By Hakumichi - Own work, Public Domain
We had a Japanese Spitz when we lived over there. 8>)
Posted on 04/20/2018 6:18:30 AM PDT by C19fan
Hollywood actor Richard Gere, French film star Alain Delon and Russia’s figure skating sensation Alina Zagitova have one thing in common: They adore Japan’s Akita dogs.
And they’re not alone. In recent years, foreign ownership of one of Japan’s most famous indigenous breeds has skyrocketed, outstripping domestic demand for the fluffy, perky-eared pooches.
Earlier this year, the trend hit the headlines when Zagitova proclaimed her love for Akitas after spotting them while training in Japan, and local officials pledged to get one to her.
Her affection for the cute canines comes as no surprise to veteran breeder Osamu Yamaguchi, 64, who has been supplying Akita dogs to foreign owners for two decades.
(Excerpt) Read more at scmp.com ...
“Hollywood actor Richard Gere, French film star Alain Delon and Russia’s figure skating sensation Alina Zagitova have one thing in common”
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They are 3 people who’ve never been in my kitchen?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NfjBqNS8E7k
Yes, they require a very firm hand.
Those little pups are cute little plump fuzzballs.
Akitas are “alpha” dogs...They do not get along well with other dogs of the same gender...While loyal and somewhat affectionate to family children, they do not do well with strange kids...
They are best suited for “one dog” families and older children...
I knew a guy who had one. He said it was like living with a psychotic model.
L
We had a Japanese Spitz when we lived over there. 8>)
When a breed becomes popular because of a movie, that tends to lead to a lot of dogs’ being abandoned or turned over to rescue groups. Get a plush toy, people. It’s not fair to a live animal to be put in an environment for which it is not well adapted.
Ha hi: A Dog’s Tale has got to be the saddest movie I have ever seen. I imagine the movie has a lot to do with the breeds’s popularity.
Akitas are beautiful but can be very temperamental and aggressive with strangers.
Akita-san was our school mascot back when we lived in Yokohama...
LOL!
Not a fan of Gere by any stretch...but that was a great movie.
~W
Indeed.
Just like every male lab or lab-cross whelped over the past decade is named ‘Marley’.
LOL. Yes very true.
I’ve had 3 Akitas and enjoyed them immeasurably. You have to keep them on a tight leash though, or in a stout fence or they may shred another dog of the same sex and kill your cat. The one male was a cat killer, the females endured the cats playfully.
They are great dogs as long as you don’t have other dogs or cats. They are friendly to people unfriendly to other animals.
Ours loves _his_ cat. Strange cats, not so much.
He is great and mostly obedient with us, unless he wants to take off after something. Then, he can pull a strong man over and never look back.
He hates vets. He’s standoffish with people and anyone who tries to touch him before he goes to them, gets a snarl.
Tall cow panels set in concrete for his pen. They can dig and jump.
He is a black brindle with the square boxer-type muzzle and a plush, not long-hair, coat. Very quiet. Only barks at heavy machinery. Very clean with no odor. Very lazy, too. The spitz in the pic looks more like a Samoyed.
The Shiba Inu and Japanese Chin breeds are cute too. I thought that Hachi of Richard Gere movie fame was a Shiba Inu, but the story says he was an Akita.
When we first went to Japan we lived in Yokohama, but within a short period of time we moved to Tokyo. To a base that later was torn down and became the Olympic village for the 1964 Summer Olympics. The elementary school I went to was Yoyogi Elementary, which I thought was cool as a kid because it remind me of Yogi Bear. 8>)
I still have contacts from that era. One fellow is a Nisei who worked for the Washington Post for a time. Another is the son of our neighborhood policeman. I found him through the local Buddhist society in Yokohama.
I'd like to revisit, but everything I remember is gone. The Area 1 and 2 and Negeshi Heights housing, the Bill Chickering Theater, etc.
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