Tolerant
of Strangers
...
If an Akita bites, its next most likely target after a
child is a visitor to the house. He may even be someone
who has come to your home frequently. To lessen this possibility,
a valuable part of the dog's temperament is the ability
to accept the presence of a non-threatening stranger whether
he is neutral or friendly.
Ian Dunbar makes a particularly cogent observation about
Oriental breeds, especially Japanese ones. He says
the most stable dogs can be unreliable around strangers
because the culture in which they were bred far longer than they have
been here
does not select for that trait.
When asked why, he pointed out that privacy there is
at a premium and most homes are small by our standards.
So, in Oriental countries little if any entertaining is
done at a person's home. Instead, social activities occur
at communal baths, restaurants, hotels, clubs, parks, etc.
Only intimate friends and family are invited home.
As a result, dogs that do not like strangers may never
be weeded out of the gene pool. Further, in guard-type
breeds, distrust may be encouraged, since any stranger
at the house would be a subject for alarm. Just as the
herding instinct may or may not be present in city dogs,
Oriental dogs such as the Akita may have a profound distrust
and dislike of strangers that is never identified because
it is never tested.
Changing Temperament
With Akitas, this tendency to be wary of strangers is
something that needs to be selected away from in
breeding and trained
away from throughout the dog's life.
Unfortunately, if you don't realize it exists, it's
hard to do either.
And, yes, doing so will change the character
of the breed from its original state. I think it's
ironic that those
who quibble the most about attempts to
make the breed's temperament more socially acceptable
see nothing wrong
with the drastic changes in structure
and type accomplished over the last two decades.
Acceptable Behavior
Please don't think I'm advocating a temperament
incompatible with the character of
the breed. We are not raising Poodles
or Golden Retrievers, and if we wanted
that type of dog,we certainly wouldn't
be in Akitas! However, when a visitor
comes to your house, gets in your car,
come up to you when
you're in your yard, or is talking
to you at a dog show, your Akita at least should
be neutral. He should show no
sign of anxiety or hostility toward
this person. He should be tolerant of the
stranger's presence.
Many Akitas totally ignore strangers,
and that is a perfectly acceptable
response.
If the person is particularly "doggy-acceptable," you
may find your dog making a few overtures,
especially if you're at a show and the stranger
has ever had liver in his pocket. This breed, though, likes to
make the
first move, and you may find the friendliest
dogs seem uncomfortable with someone
who forces attention on them. That is not a cause for hostility,
however, and your dog should accept this
attention even if it
is not with enthusiasm.
This reserved demeanor is part of the breed's innate
dignity. I'm still waiting for a few of my bitches to develop
this! At ten, Mikki remains a terrible clown who will do
absolutely anything for a cookie. You may find you have
a few of these, too, and their temperament is just as much
an Akita's as her cousin's. He gazes off into the distance
when strangers pet him as if no one is there. If they disappeared
into a poof of smoke, he wouldn't notice or care about
their absence. He really only cares about his family and
a few of our friends, but he tolerates strangers.
Problem Areas
You may see problems with your dogs or puppies you place
depending on how they are
raised and trained. Certainly, the worst- case scenario
is a dog that is left outside
all the time in a house with
little social activity and that is rarely taken anywhere
else. These dogs can be
time bombs. The best way
to avoid tragedies is to make sure you sell puppies
only to homes where they will be
kept inside.
I also require contractually
that puppies be taken to
training classes. To encourage
this, I help buyers locate
classes and provide information
about
them and rebate $50 when they bring me a certificate
that says they graduated
from a class.
Training classes
I do have one serious reservation about classes and discuss
it with buyers when
they take the dog. I bring it up again when we discuss
class. Allowing the instructor
to take an post-pubescent
Akita, especially a male, for a demonstration can
be a real prescription for disaster.
Dogs taken to training
classes are socialized
to strangers outside
the home. If the
dogs are then shown or continue
to be taken out in
pubic, this socialization
is reinforced and eventually will become
a way of life. Here,
dogs that get
into trouble usually do so because the
trainer has a major lapse in
judgement.
