I'd like to pick the brains of any Akita owners out there and see your thoughts on a situation that occurred between my 7 year old female Akita and my 14 week old male Akita.

Brief Background -  I purchased my first Akita in 1996, a beautiful long haired male named Buddha. He had a great temperament in that he was very sweet which I've read is common for long hair Akitas due to the breeding with Russian dogs that is responsible for that recessive gene. I then purchased my second Akita, a female, when my male was around 8 years old. My male's temperament was very protective, very very aloof to strangers (It was rare if he allowed a stranger to pet him, he would always pull his head back and then let out a bark of they patted him on the head) and only dog aggressive if the other dog was being dominant. My male would only attack another dog if that dog either went after him or put his head on his shoulder or tried to mount him and then it was full throttle attack mode. Needless to say, I stopped taking him to the dog park at around 8 months. He was raised with a golden retriever which I'm sure helped mold his behaviors with other dogs. My male passed away 2.5 years ago.

Now, my female on the other hand is a different story. She is very protective yet friendly to anyone I have ever brought over to our home. She will go right up to them, ears back in a submissive posture and be all over them wanting to be pet. When we are out in the public it's 50/50 if she will let a stranger pet her but in the home she is great with people coming over. Her prey drive is off the charts. Very strong prey drive. She has always been aggressive towards any other dog except Buddha who she was raised with. Especially small dogs..Whenever she sees small dogs she drops down to hunting level and locks in with her eyes. Now, being involved with Akita's for since '96 and reading everything available on the net or back then in books I'm not a novice with this breed or dogs in general. Some Akita's, even if socialized very well, still end up being dog aggressive. There was an unfortunate incident about 2 years ago where a neighbors dog. Both my Akita's were at my parents for the day. My parents are animal lovers like myself and just love my Akita's like they are their own. Anyway, somehow the neighbor's small dog got into my parents fenced in back yard. The female tore it up very badly. The dog ended up losing an eye and had extensive vet bills but survived. (As a side note, again, I'm a HUGE animal lover and when I found out I broke down and cried out of anguish for that poor dog BUT lesson learned for those owners. Watch your dog and don't let it roam all over the neighborhood. My dog was just being a dog and I feel no responsibility for what happened ALTHOUGH I of course feel terrible.) Anyway, the purpose of that story is to illustrate the strong prey drive in my female. On a side note, its funny the huge delta between my female Dakota and my male Buddha's personality. My female is the most affectionate dog I have ever met. She loves to bury her head in your chest and will set there as long as you do being hugged and pet. She loves attention. My male, Buddha, would let you pet him and stroke him for about 5 minutes and would then get up and go lay somewhere else lolol. He loved his alone time... Anyway, on to my question lolol sorry for the book but I love talking about my Akitas lol

So, I got my male Akita puppy, Toshi, on 9/1. I knew it would be a difficult process getting my female to accept this puppy as part of the pack due to her prey drive and dominant nature. The introductions went as expected, she wanted to eat little Toshi for a snack so I purchased a muzzle and had her muzzled any time they were out together. I did a slow assimilation process in terms of their exposure to each other but she was constantly trying to bite him with the muzzle on. At the 6 day mark I was admittedly getting a little concerned that my female had become too accustomed to being the only dog in the house and at that point liked it. Finally on the 7th day something amazing happened. I actually got to watch the literal process of acceptance of my new puppy into the pack by my female. Up until that point the only encouraging signs were her occasionally ignoring him out in the back yard which usually signifies the beginning of acceptance. The breakthrough came in one week though. I was sitting on the couch and Toshi was in his crate. Dakota got up and walked over to her toy box and fished out the specific toy that Toshi had taken the most liking too. She walked over to the door of his crate, dropped the toy and turned around and looked at me with that smile they give. It was amazing to watch that happen. So, given this action by my female, I said "Okay" and got up and let him out of his crate and let them into the backyard where they played non stop for the next 3 hours. Every day after that has been filled with them playing all the time which is quite rough play but that's generally how Akita's play. They have been great together up until yesterday.

