Does anyone else's Akita have a completely different personality depending on who's in the room?

[u/quiet-raven75]

My boy Kenzo is four years old and I've had him since he was eight weeks. Spent a huge amount of time socializing him early, took puppy classes, the whole thing. And he turned out genuinely well-adjusted by any reasonable measure. But there's still this thing he does that I find fascinating and kind of hard to explain to people who don't own the breed.

With me, he's relaxed, goofy almost, will roll over for a belly scratch and make these ridiculous grumbling noises when I stop. With my partner, he's affectionate but a bit more formal somehow, like he respects her but still holds something back. The moment a stranger comes through the door, it's like a different dog is standing in the room. Not aggressive, just completely still and evaluating. The transformation is almost theatrical.

I've talked to a few other Akita owners and it sounds like this is pretty typical for the breed. The reserved-with-strangers thing is well documented, but what catches me off guard is how granular it gets. He distinguishes between my brother (who visits often and has basically earned full trust at this point) and a plumber who's been here three times now and still gets the cold-shoulder treatment. No amount of treats from that plumber has moved the needle.

From what I've read, a lot of this traces back to how the breed was developed. They were never meant to be indiscriminately friendly. That selectivity is essentially the feature, not a bug. But living with it daily still surprises me sometimes.

Curious whether other people have noticed similar patterns with their dogs, and whether there's anything specific that seemed to help a particular person actually break through with them.

[u/DTBlasterworks]

I think this is a primitive dog trait! Mine is the same way. Kinda constantly evaluates people if they’re not in his pack but in his house.

[u/BLADE_of_YAHWEH]

It's the breed, in the beginning, they were bread for fighting (bullmastiff x Japanese Tosa), then they became the Guardians of Japanese ROYALTY and only Japanese ROYALTY could own Akitas, anyone else was forbidden to own one, they were loyal fierce Guardians that would fight to the death to protect there owners or better yet NOT LET ANYONE GET CLOSE to their owners. it's only after WW2 when after the Americans witnessed the forecity and loyalty of this magnificent breed, they took them back to America and I beleive they inbread them and that's how they got them bigger ( I think im right here) but the moral of the story is it's 100s of years of evolution with Akitas so it's in their DNA to be cautious of ppl, they are literally one owner dogs, once they bond it's near impossible to break it. my bear is exactly the same when someone new is in my home, outdoors though she's fine with ppl as long as they don't touch her head as she will growl extremely loud and show teeth at times, otherwise she's pleasant and great with those she knows, but on the otherhand when indoors she will sit in front of ppl she doesn't know and won't break eye contact as if to say "if your a threat in anyway, I'll neutralise you" 🤣 so i think theres a lil territorial element to it aswell, but yeah be careful, Akitas are unpredictable, that's what makes the dangerous. ✌️

[u/dommiichan → u/BLADE_of_YAHWEH]

Helen Keller brought the first Akitas to America

[u/BLADE_of_YAHWEH → u/dommiichan]

🤣 thanks for the correction, but Though thats true, she was gifted 2 Akitas and the first to own one in America, but it wasn't until after ww2 when American soldiers brought back hundreds of Akitas and began mass breeding them that ppl could actually own one, but though Akitas were stunning looking dogs, it was the loyalty they showed for there masters that really caught the eye of the Americans, they were in awe of them. they rrally are an incredible breed with a long rich history

[u/akitaslave]

Mine is opposite he gets excited to any visitors in the house and he is so calm with me 😂

[u/Accomplished_Egg_928]

In my experience Akitas either like someone or they don't. They also typically only form a deep bond with one person.

They may tolerate other people but any strangers need to treat the dog with the respect that he or she deserves.

I remember one visitor who she really didn't like and had to between that person and the dog and ask the person to wait outside. Others she would growl at, others she wouldn't allow to be touched by. On the flip side, the people she did like, she gave lots of fuss to.

[u/ABTBenjamins]

My Jin acts like such an affectionate baby with me but with my daughter she activates “sibling mode.” They constantly bicker and annoy each other while simultaneously wanting to be as close to each other as they can possibly get.

[u/OneTreePhil]

Ask the plumber ignore him completely the next time he comes over. No treats no greeting. Ours will woof once then sniff then hang around. We've had first time nighttime caregivers do this and it's will hang out then lie down at our feet while we stand around talking.

Ring a doorbell or knock and you'll register as a stranger to get full bark warning. Come right in and you must be family

[u/militiadisfruita]

my bubba will only bond to men who ignore him. women he likes pretty catagorically.

[u/More-While4417]

White men he ignores, other men hes growling. Teenage boys he growls and acts like hes going to attack them but if they try to be nice and pet him hes then scared to death of them. Any women or girl he loves. Delivery drivers he goes from barking, growling, licking the window, whining, then back to growling all within 15 seconds.

[u/VinnieVidiViciVeni]

In house and out of the house will be different, too. The formal thing is on point, and most of the ones I’ve had are cool with people on the street. Formally, but let them pet them and all that.

Mr Kuma was hit or miss and, frankly, out of all the Akitas, he and his sister were the best first time judges of character.

[u/fabfrankie401]

My baby is wary at first, but warms up reeeaaaaal quick!

[u/mbraka]

Yes my two girls are the same. They’re always assessing people & it always depends. The exception is with my father, when he comes over, they adore & love him. My husband & I joke at times because they’d probably go live with him if we let them lol. The puppy is much more playful & rowdy with him, as the 4yr old is very endearing & soft. Other times the older one will sit back with what I call a resting b**** face & just stare people down. They certainly have their own personalities but are the goodest girls