My dogs
This page was last updated: 2006-08-12
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On this page, I want to introduce our dogs to you - together with some of their friends.

(You will find more general information on the Akita and American Akita breeds 
if you choose "Akita" in the menu.)

My female American Akita "Ikiru" (in memoriam)

August 2005:
On the 2nd of August 2005, Ikiru was euthanized at the age of 9½ years due to severe liver problems. 
Though her illness must have been sneaking in on her for quite a while now, there was no sign of any problems, until suddenly a week earlier, where she refused to eat a couple of days, which was very unusual for her. The first days, she still seemed quite ok, as she still wanted her daily walks, but end of the week, she had gotten very weak, and would only leave the house for short walks to "do her business". So we realised that there was something more seriously going on, than just a "stomach condition", which we first believed it to be. Friday I took her to the vet, who checked her out, then asked me to bring her back on Monday for a fully examination with x-rays, blood tests etc., but the result was very sad, as it showed that she hat "cirrhoses of the liver", or at least similar symptoms.
Next step would have been an operation for taking out a biopsy of her liver, but as the chances that anything could be done were very small, and Ikiru already at this point was very, very weak and neither wanted to eat nor wanted to walk, we decided to let her go, and on Tuesday morning I brought her to the vet again for her last visit there.... 

For Ikiru, I am sure this was the right decision to spare her any more suffering. She was such a proud and confident dog, it would have been far to hard on her - beside the evt. physical pain - to put her in a position, where she would loose her rank in the pack to the two other dogs. For Tora and Kanzi it means they have to form a new pack of two, which might be an advantage for Kanzi, as she no longer is the omega dog of the pack then, but for Tora it must be somewhat strange to suddenly have the alpha position all to himself with no competition anymore.
For us there now is a big empty hole that is going to need some time to heel, as it was such a big chock that she was so ill that we didn't really have time to get used to the thought of loosing her so soon.

Ikiru, you were our first Akita/GJD, and from you we have learned so much about the breed, dog behaviour and training, and of live in general!
We miss you already, and it will take us a long time to get over your sudden and unexpected departure!
We wish you all the best for your next journey!

January 2002:
Ikiru came to us at 8 weeks in the spring of 1996. At that time, we had had Welsh Corgi Pembrokes for 11 years, and as our old female Kandy had to be put to sleep in the fall of 1995 at 12 years of age, we were looking for another dog to keep our 10 years old male Corgi "Choicy" with company. We did not want another Corgi, as we found that the breed had changed a lot, especially their temperament. So we had been searching for a breed that should have some of the characteristics of our old Corgis - friendliness, pride, dignity, soundness, loyalty and the "original" behaviour of the Spitz Dog breeds. 
Our research led us to the Akita breed, and we were in no doubt that this was the kind of dog, we would have as our next "part of the family". As we finally went looking for a puppy, we were lucky that a litter was about to be born in Denmark, and one of those puppies was Ikiru.
In her we have found a wonderful dog - though she is very dominant, especially for a female, we have managed to "control" her and train her to be everything we want from a companion dog - friendly towards other people, and tolerating towards other dogs. We never planned to breed her, so as she seemed to be having hormone problems, she was spayed at the age of two years. She is also too large for a female, so we have only shown her a very few times. We do some tracking with her (and Tora), and we walk long walks at the beach, in the forests or around the village - and she runs off leash most of the time....

 Ikiru's photopage 
 Pedigree for Ikiru  

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My male Akita "Tora"

January 2002:
When Choicy was no longer with us in the summer of 1999, we started looking for another companion for Ikiru. This time we decided that we wanted an Akita of Japanese type. The reason for this was primarily that the Akitas seem to be a little less dominant than the American Akita. A bit more easy trainable, and with a more active personality. We went looking for a brindle dog, as we thought two brindles would suit each other better than a brindle and a red/white. But, of course the colour was not the most important parameter in our search. We contacted breeders in Norway, Sweden, Germany, Netherlands, Italy, France and USA, studied pedigrees and tried to find out as much about temperament, health and exterior of the different lines. Finally, after about a year of research we choose to buy Tora from Italy.
And on the 10th of October 2001, he landed in Copenhagen Airport. And he has till now fulfilled every one of our expectations. He and Ikiru became "friends" almost from day 1 (Ikiru had clearly missed having a friend around, since we lost Choicy, so she adopted Tora as her personal "toy"....). He has the most wonderful temperament, runs off leash most of the time too, and hasn't been ill for one day till now. He is going to have his show debut beginning of February 2002, and he will be X-rayed and eye tested this spring too (the results will be shown on this page).
The most important thing to us is of course his temperament and health, as his primary "job" is being a member of our family. But we also hope, he will do well on shows - and maybe even be used as a stud dog a few times. 
But only the future will show how he will be doing.

14th of February 2002: 
We had the results for Tora's hip and elbows back from the Danish Kennel Klub today: His hip score was HD-E and his elbow score was ED-1, so all our dreams and plans for him for the future have now been drastically changed. Fortunately, till now, he doesn't show any symptoms at all, he runs and plays like any other dog with no sign of pain or disability. We just hope, he will stay that way for a long, long time.

 Tora's photopage 
 Pedigree for Tora 

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My female Akita "Kanzi"

March 2002:
Kanzi is our little new "replacement" girl, which we have become from Mr. Saporito in Italy because of Tora's bad hips. We have only had her here a few days, but she seems to have a wonderful temperament. She is very smart, very calm and very friendly. And she is getting along with the other dogs very well, though Ikiru does not seem too content with having another female in the house. But I am sure, she will accept Kanzi, when first she realises she has no other choice, as Kanzi is going to stay with us... Fortunately Kanzi seems to be the kind of dog that accepts "leadership" quite easily, so I don't expect too many troubles with the two girls.

I don't know, if we are ever going to breed her. At this point we have no intention of breeding, and frankly I would have preferred a new male dog instead. But, on the other hand, only the future can tell, what will happen, if she turns out to be a sound and healthy girl, with the temperament she seems to have, and maybe even becomes a little beauty, we (I) might change our minds about the breeding issue, as she also seems to be having quite a "different" pedigree. 

Of course, I will add more about Kanzi, as I get to know her better - and you can also read more about her on the "Kindergarten" pages about our daily life with the three puppies.

Kanzi's photopage 
Pedigree for Kanzi

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