# Meet Akiko - The world's most perfect puppy! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 16, 2018, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meet-akiko-the-worlds-most-perfect-puppy/823050 "2018-10-16T18:07:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2018, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meet-akiko-the-worlds-most-perfect-puppy/823050/1 "2018-10-16T18:07:42Z")
I would like to introduce you all to [Akiko](https://www.flickr.com/photos/133093217@N04/30346083737/in/dateposted-public/), the world’s most perfect puppy. You know how puppy’s always look so soft, but then their fur is really kind of rough? Akiko’s is like rabbit fur. Akiko has fun, no matter what we do. [Akiko in the car](https://www.flickr.com/photos/133093217@N04/43551435590/in/dateposted-public/). [Akiko with her crocodile](https://www.flickr.com/photos/133093217@N04/30346092217/in/dateposted-public/). Akiko has 1001 uses. [Here she is as a bookrest](https://www.flickr.com/photos/133093217@N04/45367583421/in/dateposted-public/). Akiko looks like a fox, but I haven’t [managed to quite get the right photo](https://www.flickr.com/photos/133093217@N04/44453425945/in/dateposted-public/). Akiko sometimes pretends to be a shark. [Would cuddle anyway](https://www.flickr.com/photos/133093217@N04/45316675902/in/dateposted-public/). 14/10. Enough with the pictures. For now. 😛 Akiko is a Japanese Akita. She was born on July 16. Right now she looks very much like a Shiba Inu, but she will be 70-80 pounds when she’s grown. I am enjoying her very much. Welcome Akiko! ---
**Author:** ![ioioio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ioioio/32/316_2.png) [@ioioio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ioioio)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2018, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meet-akiko-the-worlds-most-perfect-puppy/823050/2 "2018-10-16T18:13:57Z")
That is one beautiful dog. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2018, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meet-akiko-the-worlds-most-perfect-puppy/823050/3 "2018-10-16T18:26:55Z")
That is an absolutely gorgeous, adorable, huggable puppy! The Akita breed always brings to mind the incredible heartwarming story of Hachiko, the Akita to whose memory and persevering loyalty many statues have been put up in Japan: In 1924, Hidesaburō Ueno, a professor in the agriculture department at the Tokyo Imperial University, took Hachikō as a pet and brought him to live in Shibuya, Tokyo. Ueno would commute daily to work, and Hachikō would leave the house to greet him at the end of each day at the nearby Shibuya Station. The pair continued the daily routine until May 21, 1925, when Ueno did not return. The professor had suffered a cerebral hemorrhage, while he was giving a lecture, and died without ever returning to the train station in which Hachikō waited. Each day, for the next nine years, nine months and fifteen days, Hachikō awaited Ueno’s return, appearing precisely when the train was due at the station. > **[Hachikō](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hachik%C5%8D)** > > Hachikō (ハチ公, November 10, 1923 – March 8, 1935) was a Japanese Akita dog remembered for his remarkable loyalty to his owner, Hidesaburō Ueno, for whom he continued to wait for over nine years following Ueno's death. > Hachikō was born on November 10, 1923, at a farm near the city of Ōdate, Akita Prefecture. In 1924, Hidesaburō Ueno, a professor at the Tokyo Imperial University, brought him to live in Shibuya, Tokyo, as his pet. Hachikō would meet Ueno at Shibuya Station every day after his comm... ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2018, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meet-akiko-the-worlds-most-perfect-puppy/823050/4 "2018-10-16T18:37:44Z")
My adorkable puppy was taking a nap and just fell off the bed! :eek: A quick head skritch and all is well. Silly girl. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2018, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meet-akiko-the-worlds-most-perfect-puppy/823050/5 "2018-10-16T18:44:53Z")
It’s a living plushie! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2018, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meet-akiko-the-worlds-most-perfect-puppy/823050/6 "2018-10-16T18:49:05Z")
> [@Sunny\_Daze](#): > > My adorkable puppy was taking a nap and just fell off the bed! :eek: Hey! That can happen! There’s no shame in it! Why I’m sure many great heads of state and…you know…other people have done it. It’s…it’s perfectly normal :p. She’s super-cute. I’d suggest you socialize and train the hell out of her, but I know you are already experienced with large and occasionally tricky breeds so I’ve got no worries on that front :). She’s going to be grand. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2018, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meet-akiko-the-worlds-most-perfect-puppy/823050/7 "2018-10-16T18:54:53Z")
That’s not a Dachshund! :mad: ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2018, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meet-akiko-the-worlds-most-perfect-puppy/823050/8 "2018-10-16T19:26:11Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > Hey! That can happen! There’s no shame in it! Why I’m sure many great heads of state and…you know…other people have done it. It’s…it’s perfectly normal :p. > > She’s super-cute. I’d suggest you socialize and train the hell out of her, but I know you are already experienced with large and occasionally tricky breeds so I’ve got no worries on that front :). She’s going to be grand. She goes everywhere with us that we can take her. So far, no luck on the movie theater. :mad: I chose a Japanese Akita versus the American version because dog aggression is a fault and not allowed. No guarantees, but based on her genetics and all the work I can put into her, the odds are good. > [@Gatopescado](#): > > That’s not a Dachshund! :mad: Nope. ☹ It’s a plushie! 😛 ---
**Author:** ![The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_stainless_steel_rat/32/5727_2.png) [@The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stainless_Steel_Rat)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2018, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meet-akiko-the-worlds-most-perfect-puppy/823050/9 "2018-10-16T19:37:20Z")
Quite the cutie, Sunny. But 70-80 pounds of plushie will be a handful someday soon. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2018, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meet-akiko-the-worlds-most-perfect-puppy/823050/10 "2018-10-16T19:43:52Z")
I see you are relocated in The Bay. Does she have a place to romp? ---
**Author:** ![Bumbazine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bumbazine/32/362_2.png) [@Bumbazine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bumbazine)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2018, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meet-akiko-the-worlds-most-perfect-puppy/823050/11 "2018-10-16T21:40:30Z")
Puppy!!! 😃 She’s beautiful, Sunny. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![chaika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chaika/32/405_2.png) [@chaika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chaika)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2018, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meet-akiko-the-worlds-most-perfect-puppy/823050/12 "2018-10-16T21:44:31Z")