I have my living room blocked off with dog gates so the puppy is confined to one room while we are home. We usually put his small water bowl inside his open crate for him to drink whenever he wants and my female would go over there after they play to drink out of the same bowl. Needless to say the puppy water bowl is very small so I brought my females large water bowl in the room for them to share. My female has never shown any food or water aggression even if the puppy is nearby when she is eating. She also allows him to drink out of her bowl when it's in his normal spot or when I bring it into the living room. Last night, for some reason, I just put her bowl in his open crate instead of out on the carpet like normal. She was getting a drink and Toshi walked up to get some water too and she went after him with the same posture, demeanor and facial look as when I first brought him home. She didn't get close to biting and ceased as soon as I yelled.

Hindsight is 20/20 and I should have connected the dots that placing that water bowl in his crate created a different dynamic with different rules. My first two thoughts were 1) The trigger was due to her bowl being placed in his crate instead of a neutral site as before and 2) She must be questioning the rank order of our "pack" to go after him at this point since he has been accepted. So, I took her out in the back yard just the two of us and did a dominance test on her (which I have done occasionally throughout the years) and gently lifted her front two legs off the ground by wrapping my arms under her chest. This is a very submissive position for a dominant dog to be put into, somewhat like an alpha roll and in my experience has worked well to make sure the rank order is still understood. Anyway, when I put her down she growled and gave a nibble to my arm. So I alpha rolled her in an assertive, not attacking way and she immediately submitted and calmed down.

Finally my question! lolol....Given this one situation, does anyone feel that by her regressing for that brief instant when she first met him will this affect or change their relationship? My main concern is running into a situation where they have to be separated while we are out once my male is old enough to be out of his crate and can be trusted..I've obviously learned my lesson about her water bowl and maybe I should have guessed that might be an issue but she has been so willing to allow him to drink out of it she threw me off lolol...Do you all think this is just a one off situation or do you feel this one rift might complicate their relationship? As they grow it will be interesting to see who becomes or remains the alpha between the two. My male is very confident and very sound. Loud strange noises don't faze him and when my female had to wear her muzzle and would snap at him he could have cared less. My breeder does a phenomenal job with temperament. Toshi is a sweetheart but boy oh boy from day one he has shown he has no intention of being beta... I am at work and talked to my wife on the phone and she said our female was acting completely normal around him so I'm hoping this situation was just a one off...any thoughts?

Im no akita expert and im sure CD members will post you with more experience than me,but,you might not find out who dominates until your boy is fully grown,my two often had battles which mostly were a lot of noise but on occasion I had to step in to break it up,even though they are quite old now we still have the odd 'out of the blue moment'
I always attend meal times and in the early days seperated them,although I have never had a water bowl incident,maybe because we only have one bowl,so no one owns it.
My girl dominates inside the home,while out on a walk its my boy.Mostly.This can change about.

Luckily we have had only minor scapes and cuts when play has got out of hand and they have really challenged eachother, but you will have to be careful,just when you think its ok,it isn't.
My two also are so protective of me and our home I have to lock them in the garden if some one they dont know comes to the house.It is the one thing I can't undo.

Watch out for them later on, as my two will pack,if your girl already does this she will no doubt teach your boy,if I see any sign of this I will grab one and they get put on a lead pronto.
Perhaps your girl was just giving a warning,it cant be all bad if they play like maniacs,but its almost natural they will challenge eachother and as long as you are the one that dominates,hopefully it wont get to the throat ripping stage.

In the words of the great Aretha Franklin "R-e-s-p-e-c-t!... find out what it means to me" ;-) I'm with Dakota!
[C'mon your all singing 'sock it to me, sock it to me' now aren't you!]

Jolzew1, with the greatest of respect, I'm afraid I'd be more worried about your behavior:

> So I alpha rolled her in an assertive, not attacking way and she immediately submitted and calmed down.

I wonder if you might take a min to read the articles below and see what you think, I'm hoping you might come and join us owners of 'independent' breeds that are on the enlightened side of the fence (the grass is greener and its better, I promise you! ;-))
The very great Dr.Ian Dunbar - Misconceptions on the Mythical Alpha dog

Dr. Ian Dunbar - The Macho Myth

Dominance Myths - Association of pet Dog trainers

IF YOU ONLY READ ONE OF THESE ARTICLES, LET IT BE THIS ONE: Moving beyond the dominance myth.

Come on, come in to the light.... ;-)

Yes like HG I'd be very worried about your behaviour and ideas on dominance -please read her links. I've only got another couple of points, one being that I would not say it's only your neighbour's responsibility to keep their dog out of your back garden, it's also your responsibility to ensure the back garden is escape proof -both for your dogs to not be able to escape and other dogs not being able to get in. I assume you're in the US based on the language used so I don't know what the laws would be, here in the UK when you have neighbours you will be responsible for one side of the fencing. The other point is that at just 14 weeks your dog pup should really still have his "puppy license" (although he's approaching the age where it will start to disappear which may be an important fact here) and adult bitches should put up with things like having their bowls drank from etc. I find it fascinating to watch, how puppies can even stick their head into the food bowl of an adult and the adult will just back away and let them -because it's nature. Puppies eat first. Having said that, we don't know if the bitch would have tried to actually hurt the pup or just tried to teach him a lesson -the day will always come when the puppy is old enough for the adults to start to stand their ground and NOT let them get away with everything anymore.

I honestly thought that the totally outmoded idea about us being "pack leaders" had died a death, but still it rears its ugly head. 

Our dogs know that we are not dogs, and not "alphas."  There are far more experienced trainers on CD than I could ever be.  It really would be good for you to read up some of the links you've been given.  Trying to dominate a dog is not the way forward.  I am a big fan of Ian Dunbar - but accept that there are quite a few enlightened folk out there (at long last.)

> I took her out in the back yard just the two of us and did a dominance test on her (which I have done occasionally throughout the years) and gently lifted her front two legs off the ground by wrapping my arms under her chest. This is a very submissive position for a dominant dog to be put into, somewhat like an alpha roll and in my experience has worked well to make sure the rank order is still understood. Anyway, when I put her down she growled and gave a nibble to my arm. So I alpha rolled her in an assertive, not attacking way and she immediately submitted and calmed down.

If you use force to show your dog her 'place' what makes you think she would use anything other than force to show the puppy it's place??????

Serously,how do you think those of us with dogs that are bigger & stronger than us live with our dogs?????? My dog is much stronger and heavier than me, if our relationship was based on force, he could alpha roll me, with me not being able to do anything about it. There is no way I am strong enough to alpha roll him, but I wouldn't even try. I do like to think of myself as his leader, but as a 'leader' I like to lead by example, with patience, respect and understanding, taking time to teach any behaviours I want rather than expect the dog to know what I expect by chalanging it to a fight (forced alpha roll). I also have the upper hand being a more inteligent species with opposable thumbs, so can utilise the power of positive association and reward-based training :)

If you treat a dog with physical force and intimidation tactics ('dominance') and you end up with a dog that resorts to those methods itself.................

LOLOL Ohhhh Lord.... First off. My fence as well as my parents fence is 6 ft and secure. Any animal that ventures into a fenced in yard that contains dominant territorial animals will pay a price. I'm not apologizing for my feeling on that. My animals were contained and are always leashed because I am a RESPONSIBLE dog owner. If you let your dog run the neighborhood and it gets into an enclosed property then that is YOUR irresponsibility..

Secondly, I did not use "force." I did not slam my Akita to the ground and alpha roll her lolol..Jesus, give me a break. Yes I am in the US and no he doesn't NOT require a licence YET. Once he has his rabies he will be licensed.

No where in my post did I talk or give any type of dissertation on respect, love, etc so don't insult me by implying I do not treat my dogs in that manner. My dogs are my world, you can believe that and I am a HUGE animal lover having rescued several strays and getting them back to their owners. I have never drove by a dog that was loose without trying to get him off the street so not to be hit by a car. Don't lecture me on respect, love etc with your assumptions on my interations with my dogs

I will read the article but I'm sorry, whoever posted they don't believe animals view as part of their pack where rank order is a neccessity especially with an AKITA is a fool. We can just agree to disagree because I don't even know where to begin on my rebuttal to that "theory" as it's so off the mark it's laughable. I love people that apply human emotions to animals...wow, just wow, you have no idea the psychology involved and many facets of animal behavior. "Relationship based on force" lololol...So, you made that assumption, that I have a relationship based on force with my Akita's because I alpha rolled my female? LMAO...what a joke...Look, Alpha rolls are debatable and the argument goes back and forth on weather it hurst the relationship with the dog/human. The only time I would alpha roll is when it calls for it! Any aggression toward a human requires a very serious correction. I use marker training with all my dogs but I do not eliminate corrections. They have their time and place and as I said, aggression towards a human is unacceptable but with Akita's, they do challenge your position throughout their life at various times. If you haven't owned one that you have no clue.

I thought I would get articulate and knowledgable answers or thoughts but you all focused on one aspect (my alpha roll) and went bat shit about it. No need to respond anymore, I won't be on this site again as I feel the knowledge base is shallow at best here... lololol...wow....."dogs know we are humans" LMAO

Adios!

lololol...wow....."dogs know we are humans" LMAO

I take it that means you didn't read the excellent links (backed up by scientific research) and entered the 21st century? Believing dogs dominate humans and you instead have to dominate them originated in the 1940s......and has been proved well and truly wrong many times since then.

One wonders why someone who is so intune  with the  canine and its thinking,did not have  the insight  to see the trouble that is now brewing.

Why would yo uthink,  1) given the breed 2) owning an already aggressive dog, that this was going to work.

One also wonders why you need to ask for help, as you seem to dismiss any that has been given as  "bumpkin"!

Having to resort to muzzling an already existing dog  , for the sake of bringing in a new one!

> I won't be on this site again

:)

> Any aggression toward a human requires a very serious correction

Any agression towards a human requires the reason behind the agression addressing.

If your dog growls and nips at you becasue you wrap your arms around it and lift it's front legs off the floor, the dog is either:

1) frightened of you
2) does not trust you
3) is in pain/has a medical condition
4) considers your behaviour a challange
or any combination of the above.

If you are thinking 'dog' then the following may happen when giving the dog a 'correction' for the agression:
1) fear you more, the dog may be so intimidated by the correction that it imediately desits ands 'backs off' but it's fear will be intensified and at some point in these interactions you will find just how far the dog will be pushed before it feels the need to defend itself.
2) not trust you either further
3) still be in pain/suffering form a medical condition and think you make it worse
4) reacts to the challange the only way a dog can - fight, flight, freeze of faf about, with a head-strong independant breed like an akita, it's only a matter of time before the 'fight' option is taken by the dog.

If you want to think 'human' the folowing may occur follwing a 'correction' for the agression:
1) despite being afraid of you, as you demonstate 'dominace' the dog suddenly thinks there is no need for fear - your 'dominance' is merely you being 'alpha' and subsequently falls into it's 'place'
2)despite showing agression through lack of trust, your 'dominance' suddenly makes the dog trust you as you are clearly 'alpha' and makes the dog falls into it's 'place'
3) still be in pain, but it no longer feels it as you are clearly 'alpha' and it falls into it's 'place'
4) nobody dare challange the alpha so the human in this equation must surely be very safe indeed - the dog falls into it's 'place'

I prefer to go with the 'dog' style of thinking.

> I thought I would get articulate and knowledgable answers or thoughts but you all focused on one aspect (my alpha roll)

As 'small' as the alpha-roll seems to you, it can do imense damage to the state of mind of the dog and effect it's behaviour drastically, it is a VERY important part of your post, wheather you like it or not.

Excellent post mastifflover as always you explain dog behaviour so well. :-)

jolzew1 - True you have owned 2 Akita dogs and now a pup, but owning 2 dogs does not make one an expert on a breed, still a lot to learn although I'm sure you have read a lot, but that also depends on what you have read.

You are being given sound advice here, how can you say that Toshi has no intention of being a Beta dog? He's 14 weeks old, pups play roughly some breeds extremely roughly, they are bright and intelligent and learning all the time through play, he is not trying to dominate Dakota, though that time may come, although the bitch in general will be the strongest character, your problem may eventually come between Buddha and Toshi along with Dakota putting her foot down, this breed is so dominant, if you don't handle things correctly you could be in serious trouble.

I'm glad that you have the breeder on side and as a mentor to help, but I would seriously listen to the advice given on here also, you have such a dominant breed here if you make a mistake, my goodness you'll pay for it.

I would let Toshi grow quite a bit more before I would trust Dakota with him alone, as she has attacked smaller dogs in the past I would not trust her, let him get to 6 months and then be vigilant and for goodness sake interpret pecking orders correctly nothing we can see on a board any dog board you will have to know what you are doing here.

Wishing you the best of luck, yes you need to be the authority figure absolutely, but negative corrections certainly can cause negative reactions so think seriously about this. :-)

Carrington, thanks for the post. The reason I speculuate that my pup has no intention of being beta is because he already starting mounting her weeks ago. Obviously this is not sexual as he is too young for this drive to develop which leads only one thing, him trying to assert dominance over her. I never claimed to be an expert and I did just finish reading the last article listed from the first response. No where in that article is there any "scientific proof" of the authors theories as someone stated. This is his opinion footnoted by other works. Regardless, I read it, as I have read many other articles that take the same stance. The end reality is that none of us truly know what goes on in a dogs mind or anyone other species. We all have theories based on interaction, observation etc.

Buddha is deceased. He died 2 years ago at 13 1/2. I would only own two same sex Akita's based on the existing temperament of the current Akita I own. I have not seen any sound advice thus far, only dogmatic beliefs with aggression towards "my behavior." I mean seriously, give me a break. I am open minded and my only concern regarding my dogs is that they live a wonderful, loving and nurturing life.

I'm not some backyard newbie that has no clue about dogs or the theories on dog psychology. I'm 35 and have owned many, many dogs over my lifetime as dogs in general are a hobby of mine. I love animals. I appreciate your response as it was directed in a non confrontational, non judgemental way but the rest I have to laugh at. Arm chair quarterbacks passing judgement on what they believe to be gospel. I believe in postitive reinforcement marker training but ALSO believe that corrections have a time and a place. Since people are using anologies for similarities between animal and human emotion/behavior then I guess I must hate my parents for the times as a child I was spanked lololol...give me a break. I'm all for intelligent debate but when you attack someone as if you know every aspect of their relationship with their animals and state your theories as being enlightened while mine are archaic and dated you lose credibility with me and I wont' respond. These are the same people that belive they follow the one true religion while everyone else is going to hell lololol....good lord, my acutal questions wasnt' even answered at all.

Once again, thanks Carrington for the response. I wish you well

Oh, and also, I have no intention of ever leaving them alone until I am convinced 100% no issue will arise in my absence, regardless of how long it takes.

Great reponse, thank you! I appreciate your insight. Be carefull though, the fact that you have to keep yours contained with someone in the yard will go the fanatics on here saying you must not have trained your dogs correctly and that your behaviour has caused their territorial aggression lolol...."had to muzzle an existing dog just to bring a new one in" ...it's statements like these that give much insight to the person posting...Of course I muzzed my female akita who is dog aggressive when I brought my puppy in because I LOVE my dogs and this was obviously the correct thing to do as she was aggressive towards him for a week and then bonded with him. Hmmmmmm, I think I got that one right... That wasn't directed at you Ashlee, just referencing another response...

I must hate my parents for the times as a child I was spanked lololol...give me a break.

:-D Ah, but you see your I.Q far exceeds that of a dog you can reason and accept or not, why you are being punished, you can rationalise and attach emotions. (Probably a good blubber afterwards) A dog does not have all the emotions and reasoning that we have.

Quite correctly as masstifflover has already stated a dog has only a few responses to actions fight, flight, freeze or try to appease with submissive signals, and the truth is we never truly know which one they will chose although we may be confident in it not being fight, it's never a given, so I guess it doesn't matter whether people believe or not in the dominance theory the only thing you need to believe is you have a living breathing animal who will decide on their own what action to take to what circumstances, as dogs are not robots how they will react one day may not be the same the next.

So isn't it better not to use negative responses as a safeguard?

My apologise for forgetting that Buddah had past, you do quite clearly state that, makes things much easier phew! (re: pecking orders) The humping that Toshi is doing is part play, part learning (role play if you like) it really isn't him being dominant, not at this age, the bitch usually rules the roost anyway and I have no doubt that she will, so she will put him in his place, expect her to snarl and growl and nip him in the future whilst teaching manners, it may well sound scary, although she should never break the skin or seriously hurt him.

But due to her having such a high prey drive and hurting another dog, as said previously I wouldn't let her be alone with him only when you are there to be vigilant until he is bigger and less likely to be killed if she has an off day.

They should grow up to be close once he is mature, but you may have some up's and downs until that happens.

> No where in that article is there any "scientific proof" of the authors theories

Since you are so fond of Alpha rolls perhaps you could point me in the direction of some articles which give "scientific Proof" that they work and do not harm the relationship between owner and dog?

I agree with what you said. She has defintiely put him in his place more than once with a snip to the face or otherwise when he was being relentless with her and has definitely taught him some manners regarding appropriate behavior between the two. Other than that they play literally every night for more than an hour weather it's in the house or outside. She often gives him the affectionate nibbling on his body.

Let me ask you this, do you believe that anytime a dog "challenges" the owner (as Akitas do this) do you believe there is always an underlying issue that is causing this behavior or do you believe that in some situations the simplest answer remains the truth, the dog is just testing the pack structure to see if it can rule the roost?

Lilyowen, please direct me to the quote stating I am such a fan of Alpha rolls and then I will direct you to the "scientific proof" they work. Just because I Alpha rolled my female one time in 7 f'ing years does not equate to this being some huge foundation of my beliefs of how I raise my dogs. It was cited that the theories stated above had scientific proof backing those concepts. I simply stated this was not evident in the article.

> The reason I speculuate that my pup has no intention of being beta is because he already starting mounting her weeks ago. Obviously this is not sexual as he is too young for this drive to develop which leads only one thing, him trying to assert dominance over her.

You're right - mounting in this instance isn't sexual but neither is it a form of dominance.  It's generally just mis directed puppy excitement or over exuberance. Boys and girls both indulge in humping at this age, sometimes directed toward another dog but more often in mid air or with a soft toy or bedding. 

If you have genuine concerns about your dogs behaviour then it might be worth talking to a reputable breeder or behaviourist.  You have received some very good information which I recommend you read and absorb before trying to attack those that have offered their time to advise you. You don't have to follow their advice or agree with their opinion but ranting at them for attempting to help seems a bit rude.

I hope you get what you came for :)

I'm not going into the differing views on dominance/discipline etc.

Just wanted to say that many dogs and bitches are not at ease with puppies.  A bit like modern young people who only grow up as only children or a single brother or sister close to their age rather than int he large families where adolescents helped look after the babies in the family.

Or another comparison is the primates in zoos who have to have their young hand reared as they don't know how to rear their offspring having never been in a position to watch their own mothers doing so.

In other words it doesn't come naturally to some dogs, especially dominant ones to behave appropriately with puppies and many will snap at and avoid them.  With a dominant breed this just might go too far even with the natural built in restraints to not hurt the young of it's own species inherent in most dogs.

