DH has been wanting a "DOG" for a while. You know, like the kind of dog a man looks at and thinks, "yeah, that's a dog." Long story short, we are now in a foster situation with an Akita. We might decide to keep him, but in the meantime, we need to make sure he's going to be a good fit for our family. He's sweet, but kind of depressed right now. I can't blame him. Akitas are known for their fierce loyalty and his family is now gone. What are the best ways we can help him, emotionally? He latched on to DH last night, so it was rough this morning when he left for work. He is kind of shy still, so I haven't been encouraging the boys to play with him. But I don't want him to feel ignored, either. What would you do? Also, he hasn't been socialized with other animals. He's doing alright with our dog and two cats, but mostly because everyone is avoiding each other. I want an a dog who will be part of our lives, not just live in our house (like our other dog). I was thinking of taking him just about everywhere but I don't know if that's a good approach to "force" socialization. Thoughts? This is only the third dog I've had in my life. I'm not a "dog person" but I do enjoy dogs. I just don't have a lot of knowledge. (IF it matters, he only 11 months old, so he's still moldable to some degree. And not done growing. ha!) He hasn't been bathed yet (oh, yeah... any ideas on how to hoist a 100+ lb dog into the tub?) and his previous owners were smokers. He looks terrible, but I think he'll be gorgeous once he's properly groomed. I also really had a hard time getting a decent picture last night, but here's what I got...
Amie, you can't force a dog to socialize but what you can do is teach the dog that you are the leader and once he gets that he'll be really comfortable with you all. I'll list some pointers here for you and if you need more advice just PM me and I'll help all I can. 1) Walk him on leash for 30 - 45 min (twice a day if possible but once will work). When he's walking don't let him sniff everything, put the collar up high on his neck and just walk (briskly), make sure you leave the yard first and he follows (first one out is the leader) 2) When you are feeding him get your scent on his food (mix it up with your hands), because the leader provides for the rest of the pack 3) Do not take him everywhere you go because it will confuse him as to who is the leader. In the dog world only the leader may leave the group, so if you leave and come back he learns you run things. 4) If he doesn't already have one get him a crate it will be a lifesaver for many things. Feed him in the crate, have him sleep in the crate, when you leave he goes in the crate, if you give him a bone to chew put it in the crate (even if he takes it out at least you put it there) teach him that his crate is his sanctuary. NO ONE goes in his crate but him and your hand to put something in it. 5) Only pet and love on him when he is calm, relaxed and peaceful. Do not pet and love on him when he's acting scared, nervous, or otherwise. If he's nervous clap your hands or touch his side to get his mind to switch to you and tell him No. Do not let him be afraid, teach him boundaries and rules and expect they be followed. Never give sympathy directly to a dog (it's a sign of weakness to the dog). He'll come around pretty quick once you and your DH secure your position as Alpha "Dog"
He is doing great with our family. He almost played with the boys today in the yard. He came very close. I'm not worried about him socializing with people. I was talking about teaching him to be social with other animals. Every website, book, and friend I've consulted so far says, "you have to teach him to socialize with animals" but no one tells me/knows how to actually accomplish this. lol. That's what I meant by "take him everywhere." I didn't literally mean everywhere. I meant take him out a few times a week. I don't have the stamina right now to crate train a dog. He is definitely NOT crate trained. Besides, with him, I don't really see a need. Unless he starts getting into stuff when we're not home/asleep, that is. He was absolutely seeing me as alpha today. I was impressed that it took so little of my being assertive for him to really get it. I took him to PetSmart and he obeyed 100% without hesitation even when it was obvious he didn't want to.
Oh, I should have said this in my OP. When I let him out at 5:30 am (only because I was already up) he jumped the fence and took off. But he returned home at about 9 all on his own. We had gone to look for him, but couldn't find him. I could NOT believe that he recognized this as 'home' after only 12 hours of living here. And, honestly, I think he only left because of how upset he was when DH left for work. I've gone out with him all day and he hasn't been the least bit interested in exploring.
I just read in two different books on Akitas that you shouldn't walk them more than three times a week. They will expand their territory anywhere they go frequently, so daily walks around the neighborhood will mean they believe the whole neighborhood to be theirs.
I don't have any advice to give, but wanted to comment on what a good looking dog he is. We have always had dogs, but never done anything special training wise, they are just part of the family. Good luck fitting this guy into your family. It sounds like he is doing pretty good for his first day in a new home.
Ok, I just got back from a walk with him and...W.O.W! He stayed glued to my side, even when I gave him slack on the lease. Like, I had trouble walking sometimes because he was literally up against my leg. lol. (not pushing, which is a sign of dominance.. more like, "I should be close to you.") The only time he pulled a little was when we walked past a yard with a dog. We were less than a foot from the fence and the other dog was barking like crazy. Ahkiko pulled away just a little bit, but as soon as he felt the leash tighten up, he was right back at my side. He walked away with me, but did keep his eyes on the other dog until he couldn't crane his neck around any further. I think that's reasonable. I'm really impressed. I've never had a dog that didn't try to go after every squirrel or blowing leaf it saw. lol.