Totes adorbs! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![brachyrhynchos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brachyrhynchos/32/376_2.png) [@brachyrhynchos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brachyrhynchos)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2018, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meet-akiko-the-worlds-most-perfect-puppy/823050/13 "2018-10-16T21:49:16Z")
What a gorgeous puppy! ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2018, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meet-akiko-the-worlds-most-perfect-puppy/823050/14 "2018-10-16T21:49:51Z")
Sweet! Love her. Where do you live? I may drive by and abduct her!😉 ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2018, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meet-akiko-the-worlds-most-perfect-puppy/823050/15 "2018-10-16T21:53:39Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > I see you are relocated in The Bay. Does she have a place to romp? ☹ It will have to be dog park for romping. Hiking too, when possible. The yard is postage stamp sized. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2018, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meet-akiko-the-worlds-most-perfect-puppy/823050/16 "2018-10-16T23:52:07Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > That is an absolutely gorgeous, adorable, huggable puppy! > > The Akita breed always brings to mind the incredible heartwarming story of Hachiko, the Akita to whose memory and persevering loyalty many statues have been put up in Japan: > In 1924, Hidesaburō Ueno, a professor in the agriculture department at the Tokyo Imperial University, took Hachikō as a pet and brought him to live in Shibuya, Tokyo. Ueno would commute daily to work, and Hachikō would leave the house to greet him at the end of each day at the nearby Shibuya Station. The pair continued the daily routine until May 21, 1925, when Ueno did not return. The professor had suffered a cerebral hemorrhage, while he was giving a lecture, and died without ever returning to the train station in which Hachikō waited. > > Each day, for the next nine years, nine months and fifteen days, Hachikō awaited Ueno’s return, appearing precisely when the train was due at the station. > [Hachikō - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hachik%C5%8D) Is someone chopping onions in here? _Sniff_ ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2018, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meet-akiko-the-worlds-most-perfect-puppy/823050/17 "2018-10-16T23:57:37Z")
That’s one sweet puppy. I wish to reach through my computer screen and flurffle her. ---
**Author:** ![peedin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peedin/32/14095_2.png) [@peedin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peedin)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2018, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meet-akiko-the-worlds-most-perfect-puppy/823050/18 "2018-10-17T00:12:41Z")
Splort! A stuffie! Akitas kind of scare me. Can you tell us about the breed’s temperament? ---
**Author:** ![Periwinkle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Periwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Periwinkle)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2018, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meet-akiko-the-worlds-most-perfect-puppy/823050/19 "2018-10-17T02:33:17Z")
She is so adorable! Enjoy falling in love. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2018, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meet-akiko-the-worlds-most-perfect-puppy/823050/20 "2018-10-17T04:05:53Z")
> [@peedin](#): > > Splort! A stuffie! Akitas kind of scare me. Can you tell us about the breed’s temperament? Akitas are calm and steady around the home. They are a utility breed, and are used for guide dogs and most of the things that working dogs are used for. Historically, they were kept as farm dogs. They were not herding dogs, but they guarded property. They were also used to hunt and tree bears, or corner boars. They would hold them until hunters could reach them. They did this in pairs. As mentioned above, they are prized for their loyalty. Akitas were introduced to the US when Helen Keller was gifted an Akita. There is a crucial split between Japanese and American Akitas, along with several other changes that makes distinguishing them fairly easy, but are less important (in my mind). The Japanese and the American lines are recognized as separate breeds world wide, except for in the United States. The American Akita has a denser bone structure and is a more solid dog. They can be much larger, although that is not the breed standard. The US AKC standard also allows color variations that the Japanese standard does not (such as black on the face, or black anywhere). Most importantly, the AKC standard allows and even encourages dog aggression in the American Akita. This is a tragedy for the breed. They are wonderful dogs in almost all respects, but a large proportion of them cannot be trusted around other animals. When you consider that dogs are 100 lbs or more, the AKC is actively promoting a dangerous situation for absolutely no reason. The Japanese Akitas, in contrast, will never have black on their faces, and black coloring is not allowed on the body. The colors are red (such as Akiko - little fox that she is), white, and brindle. The body and build is slimmer. If you meet one that looks like a very tall Shiba Inu, the odds are that you are looking at a Japanese Akita. The Japanese consider dog aggression a disallowable fault. This means that dog cannot be bred. Aggression is not part of the breed standard. Both versions of the breed are large - bigger than German Shepherds and heavier set. With any large dog, owners need to socialize and train. I’ve already started with Akiko. She goes with me almost everywhere and meets as many people as possible. We practice handling ears, opening her mouth, touching her toes, rubbing her all over. We’re starting sit, leave it and so on. In 4 weeks, I can take her to the dog park, and then she will meet new dogs every day. If you meet an Akita in public, they are likely to be trained. However, I would start the same way you would with a Rottweiler or other large breed. Observe them. If they look calm and mannered, ask their owner if you can meet the dog. I would recommend allowing a sniff before petting, and then a cheek scratch rather than a head pet. tl;dr Akitas are like most other large dogs. If properly socialized, they are wonderful, calm, almost zen dogs. If they have not been socialized, you should avoid them. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meet-akiko-the-worlds-most-perfect-puppy/823050.md?page=2)