KENAI
Akita

The breeds · working

AKC Working · UKC Northern Breed · FCI standard 344

Akita.

FCI 344 (American Akita) utilization: companion dog, without working trial. FCI history: the Akita region's Akita Matagi, medium-sized bear-hunting dogs, were used as fighting dogs from 1603 and crossed with Tosas and Mastiffs from 1868, which raised the size and lost the spitz type. UKC history: a spitz originally used for bear hunting, later crossed with Tosas and Mastiffs as a fighting dog; the US type is now quite different from the breed in Japan. Royal Kennel Club: developed in Japan for hunting bear, deer and wild boar and, unfortunately, also used in fighting competitions; the Akita of today was developed in America. Wikipedia: the breed traces to the Matagi Inu, a medium-sized dog used by the Matagi, the traditional hunters of Tohoku. The AKC standard describes no work..

Breed sets the odds. The parents set the dog. Every number here shows its source, its spread and how sure we are. Nothing on this page is a prediction about one dog.

11.4YRMedian lifespan11.1 to 11.6, measured on real dogs.
0INHeightdogs null, bitches null. An ideal from the standard, not a range.
70–130LBWeight, all linesbreed dogs 100 to 130 lb; breed bitches 70 to 100 lb.
2.5+ HRSExercise, every dayRoyal Kennel Club: exercise more than 2 hours per day.. The constraint most homes get wrong.

The body

What the breed is built like. Registry standards give an ideal, not a range.

Height at the shoulder

dogs 26 to 28 in · bitches 24 to 26 in

Breed clubAKC breed standard

No source prints a single ideal; center is blank. FCI cm converted to inches.

Weight

dogs 100 to 130 lb · bitches 70 to 100 lb

Breed clubAKC

Only the AKC page header states a weight; it is the registry's own band, not a study.

Coat

AKC and UKC: double coat, thick soft dense undercoat shorter than the harsh straight outer coat that stands somewhat off the body; hair on head, legs and ears short; about 2 inches at withers and rump (FCI: about 5 cm); coat longest on the tail; any colour including white, brindle or pinto (AKC disqualifies merle and liver); no ruff or feathering. Royal Kennel Club: coat length short; sheds.

Breed clubAKC breed standard

Shedding

Shedding 3 of 5 (AKC breed page trait score)

Breed clubAKC

AKC breed page trait score, 1 to 5: a breed-club tendency, never a measurement.

Heat tolerance

3 of 5 · Double coat with thick soft undercoat and harsh outer coat (AKC, UKC, FCI)

DerivedAKC breed standard

Derived from the coat description (medium double = 3). No measured data.

How long they live, and what they cost

Measured on real dogs, with the sample and the spread. Never a guess.

Median lifespan

11.4 years (11.1 to 11.6)

MeasuredMcMillan KM, 2024

UK sample. The Dogs Trust row is named 'Akita'; the UK Kennel Club's Akita is the American-developed type (the Japanese dog is the separate Japanese Akita Inu), so it is read as the same dog as the AKC Akita.

The dog at home

What the breed asks of a day. The first thing most homes get wrong.

Exercise need

Royal Kennel Club: exercise more than 2 hours per day.

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

RKC band 'more than 2 hours' recorded as 150 minutes.

Exercise need

Royal Kennel Club: more than 2 hours per day; large house and large garden suggested. AKC page: Energy Level 4 of 5, Mental Stimulation Needs 3.

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

Energy

AKC breed page: Energy Level 4 of 5, Good With Other Dogs 1, Watchdog/Protective Nature 5, Openness To Strangers 2, Trainability 3, Barking Level 2. AKC standard temperament: alert and responsive, dignified and courageous; may be intolerant of other dogs, particularly of the same sex. FCI: may be highly responsive of other dogs, particularly of the same sex. UKC: friendly, alert and responsive.

Breed clubAKC

AKC bands, not measured.

Grooming load

2 of 5 · Royal Kennel Club: grooming once a week; coat length short; sheds.

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

RKC band 'once a week' = 2. AKC page rates Coat Grooming Frequency 3 of 5 and Shedding 3 of 5.

Grooming

Royal Kennel Club: once a week, short coat, sheds. AKC breed page: Coat Grooming Frequency 3 of 5, Shedding Level 3, Drooling Level 1.

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

AKC bands.

The work

What it was built to do in the field, and what a test or trial asks of it.

Role

FCI 344 (American Akita) utilization: companion dog, without working trial. FCI history: the Akita region's Akita Matagi, medium-sized bear-hunting dogs, were used as fighting dogs from 1603 and crossed with Tosas and Mastiffs from 1868, which raised the size and lost the spitz type. UKC history: a spitz originally used for bear hunting, later crossed with Tosas and Mastiffs as a fighting dog; the US type is now quite different from the breed in Japan. Royal Kennel Club: developed in Japan for hunting bear, deer and wild boar and, unfortunately, also used in fighting competitions; the Akita of today was developed in America. Wikipedia: the breed traces to the Matagi Inu, a medium-sized dog used by the Matagi, the traditional hunters of Tohoku. The AKC standard describes no work.

