[Henryr10]

OK we learned VERY early on during our 30 years of rescuing Rough Collies that people were going to pet and little kids were going to hug them.
Usually w/o asking.
So we trained them to expect that.....
well I think they all thought it was there breedly duty to BE petted but....lol!

So now we have adopted a 17 month old 90 pound American Akita from our Son.
With their general Breed reputation I thought the last thing people would want to do is pet him.

Luckily this guy has been Super Socialized.
Food, Kids, Cats, Adults and other Dogs he's cool.
Good thing too as the second thing out of most adult's mouths after
"What a beautiful dog." is "Can I pet him?"
Why in the world do adults all want to pet him?
I can see kids wanting to as he a big fuzzy dog.

Luckily the adults ask ...... and we're schooling the kids.

Is it just because Akita are rarely seen in social situations
(Parks, Doggie Daycare, etc.....)
and not recognized?

 

[Spirit_of_Cotons]

Any dog that looks cute to people they want to pet whether it'd be a common or rare breed. Akitas aren't really common around here although I've seen some in kennels where I worked. When I see a dog I like (or even if it's a breed I'm not a fan of) and they're coming towards me, I always say "hi" to the owner and then I say "hi" to the pooch to judge if they're friendly or not. Then I ask and I pet.

Dogs are cool animals! People just love to pet them, I think they just want to pet them all! I really don't know how to explain it; they see some cute animal and have to touch. And btw, Akitas are so fluffy and cute, who'd want to pass them up?! Not me. Akitas are awesome!

 

[CptJack]

OK we learned VERY early on during our 30 years of rescuing Rough Collies that people were going to pet and little kids were going to hug them.
Usually w/o asking.
So we trained them to expect that.....
well I think they all thought it was there breedly duty to BE petted but....lol!

So now we have adopted a 17 month old 90 pound American Akita from our Son.
With their general Breed reputation I thought the last thing people would want to do is pet him.

Luckily this guy has been Super Socialized.
Food, Kids, Cats, Adults and other Dogs he's cool.
Good thing too as the second thing out of most adult's mouths after
"What a beautiful dog." is "Can I pet him?"
Why in the world do adults all want to pet him?
I can see kids wanting to as he a big fuzzy dog.

Luckily the adults ask ...... and we're schooling the kids.

Is it just because Akita are rarely seen in social situations
(Parks, Doggie Daycare, etc.....)
and not recognized?

People like dogs, I think, and well behaved ones really fascinate and appeal to them. I've never had a breed, or mutt, that people didn't want to approach and pet. Ever.

Then again, a lot of people also ask if they can breed their dogs to random dogs on the street, so.

 

[Roloni]

Yes..Akitas are fluffy and cute....and also very unpredictable.
They dont seem to warn you before they bite...Its kinda surprising!

 

[Kayota]

Yes..Akitas are fluffy and cute....and also very unpredictable.
They dont seem to warn you before they bite...Its kinda surprising!

I hope you're kidding...

 

[winniec777]

I don't know what it is with Akitas, but people do seem drawn to them. We had neighbors who had two beautiful Akitas, frightfully unsocialized, though, with either humans or dogs. Whenever anyone approached, they would shout out, "Sorry - they're not good with people or dogs!" and they would literally run the other way. It was weird. These were huge dogs and to be honest, I think the owners were afraid they couldn't handle them if anything happened, maybe from past experience. So they avoided any contact at all costs. Not sure how much training they tried before landing on this solution. Always thought it was a little sad for them and the dogs. It's great to hear that your pup takes the attention well. They're such beautiful dogs -- they get noticed!

 

[LuvMyAngels]

Having only had great experiences with Akitas, I'd have to ask too! Ive only met a few but none were unpredictable or unreadable. I'll never forget growing up across the street from a family with a female Akita. I loved to go hang out with KC, scratch her ears while she sat as close to me as she could. KC was and always will be one of my favorite dogs.

 

[Roloni]

I hope you're kidding...

Kinda....
Years ago when I was a kid my neighbor had an Akita. I gave that dog cookies and played with it every day.
I thought we were friends.
One day I was playing on the sidewalk and the dog attacked me...took a chunk of meat from my leg..

Maybe it was just that particular dog...but Im still very leary about this breed.

 

[Kayota]

You were a kid... depending on how old you were I doubt you could read all the warning signs... Don't spread misinfo like that about any breed, that's what gets breeds banned. Every dog is an individual and children should never play with dogs unsupervised.

 

[Roloni]

You were a kid... depending on how old you were I doubt you could read all the warning signs... Don't spread misinfo like that about any breed, that's what gets breeds banned. Every dog is an individual and children should never play with dogs unsupervised.

I apologize for making a general statement regaurding Akitas...
Every dog is an individual and parental supervision is required when playing in front of a neighbors house.
Thanx!

