How Do You Make an Akita Listen to You?

Posted on June 22, 2009 by jane

We use Ceasar Millan's techniques, but our aloof Akita still wont come when he is called.. Does anyone have any expirences when it comes to this breed?

Yep! You have an Akita icon smile How do you make an akita listen to you?

Our boy can be a little the same at times, but is certainly getting much better. The best way we have found with Kato, as silly as it may look, if he doesnt come in the first request, we take off the other direction making all sorts of noise and silly movements, he cant resist but to follow us to find out what all the fuss is about, (the curiosity of the Akita gets the better of him )and the moment he hits our heels, we turn around, give the come command and then praise to the hills.

It didnt take long for him to get the idea in his head that coming over to us was much more interesting than the bird in the tree or the neighbours cat running along the fence, after all, we moved more, and made more funny noises.

It was just a matter of finding a way that recalling him was really exciting and really interesting, and appealed to the Akitas sense of curiosity.

In our experience, it can be hard to get an Akita to obey any comand at a distance, but keeping it short and exciting and fast pased seems to be the way that works for us, we use our voices and body movements to be more distracting and attention grabbing than anything else that might be offering a stimulation.

We just had to get past the fact that we felt quite silly doing these things out in public, but hey its all fun and all in the name of keeping a dog under control and keeping his attention.

Tags:
This entry was posted in Akita Puppies and tagged . Bookmark the permalink.
  • hellosunshine_hb

    You need to practice "come" on a training lead. Start off in your house, "sit" "stay", and walk away. If the dog starts to follow, then you need to keep working on "stay" first. When you get to the end of the lead, say "come" in an upbeat voice. If the dog doesn't come, give short pulls on the lead until she's in front of you, give her praise and a treat (alternate with treats). Once she's doing this perfectly inside, practice outside (on lead) with all sorts of distractions (animals, people, weather, day/night, etc).

    Until she's giving you 100% perfect response ON LEAD, outside, under many distractions, it just isn't safe to have her off lead outside, and expect her to return when you call.

    Another VERY important tip: Don't ever teach the dog to come by saying "come, come, come, come", then giving her praise when she finally does. You are inadvertently teaching her that she can respond to your command the 3rd time, or the 10th time you say it, and she'll still get rewarded.

    Teach her to come on the first command, by only saying it once, waiting 3 seconds for a response, then using the lead, bring her to where you want her to be. This could save her life one day if she's running towards a busy street, you NEED her to "come" on your FIRST command.

    Add: LOL Bassetnut said it, obedience class, is where I learned this and have seen amazing results in many dogs, many breeds. If you aren't confident that you are able to do it yourself, definitely seek the help of a professional before your dog hurts herself off lead outside!
    References :

  • bassetnut

    Obedience classes.
    References :

  • jbeezz

    Buy Ceasars book or video. They are great and very useful.
    Otherwise you can submit your pet problem to him for his show at

    http://www.cesarmillaninc.com/dogwhisperer/submissions.php

    Good Luck
    References :

  • Jen

    I have a very well behaved and respectable Akita, he is a great family member, he is highly trained and knows over 15 commands….the only problem, he won't come when called!

    It's just something about the breed, outside they only come when they want to and they're easily distracted. If they want to go sniff something and you're calling them they just ignore you, it's a very common thing with Akita.

    If he doesn't listen to you all the time then you may want to work on bonding and getting your dog involved with you, making sure he respects you. If it's only outside then he's just being a typical Akita!
    References :

  • LeAnna H

    take a training class at your local petsmart or petco. Those classes are wonderful
    References :
    stubborn German shepherd owner

  • wolfkiss

    I have two Akitas. My oldest was so easy to train and my youngest is very stubborn. Akitas are very strong willed. My oldest I trained with hand signals, while my youngest I had to use treats. You just have to figure out what kind of training method works with your Akita.
    References :
    Proud owner of two Akitas

  • ~Angie~ Arbonne Consultant

    I have 2 Akita that I have rescued and neither dog new any commands! They both are getting better! Then can sit, shake. Lay down. There are learning speak but I can not get them to come when called either! It must be the breed!! I have tried the leash thing and has not worked! So I don’t know! I work with them every day!
    References :

  • nattiej1976

    Yep! You have an Akita :)

    Our boy can be a little the same at times, but is certainly getting much better. The best way we have found with Kato, as silly as it may look, if he doesnt come in the first request, we take off the other direction making all sorts of noise and silly movements, he cant resist but to follow us to find out what all the fuss is about, (the curiosity of the Akita gets the better of him )and the moment he hits our heels, we turn around, give the come command and then praise to the hills.

    It didnt take long for him to get the idea in his head that coming over to us was much more interesting than the bird in the tree or the neighbours cat running along the fence, after all, we moved more, and made more funny noises.

    It was just a matter of finding a way that recalling him was really exciting and really interesting, and appealed to the Akitas sense of curiosity.

    In our experience, it can be hard to get an Akita to obey any comand at a distance, but keeping it short and exciting and fast pased seems to be the way that works for us, we use our voices and body movements to be more distracting and attention grabbing than anything else that might be offering a stimulation.

    We just had to get past the fact that we felt quite silly doing these things out in public, but hey its all fun and all in the name of keeping a dog under control and keeping his attention.
    References :