KumaAkita

Haven't seen the movie - know the story though... He's not that much of a handful, hitting his "i'm ignoring yooouuu" stage tho! Photos... as a baby (8 weeks and 8 kg ish) couple of weeks ago (6 months and 35Kg ish) We're in Franklin - should organise a doggy meet and greet!

good to hear elbie is settling in ok, we had the same thing earlier this year. We took Kuma around the neighbourhood as much as we could before we moved in. The other thing we did was set areas he wasn't allowed to go for the first little while, only let him access to certain areas of the house. This let him get used to the place little by little. good luck with the neighbourhood dogs...

mmmmwwaaaahhh ha ha ha a little but... anyone with foxtel needs to check out Groomer Has It - it's a tragic american reality show about dog grooming. one of the queer eye for the straight guys hosts it. so bad it's good!

My OH sarcastically told his workmates that we could only train our Akita in Japanese and he only eats rice with soy sauce. They fell for it hook, line and sinker Kuma isn't too fond of rice!

so not going to happen! We have a queen size bed, my OH is 6"4' and sleeps diagonally across the bed, I have the smallest corner to sleep in! No way am I going to give that up for my Akita! ;) he'll be about 60Kg by the time he's done growing... no chance! I agree with other posters that it must be the sides of the bed that annoy him, he will occasionally sleep curled up but that's a rarity. Checked out the Snooza beds, $300 is ia bit steep for a bed! :D I might check out the baby mattress, that sounds like a it might be in our price range Thanks everyone

Name: Kuma Nickname: Kooms, Douglas J Dirt Dog, Redneck Inbred Breed: Akita Gender: Male Age: 7 Months Picture: Where did you get them from? Registered Breeder (Daykeyne) How often do you exercise your dog? Every morning, about 20 mins - he's only a baby! Do they know any commands? Yeah, but he's just getting to the age where he's starting to ignore them all... Compete in any dog sports? Does barking at the local builders count?? Favourite treat: Not much food dive on this one, will work for cheese Favourite toy: my toes... nah, anything he can chew. Bit of ag pipe, rope toy, soft drink bottle Funny habits or quirks: Spins around in a circle to find the right spot to poo and he also blows bubbles in his water bowl What's their personality like? Aloof, obstinate, loyal. We find him absolutely hillarious, but we are extremely biased Do they get along well with other dogs? We're getting there. Mainly he wants to play with everyone. At puppy class he's the biggest guy by far, but he lets the smaller dogs win wrestling matches. He gives you that "you know I can win this if I wanted to..." look. Are they scared of anything? the robot vacuum cleaner. What training methods do you use? Positive reinforcement? Corrections? Positive all the way...

We're onto our second bed for Kuma in 6 months - the first one we bought with the knowledge it would be a short term thing, but the second one was the largest one we could find and he's already grown out of it... I've seen some big dogs on this site and we can't be the only ones who have experienced this dilemma. so... what do you use for a dog bed? I'm tossing up doing a Clark Rubber foam special and covering it myself or OH has designed grand plans to build one... This was him about an hour ago: any info/websites/brands gratefully appreciated! (by us and the dog!!)

Kuma picked the darkest spot on our walk for his early morning crap - it was so dark I could see a thing! I was wildly grabbing - hope I got everything! ooohh... so gross! I always think that if I ever got attached on my walk (random thoughts at 5:30am!) that I'd have a handy weapon of warm mushy dog poo in my hand to bosh in someone's face! Then i'd run like blazes!!!!

Oh Jazzie, what a rotten thing to happen. maybe reach out to some of the people in the spitz thread, someone there will have experience to guide you. I'm still learning my way with the coat and wouldn't want to give a bum-steer.

I'm the same - got a big dog, walk in the dark... not sure he'll be much use! bit of a chicken really

I have one of those! Kuma is on his back, legs akimbo and tongue out. He is often snoring at this time! My favourite thing is helicopter tail. His fluffy little tail spinning around madly when he's happy!

Every morning, rain or shine. We're out and about at 5:30 am ish, which is starting to get a wee bit nippy in Canberra! If we don't walk him he gets a bit narky. If it's raining he has to stay inside all day (we don't have much cover outside and only dirt backyard) so he gets cabin fever. Also have to take him out for piddles - heaven forbid if you forget that!