I suspect that most trainers are alpha-types who on a
subliminal level are bugged by the typical Akita's lack
of concern for their authority. Sooner or later, they feel
compelled to use the Akita as a demonstration dog, so they
take it away from the owner and try to make it do something.
In the best case, the Akita turns into a sack of meal and
steadfastly resists all their efforts to elicit a proper
response which just makes the trainer look like a fool.
In the worst case, the dog is offended by the instructor's
orders and tells him so. He may whirl around and face the
instructor, a very mild refusal, or he may growl. Calling
what he thinks is a bluff, the trainer may meet the challenge
by some sort of discipline, perhaps a jerk on the collar
or a smack. Unfortunately, Akitas don't have a lot of bluff.
They are very serious dogs.
Having failed to make his point, the dog ups the ante
and tries or succeeds in biting the trainer. Since most
trainers have been here before, they usually just get nipped
which means they have to escalate their response. This
can go on until the trainer is mauled or the dog is hung
by his collar and passes out.
I've heard this story so many times, I now tell puppy
buyers never to let their instructors take a dog once it
is an adolescent or older. Some dogs are fine, but if they
are not, the owner will drop out of training. (If you're
thinking, what kind of trainer would do this, believe me,
some really good ones can get caught in this trap before
they realize that it is one). Keeping the dogs and their
owners in class is more important than refusing an instructor.
Strange Children
Another inclination that is not uncommon in Akitas is
a distrust and even dislike of non-family children.
The
most
distressing thing about these dogs is that frequently
the are
devoted family pets who adore their own children
and will tolerate anything from them. They may be
tolerant
or even
friendly to adult strangers, but visiting children
are at
risk.
Until
the
dog does
something
overt,
identifying
these
dogs
may
be difficult
for inexperienced owners
since the beginning
signs
of
hostility are often
very
subtle.
Even
more
unfortunate,
because
the
dog is so
good
with
his
own children,
the owners tend to justify
the
first obvious
signs
of
trouble by blaming
the
child or extraneous circumstances.
Therefore, when I sell puppies I tell buyers in written
material and reinforce it verbally that no children, especially
toddlers, should ever be left unsupervised with any dog.
To do so is to bet with a child's life as the stake. Even
the most stable dogs can put two and two together and get
five.
What happens, I ask them, when your son's best friend
picks up a toy and bashes your son in the head with it.
Don't you think your dog will see this is an attack on
his child? What do you think he's going to do?
A dog that does not like strange children might not need
even this much provocation. My first encounter with this
is an excellent example. Since it happened,I've heard the
same song, different verse more times than I can count
which is what leads me to believe this is an inherited
component of temperament.
This
family had two dog-loving boys and an indoor-outdoor Akita
they had had from puppyhood. The mother was firm
but non- assertive and had had dogs all her life. They
did not go to a training class. The dog was wonderful
with
her children. When he was almost a year old, she called
me and told me he was growling at one of her younger son's
friends. I asked her if he bothered any other
children, and she said, "No, only this boy. He is partially
deaf and speaks differently from the other children." Of
course, it wasn't the dog!
I told her the dog's behavior
posed a significant risk to
this child. I asked her to
return the dog to me, offering
her a replacement
from an upcoming litter. She
refused because they all loved
the
dog. He was crate-trained,
and at my urging, she agreed
to keep the dog crated whenever
visiting children were over
at the house. I made several
follow-up calls about
the dog, still asking them
to return him, getting a refusal
and an assurance that the dog
was crated.
Well, children just aren't always able to remember what
is vitally important to adults. One day, her son took his
friend out in the back yard without telling the mother
and without putting up the dog. The visitor bent over to
pick up a toy on the patio. Unfortunately, it was next
to the dog's food bowl. He attacked. Hearing the screams,
the mother rushed out and yelled at the dog, who immediately
let go.