I have kept up to 6 females of a hunting Spitz breed (fortunately a pretty sociable/tolerant one) and have found that older bitches (even though they have been mothers themselves) can be quite hard on new puppies, making them squeal etc.  Some of the younger ones can be a bit bemused/afraid and react negatively.

This seems to change once they reach about 3 - 4 months of age when they feel more comfortable, and the pups are over half adult height. 

I would not interfere too much with the bitches reactions to the pup other than to supervise, watch for any bones of contention, and always leave her able to get away from pup.  any time she seems to be unhappy/grumpy call her away in a positive fashion to get some peaceful time out, this way she will not view him as a negative aspect in her life.  Always be positive to her around the puppy.  No muzzling or telling off, but distraction away from any negative behaviour.  This way no resentment toward him can build in her mind/association.

dogs a babe..I was immediately attacked for "my behavior" and responded appropriately. I asked a simple question and was attacked and judged based on one aspect of my post. I haven't ranted at anyone on here, I simply responded in the same fashion as delivered to me. Yes, I got what I came for from one poster.

Brainless, thank you for the great post. This is what I was looking for; Introspection, thoughtfullness and sound advice. Thanks again! :)

There is another thread in a similar vein: http://www.champdogsforum.co.uk/board/topic/133425.html#fp

Thank you Carrington and Brainless!! I appreciate your responses, you are both class acts. I wish you both well!

Cool, good thread, I just checked that out! thanks!

Hi
I am going to ignore all other posts and answer from your first post.  I feel Akitas temperments vary wildly depending on breeding and environment.  Some of the newer, more line-bred lines, I feel, are getting too aggressive and BYB's are not helping this.  Where I live, every wanna-be hard man has an akita now and this is not a breed for idiots or the faint hearted. 
Anyway, back to your issue.  I figure that the pup just over-stepped the mark and your girl is just a bit tough and rough with her disapline.  It's very unusual that she would actually want to kill him.  My toughest bitch always gave pups a hard time but it was to gain respect and keep her top dog status.  She never actually hurt any of them.  On the other hand, I had a different bitch which was as soft as anything.  Really sweet girl.  Then she had a litter and I kept a bitch from this.  Once the pup matured, she caused all sorts of trouble in my pack of, then, 9 Akitas, all entire.  She and her mother picked on one of my males because he had health issues and actually went in for the kill.  Fortunately, I was home and immediately stopped the attack but I trusted my older girl alone with this dog before.  I do blame the pup but still, you never know, I didn't think my older bitch would've ever did anything like that.  Sounds like your bitch is always going to keep her topdog status and with Akitas, it usually is the bitches that are top.  There are far more agile and smarter and the dogs know this!!  I would keep them separate while he is still young and also that will give you more time to assess their relationship but I wouldn't imagine they won't get along for life.  Usually, they gain a bit of respect for each other and if they are playing, then they will form a bond and becfome friendly but watch out for the protecting instinct kicking in for the bitch.  Don't let him get too big for his boots.
Just a wee thing.  Alpha rolls/strength things, don't really work with akitas.  It just makes them more aware of your lack of physical power over them.  You need to be smarter, not stronger.  Instead of asserting your dominance with alpha rolls, you should run through  some obedience.  Ask her to obey.  Instead of 'forcing' her to lie down, tell her.  That's much harder for a tough bitch to take!!  But she will if you are a strong leader.  Do the usual NILIF.  This works brill with keeping Akitas in their place and there is no physical power struggle.  Also, if she is really dominant, pretend you are eating out of her bowl before you give it to her.  Not in a stealing way but ask her to sit and pretend you are eating out of the bowl then after a couple of bits, you pretend you are so bored with the food and again ask her to sit and then place her bowl down and walk away.  These are all better ways than the outdated roll.

/ood points cracar  that would be helpful to others than akita owners. Very clear

great informative post cracar.
Akitas remember harsh methods and dont respond well to them, positive reinforcement works alot better with this breed imo.
again cracar great advice.
The russian dog you speak of with regards to the long haired akita is the karafuto im led to believe.