Alice White
The American Akita is a beauty with plush fur and a distinctive dark mask. The breed combines courage, aggression, and friendliness. Dogs have excellent hunting qualities and protect the owner’s house, fearlessly defending its inhabitants when a threat arises. At the same time, the American Akita is characterized by peacefulness and tolerance, but subject to proper training. Akita is friendly to children, but you should not rely on her as a nanny: being a representative of a large breed, she is potentially dangerous.
#1 The word “American” in the name of the breed can be confusing when it comes to its origins.
The second name - a large Japanese dog - is more eloquent in this regard: its homeland is the Land of the Rising Sun. But how did it happen that Akita suddenly became American?
#2 The ancestors of the American Akita are the Japanese Akita Inu, originally used for hunting and security purposes.
Several centuries ago, they were called differently: matagi-Akita. Later they began to be used in dog fights, which became especially popular at the turn of the XIX-XX centuries. In pursuit of monetary gain, the owners sought to "improve" their dogs, to make them larger and stronger. For this purpose, they were crossed with such breeds brought to the islands as mastiffs and shepherds.
#3 However, as a result of these manipulations, the classic features of the breed began to blur, deteriorate, or even completely disappear.
The damage caused by the matagi-Akita was spotted at a dog show held in Tokyo in 1914. Soon, pure representatives of the breed were declared natural monuments, and their crossing with representatives of other species fell under a categorical ban. Breeders added work: they did everything possible to return the matagi-Akita to their original characteristics.
