increase the chances that your puppy is free from genetic defects.
The following are the health tests that Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA) recommends that breeders should screen Akitas for:
- Autoimmune thyroiditis
- Elbow Dysplasia
- Eye Examination each year until 6, thereafter every 2 years
- Hip Dysplasia
- Patellar Luxation
You can find out more about OFA`s recommended tests for Akitas here.
How to Take Care of Akita
To take good care of your Akita, you need to make sure that you groom your Akita regularly.
Secondly, you need to find a veterinarian in your area that will routinely check the health status of your Akita regularly, and give you appropriate recommendations on your Akita`s preventative care.
Thirdly, you need to commit some time to exercise your Akita daily. Regular exercise helps improve the health and quality of life of your Akita.
Also, you need to feed your Akita high-quality dog food, and the food should be of the right amount to prevent your Akita from getting overweight or underweight.
See our recommendations on what to feed the Akita and how much food to feed the Akita at different life stages.
Finally, you need to make sure that your Akita has access to clean water all the time. See our recommendations on how much water your Akita needs to drink at different ages.
Dog Breeds That Are Similar to Akitas
If you have not made up your mind on which dog breed to get, you may also want to consider some other dogs similar to the Akita.
We crunched the numbers and found that the following dog breeds that have similar behavior and temperament as the Akita:
- Afador (70 percent match with Akita). Learn more about the Afador here.
- Gordon Setter (71 percent match with Akita). Learn more about the Gordon Setter here.
- Kuvasz (68 percent match with Akita). Learn more about the Kuvasz here.
Other Things to Know About Akitas
Here are some of the very important characteristics of the Akita that you need to know about the Akita breed:
