Adopting a 7 month old

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Samual I am- Lynde

Sammy

Barked: Tue Jan 15, '13 11:48am PST


	We have a 5 year old fixed male Akita mix (1/2 Akita & 1/2 some type of big herding dog) and a 3 yr old Catahoula mix. Sam (akita) we got at 8 weeks old from the shelter and started training and behavioral work from day one, even hired a dog behaviorist who did 10 at home sessions and 1 group session from age 3 months to 1 year. We learned a lot and feel we did a really good job raising him. He is very socialized with people and other dogs male or female. All the people in our lives comment jokingly if they can have Sam and give us their dog to train. Guiness (Catahoula) is a perfect balance for Sam's high energy. He is very calm almost lazy, very easy going. Really nothing fazes him. We adopted him at 4 months old he was found on the street (we live in a very remote mountain area) and they said it didn't seem as he had ever been "owned" by anyone. He was far easier to train then Sam other than the tricks he almost trained himself, it was as if the behavioral stuff was already ingrained. We have fostered and dog sat in the past, also all our friends have dogs and bring them over for play dates. Both of the boys do fine after Sam proves himself as leader in the dog pack (never being aggressive, just assertive) everyone plays with toys and has fun. Both S&G know that my husband and I are the top leaders but Sam would be next in line. I volunteer at our local shelter and because the dogs are treated well and kept till adopted and not but to sleep I do ok with not feeling like I need to bring them all home, the other day the shelter got in a 7 month old full (or 90% at least) Akita pup. He was surrendered at a shelter at 2 months old and because the shelter wants the best (it's a good county ran facility) for the dogs they enrolled him in the Pups on Parole program and he went to live at a jail and be trained by them for 5 month. He graduated with flying colors. They have a full journal written by his trainer and has all his behavioral needs met. He really grabbed my heart and I am scared that if someone adopted him that doesn't fully understand the needs of the breed all the progress he has made so far would go down the drain without continual work and he might end up locked in a dog run or worse his whole life. We aren't "in the market" for another dog and if we do adopt him we most likely will not be fostering as much as we do now. On the other side I feel like we could give him a great life. We have 3 acre’s, 2 of is fenced 6ft. Our home is large and because we can't have children our boys are our kids. (We do have nieces and nephews that come visit) We are VERY active people. Every weekend is a hiking trip or snowshoeing, running, backpacking etc. The boys always come with us and even though they are lead trained we are also able to a lot of off leash hikes because we go in very remote areas and they have a good recall. I feel like even though we weren't planning this maybe it was meant for us. I am a little nervous, right now it's pretty easy there is 2 of them and 2 of us so when they are on leash or at events or the holidays it's easy. So adding a third I am sure will add a little more complication, cost and logistical planning then we have now. I feel like I am going both ways, I talk myself into it, then out of it. I know if we do adopt him we have the knowledge (Sam was a hard headed little brat till about 3 yrs) and we would be able to work through the problem with him and he could be another lifelong love in our home. Something that caught my attention is reading that around 3 yrs old Akita can become aggressive to other males. Now I have never experienced this in Sam, we have always had to reinforce his training when he pushes his limits but he and Guiness (different breads but..) are super close and love each other like they were born together. Does anyone have any advice for us? Things to consider? experience with multiple males in the same house? (all fixed) My husband is going to meet him today (I have to work). Thanks for any help, insight or good thoughts.

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Samual I am- Lynde

Sammy

Barked: Tue Jan 15, '13 4:16pm PST


	Well My husband felt the same as I did and adopted him today. They seem to be doing really well establishing the hierarchy. The new pup seems to be ok when Sam shows his leader roll (humping both Guiness and the new guy, again they are all fixed and this is just an alpha behavior, no aggression at all) The new guy let's Sam be alpha which is good. We didn't want Sam to have to fight (not literally) to keep his place. We are controlling all the interactions and not letting S&G bully the new guy. This is just hour 2 but so far so good. Still would love any advice or comments on good ways to keep the peace and help him grow into a happy well balanced boy.

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MIKA&KAI

Akita Pals- Always.

Barked: Tue Jan 15, '13 7:10pm PST


	Good Luck and Best Wishes. My only advice or caution would be to make sure as the new boy matures he is still willing to understand that you are in charge and expect him to behave. During adolescence Akita's can become a bit bossy and same sex agressive,so while he may be fine with your other male dogs now,he may start to develop some issues later that may begin around age 18 months to 2 years and continue to get worse until as late as age 5. Just make sure you are vigilant about his interactions being positive and any bad behaviors are not permitted to escalate. Otherwise enjoy,have fun,and Thank-you. So many Akita's end up homeless without a second chance because people get them without realizing their needs. Best Wishes to all of you.

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Samual I am- Lynde

Sammy

Barked: Sat Jan 19, '13 11:44am PST


	Thanks for your feedback. Kirin (the new boy) listens very well and has taken quickly to look to my husband and I as his leaders. On our first snowshoeing we did a lot of work on calling him to come when he was distracted and changing the direction of travel without telling him to make sure he is paying attention. He noticed almost instantly and came running after us. On our walk around the neighborhood he doesn’t pull on his leash and really responds when we tell him to back up or heal. He does really well with all his commands and everything we ask of him. With Sam (the leader within the dogs) they play pretty well. Kirin is a tough romper; thankfully Sam can hold his own. They play chase a lot and even ran around with the same stick in both their mouths. The only issue we have had is when we are playing fetch. If we through it for Kirin and Sam is near it, not playing just lying near by Sam with go for it and if Kirin hits it first Sam had put him down. We immediately disciplined Sam not letting him take the toy, having him lay submissively until he relaxed. You could tell Sam understood what he had done was wrong. Kirin got over it really fast as puppies do. I also notice Kirin doing things to test Sam like putting his head over Sam's back or grabbing a toy and walking right up to him then shake it in his face. Sam has been good just giving a little grumble if it bothers him. Guiness, our other boy really only cares about his bed and getting his meal on time. Kirin can almost tell how laxed Guiness is and will do little puppy brat things to him but if it does go to far for Guiness (like laying on his bed) he gives a little grumble and a bark then Kirin backs off. We also intervene if we see Kirin being a brat or a bully and he responds very quick. They take treats fine all sitting next to each other. Ride fine in the car together and eat their meals without any problems. When we adopted our second dog Guiness it seemed as if Sam totally hated him. Sam wouldn't let Guiny play with any of his toys (we of course intervened) and if Guiny would even get close to him he would growl. After about 3 weeks they were best friends and now we can't even separate them for a vet visit. Sam so far is being a lot better than he was when Guiny we brought home so I hope it only gets better. Now I just need a third hand so I can pet them all at once.

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MIKA&KAI

Akita Pals- Always.

Barked: Tue Jan 22, '13 11:19am PST


	I'm glad things seem to be going so well so far. Thank-you again for giving Kirin a second chance. It sounds like you are doing a wonderful job with making sure your pups respect each other. Our Mika,the little brindle was not overly fond of Kai when he first arrived,mostly because she was used to being the only dog and the center of attention and wasn't overly fond of suddenly having to share us with a bitey little puppy with razor teeth. We chose to add a male puppy with Kai rather than another female,simply to avoid the potential risk of same sex agression. Aside from Kai I have no experience really with male dogs but have seen a few females injure each other seriously from fighting due to same sex agression. I just wanted to make sure you were aware of the risk and hopefully are able to avoid it. It sounds like all of your boys have a wonderful and loving home. I have discovered that there are many occasions when I could use a few extra hands.