drjeffrock

I say turn him in. I am an absolute freak about walking my dogs on leash. I check the rings, make sure the leash isnt frayed, etc. every single time before I walk them. I am glad Amaya wasnt hurt though :)

Kira thanks you guys for your comments. 8) I feel you guys though. If I was a groomer, it would def. take a lot of courage to start grooming Akitas I wasnt familiar with. And I do agree it can be a bit more difficult to read an Akita's body posture. Kira was def. well socialized from the time she was brought home. My gf's mom used to run a day care, so there were always a million kids running around her house from day one.

Kira's reaction to your comments ----> :( :cry: LOL, I am just kidding around with you guys. HF, Kira says next time you are in Los Angeles she will be happy to attack you with love and kindness. :wink: Good luck wiht Rocco, and maybe your bank teller will have a change of heart once she sees him. :angel:

I think there are so many variables to consider before labeling something as cancerous. Perhaps, it does cause cancer in mice. Unfortunately I have not studied the biological similarities between dogs and mice, so I cant really comment on that aspect. I have always used Frontline on my dogs, as have probably 25 or more of my friends. Also, I wonder how someone could prove that it was Frontline that caused their dogs to develop cancer, and not something else (like the environment, diet, etc.) I will continue to use it. There are a lot of fleas in my neck of the woods, I envy you guys who dont have to worry about them :agrue:

Why do you need the dogs papers? Are you planning or breeding her? I dont want to sugarcoat anything. It seems pretty suspect that a breeder would send a 5 week old puppy home with anyone. It doesnt sound like they are reputable. Sorry to hear what happened. If it was me, I would just cut my losses and enjoy your sweet puppy.

[quote name='Michele']i don't have any comments except that your dogs are beautiful....[/quote] 8) Thanks Michele! I think they are beautiful too (except when Dexter acts like a knucklehead :evil: )

So, normally when people come by my place I will take Dex outside for a walk, and walk in with the person, or I will crate Dex when the person comes over for a few minutes till he calms down a bit. Of course, the person is to ignore him untill he is sitting and behaving. Then he gets a treat or two and some praise. Dex has had some aggression issues in the past for those of you that dont remember. My brother came over to help me move an armoire as I am getting my old baby grand piano back from my parents. So, I took Kira on a walk instead and met my bro outside. When we came back inside, I guess Dex was a bit confused as he was lying down and suddenly saw my bro enter the house. Dex has met my brother numerous times and there has never been a problem. But, Dex saw my brother and ran over to him. He started barking and jumped up on my bro. My bro is fine with dogs so he wasn't freaked out. However, I could tell my his body posture that he was not thrilled about someone coming in our house unannounced. He did not try to bite him or anything of the sort, but he did have his front paws up on my bro and was barking like crazy. Kira saw that Dex's behavior was out of line, and I guess she thought he was going to bite my brother or something. She snarled at Dex, and gave him a couple nips to tell him to knock it off. He stopped momentarily, and looked at Kira kinda confused, then looked to me. I put him in a sit stay, and a couple seconds later he barked again at my brother. Again, Kira snarled at Dex, and lunged forward to let him know she was not kidding around. It was a very strange chain of events. Dex mellowed out in two seconds and was completely fine. Once again, Kira proves herself to be quite the angel. I thought it was great that Kira showed Dex that his behavior was unacceptable. Dex has shown a lot of progress since we adopted him. At first he was very distrustful of any stranger. Through NILIF and some other training methods, he has shown much progress. He doesnt pay attention to skateboarders, motorcycles, etc. I thought I was slacking off a bit with his training, and I think that what happened last night proved this. Feel free to post w/ any comments. :wink:

I have no other pets. Christine and I had a hermit crab named Hermy who passed away a couple months ago. :cry:

I must say that there is a tiny, tiny bit of truth to northerndogs post. I dont know much about every single breed, but I have personally seen some Akitas win titles that had absolutely no business in the show ring. People love to whine about showing being all politics and not based on merit. Most of the time this is not true. However, I have seen a judge give an Akita a BIS title to her friend who also breeds Akitas without even inspecting the other dogs in the show. The Akita that won BIS died of some genetic related illness two months after the show. The judge that awarded the prize is also known in some circles as breeding a tough line. She has quietly had to put some of her keeters to sleep for aggression and biting people. That being said, I still firmly believe that dogs should be shown and PROVEN before breeding. Unfortunately a good looking pedigree is no guarantee that you will produce pups that will better the breed. Just my opinion. 8)

