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What is your favorite dog breed and why?
For me, it is the American Akita. There are many reasons for this.
1. I love BIG dogs and the Akita is certainly big.
2. I love the wolf-like look, opposed to the floppy eared Labrador look. This puts them above other dog breeds that would fit many of my other desires in a dog. It puts them over Rots, Mastiffs, etc that also check a lot of boxes for me.
3. I love dogs that have a great look that gets a lot of attention and the Akita is certainly among the dogs with the best look, IMO. Anywhere I take mine I get swarmed with admirers.
4. I love guardian dogs. To me, I don't just want a pet, I want a dog that has a job and that job is to protect the house and family. The Akita certainly will do this and do it well. I'd be severely disappointed in a dog that does not protect its pack, to the point of considering it near useless.
5. I admire strength and have little patience for weakness. This is primarily how I feel about humans, but it carries over to dogs. Self confidence is such an important thing to have and I like to be around people that have it far more than I do those who don't. Akitas have a very strong sense of themselves and won't typically tolerate disrespect or abuse. This is how I raise my daughters to be and so I love a dog that is the same way. I wouldn't respect a human that tolerates disrespect and I wouldn't respect a dog that does as well. The Akita won't put up with abuse and I admire that.
6. I give respect to anything that can match the bite to the bark. Be it people or dogs, those that are all bark and no bite don't have my respect, but the Akita certainly does have a bite to match their bark. To me, this means they are real and are not phony or performative like some loud little yapping dogs that flee as you approach.
7. There are dogs that love everyone. There are dogs that love no one. There are dogs that just love their family and won't let just anyone be their family. The latter is the Akita. Some people want a dog that loves everyone and that's great... but for me, if a dog loves the family and views anyone else outside of the family as secondary, that is a dog that gives you a love that feels more genuine. If a dog loves everyone I wouldn't feel special to that dog. It would seem to me as if they could go to another family and be just as content with them as they are with me, immediately. For an Akita, you are their world and everyone else is an outsider. That makes their connection feel more genuine to me. As a result their affection means more to me than a "love everyone" dog.
These are seven things that I want in a dog, and the Akita is all of them.
That doesn't mean they are perfect. I wish they were a little less dog aggressive so I could enjoy taking them to the dog park, but I can't. Despite all of the socialization I did with them from puppyhood and all of the times I took them to the dog park, as they got older their dog tolerance just diminished to almost nil as their dominant personality grew.
I wish they listened a bit more. Mine listen pretty well... for Akitas. But they don't mind like a German Shepherd would, which is part of the trade off you get with having a strong minded self respecting dog.
The shedding sucks as well, but that comes with the wolf-like look that I love.
But overall, for me it is Akitas for life.
You?
For me, it is the American Akita. There are many reasons for this.
1. I love BIG dogs and the Akita is certainly big.
2. I love the wolf-like look, opposed to the floppy eared Labrador look. This puts them above other dog breeds that would fit many of my other desires in a dog. It puts them over Rots, Mastiffs, etc that also check a lot of boxes for me.
3. I love dogs that have a great look that gets a lot of attention and the Akita is certainly among the dogs with the best look, IMO. Anywhere I take mine I get swarmed with admirers.
4. I love guardian dogs. To me, I don't just want a pet, I want a dog that has a job and that job is to protect the house and family. The Akita certainly will do this and do it well. I'd be severely disappointed in a dog that does not protect its pack, to the point of considering it near useless.
5. I admire strength and have little patience for weakness. This is primarily how I feel about humans, but it carries over to dogs. Self confidence is such an important thing to have and I like to be around people that have it far more than I do those who don't. Akitas have a very strong sense of themselves and won't typically tolerate disrespect or abuse. This is how I raise my daughters to be and so I love a dog that is the same way. I wouldn't respect a human that tolerates disrespect and I wouldn't respect a dog that does as well. The Akita won't put up with abuse and I admire that.
6. I give respect to anything that can match the bite to the bark. Be it people or dogs, those that are all bark and no bite don't have my respect, but the Akita certainly does have a bite to match their bark. To me, this means they are real and are not phony or performative like some loud little yapping dogs that flee as you approach.
7. There are dogs that love everyone. There are dogs that love no one. There are dogs that just love their family and won't let just anyone be their family. The latter is the Akita. Some people want a dog that loves everyone and that's great... but for me, if a dog loves the family and views anyone else outside of the family as secondary, that is a dog that gives you a love that feels more genuine. If a dog loves everyone I wouldn't feel special to that dog. It would seem to me as if they could go to another family and be just as content with them as they are with me, immediately. For an Akita, you are their world and everyone else is an outsider. That makes their connection feel more genuine to me. As a result their affection means more to me than a "love everyone" dog.
These are seven things that I want in a dog, and the Akita is all of them.
That doesn't mean they are perfect. I wish they were a little less dog aggressive so I could enjoy taking them to the dog park, but I can't. Despite all of the socialization I did with them from puppyhood and all of the times I took them to the dog park, as they got older their dog tolerance just diminished to almost nil as their dominant personality grew.
I wish they listened a bit more. Mine listen pretty well... for Akitas. But they don't mind like a German Shepherd would, which is part of the trade off you get with having a strong minded self respecting dog.
The shedding sucks as well, but that comes with the wolf-like look that I love.
But overall, for me it is Akitas for life.
You?
