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1) I have owned a Japanese Akita and now have an American Akita pup.

2) They are scary bright, but very independent. Also very protective. It is all hardwired, too. I see behaviors in the pup that I came to know well in the Japanese Akita. They are not unpredictable. They actually think about things and love to figure them out. They have a sneaky side and will pretend to do what you want, such as chewing a rawhide or a bone, while positioning themselves to do what they want, which is gnaw on the furniture or the couch or you. They are very mouthy and need constant re-direction and training in *gentle* and *No bite*. As adults, when well-trained, they will *hold* your hand in their mouth and not even apply any pressure. It is for reassurance. They will let you know when they are acquiescing while disagreeing with what I call *the capitulation snort*, sort of a *last word* before they follow orders. They are vocal, but it usually grumbles or woo-woo sounds instead of barks, although some females are barkers. They move silently, almost like a cat and quickly at the same time. They seem fully aware of your blindspot.

2) They were bred to work in male/female pairs and HOLD large game until the owner/hunter came. They have immense heart and their primary technique is to lower their center of gravity and block. While only 100-120 pounds at maturity, they can become immovable, if they wish. Their jaws attach in a knot of muscle at the top of their heads and some even retain a primitive sagittal crest. They can impart tremendous force with those jaws. They can and do bite off branches to set their back teeth at around 1 year old. They select a supple tree, bite off what they want and proceed to chomp down on it, breaking it into pieces in short order. They literally eat entire shed antlers.

In spite of this, they learn *gentle* quickly.

My former dog once dragged a complete adult deer carcass back to the house from about 2 acres away (he stole it from the coyotes). In his dotage, just 6 months before his death at 12 1/2, he did the same to a yearling deer carcass, and at that time, he had very weak back knees.

Their paws are immense, even as adults. Sort of like snowshoes.

Finally, this dog is an American Akita. The Japanese are mostly fawn or red and have no mask. They look more foxy or cat-like that the Americans, which have chow, boxer and GSD genes.