How Big Do Akitas Get?

Akitas are VERY playful with their family. Not so much with strangers, though I'd hardly call our two aloof. Ours will approach with quiet interest any stranger that we let into the house. With us, they play CONSTANTLY. Even our 8yr old is still very very active and loves to play.

They are good with dogs of the opposite gender, or very submissive dogs. We have two chihuahuas (a very submissive male and a female) and have had no problems whatsoever. The akitas mostly ignore them. They will growl at the other dogs when they get near their food, but that's it. They can be very aggressive with dogs they don't know though, or with dogs that try to show dominance to them.

Most females get 24-26in, 70-90lbs, most males 80-120lbs and about 26-28in.

And on a side note, they are NOT good with cats unless they are raised with them.

I wouldn't recommend any large aggressive-type breed with small children in the house. An akita can hurt a child just by playing with it. They are NOT a breed for just anyone. They need intensive socialization, early obedience lessons, and a very firm hand. They also thrive on attention and need to be kept inside as a part of the family in order to be happy and well adjusted. They are very very close to their owners. They are not the kind of dog that you can throw in the back yard most of the day and just bring in for a little while. They truly have to be treated as a part of the family. They are also great escape artists, so leaving them outside for long periods of time isn't a good idea. They will get bored, dig out, and try to kill the neighborhood dogs/cats/etc.

There is some bad information going around here, firstly Akita's are not "mini-built German Shepard's" there are two strains of Akita, the American and the Japanese, the American becoming to more common these days.The American Akita is a very dominant breed and certainly not a breed for beginners, they are and should be aloof by nature, very clever, very stubborn, immensely powerful and much bigger than a German Shepard.They need an experienced master to bring out the best, if someone has a "200lb Akita that brings down bears on its own" I would say you are grossly exaggerated, and they are not nearly 5'7" tall when sat down like someone here claims, my Akita is on the large side and his back is at 30" at his heaviest he was 160lb but he was overweight at the time, they are a very clean bread, and are not a good breed with other dogs as a rule but there are always exceptions, please don't think that they look cool and say I will get one, do your homework first. Rottweilers are easier than Akita's so think on.The one thing about Akita's is they are naturally very good guard dogs, they are devoted to their family but care must be taken with outsiders, imaging your child bringing their friend in from down the road and then they start fighting, your Akita is now in a bad place because it may try to protect your child as the cost of the other kids safety.Dog Trainer by profession.

Akitas are a beautiful breed of dog and like all breeds there are good and bad examples of each - do research, talk to multiple breeders, try a loaner first to see if they will fit into your household. We got my akita as a rescue directly from the individual since my wife worked for the humane society we were able to get the dog without having to get it nuetered. The dog was 14 months old, weighed 72 pounds, his nose was peeling, eyes runny, and his nails had been cut so short that they were bleeding. Not making the owner of that poor dog bleed was one of the toughest choices I had ever made. When we got the dog home we could count every rib from twenty feet away - no exageration we actually measured. It took seven months of work but he came back from it. There is a saying about sizes - called a 13th generation throwback, basically an above average specimen. Akitas are normally in the 100 pound range - however my Yogi Bear - a brindle - could put his front paws on my shoulders, I'm 6'2" and he weighed a vet recorded unbelievable 88 kilos or 194 pounds and garunteed he was not fat.
My youngest daughter actually learned to walk by Yogi. She would crawl over to him, up onto him, grab to pudgy hand full of fur and then he would slowly stand up allowing her to slide down until her feet were planted then he would slowly shuffle along guiding her along. He had an inbred knack for telling who was playing and who was mean with kids - playing and he played back, be mean and he knocked you down and let me tell you when a 200 pound dog knocks you down even a kid will learn.
As I said all dogs of every breed are different look to the breeders animals first: Size, weight, happiness, well being, friendly but when it comes down to it no dog is born meann or bad - those dogs are our fault. If you're not going to let the dog stay in the house and be one of the family then do yourselves and the dogs a favor and buy a plant! If you do decide to get an akita be aware and warned they shed like no ones business. We would play with Yogi in the front yard and after a couple of hours it looked like it had snowed. We literally filled a 35 gallon trash bag just brushing him out on one side only! A breeder I knew in Boise actually used the hair and a spinning wheel to make angora style sweaters that would keep you toasty even in Boise's winters.

I have had 10 years experience training and learning about Akita's, they are extremely friendly and playful towards family and friends but can be a little bit aloof with strangers if not socialized from a young age. They need an owner that is firm and a natural leader, so that no serious training issues will occur. They need time and patience with obedience training but are very fast learners because they are extremely clever, this can result in boredom if they are not exercised regularly but otherwise there is no problem with boredom. They are a perfect house pet, clever, playful, friendly and protective. They are ok around children but because of there strength small children may get hurt. Males usually grown to about  26-28 inches and females to about 24-26 inches which is just over 2 feet. Really, the temperament of Akita's lie with the individual dog. Overall they are great house pets.

