Akitas

My Akita is 14 months and 85 pounds.How long will it take for his head andf body to get wider? Right now he's not thin but certainly not bulky like most i see. Also his ears seem to be a little taller than the show dogs. Can anyone help me with these questions ? Thanks, Greg

Where'd you get your dog from? A lot of that depends on the dog's lines and parents. Did your dog come from parents that shown in AKC shows? If not, there's no reason to expect that your dog's ears will look like 'show akita' ears. I've seen some backyard bred akitas that barely even resemble an akita, of either japanese or american types. Some akitas mature very slowly, and during the age of 2-4, they will 'fill out' with muscle and body mass.

My first show dog was an akita, she was a wonderful dog!

Would love to see some pictures of your dog!

I bought him from a breeder in MO. Myfaithfulfriend.com Matbe you could take a look. he's all Akita, i just think his ears are a little longer than the ones you see at shows. When i walk him dozens of people stop me and ask where did you get your Akita ,so i know he's not a back yard Akita (i know what you mean that some don't even look like Akita's ) I've seen them!

Are there any Akita experts out there?

I looked at that website and personally I don't consider those to be very good quality akitas at all. Not to mention, the breeder seems to be deliberately breeding long-coated akitas, when that is a serious fault in the show ring. No reputable breeder would ever breed long-coated akitas, it'd be like breeding long-coated labs or rottweilers (yes they do exist).

Most of her dogs have ears that stand too high, or too close together. Ace seemed to me to be the best looking dog on the site. Merely having champions in a dog's lineage doesnt' mean that the offspring are good quality.

The over all conformation is very average, dips behind the shoulders or shoulders that are set a little too far forward. Even pet quality akitas from many akita breeders that I know would look better than those. I do commend her for doing OFA on the dog's hips before breeding, just wish she extended the health testing to elbows and CERF for eyes, as akitas can have a wide variety of vision problems.

I'm sending you a link to an akita-based forum via private msg, I suggest you check it out. There are many akita owners and breeders on this forum, and it's a great source of information.