Because the dog attacked the back of the child's skull
rather than his face and let go when commanded, the physical
damage required only stitches in the emergency room. The
scars are hidden by the child's hair. He is now terrified
of all dogs. The mother, who is not afraid of Akitas herself,
becomes almost phobic when children are around them. She
told me she is sure the child would be dead if she had
not been right in the next room.
They still refused to have the dog euthanized. Instead,
they placed it with an out-of-town friend. I talked to
this man several times and finally agreed that the dog
had a chance with him. Despite my misgivings, the placement
has worked out well. At ten years of age, the dog is now
nearing the end of his life.
Dealing With Problems
I don't know what I could have done differently once
the dog was out of my hands. My mistake was in selling
a
male to this family in the first place, and I no
longer sell them to people who have not had at least
Northern
dogs before unless they come over and just bowl
me over with family assertiveness. The incident sent
me to several
seminars on aggression and to a number of books.
Now
I would insist that the dog go
to a training class, and that the less-assertive
mother
be the one to train
him. Instead of relying on isolation
to protect visitors from the dog, which
is doomed to failure in the most compulsive
of homes,
I should have encouraged a course of desensitization
and probably some
sort
of behavior consultation
with a trainer. Intervention with
a young dog that has not become
so distressed that he attacks might
have changed the course
of events.
Dogs have a threshold of tolerance. Its height is determined
first by their inherited temperament, which differs among
breeds and within a breed among its individuals, and secondly
by their degree of socialization to strangers in and out
of the home. Not only does the dog need to get out and
see people, people need to come to the dog's house and
see him.
Of course, you normally don't invite people over for
your dog's benefit, but if you own an Akita you should
make a point of it. Your dog may be less than enthusiastic
about visitors. Don't worry unless he shows signs, even
subtle ones, of hostility. This may include: looking the
visitor in the eye; sitting or standing (worse) between
the two of you; anxious looks at the visitor accompanied
by whines; and/or pacing.
I even have a few that make monkey-like noises and blow
through their lips like horses. This is their equivalent
to a growl and is a warning to me that they are very suspicious
and distrustful of the stranger. Of course, sometimes these
actions are justified, and I am not in any way suggesting
that you should not heed the warnings of a guard dog doing
his job.
If the visitor on the porch is pitching magazines and
you've never laid eyes on him before, you'd be smart to
shut the door and keep your dog around. On the other hand,
if it's your next-door neighbor or a friend from work--someone
you know, someone who is safe in your judgement--your dog
is out of line.
A dog that is obviously hostile should be leashed and
put on a down stay next to you. If he is so suspicious
you cannot get him into a down, then put him in a sit stay.
If he breaks the stay, correct him and put him back in
it. Otherwise, ignore him and continue your conversation
with your friend. Both reinforce your own dominance, although
the sit less so, and will eventually show him your friend
is no threat. Giving him no attention keeps you from inadvertently
reinforcing one of his hostile responses. Just like children,
dogs can and will do things for your attention even if
the attention they receive is negative.
Never
try to reassure a distrustful dog by petting him and telling
him, "It's okay." First, it's not
okay and secondly, you're not allaying his anxiety, you're
rewarding it and, thus, encouraging it.
My veterinarian gave me a great piece of advice about
dealing with anxious, fearful, or angry dogs. Physiologically,
the dog's activated state is maintained by the release
of adrenaline. Since the adrenals can produce only so much
of it, eventually, the dog's hyper-attentive state will
wear off. The more agitated the dog is, the more quickly
this will happen; the calmer, the less so.
While you and your visitor are talking, observe your
dog's behavior. He will eventually have to relax When you
see this, you can acknowledge his good behavior with some
attention and a treat, so long as he remains on the down-stay.
If he gets so bored he goes to sleep-great, you've made
a giant step forward!
