More Akita Training Tips From Martin Moss

(The Following is excerpted from a post I wrote in October of 1997 for the Akita List.)

For those of you who don't know me or my dogs, I guess I should do a bit of quick chest-pounding and say that I have been training and showing Akitas for almost 8 years in both Breed and Obedience(yes, at the same time!). If you count my stubborn, pissy, Akita mix bitch, I have had a number one or number two Nationally ranked Obedience Akita every year since 1993.

I've done this with 3 different Akitas and I'm preparing to introduce my 4th early next year. I've trained my Akitas at the Novice and Open levels and we are known for achieving high scores(usually mid 190's) and very few non-qualifying runs (a total of less than 5 or 6 in eight years with 3 different Akitas). I've qualified and competed at the Gaines Obedience Championships in Novice and Open. Here in Southern California, my Akitas and I routinely outscore many of the more "fashionable" Obedience Breeds. My dogs are equally reliable and obedient in their behavior OUTSIDE of the ring too! When we travel to neighboring states for Shows, all 4 dogs stay with us in the Hotel room and we have NEVER had one piece of furniture chewed. Judging from the many tales of woe posted to the old list, I guess this is what many other Akita owners would like too. I currently have 4 Akitas(3 bitches and a dog) and they all run the back yard together(don't try this unless you're as anal about aggression-inhibition as I am). We do not have fights because our dogs are taught early that aggression is not allowed and this idea is reinforced consistently throughout their lives. I often work with new Akita owners to help them learn to understand Akita thinking and to avoid problems with their puppies. Thus far, the results have been good.

My Akitas are living proof that you don't always have to accept less than reliable behavior from an Akita. However, it isn't easy and it's A LOT of work. If you love training with the dogs, as I do ..... then it can work for you too. But, I firmly believe that many of the currently popular training techniques will not produce reliable behavior in most Akitas. This includes clicker, halter, and all types of food training. Akitas are a proud, confrontational dog, by nature. They are born with an uncanny ability to analyze their surroundings and pack-mates and to accurately assess strength and weakness(from a dog's point of view). They usually respect strength and disrespect weakness. If you only want the dog to do well INSIDE the ring or in limited situations, I suppose food training might work for a while. But I have yet to meet a truly reliable Akita who was trained using only food(i.e. without force corrections of any kind).

I do not use food treats or clickers for Obedience training my dogs. They learn to work for my praise(which I give a lot!). I have demonstrated many times that my dogs will work harder for my praise than for a food treat! I believe that Akitas need to be taught to think about doing the right thing. If they feel it was their idea - they are a lot happier about doing it. But first, you have to let them know which behaviors are OK and which are not. A lot of us forget that dogs are not Humans. They have a different set of values and perceptions of life. The no-force type of training lets the Akita "get away with" behaviors that they know you don't want. In effect, this undermines the dog's respect for you as their leader.

Let me say that I do not believe in EVER hitting, kicking or throwing anything at a dog and I feel that the dog MUST receive a lot of praise and love - not just negativity. So, what do I mean by "force corrections"? ..............
I'm glad you asked!!

To my way of thinking, the sole purpose of a physical or force correction is to get the dog's attention and let him know he isn't correct in his current behavior. A correction should NEVER be intended to cause pain. Personally, I will not use any correction for my dogs that I have not tried on myself(yes, I have used a pinch collar on myself!). Primarily, I use leash snaps(brisk and firm, without constant pulling). This requires a great deal of timing to send the dog the correct message. A poorly timed snap will only confuse the dog. For aggression inhibition, I start at 8 weeks of age and I use a scruff-shake with an angry tone of voice. A big part of my training is "catching" the dog doing something right - so I can praise them for
doing it even if I didn't tell them to. The type of collar is important. Every dog's personality is different, so the intensity of the correction must be fine tuned to the individual dog. Some dogs are so mellow that a leather collar and firm tone of voice does the trick. Others are so willful that a prong or pinch collar is necessary BUT this type of collar must be used a certain way or you will irritate the dog even more.

I know a lot of "professional" dog trainers and the majority of them do not understand how to use a pinch collar correctly. If used correctly, it can be a good training tool because it has a totally different feeling from the metal choke collar(it's more of a pinching feeling). Please do not consider using a pinch collar unless you are shown by someone who is really an expert. Also, if you are going to keep a choke collar on your dog, be sure to place a bolt snap through BOTH rings whenever you aren't training the dog. Otherwise, your dog can choke to death if the collar gets caught on something. With a bolt snap through both rings, the collar can't tighten around the dog's neck and he can slip his head out if it gets caught on something.

I believe in always being fair to the dog, so there is no force correction for "voluntary" behaviors like sit, down, or heel, until & unless I am sure the dog clearly understands what is expected of him. For the "obnoxious" behaviors like jumping on people, nipping, and aggression, I do give firm corrections from the very first time they exhibit the behavior. This distinction is important, because the dogs seem to understand the difference between the two types of behaviors and they can use it to test your consistency.

My training theory and techniques are not from one book or teacher, but a compilation of thousands of hours spent training Akitas in addition to the application of basic wolf-pack hierarchy and social interaction.

Once you grasp these ideas, it is a lot easier to understand and predict how and why your Akita behaves. If my experience with Akitas has taught me anything, it is that they are usually full of love for their "pack" members but they WILL take charge of things if you have not convinced them you are a strong pack leader. This type of strength is not so much physical, but mental. Dogs of all breeds seem to use eye contact/level, tone of voice, and body language to communicate strength and weakness. The more adept you are at understanding and using these communication tools, the more successful you will be at gaining the dog's respect. And respect is the crucial element for reliable Akita behavior(and many other breeds as well). When I call one of my dogs to come to me, they do it happily AND reliably because my praise is meaningful to them. If they did not perceive me as a strong pack leader, this would not be the case. If I simply overpowered them and used intimidation tactics, they would slink over with head and tail down. If I used food treats, they would come to me as long as there is nothing more tempting somewhere else(sound familiar anyone?).

Of course, there are surely some of you who don't really care if your dog comes to you(or does anything) very often when you tell him to. There are those of you who just won't ever give your dog a force correction. For you, reading this post is a waste of time.

I have been reading superlatives about how successful some of you have been with Clicker training and your Akitas. Please share the specifics with us. Does "successful" mean that the dog pays attention to you as long as you have a treat in his face? Will your three year old male Akita ignore the male Bull-Mastiff sitting 2 feet away in class if you aren't waving a treat in his face or blocking his view of the other dog? How does your clicker trained Akita heel off-lead with major distractions all around? When we were preparing for the Gaines Regional Championships this year, we had set up a practice ring and had people clapping, whooping, jumping up and down and throwing toys, balls and frisbees into the ring WHILE we were heeling off-lead. The dogs had no problem with it - they figured Dad was trying to test their concentration and they would show me what good workers they are by not being distracted at all. They loved it!(this IS a Working dog - you know).

I hope this long-winded post helps some of you. I also hope I have not offended the food and halter and clicker trainers out there .... that is not my intention. I'd love to see more reliably trained Akitas - no matter which of these techniques was used.