I gave up on trying to hoist him into the tub and took him to the groomer at Pet Smart. He was nasty. You can't really tell in the picture, but most of his white fur had a yellow tint. His previous owners were smokers. He also had like a layer of residue on his fur. Your hand would feel icky when you pet him. He desperately needed to be clean. So now he looks extra awesome. I can't wait for his winter coat to come in. I think Akitas are so beautiful with all that fur. (of course, that also means I need to invest in a serious vacuum cleaner by about March. lol)
A dog trainer's two cents....if you want to socialize him with other dogs, it is absolutely necessary to be intentional about it. It works best if you have a friend with a well-socialized dog who is willing to work with you. Try getting both dogs on neutral territory on-leash. Is your goal to socialize with other dogs or to just get used to other dogs on walks? If walking only is your goal, walk your dog past the other dog. If your dog is crowding your leg at all, you need to nudge the dog away or put your right foot behind you and nudge your dog's hind end to get his attention. Crowding toward you is not a relaxed dog. It is a sign of the dog being nervous and looking to you for safety. The goal should be to create a confident, comfortable dog in any situation. To do this, you must be confident and comfortable, which it sounds like you are. I don't think it will take long to get him relaxed--unless he is nervous enough to be urinating or shaking, tucking tail, etc. In this case, it could be part of his temperament. If you want him to learn to run loose happily with other dogs, recreate the same situation as I mentioned above with a friend's dog, but both of you can wander around or meet and shake hands....and ignore the dogs. Sounds silly, but the key is for them to recognize that they are an extension of you and have no concern for anything going on around them. If you make meeting other dogs no big deal, neither will your dog. Now, on to greeting each other when the time comes....when you and your friend are ready, allow the socialized dog to "greet" your dog by sniffing (hind end). Your dog might not be comfortable at first, but it will come to him. If he reacts aggressively, correct with a snap of the leash (assuming you are using a training collar). He needs to be made to allow a dog to sniff him. That is the biggest barrier, really. Once the other dog gets his sniff in, then that part is over and on to better things. There is obviously a lot more, just can't type well this time of night. I've simplified that process, but you get the general idea.
I think you should at least think about crate training him. If it comes to a time that you need it and he is older it won't be easy for him. Also if you leave him with a groomer at any time they use crates and it might scare him if he is not used to one at all. It doesn't mean that you need to use it a lot, just that it is there as a "his only zone" and that if necessary you have the option of placing him there. Especially if he gets protective when he is older and you have to have any kind of repairman enter your home. Just an opinion, but I'm glad I did it with a large dog we had. She was 1/2 black lab, 1/2 bull mastiff. Looked like a black lab on steroids. Like yours a rescue from the humane society here a day before her last day. We adopted her to save her and she is now in a home with a family she chose, lol. She fell in love with our contractor and climbed in his van, then refused to get out. Sigh, still miss her, but I get updates. She now sleeps in the DD's bed there. She is very protective and needs to be crated when anyone in uniform comes to their house. Glad I was able to do that for them at least.
Thank you Brooke!!! That's exactly what I needed! I really do want to be able to take him anywhere and everywhere, even if we don't. Like, I want to be able to take him camping. Not that we always will want to take him, but we want to be able to. And we want to not have to worry about if there are other dogs there. (at least on our end...) I really do think he was relaxed on our walk, even though he was up next to me. He was happily wagging his tale and just had "that look" dogs get when they're content. Of course I could be wrong, but that's the way it seemed. I got to thinking about it this morning, and it may also have had to do with the fact that the sidewalk is narrow and he's so stinking huge. IDK. I will certainly work on trying to get him off my leg. But given that my other dog, no matter how much training we did with her, tried to walk me, this is a huge relief. The terrier would literally choke herself until she swayed and wobbled like she was going to pass out. She's not the brightest dog. lol
Thank you, ForTheSon. I'll rethink crate training. The last time I crate trained a dog it stressed me so bad. I couldn't ever leave the house until it was done and the dog was really resistant. I know I'd be starting with a disadvantage with Ahkiko because his former owners forced him into a crate all day for a few weeks but didn't train him. He whined and cried the whole time and ultimately chewed through the crate. So he's already got bad feelings toward it.
What a pretty dog! Probably best you took him to be groomed instead of doing it yourself. My dog weighs 60 pounds and we bathe him out back in a small plastic pool. Both girls want to each get another dog and we are considering it. They just both can't get one at the same time. I am not house training two dogs at once!
HA! I wouldn't housetrain one. lol. He's 11 months old so already completely housebroken. I wouldn't consider otherwise. Our other dog, God love her, lived for three years with an elderly lady who never took her outside...ever. She was raised to go on puppy pads. So even after three years with us scolding her, she can't get the idea that it's NOT ok to potty on the throw rugs. I understand accidents, but she really has ZERO grasp. For instance, the other day the cat got out, so we left the backdoor open for him to come home. The dog walked into the house and immediately went to a throw rug and pooped! Seriously!!!????
When we got Gunner he was 4 months and already trained. I've only trained one dog, my first dog. He was 8 weeks when I got him and had to train him. I sure took time and a lot of patience.
Herein lies your problem. Scolding a dog for any reason when it is associated with going to the bathroom will only be counterproductive. Instead of associating your scolding with the location of the poop/pee, they only process that you are upset that they pooped/peed. So, they will try to hide it, so to speak. Usually they will not want to deficate in front of you. However, if the dog seems unphased by your scolding and will deficate right in front of your face, then it probably is a matter of a stubborn will which you can only correct through leadership training in your home. Big commitment. Let me know which situation it is and I'll try to help you out.
We paid a small fortune to take her to a training program. The trainer pretty much told us to do the usual (rub her nose in it, take her outside) but that after three years of knowing nothing other than going on a puppy pad that she would always think that was OK and our attempts to convince her otherwise would just confuse her. :roll: Not that it stopped us from trying. The trainer said she really wasn't smart enough to understand. IDK.... DH has wanted to get rid of her for a while anyhow. She stinks to high heaven and the vet said there's nothing he can do about it. I mean, it's nauseating. lol.
I would like to second the crate training. If only for the sanity and safety of your vet and staff. Lol. I have been a vet tech now for 14y and am forever grateful for the crate trained dogs.
