Akita At-a-Glance

While the Akita is a powerful and stubborn dog, if you’re able to commit to proper training and can establish yourself as the alpha in the relationship, you’ll be rewarded with an intelligent, affectionate friend who will defend you and your family with its life.

Characteristics Ratings

We rate 19 characteristics for each breed, divided into three categories:
Highest Rated – Characteristics for which this breed is rated 4 or 5 stars (on a 5 star scale).
Neutral Rated – Characteristics that rated 3 stars.
Lowest Rated – Characteristics that rated only 1 or 2 stars.

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Highest Rated

• Low Drooling
• Likes to Play
• Protective Nature
• High Energy Level
• Low Amount of Barking
• Tolerates Cold Climate
• Good General Health

Neutral Rated

• Good Family Dog
• Kid Friendly
• Low Shedding
• Handles Change Easily
• Easy to Train
• High Intelligence

Lowest Rated

• Good With Other Dogs
• Friendly to Strangers
• Suitable for small yards/apartments
• Good for Novice Owners
• Tolerates Being Left Along
• Tolerates Hot Climate

General Overview

The Akita is a big, strong dog with an intimidating presence. This makes sense, as they were bred for guarding royalty in Japan when it was a feudal state.

Due to their striking teddy bear-like appearance, be prepared for a lot of attention when in public because this is one beautiful dog. This can be a bit of a challenge due to the Akita’s distrust of strangers.

As you might expect from their background, Akitas are fearless protectors of their families and as such are extremely cautious of strangers. That said, they are a relatively quiet breed, so when they do bark you know something alerted them.

But so long as their owners are home, they will welcome house guests. And their cautious nature does not extend to their owner and their family. To them, the Akita is affectionate, sweet, and happiest when around them.

Akitas are therefore good family dogs. However, their temperament is such that they are not very tolerant of small children and do best in households with older kids.

Akitas have a fair amount of energy and need at least 30 to 60 minutes of daily exercise. That said, dog parks are probably not a good choice for exercising your Akita due to their tendency to be aggressive towards other dogs. They are best as the only dog, but they can live with other dogs (or cats) if introduced at a very young age.

Training your Akita will be challenging. Although they are very intelligent, Akitas are also stubborn and can be resistive to commands. This can be overcome with proper – and early! – training. This means that Akitas are not a good choice for first-time dog owners.

On the plus side, Akitas are known for being one of the easiest breeds to potty train!