Hey gunn akitadane, I would love to see some pics of your keeters if you have any. If you ever feel like talking akita, come check out [url]www.akitaforum.com[/url] It's a good mix of akit owners and breeders. I look forward to some pics! -Jeff

:snipersmile: :2gunfire: :chainsaw1: Maybe I will give them a ring later today :wink:

I have seen a couple people post about NAIDS. I am kinda curious, why are you all so unhappy with your dogs? Are they aggressive towards people? Do they have questionable temperments? I ask, because the other posts I saw were people complaining about aloofness and that they shed constantly. Maybe its just my opinion, but these dont seem like reasons to be unhappy with a dog. :wink:

Done. Gladis is still in 2nd [place. C'mon guys, show your love! Let's get Gladis in the hall of fame, Kira needs some company :lol:

Here are some links that might help you get started. I use clicker-training a bit, not very much though. [url]http://www.clickersolutions.com/articles/2002/punishment.htm[/url] [url]http://www.clickersolutions.com/articles/2002b/foodtreats.htm[/url] [url]http://www.clickersolutions.com/articles/2001b/desensitizing.htm[/url] [url]http://www.clickersolutions.com/articles/2002b/myths2.htm[/url] edit-Some of these links may not apply to you, but on the whole, the website has some pretty good stuff re: clickers. Good luck!

[quote name='Malamum']I think it is very narrow minded for someone to think that just becuase they don't have a need for a check chain, prong collar, e-collar etc that nobody else should. [/quote] :thumbs: Well said.

I know at least 12 Akitas named Bear or Kuma (japanese for bear.)

I agree with you Lokipups, I have a bunch of different training tools and methods. It definitely depends on the dogs. I think a Purely Positive approach in Dexter's case would be laughable. With Dex, I alternate between a pinch collar and a Premier nylon collar (similar to a Martingale collar.) I use a choke chain for Kira, although she doesnt need it. She doesnt pull or anything. But, it is always nice if I see an off-leash dog to be able to have complete control over her in case the dog comes up to her. Choke chains and pinch collars are not cruel if used properly, nuff said. And neither are ecollars and muzzles. I find it quite humorous that some people see dogs w/ muzzles and think its cruel. A few weeks ago I went to my local dog park and saw an APBT that was muzzled. I could hear so many people saying "Oh my god, how could they do that to the dog??? That is so cruel!! I, on the other hand, thought that the owner was responsible, not cruel.

Whatta pretty girl. Congratulations, she is stunning! I am assuming that Indy is taking the new member to the fam well?

Eric, I thought the saying goes opinions are like aholes, everyones got one and they all stink, LOL. Sorry, just trying to add some humor to a emotionally-charged topic. :wink:

Akita- Pros- Extremely intelligent, very loyal, rarely bark, great with young children, great sense of humor, independent, not too energetic, natural guard dog. Cons- Are there any? LOL! Grooming (only when shedding,) easily bored with training, very strong prey-drive, dominance over other dogs (they pretty much demand it always) disinterest in strangers, not the wisest choice for a first-time dog owner. APBT- Pros- Aim to please! Teach them tricks and they are more than happy to show off for you and anyone around you. Very friendly with people, good with children. They possess lots of courage, make great companions. Atheltic w/ great strength, agility and balance. Energetic (could be a con for some, haha.) Cons- Can present a problem in a multi-dog household. Can NEVER be trusted to not fight with another dog. Be prepared to deal with dirty looks from people assuming you are a gangsta-thug dope dealer. :roll:

I recommend the airline plastic and wire gate kennels. I have two Varikennels, they are great. No complaints here. 8)

(quietly waits for pictures) Congrats Cassie!

Poor Dex suffers from allergies. Sometimes his hair follicles get infected. I am giving him a once a day supplement called DermCaps ES. It is a concentrated fatty acid supplement. The ingredients contain Fish oil, safflower oil, borage seed oil, vitaman E and a couple other things.

Dex does not like his nails clipped either. I am slowly introducing the Dremel to him, but I can tell it is going to take a lot of time. What I would do to make it easier is to exercise Re-run like crazy (assuming Re-run is not a puppy.) I have noticed it is easier to clip Dex's nails if he is on the verge of falling asleep. Treats seem to help too!

Awwww, Goo looks very cute in her plaid coat. Thanks for the replies everyone. It doesnt get too cold in SoCal, but there are occasions when it gets rather nippy. I will check out the websites you guys posted.