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| Akita dog |
- The Akita Inu is a Japanese breed of large dog. Named for Akita Prefecture, where it is thought to have originated
- In 2004, it was reported that the number one cause of mortality among Akitas was cancer.
- The Akita is a powerfully built dog originally developed to hunt bears in Japan. The Japanese now use the Akita as a guard dog and police dog.
- The Akita Inu comes in only five colors: Red, Fawn, Sesame, Brindle, and Pure White.
- Akitas are not prone to barking without reason. They were originally bred to hunt low on the ground, with similar stalking techniques as feral cats.
- In Japan, if a owner can not maintain an Akita, the Japanese government assumed custody.
- During ancient times, mothers in Japan relied heavily on their pet Akitas to take care of their very young children. While mothers worked the fields, their pets played nanny to the children at home.
- The Akita Club of America was founded in 1956.
- Japanese Akitas retained their purebred bloodline because it was jealously guarded by the Japanese people up until World War II.
- Black masks, as seen in the American Akita, are not permitted in the Japanese Akita Inu.
- The Akita is loyal to family and friends and is unusually tolerant and patient with children, but is reserved and aloof with strangers. A fenced yard is a must for Akita owners.
- Male Akitas cannot tolerate each other. Female Akitas cannot tolerate each other. Inexplicably, when you place one male and one female Akita together, they can live peaceably.
- His double coat is thick and warm and is shed twice a year.
- Recent DNA testing proves that the Akita bloodline is one of the most primitive bloodlines among all the canine species.
- In Japan when a child is born, the proud family will usually receive a small statue of an Akita signifying health, happiness and a long life. If a person is ill, friends will send a small statue of an Akita to express their wish for a speedy recovery.
- The most famous Akita dog in all of Japan was named Hachikó�. When Hachikó�'s owner died, the dog returned to the train station time and again to wait for its master. The Akita continued waiting until the day it died. The Japanese people erected a life-size statue of Hachikó� at the Shibuya train station to commemorate the dog's loyalty, devotion and its long, long wait for a master who never returned.
- The Akita Inu is one of seven breeds designated as a national monument in his native country of Japan. In July 1931, the government of Japan designated the Akita breed as a national monument and as one of Japan's national treasures.
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