At our puppy class last week, the instructor mentioned that a lady came to class with a "beagle". It was actually a spoodle! She said the people at the pet shop assured her it was a beagle... think our instructor had to break the news to her! I'd be asking some questions...

We just have 1 Akita and a brand new suburb with loads of construction going on... I vac/mop twice a week and everything is still covered in white fur and brown dust!

me too!! v cute

tee hee hee! :D very funny... Kuma has trouble with his monthly wormer gonna try that wrap it in bacon bit... mmmm bacon, love bacon...

I'd be complaining... but i was raised to complain, my dad is a prolific letter writer! Make your grievances known to management, or further up the totem pole if they're a chain, and avoid in the future. Must say our local is awesome. Knowledgeable, friendly and well stocked.

our boy used to be on the back seat, but kept coming up for "peek-a-boo" too often and we decided he was big enough to graduate to the back. He's behind a cargo barrier in the wagon, harnessed and secured to a point in the floor. He loves watching out the back window! sure it may scare a few motorists... My recommendation would always secure your dog - don't want any nasty injuries...

My hubby had a Crewman S as a work vehicle (think it was 2005 ish). It was a bit of a guzzler in the fuel consumption stakes, but he's a sales rep and does about 1000Km/week! he LOVED it. I found it ok to drive - bit long for my liking, but then i'd use it to nick up to the shops and back and found parking it in shopping centre car parks a tad challenging. Doesn't have much of a back seat either (if that's important to you). But still, nice to drive. Better than the crappy falc station wagon he has now! drives like a boat... hope that helps...

I have to agree with Riff and persephone here. These are working dogs and will not be cuddling up on the couch watching TV with their owners. They are there to do a job and are a valuable member of the farm workforce. The Land Newspaper recently gave away a Bull - the people who won it were stoked, times are tough for our rural cousins and anything that can help them in the running of their businesses is of value. As long as the competition is run properly, and support provided for the dogs, then all should be fine. This isn't a puppy being given away at a school fete.

Thanks everyone. I've been practicing the "Cesar Millan" style... my hubby can get him to do that no worries. I find he gets really aggravated if he's in at heel the whole time. This morning it was like I was walking another dog. He stayed loosely at my side, and only pulled when we saw another human in the distance. Managed to get him to stop pulling at that time. Here's hoping it continues tomorrow! We start the next lot of puppy classes on Sunday, so I'm sure that will help. He experienced the first frost of the winter yesterday, so that was an interesting time. He was so confused as to what this white stuff was, he didn't quite know where to pee! God help him in the dead of a Canberra winter!! Right now he's snoring away at my feet. So cute, you want to snuggle in next to him!

Thanks everyone... appreciate the info. Good to know that I'm on the right track!

I'm after a bit of advice... I have a 6 month old Akita and I walk him every morning. He's already weighing in at 33Kg and puts on about 1.5Kg/week. He's going to be a big boy when he's done growing, probably only 10Kg lighter than me! Yes, I knew all this when we were considering the breed, so it didn't sneek up on me! My problem is that some mornings he is easy to walk than others. He is starting to pull like a train and I fear that I'm not going to be able to control him on my own. We use a Rogz adjustable lead, which is kept to the shortest length (think it might be 1m long) and I normally try to keep him at heel to one side, but I also let him walk "free" on that length lead - which seems to work better, he normally stays to one side and doesn't zig zag. If he gets a scent up his schnoz, he's sniffing like he could be a customs dog! So - how do you walk your dog? always at heel? bit of free reign? what's best?

Hi All, Thanks for the concern and the messages. He hasn't chucked since the last time. We backed off the walking after dinner, reduced the size of his meals and everything seems to be hunky dory. We are soaking his food at the moment and he seems much happier that when he was chomping on larger size kibble. We still feed him the chicken wing every morning without any issues. We have always worked on the principle that we need to feed his mind as well as his belly, and spend time each day doing obedience exercies and other fun stuff. He's had all his vaccinations and starts puppy classes next week. He's growing rapidly as all good giant breeds do, about 1Kg a week! Cheers

Thanks everyone... he's had his C5 last week. When I say walk, I really mean a ten minute dawdle around golf course we back onto. He is sleeping all day, so we have been thinking we need to get him out and about. Plus, we both work and he's inside all day - crashed out in the laundry. When he got his vax last week the vet said it was ok for him to have a short walk, but maybe we need to ease up a bit. Maybe we'll go for smaller meals and less exercise and see how we go.