Akitas are 1) not playful, they're very aloof, only playing with close family
2) NOT friendly at ALL with other dogs. Mine "tolerates" and thats because he's 5 months old and I've been socializing him every day. The list of animals my uncle's akita killed is VERY long.
3) They can reach 140, typical weight is 100-120. Uncle's was 125. My puppy is 60 at nearly 5 months and very lean.

How big do humans get, 6 - 60 stone, how big do Akitas get, 6 - 16 stone depending on the owners mental health state. I would say an Akita at 11 stone like mine is overweight, 12 - 14 stone obese, 14 - 16 stone morbidly obese and nearing death. 8 - 10 stone is a good weight for a male depending on how tall he is.

First of all, 90% of the replies on this thread know about 30% of the English language.  Frustrating trying to read some of the kindergarten level communication!

That being said, most of the replies on this thread seem to demonize the Akita breed.  I did quite of bit of research on Akitas before I purchased my first.  I learned that they are very stubborn, sometimes are not good with children, "aloof" with strangers and aggressive with other dogs (especially with those of same sex) .

I would like to give you my experience with my Akita, Kuma (10 month old, non-neutered).  The research I did made me very aware of challenges involved with Akita ownership.  Previously my wife and I had trained Bullmastiffs, Golden Retrievers and Great Danes.  We lost our Bullmastiff, Wrigley from cancer (age 6) and our Great Dane, Trigger (age 7) within 8 months of each other.  We purchased Kuma, in part to ease our heartache and in part to provide another companion to our aging Golden Retriever, Zephyr (age 12).  We knew the challenges of properly training an Akita and took it seriously. Kuma was involved with puppy playtime classes (dogs older than 3 months and had been properly vaccinated), that involved him learning to play and socialize with other puppies at a young age (crucial for a young puppy to learn how to react to other dogs, especially dominate dogs).  That was followed by dog training classes that were based on food reward training. 

In combination with reward based training, Kuma was introduced to over 20 different dogs (friends), and taken everywhere we went, meeting all kinds of people, including small children, scary looking men, meeting the USPS delivery person (making them give him a tasty treat and pet him), among other encounters.

Kuma is now 10 months old and had been very well socialized to this point.  We even take him to my softball games where my wife sits in the stands and strangers come up to pet him, including my teammates 3 year old daughter who he get treats from for sitting for her.

Akitas are dominant dogs that must know their place in the human world.  If they have a weak owner that lets them do what they want, then Akita is not for you.  They must be shown love and respect in the family unit or they will rebel and can become aggressive.  If they know that humans are in charge, are respected, they are amazing companions and guard dogs.

Yes, Akitas, if not properly trained can be very difficult dogs to deal with.  You must do your research and know what kind of training will be involved with your new puppy.  Akitas are not Golden Retrievers and need a different kind of discipline than your normal household pet.  Correct training is key and harsh discipline to the Akita will backfire in your face.  Love, respect and tasty food reward training is the best way to handle your Akita companion.

Chris Davison

Akita females can bet to 110lbs and the males get to 120lbs and if your looking for a dog get an akita they are very good with children and other dogs. I use to have an akita myself and they are very playful.

They're more thick than tall; kind of like solidly built mini-sized German Shepherds.

The American Kennel Club suggests that most males are 26-28 inches tall. Females more like 24-26 inches. About 26 inches is just over 2 foot, hardly sounds like much. But the average dog weighs 100 lbs; these are little muscle machine dogs. Very strong. And they have a temperament to match. They were bred as the Japanese Emperor's hunting dogs, after all.

Keep in mind that Akita's are high maintenance dogs. They need a lot of attention, stimulation and activity. They are naturally alpha animals by nature -- they like to dominate others.

Speaking in generalisations, because each dog is an individual but still these are breed characteristics -- Sometimes Akitas are described as "aloof"; these are not dogs that naturally want to please you. They are not good at change or unpredictable routines, either. They want to be boss and to know what's coming. They need a lot of (gentle but firm) work in early life to make them suitable for households with children, for instance; otherwise, they will always think they should be boss of any people who will let them.

The 26" height is for purebreds, the AKC's idea of the "best size". Your dog may differ.

For your info my dog is very huge I am 5.7ft and when my dog sits down he is almost bigger than me.You are really right that Akita's are not friendly dogs they are one family dogs.My dog weighs 200 pounds and he is only 2 years old and not full grown.But what is scary about my dog is my dad and I took my dog hunting and he took down a full grown Black bear so yes my dog is very mean.So don't underestimate Akita's.