Choosing the right puppy requires a frank assessment of
not only your personality but that of the others in your
household, too. Pick a dog that suits the personality of
the least dominant person in your family. That too runs
on a scale. The least dominant person in my family is well
able to handle a mildly dominant Akita. We are all very
assertive. My sister-in-law, however, is just able to hold
her own with my brother's old Akita, who is a medium dog.
Any harder temperament, and she'd be the looser in a contest
of wills.
A medium puppy might be appropriate for the family
with three brash youngsters but not for the one
with two girls who hide behind their mother through
the whole
interview. An unforgiving puppy is not a good choice for the former; he
may not be tolerant of rough play that accidentally
hurts. The
latter is probably better off with the most submissive
female.
Breeders who
avail themselves of the PAT have a very
useful tool for placing puppies appropriately.
If you are fortunate enough to find one, heed her advice.
These tests
have no pass or fail, good dog or bad. They are
helpful in assessing the native character of a puppy
and in suggesting
where best to place him and how best to work
with him.
For instance,
all puppies will need some sort of
correction and an unforgiving one must learn to accept
it in a good
spirit. Owners of a less-forgiving puppy should
be encouraged to find a training class with positive
training methods.
Force-training is not only ineffective with
this type of dog but may well sour him on training altogether.
A very independent
puppy makes a poor candidate for a home where no one
is at home during the day or
where he
is left outside most of the time. These dogs
are capable of getting along on their own and may
not bond
well or
at all to members of the family. When one
of them comes out and finds the dog digging in the flowerbed
and tries
to issue a correction, the result may be
aggression
on the part of the dog. Even mild Akitas do not
take well
to corrections from strangers.
Of the Akitas
I
have observed, the vast majority show medium
to extreme submissiveness on the PAT. They also
show a strong tendency towards independence
and
some tendency to resent unpleasantries. I personally
tested a litter
where all the dogs scored in the medium
to upper ranges on the entire temperament test. While
this would
be great
for a German Shepherd, my experiences since
have made me very cautious with such dogs. Two of
this
litter
attacked
people, the other was with a very active,
very assertive family who loved him dearly but kept
him well in hand.
He was their beloved pet until his death
at
ten.
If
I had an Akita puppy that tested as very
assertive (biting hands, etc), I would have serious reservations
about him. I certainly would repeat the
test several
times and would be ultra careful about
his placement, making
sure that the new owners were able to
handle such a dog. Certainly, I would be less likely
to be
concerned with
a female that showed dominant tendencies
than a male. While some breeds have little difference
in temperament between
sexes, I don't believe this is true for
Akitas.
An adult male Akita is just tougher than
his female counterpart.
The Dominant
Dog
Life with a dominant dog is recounted
briefly in the Nov/Dec, 1986, Akita
World centerfold
by Leslie
Bair describing
Ch Fukumoto's Ashibaya Kuma, CD,
ROM. On his first day at their house as a
six- month
old puppy,
Leslie "awoke
to find Kuma's imposing muzzle about two inches from
my face and two dark, unfathomable eyes staring at me.
We stayed that way for what seemed like an eternity,
then he clicked his teeth several times, turned around
and trotted out of the room as if dismissing me." She
goes on to say that "no one ever really owned him." His
place in the family was undisputed, but he wielded
his authority with great dignity.
Families can accommodate to such
a dog in two ways. The family
can respect
the
dog's
decisions
or be so much more dominant than
he is that the dog recognizes
their authority and respects them. In between lies
nothing but trouble.
On the other
hand, this dog is
easier to accommodate
than the dog that is jumped up
to a dominant position when he is
truly
not an alpha
dog, an example
of the Peter Principle
in action. The dog has reached
its level of incompetence. In these
households, the dog
have moved into
a power vaccuum which is created
by
his interpretation of his human
family's behavior.
Really alpha
dogs, like
the CEO, don't have to keep
reminding everyone
of
their position.
It's obvious. Beta and delta
dogs pushed into the alpha
position often lack the appropriate
tools for maintaining
their
position,
so they are often
bullies. If recognized soon
enough, these dogs can be demoted back
to a place
in
the pack
where they are more comfortable
with their role. Left too late,
they can be so entrenched in their position,
they
can't
give
it up easily.
Other Signs
If a PAT is not available,
you should try to do your
own testing
on the
puppy to
determine how dominant
he is. Other clues to his temperament
can help you make your
assessment. The
puppy that
runs
out
first to greet visitors
is the most dominant puppy,
not necessarily the friendliest.
Put a chew toy in
the litter box and see
which dogs end up with it. Dominant
dogs eat
first
and
get their pick.
Puppies in a pen will
run up for attention.
The more
dominant
puppy
will step on
the head or
push away the less
dominant one. When they are very
small and
sleep in a pile, the more dominant puppies
are on the top.
When
you were
a kid
did
you play "look-away",
where you and a friend
stared intensely at each
other, and the first
to look away lost? With
dogs, this is not
a game. Eye-to-eye contact
is a challenge. If your
puppy or dog locks eyes
with you, he is issuing
one and he'd
better look away first
or you're in trouble.
Again, dominance
is relative to the social structure
in which the dog
finds itself. The terror of
litter
x may be the milquetoast
of litter Y. In
fact, one of the best
ways to deal with
a bully puppy is to put him in
with an older dog
or more assertive litter
where he gets a
quick lesson in manners and humility.
In your own
family, a dog that gets
to big for his britches may
need to be taken
down a peg or two. This can
be accomplished
with careful attention
to dominance
body language and dominance
behaviors by all
the members of the family.
