The Akita is one of Seven Breeds designated as a National Monument in his native country of Japan. Bred as a versatile hunting dog in the rugged mountains of Northern Japan, the breed is a ...

Make sure your home is big enough for the entire family before choosing this dog. Body shape. Akitas are burly, heavy-boned dogs. They’re slightly longer than they are tall, which gives them ...

They are large, around 60 to 70 centimetres (24 to 28 inches) tall and between 40 to 50 kilogrammes (88 to 110 pounds), with prominent ears that stand straight up, deep-set eyes and almost bear ...

"I don't want the boom of Akita dogs to be a passing trend. I want it to continue," he said. And for that to happen, he said, owners in Japan "have a big responsibility" to keep the Akita breed alive.

While its human population might not be very big, though, Akita has one of Japan’s larger bear populations. So among the public awareness posters the prefectural government has recently designed is ...