Take all this in small steps and realize you may have
some set-backs. When your dog is comfortable with visitors
that sit and talk, have them stand up and walk about. Reinforce
the dog's down- stay and ignore any signs of suspicion
or wariness on the dog's part. Eventually, the visitors
can give him treats for good behavior. Perhaps you can
teach him to shake hands for a treat to break the ice.
All sorts of techniques can defuse the dog's suspicions.
If your problem is with children, you will have to stand
or sit with the dog while your child and a visitor play
quietly. Over time, the dog will become more comfortable
in the children's presence. Then, their play can become
more active. The trick here as with adults is to let the
dog get control of himself, learn that the situation is
not dangerous, and develop appropriate responses that get
everyone's approval.
Desensitization should be reinforced repeatedly and done
with many different children The dog should still not be
left alone with them, but if someone forgets, which will
inevitably happen, the children and the dog won't have
to pay for the oversight.
In summary: If you have a dog that has a behavior problem,
you not only have to correct the problem, you have to give
him a socially acceptable alternative to that behavior.
He doesn't like children, he has to learn to leave them
alone; he doesn't like visitors in the house; he has to
learn to accept them.
You have to learn how to recognize the initial indicators
of problems and instead of making excuses for them, you've
got to move quickly to stop them. You have to lead your
dog on a path that makes him an acceptable companion and
pet.
Breeders must learn not to accept the owner's comments
at face value. Ask specific questions about the dog and
his behavior so that you can identify any problems that
might be developing. You'll have to listen carefully to
the replies and be ready to offer constructive advice about
handling problems.
When the dog in question is a breeding prospect, you
will have to evaluate the strength of the problem and try
to identify its source. In the above case, we looked at
the behavior of our dogs and decided the problem lay with
a common ancestor. Almost all the males and some of the
bitches with her behind them had some oddity of behavior,
although it was by no means the same from dog to dog.
Two dogs, for instance, disliked anything with wheels.
No, they had not been run over as puppies. In fact, they
had only the one bitch in common in their pedigrees; they
just had the same phobia. Some males didn't like children;
others didn't like strange adults. We ultimately abandoned
this line completely in favor of ones that produced more
stable temperament.
In fairness, this action wasn't all that difficult since
none of these dogs were big winners, and in accordance
with Murphy's law, the very best ones in terms of conformation
had some of the weirdest behaviors. Breeding is after all
a balancing act, so had we been unable or unwilling to
sacrifice breeding these dogs, we would have looked at
lines very strong in temperament and bred to something
line- or inbred on it. Then, to continue, we would have
used only the dogs that showed improved temperaments.
Research on all sorts of animals, including humans, tells
us that the basic composition of our temperament is inherited.
It is constructed of building blocks we receive from both
parents. Although we have elements in common with each,
the material we receive is unique to us. The exception
to this, of course, is identical twins. Studies of twins
separated at birth have confirmed the inheritability of
temperament just as studies of identical twins living together
show the powerful influence of environment on these elements.
Similarities between the former are eerie in their consistency.
For instance, one set of twins separated at birth were
phobic about water but wanted to swim. Independently, they
arrived at the same solution to their fear; they backed
into the water. Another pair lived in neighboring towns
and were both firemen. They both did woodworking in their
spare time and had built identical benches around trees
in their back yards.
On the other hand, most of us have met identical twins
living together who work at differentiating themselves
from each other. Often, these pairs are like two sides
of the same coin with complementary personalities--one
is extroverted, the other shy; one likes science, the other
arts; one is bold, the other cautious.
Inheritance gives each of us a set of building blocks
that represent our basic nature. Our experiences, interactions
with others, and environment determine how those blocks
are arranged. With almost the same components, one structure
may have a good foundation and great stability, while another
is likely to topple into disarray.
The foundation of a dog's temperament is laid early and
will influence his behavior throughout his life. The structure
is dynamic and reacts to outside influences so long as
the animal is alive. We can reinforce strengths and shore
up weaknesses in the dog's nature. We must be careful not
to undermine strengths and encourage problems.
