In our local paper today it features a sad story of a young Boy savaged by an Akita.
Apparantly the family were visiting relatives who owned this dog and without warning the dog attacked the child resulting in nearly 70 stitches and chunk missing from his leg even when they managed to get the child into another room the Akita managed to open a door and start again :(.
A spokeman for the KC said that Akitas were no more aggressive than any other breed its all down to training .
what do others think I always thought they were  originally bred to be agressive fighting dogs  not  particularly good family pets.
Any opinions on this?

This site is very informative about the breed.

Thats terrible :(  Is there any news on wether the dog was pts?  I don`t know much about Akita`s all I do know is the couple I have met have been delightful like any other powerful breed they can be subject to idiots holding them at the end of the lead, its very sad :(

I think they are beautiful dogs in the right hands.

>I always thought they were  originally bred to be agressive fighting dogs  not  particularly good family pets.

Virtually all breeds were originally bred to do something else than being family pets. :) Dogs that were bred to be fighting breeds were fighting other dogs or other animals, they still had to be good with people as people had to handle them at the fights.

Marianne

True any dog in the wrong hands :( and certain breeds dont always atract the right owners.
Thanks for the link  JG

Depends how far back you want to go. Originally the Akita was bred as a hunting dog - often used to hunt bears. They were also used to herd cattle, as military guard dogs & for falconry. Unfortunately, they were also bred as fighting dogs, but the Akita was (& is) a family dog, devoted to his family & protective of "his" children. They are not aggressive in that they rarely start a fight - but being so powerful they will certainly finish one &, when it comes to other dogs they are very assertive & just have to be top dog. Sadly, like every other macho breed & every breed in which money is to be made, some have got into the wrong hands & have been bred from regardless of temperament. A good Akita would never attack a human without severe provokation & definately never a child unless he had completely misinterpreted a situation (he is only a dog after all). Don't forget, even those bred as fighting dogs had to be controlled by human handlers, so aggressiveness towards humans would not have been bred for.
The Akita is a truly wonderful breed.
Anwen
(not in the least bit prejudiced!!)

Thank you for putting it correctly. It's so annoying when they are called fighting dogs. Akitas are a powerful breed. I respect that but friends of mine have five and they are all gentle and laid back. They know me very well but they will still defend (by barking) their property when I walk up the drive. As soon as I walk in i'm leapt on and licked to death. Do not most dogs protect their property, cars etc.
Without turning this into another discussion on dangerous dogs etc. Why do the press seem to single out certain breeds at certain times. Don't get me wrong this story is terrible but I totally agree with the previous responses that you judge the deed not the breed.
I do think that one story will appear about a breed and then the press jump on the breed and print any other stories they can find on that breed.
Each story should be judged separately. Remember there are always two sides to every story.

I agree  100% .......... X