The most stable Akitas can be unreliable around strangers. This is a trait that is common in the Akita. Think about it. The ancient culture of the Akita consisted of a single family in a small area.(small housing/environment) Seldom did the Akita have visitors of whom they did not know. They were bred to hunt, protect, guard, and be extremely loyal to their owners, especially the children in the household…as a result, current day Akita’s natural instinct to guard and protect. This trait can be dampened by today’s professional breeders but can never be weeded out.
The majestic and regal Akita, with its bear-like looks and the ability to produce the most intimidating ‘stare down’ in the animal kingdom has an incredible ability to protect and guard. Although we as breeders wish to dampen and calm this inherited trait to keep it in check, we do not want to eliminate it all together. This is part of what the Akita is and just like the herding instinct in herding dogs cannot be stripped away, nor can the guardian and protector trait be stripped from the Akita. As one Akita breeder/veterinarian suggested, “An Akita should always be treated like a loaded gun when strangers come over.”
VISITING RODRIGUEZ HILL AKITAS!
We love to have visitors and welcome anyone to set up an appointment to come over to visit our “kids” or a puppy they may have purchased. To keep our dogs safe, to keep you safe and to keep our insurance company happy – we have set forth a few guidelines that we ask you to fully comply with when visiting the RH AKITAS property.
1) Due to the common locality of various viruses such as the parvo-virus, we will not accept any visitor that has lost a pet or has been in contact with a sick canine species in the last 6 months. As well, special timing is taken to insure pups are at their strongest when visitors do come over to visit. (read below #2)
Many canine viruses are found in the soil – placed there by infectious animals – tame or wild. We have known of entire litters that have died because Parvo was introduced into their homes by visitors carrying the virus on their shoes/slacks etc. Interesting enough – it is not uncommon for a human being to unknowingly carry Parvo virus particles on their clothing. It is everywhere and it is deadly to young canine species! Also, please note that we close our kennel to visitors if we have a litter of pups that are soon to arrive and are younger than four weeks old. Sounds excessive but our pups are very very important to us as well as their new masters. Therefore, we do take every precaution.
2) Visitors are welcome when the litter of puppies is past FOUR week of age. No exceptions. This is to insure the mom and the puppies have sufficiently stabilized. The puppies eyes will be open at that time and most importantly – their IMMUNE systems are at their strongest from ingesting maternal antibodies through the mom’s milk. (colostrum)
3) During a female akita’s heat, it is not surprising to see that one of our males has bent the metal bars on their kennel doors to get out and locate this female! The Akita is strong and we take no chances here at RH Akitas. Therefore if we have our kennel open to visitors – ……..
- We will not have more than TWO visitors at a time on the property. We must be present at all times during your visit. (sorry large families – here is an example of why)
Not too long ago – we had a family of 7 visit RH AKITAS. First thing that happened was the 5 year old boy ran up to King Kori’s kennel slipping both his hands and arms through the fencing. If an akita does not know a person, an akita will become territorial and may become upset. Although our dogs have never bitten anyone or shown aggression, an upset Akita cannot be predictable. The boy was grabbed by the parents quickly.
Soon, our visiting family split up into groups of high strung happy people – innocently barking back at our Akitas, running up to kennels, screaming, talking fast and loud, throwing baseball caps around and getting loud strange rings on their cell phones while next to the kennels. To say the least – all of our Akitas were on edge. The next thing that occurred during their visit is a canine phenomenon found in oriental breeds like the Akita and or Huskies. This phenomenon is what we call, “in-fighting” a fight that occurs between the two otherwise friendly cohabiting akitas that go into guard/protect mode due to an outside influence (such as strangers visiting or entering the property, another dog entering the property etc.). This phenomenon was addressed in the movie, “Eight Below” when a few of the dogs were unable to be put together on the sled leads. Although it is rare and doesn’t happen often it does happen and when it does – it can have severe tolls. Not only were our visitors indirectly placing themselves in an unsafe situation – our dogs were were going to get hurt.
We hope you understand why groups are not preferred on the property. We appreciate your cooperation and understanding. Please don’t show up with a bus of relatives thinking you can have two people exit the bus at a time to enter the property. We’ll smile and tell you to come back another time with only two people in your party. J Just be cool.
- Children under 16 are not allowed in the kennel area or near any adult Akita on the property. No exceptions.
- Please keep your hands away from any adult Akita. Do not ever reach into their kennels to pet or touch. Even if you are greeted with a wagging tail – do not put your hands, face, nose, feet, toes, etc….anywhere near an adult akita. Most of our Akitas would welcome a pat on the head but again – we do not take chances when they do not know and you do not know them.
- Absolutely no family pets allowed at RH Akitas. Our “kids” will quickly go into protect/guard mode. It will not be fun for them, us, you or your pet.
- Give us a week’s notice to set up your appointment. Please note – a Weather event, the arrival of a new litter, a litter soon to arrive or personal change in schedule may cancel your appointment to visit us. We will contact you to re-schedule in advance if need be.
RH Akitas is not responsible for any injuries sustained by our customers while visiting our property due to falling, tripping, etc… by not following the above guidelines.
Thanks for your understanding and cooperation.