 

[Losech]

I get that with my Shiba. It's funny, since when I've got all three dogs with me, nobody wants to pet the mixes. They aren't interested in "generic" dogs and only want to pet the anti-social Shiba. Who, if you know a lick about canine behavior (as any of these people claim) is VERY nervous with them charging towards him and demanding, loudly, that they want to pet him.
Petting the Shiba is not allowed. If you want to pet a dog, pet the two mixes who would LOVE for you to pet them.

I guess with me, the Shiba is an oddity, "rare", exotic looking, not seen very often, so people want to touch him. The other two are Border Collie/Labrador Retriever mixes, and those are pretty common around here, so why would anyone want to pet a regular dog when there's a spiffy looking one right beside it?
The best part is... They ask to pet, I say no. So they try to pet him anyways and get offended when he tries to run from them (but I'm so good with dogs!), and I yell at them for ignoring me and scaring my dog.

Most of the time, I am very strict with who is allowed to pet my Shiba. He likes to be out and about, just not touched by strangers, especially kids. I don't understand the idea that people seem to have, where if a dog is out in public, it must be "public property" and has to be touched. If you can't touch it, then it's mean. If you can't touch it, then the owner is a jerk. If you can't touch it, then why is it out in public in the first place?
I just don't get it.

 

[HollowHeaven]

My only personal experience with an Akita has been watching it leap out of nowhere, rip a family member's chihuahua apart right down to the collar, then stalk us through the woods back to our camp, then later corner a child in a bathroom before AC finally caught it.

Akitas are very fluffy and soft looking with beautiful colors and fuzzy tails. They come off as very cuddle-able, like giant plushies. My best guess as to why so many people would want to pet them.

Personally, because of my very first experience with them, I steer clear. Not annoyingly so, but safely so. Obviously, that was one dog and only one experience, but it was a lesson learned in not knowing what to expect.

 

[Henryr10]

Dru loves women, children and dogs.

He's a bit skittish w/ men.
Never secret about it though.
He gives a warning HUFF way before they get close.

Scared the devil out of me this morning.
He sleeps next to the bed and about 4 AM gave out a HUGE Bark!
He was asleep! LOL!

 

[NozOnyCalAur]

The common dogs around here are lab mixes, pit mixes (Saint Louis Craigslist 4 out of 5 dogs needing homes are pit mixes) or Yorkies. So yeah, people see an unusual dog, Akita, or in my case, my peke, they gotta pet it.

 

[Kayota]

People find my dog interesting too because she looks like a disproportionate Chihuahua with a mustache and is small... Unique and small are a bad combo because ALL small dogs are friendly and love being held and cuddled, right? Right??? LOL

 

[InkedMarie]

I love dogs in general and always want to pet them. I have known one Akita in my time, named Reiko, owned by friends of ours. He and I had a mutual lovefest and any opportunity to meet an Akita is great, if it's one friendly with strangers, even better

 

[Amaryllis]

EVERYONE wants to pet Kabota. Which works for Kabota, because he expects everyone to want to pet him. I, however, don't always want to to stop, am not always comfortable with everyone and don't always have time.

Beyond that, some people approach him in a manner that would get them bit with another dog, and I don't want to teach them that it's okay by allowing that. So then I have to stop and try to do education while my dog loves whatever I'm telling them not to do. Including a little girl who ran up, dropped to her knees, threw her arms around Kabota's neck and starting kissing his muzzle. Can you imagine? Kabota is soaking it up with great joy while I'm freaking out, apparently over nothing.

It can get a bit frustrating.

 

[Zoopie]

Considering my dog looks like a big fluffly polar bear, I get that a lot. I live in a small town, so it's easy for me to tell people (especially kids) when it's not okay to pet him and taught the youngest to ask. When I bring Dexter down to civilization though, it can get tricky to walk. Personally, I'm alright with it when people stop me to ask questions and politely ask to pet him, but I hate it when it gets to the state of a crowd surrounding him without asking.

 

[Henryr10]

As we are out more, in specific areas like around the house for example, petting requests have started to lessen some.
Plus, now after 2 months here w/ us, Dru is getting more comfortable and so we are a bit more inclined to trust him around strangers.
We can 'read' him better.
Except for me he doesn't like adult males.
He isn't aggressive and doesn't deep bark or growl but lets out more of an 'I'm here' huff.
As my partner walks him by herself on the streets and up at a local park during the day she says it's a good security blanket.
She gotten in w/ a group of women who walk smaller dogs there.
After they learned Dru wasn't a threat to them or their dogs they do laps together.
It's pretty funny to see as he's easily 4 times bigger than most of the dogs ..... ;-)

 

[zeronightfarm]

You know what really bothers me about this post....There is no pics of this oh so pettable Akita. I love Akita, and might be adopting one soon, so photos of Akita are a must for me...