Akita

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History/Origin
Considered a treasure and Japan's national dog, Akita is regarded as among the country's oldest native dogs. It was bred to guard, hunt and herd during the time of Japan's Shogun imperial authorities' rule. Akita's senses of sight, smell, and hearing proved useful and effective for the purpose of guarding the army and their posts.

After suffering several setbacks in the 1800's, the Akita reclaimed attention in the 1900's with the account of Hachi-Ko, who faithfully accompanied his master Professor Eizaburo Ueno to and from the train station everyday. Even after Professor Ueno suffered a fatal stroke at work on May 25, 1925, Hachi-Ko continued to wait at the train station for the return of his master even nine years have already passed. A bronze monument was erected in Hachi-Ko's honor shortly after the dog's death.

Description
Akita is visually impressive and is the biggest among the Japanese spitz dog. Strong and powerful in appearance, Akita has a large head, a short muzzle and small ears which are erect and positioned at an angle parallel with its neck, while its small, dark-brown eyes are triangular in shape. The breed generally has a black nose, black lips and a pink tongue, while its outer coat is insulated by a thick undercoat.

Temperament
Akita is very courageous and loyal. It is quite affectionate to its friends and family, is aloof to strangers, and conservative by nature. It often exhibits feline actions, including cleaning its face once it finished its meals and preening its mate. It makes divers sounds, but does not bark excessively except when something is terribly wrong. Exhibiting the personality of a true survivor, it requires careful and firm training while young and it makes for a good guard dog. Although tolerant of children from its own family, it may not as easily accept children from another.

Being a large breed, Akita prefers to live and work by itself or with a pair. It can be aggressive toward animals that do not belong to its clan, especially foreign dogs. Once well-trained, it will tolerate the presence of other dogs, but most of the time it exhibits its natural instinct to be the top dog.