The breeds · northern
AKC Miscellaneous · UKC Northern Breed · FCI standard 255
Japanese Akitainu.
FCI 255 utilization: companion dog. FCI history: the Akita Matagis, medium-sized bear-hunting dogs, were used as fighting dogs from 1603 in the Akita region and from 1868 were crossed with Tosas and Mastiffs, which increased size but lost Spitz type; dog fighting was prohibited in 1908 but the breed was kept and improved as a large Japanese breed. UKC: a member of the Spitz family, originally used for bear hunting, crossed with the Tosa-inu and European Mastiffs to increase size and value as a fighting dog; today a dignified, quick and agile breed, loyal and highly protective of its family. Japan Kennel Club (translated): in the old Akita region there were Akita Matagi dogs (bear-hunting dogs); the dog is now classed as a companion (family) dog. Wikipedia (English): the breed traces to the Matagi Inu, a medium-sized dog used by the Matagi hunters of the Tohoku region; it was also used in the Russo-Japanese War to track prisoners of war and lost sailors..
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.
The body
What the breed is built like. Registry standards give an ideal, not a range.
Height at the shoulder
No single ideal across sources, so center is blank.
Weight
AKC and Wikipedia ranges overlap; both stand and the span covers both.
Coat
Shedding
AKC breed page trait score, 1 to 5: a breed-club tendency, never a measurement.
Heat tolerance
Derived from the coat description (heavy double or triple coat = 2). No measured data.
The dog at home
What the breed asks of a day. The first thing most homes get wrong.
Exercise need
AKC bands, not measured.
Energy
AKC bands, not measured. UKC disqualifies viciousness or extreme shyness.
Grooming load
AKC breed page trait score, 1 to 5: a breed-club tendency, never a measurement.
Grooming
AKC bands.
The work
What it was built to do in the field, and what a test or trial asks of it.
Role
Editorial and national-club views are shown beside the standards, labelled; where they disagree both stand (Chad, Oct 8 2026).
Primary game
The game is that of the ancestral Matagi dog; no source read describes present-day hunting use of the Japanese Akitainu itself. Editorial and national-club views are shown beside the standards, labelled; where they disagree both stand (Chad, Oct 8 2026).
Field trial standard
How common the problems are
Evaluated dogs skew toward breeding stock; the numbers are still the best there are.
Hip dysplasia
Voluntary registry skewed toward breeding stock. The American Akita rows are a different population and are not used.
Elbow dysplasia
Voluntary registry skewed toward breeding stock, and a small sample.
Most common disorders
One editorial line, no figures; the OFA hip row is the measured partner.
More
akc bands
Fourteen AKC bands in one row; the selector reads each by name. Breed-club ratings: a tendency, never a measurement.
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. 5 sources on this page. Found something wrong? Tell us and the correction is logged with its date.
- Also called
- Akita Inu, Akita Ken, Japanese Akita, Great Japanese Dog
Every breed, read the same way.
The breed index grows as entries clear the standard. Gun dogs first.
All published breedsYour japanese akitainu, on the record.
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