Top products from r/akita

I'm a professional dog groomer and this is what I do on clients' dogs and my own:

1. Wash with a good moisturizing dog shampoo twice. What I mean is really saturate your dog with shampoo and scrub very well down to the skin, rinse, and then do it over again. This alone will get a lot of the undercoat out to start with.
   
   
   
2. Use a good conditioner or something like Mineral Mud Bath, saturate and massage it in almost as if you were washing them with shampoo, and ideally let it soak for 5 minutes or so. During this time, massage the skin with the pads of your fingers or use an undercoat rake such as this one. Rinse very well, past the point that you think you got all of the conditioner out.
   
   
   
3. Blowdry completely with a high velocity grooming dryer with the point nozzle attached. It's very important to not leave the coat damp at all and to make sure you're drying in a way that you're getting down to the skin and blasting the hair out instead of packing it in.
   
   
   
4. Once they're dry, don't limit yourself to one particular deshedding tool! I see a lot of people either love or hate the Furminator. I use the Furminator, myself but it shouldn't be the only thing you use, and definitely don't overdo it. Personally, I get the ball rolling with the Furminator and then switch over to the undercoat rake, and then finish it off with a silicone curry brush. (I also really like this one with the handle)
   This overall combo of steps works far better than any one method alone.
   
   
   Hope this helps!
   
   
   Also, disclaimer: I'm not sponsored by any of these brands, lol. All links posted are just examples of tools you can use/specific things that work well for me.

We brought a 5 year old Akita home to our 12 year old cat last year. We live in an older home with lots of doorways, so we got this baby gate that separated our back living area with with the front. We were very cautious most of the time. Sometimes the dog would be on a leash around the house in case we would need to restrain him. The cat ate and had her litter box upstairs in a room with one of these on the door so the dog couldn't get in. We just took it very slow and never trust them alone together. My dog is crated when we're not home.

We also watch for any triggers the dog seems to have and act accordingly. He doesn't like when the cat sneaks up when he's in his crate. He always jumps up and barks at her which he literally NEVER does in any other context. He gets a bit defensive when his toys are around and the cat is there so we make sure to always pick them up when he's done. They don't really try to play together so rough play isn't an issue.

We haven't needed the baby gate or door stop since around Thanksgiving and the house is very peaceful now. :) It's possible but it definitely involves knowing your pets and reacting accordingly to keep everyone safe and happy! Luckily we've never had any incidents or close calls.

I live in a house without garden but with garage and my akita loves to stay in the front door watching the neighborhood, we walk him everyday usually 40 to 60 min, sometimes more sometimes less. Just don't over walk him since they grow to fast for their articulations.

If you're worried he doesn't get enough stimuli you can buy him a intelligence toy like Trixie Dog Activity Flip Board Strategy Game https://www.amazon.com/dp/B076MGW9RM/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_as7HDb8DYMGWB
There are lots of them and my akita loves them

From 4 to around 6 MO they chew everything they can, walls, furniture, etc, that's normal since he's changing teeth.

I think you should be good, but it's up too you

Actually it’s a tag that you can insert in the harness. I’m in Canada, I got it in a local pet store in Montreal, and I know Ren’s carry those in Ontario, but outside of that, I really don’t know. I’ll check the brand when I get home.

They are really nice, there are plenty of different tags like “training”, “energetic”, “anxious”, and “aggressive”, so people can see the dog’s character and interact accordingly. And since it’s something you add to the harnest, the dog never outgrows it.

EDIT: Amazon Link 😁

Ruffwear harnesses have been worth the money over a generic one on Amazon in my experience. We normally use the Front Range for day hikes or camping trips, it's simpler then some of the others so it's easy to get on him but it's been strong enough to hold his ~120lb weight briefly to help him up/down a steep ledge. Not sure what you mean by good in the water but he swims in it pretty regularly and it dries out overnight no problem.

A little late to this post...

We might have twinsie Akitas behavior-wise. Mine will be 1 yr in just a few days, and she is now at 3 cup+ daily. We feed 2 cups kibble (1 at breakfast, 1 at dinner), and give the additional cup via treats, positive reinforcement and "snacks" (like frozen kongs w a combination of kibble, Real Meat jerky, peanut butter, canned pumpkin).

At ~85 lbs, the vet says she looks great and will be a big dog. Also acts like she has never seen food before at each meal.

That's normal, just like us dogs lose their baby teeth to make room for their grown up teeth. He'll probably want to eat them back or has already done that, that's not a problem either and every bit of calcium can help. But judging by the pointy ears your boy has, calcium does not seem to be an issue.

You can help him by providing toys to chew, you can even put his favorite toys in the freezer, the cold numbness will help the small amount of pain he has from teething. Avoid toys like those, akitas usually go through those in a matter of seconds.

Sweet buddy! - Looks like he needs some brushy brushy - this is my weapon of choice (only thing that ive found that takes down the undercoat shedding)

I did nearly all of this with my Shiba Inu and he is very well behaved. People give me compliments on him a lot. I recommend all of the above, especially socializing and having food available for them all the time. I leave a bowl of dry food out for my dog and he never has issues of overeating or food aggression. Don't bother with a crate, if needed to stay out of specific areas of your home use a walk through baby gate that is tall enough to deter the dog from jumping over. I use this type of gate.

I use a furminator brush which is life changing.

Furminator Undercoat Deshedding Tool for Large Dogs - Long Hair https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07MZMLZZ3/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_PsWtDb29P10T6