i really fear 4 our beloved akita, in belfast there seems to be alot in the hands of idiots who didnt research the breed whatsoever. akitas here are now seen as status symbols like staffys, pits or rotties, these dogs are great in the hands of proper owners.  i really do think people should be vetted before owning one. a guy stopped me yesterday whilst walking madison, told me a story of him giving his akita away at a year old because it wanted to attack every dog it seen, i asked him did he socialise it as a pup, he asked me what that meant, i felt so angry, this guy was mid 40s im only 24, should be him advisin me. akitas now seem to be very popular here, ive seen alot being walked by tracksuit clad hoods. when walking madison ive had some "complements" such as " jesus mate at dog wud maul ye, id love one" lol like i said, idiots. but this cant be good for the breed.

This happened back in the 90's but I hope they don't become too popular again.  My Akita bitch is a lovely example of the breed and although she doesn't always want to socialise with other dogs (she chooses whether she's in the mood to play!) she has an impeccable temperament with all adults and children.

I live in the South West and don't see hardly any Akita's around here but I think they are much more popular the further North you go.

i think were only gona see more of them especially with the hachiko film. not many of those people would know hachiko was actually a real dog in japan.

my female also has fantastic temperament, she grew up with my little nephew and the kids in the street always came down to pet her, whenever shes in my front garden she would gladly stand and let anyone pet her lol

It's not just the usual idiots that need to be noted. My pup was attacked without warning by a full grown akita walking the other way, which was on a heavy chain lead and managed by an man who looked in control. That sideways lunge pulled the lead out of his grip, and the akita dragged my pup by the neck for  nearly 10 feet. Luckily there was no major damage but he is now quite leery of other large dogs. What annoyed me the most was that neither the man nor his partner had the courtesy even to ask if the puppy was ok--they just legged it.

sorry about that. my own dog which is an akita was attacked by a full grown german shepard whch was being walked with no lead, my own dog defended itself and i threw a bottle of water round his dog and they both let go of eachother, i was very anoyed, how anyone can walk dogs like that with no control. when im walking my akita i have her on a short lead so she cant lunge.

In the 'dodgy' areas round here, as well as the Staffs, Akitas and American Bulldogs are the new "status" dogs and have been for a number of years now. :-(

It sounds as though the Akita was owned by your 'usual Idiot'.  Who would walk a dog round on a heavy chain lead...someone who wants to come across in a certain light.  Who would allow their dog to lunge and grab a puppy....someone who does not have full control of their dog.  And who is the type of person who wouldn't profusely apologise for such an incident...a very irresponsible owner.  Sounds as though this person should not own a dog.

I live in the south wets and see very few akits's but all those I meet are rather nice! I think any dog will be ''bad'' in the wrong hands or with the wrong back ground, I've met chocie labs who weren't too friendly!

I think iof akits's were to become the new popular breed the best thing to do is educate owners on training and socilising them so they don't develop a bad rep. I think the mistake people make with staffi's is they effectivly condem a large proportion or hoodie owners as bad news when in fact many care deeply about the dog and want nothing more than a good companion.

Adam