Jack is "The man"
I was having a conversation the other day about multiple dog households. It was about how some dogs just require more attention than the others. I can identify. Jenny is a dog that NEEDS attention. She is a busy body and has always been our high maintence dog. If we don't keep her busy she will find her own fun and it isn't always what we humans consider acceptable. Throw in her allergies and POOF, she gets alot more of the attention.
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Jack on the other hand is like the muscle at a high end club. He is there to do a job but he isn't obvious about it. He is content with daily belly rubs, some tug play and the occasional run in the woods with his friends. He is a great couch potoato dog. But when someone is in the yard, HIS yard, or at the door stand by. He let's us know. It's what he does.
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When I chose my first akita I specificly wanted a dog that would intimidate people. Not because I thought it would make me seem cooler, but because at the time I was a corrections officer and living alone. Having a guarding breed in the home made me feel more secure. It still does. When my husband works nights I do not worry. While sometimes I find myself becoming a small dog person, I am unsure if there will ever be a day I don't have at least one big dog in the house for that reason.
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Aside from the guarding instinct of the breed I admit that I was also drawn to the look of the akita. I have a thing for huskies and other northern breeds but know I don't have the energy to live with most of them. I loved that the akita was a breed that would adapt to the owners energy level. Plus silly me saw the sentence "Can be a challenge to train." inviting. I had just gotten out of the Marines so challenges were exciting to me. Little did I know THAT would be my introduction to dog training as a long term interest. (It turns out akitas aren't hard to train. You just need to find their motivation and not bore them to death with repetition. Keep it fun is the number 1 rule.)
If you have told me back then that one day I'd have small dogs too I would have called you crazy. I considered myself a big dog person all the way. Funny how things change. He may not grace the blog quite as often but let it be known that Jack is "The Man". He's always here sucking up his share of the love, (and I cannot express just how much I love this big galoof) he's just more of a behind the scenes kinda guy. Thankfully he's ok with that.
