A little bit of help?

[shatterdome]

Hi, I'm pretty new here and this is my first post. (:

On Sunday, my family and I adopted an Akita Inu from a man named Bluey. Well, I say 'adopted', but I think we're just seeing how she gets along with our other dog at the moment. The first day was all snarls and growls and Biggles (our German Wirehaired Pointer) showing Bobbie (the Akita) who's

Comments

[whatwouldlexydo]

Congrats on Bobbie! - I'm up a little too early to do much more than read, but I'll comment drowsily

[abserdman]

She's pretty

[cottonmanifesto]

some dogs really would rather prefer firm surfaces such as tile floors. your staffie didn't (i know my pit bulls really don't), and the pointer probably doesn't, but my sister's husky would rather lie on the tile.

[miss_teacher]

She only comes back when she wants to,

Welcome to the world of Akitas! :)

Akitas are not like some other breeds who sit there and wait to be told what to do. They are very independent thinkers. You have to go way out of your way to show her why it benefits her greatly to listen to what you have to say. You need to find what motivates her. It doesn't sound like food works well (I've noticed that before with some Akitas I have worked with). Toys seem hit and miss as well. Maybe get a dog with real sheep or rabbit skin and see if that help. If you can find something that motivates her you can use it to help teach her her name and to teach a recall.

You can easily change her name, so don't worry about that. Find that thing I mentioned that motivates her and when you say her name give her the thing she enjoys.

[miss_teacher]

Hahahahahahahhaa oops!! Really bad typos. Geesh :)

[bunnyphone]

Ooh, she's pretty :)

I don't think the name change would be a problem. My springer Fudge was called Jet for the first two years of his life, but he took to his new name fine :)
It make take her a while to settle in and respond to you a bit more, but I'd go with treats when you say her name, working up to her looking at you for the treat. Most dogs find it hard to resist chicken or cheese.

Oh and a word of caution - make sure to work hard socialising her with other dogs for the next couple of years. Dogs can be dog aggressive even if the live happily with other dogs. Dogs often see dogs they life with very differently to strange dogs. Also as dogs mature their attitudes can change. Not that I'm saying she will have any issues, but it's worth keeping an eye on.