Breed clubFederation Cynologique Internationale, 2026

History only: the American Akita is a companion dog today. Editorial views are shown beside the standard, labelled; where they disagree both stand (Chad, Oct 8 2026).

Primary game

FCI history: bear (Akita Matagi, bear-hunting dogs). UKC: bear. Royal Kennel Club: bear, deer and wild boar. Wikipedia: Matagi hunted Asian black bear, wild boar and Japanese serow in snow-covered mountains; predecessors of the modern Akita hunted bear, wild boar and deer in Japan as late as 1957.

Breed clubUnited Kennel Club

All historical and Japanese. Editorial views are shown beside the standard, labelled; where they disagree both stand (Chad, Oct 8 2026).

Also used on

FCI and UKC history: fighting dog (Japan, from 1603; crossed with Tosas and Mastiffs from 1868). Wikipedia: scouts and guards in World War II; today therapy dogs and competitors in conformation, obedience, tracking, agility, weight pulling and Schutzhund; Wikipedia also lists hunting.

EditorialWikipedia

Editorial views are shown beside the standard, labelled; where they disagree both stand (Chad, Oct 8 2026).

Search pattern

Wikipedia: predecessors flushed out the boar and held it at bay until the hunter came to kill it; the Matagi dogs tracked and subdued large game in snow-covered mountain terrain. AKC page: Barking Level 2 of 5. No standard describes voice, pack or single work.

EditorialWikipedia

Historical work, not a current field standard. Editorial views are shown beside the standard, labelled; where they disagree both stand (Chad, Oct 8 2026).

Field trial standard

FCI 344: without working trial. No hunting trial standard was read for the Akita.

Breed clubFederation Cynologique Internationale, 2026

Cold water

4 of 5 · Double coat; the breed's ancestors hunted in snow-covered mountains of northern Japan (Wikipedia, FCI history)

DerivedAKC breed standard

Derived from coat plus the breed's cold-country history. No measured data; the Akita is not a water dog and no source describes water work.

How common the problems are

Evaluated dogs skew toward breeding stock; the numbers are still the best there are.

Hip dysplasia

13.3% · OFA all-data ('AKITA' row): 18,642 evaluations, 13.3% dysplastic (mild 8.7, moderate 4.1, severe 0.5), 85.0% normal.

MeasuredOrthopedic Foundation for Animals

OFA submissions are breeding-stock skewed and under-report affected dogs; period undated ('current all-data', accessed Oct 9 2026). The OFA 'Japanese Akitainu' rows are the Japanese breed and are not used.

Elbow dysplasia

1.6% · OFA all-data ('AKITA' row): 3,711 evaluations, 1.6% abnormal (grade 1 1.3, grade 2 0.1, grade 3 0.2), 98.3% normal.

MeasuredOrthopedic Foundation for Animals

OFA submissions are breeding-stock skewed and under-report affected dogs; period undated ('current all-data', accessed Oct 9 2026).

Most common disorders

Wikipedia (veterinary literature): immune sensitivity to vaccines, drugs, insecticides, anaesthetics and tranquilisers; pseudohyperkalaemia (a false high potassium on lab tests, because Akita red cells carry more potassium); Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada-like syndrome is described as common in Akitas (Wikipedia, Shiba Inu page). The Royal Kennel Club lists eye testing and hip testing (BVA/KC schemes) for the breed.

EditorialWikipedia

No VetCompass or club survey was read; Wikipedia summarises the literature.

More

akc bands

AKC breed page trait scores (1-5): Energy Level 4; Mental Stimulation Needs 3; Trainability Level 3; Barking Level 2; Watchdog/Protective Nature 5; Good With Young Children 3; Openness To Strangers 2; Good With Other Dogs 1; Shedding Level 3; Coat Grooming Frequency 3; Drooling Level 1; Affectionate With Family 3; Playfulness Level 3; Adaptability Level 3.

Breed clubAKC

Fourteen AKC bands in one row; the selector reads each by name. Breed-club ratings: a tendency, never a measurement.

What to ask a breeder for

The health clearances the breed’s own club and registry name. Reference only: what to ask for, never a statement about any dog’s health.

How to read this page

Every value carries a label. Measured means peer-reviewed data on many dogs. Studied means peer-reviewed, smaller or indirect. Breed club means a club or registry states it. Editorial means expert opinion with no measurement behind it. Where two good sources disagree, both are shown and neither is averaged.

Published when the entry rests on the best information available from no fewer than three independent sources, checked by a second pass that did not write it. 8 sources on this page. Found something wrong? Tell us and the correction is logged with its date.

Also called
American Akita, Akita (AKC), Great Japanese Dog (old FCI name)

Every breed, read the same way.

The breed index grows as entries clear the standard. Gun dogs first.

All published breeds

Your akita, on the record.

Log the days, the miles and the birds, and the KENAI app keeps the dog’s story beside the breed’s. Free to start.

Get the app