I currently have a two year old male with a history of neglect and some issues. Not my first Akita. Quite a lot of it has been squared away, I worked with some people I know that are involved in Akita centric rescues and behavioral training (more appropriately speaking they worked with us). His issues at the previous home were resource guarding toys and food, separation anxiety, and house destruction. He doesn't exhibit any of those behaviors at all anymore. He is now crate trained. But we let him free roam the house while we're gone, which isn't very often or is usually brief, but he's been alone for five hours or so and he has been incredible.

He is dog reactive. That is just how a lot of Akitas are, but he's getting better. When he's off lead and properly introduced to another dog, he is friendly and knows how to play. He is good with strangers in public. He is a ladies man and loves the company of women, but he is not fond of men coming into the house with the exception of two or three specific people including me. His anxiety caused by men is likely related to his neglect. He will bark at men we have over or on our property, keeps distance, and generally separates him and the strange man with some barrier. Everyone we have over is instructed on how to follow our "protocols", e.g. this dog isn't a golden or family lab that you can instantly run up to and pet, no reaching for the face, let the dog come to you and get to know you on his own terms, etc. This is an odd one that we haven't quite found a fix for yet. He seems to bark at them in intervals. He'll settle down for a few minutes, sniff them, take treats from them, and seem a bit more relaxed. Then he'll start barking again, sometimes it's prompted by eye contact. He never really barks at them. He cants his body at an angle and barks up in the air, as if he's saying, "Look how big I am!" But he has never bitten, growled, or been directly aggressive. We're going to keep trying positive reinforcement, when we have a guy over we load them up with treats and new toys and after constant socialization ideally he'll understand that strange men can be a good thing. He has certainly made some progress so we'll consider more options depending on how it develops. But with any woman it's all play and love. He's only been exposed to children a handful of times and he has been gentle, but it's something we need to do more.

We taught him how to play properly with humans and he does very little biting or nibbling during play. His favorite thing is to do is to be chased and to chase others. He is a jumper, though! And he's 110 pounds so if your head isn't on a swivel he'll knock you off your feet. If he's running at you, you can make a hand motion and tell him "Easy!" and he knows not to jump up.

He is almost to the point where he walks to a heel, and the tugging or pulling he does is pretty minimal and very manageable, even when he is reacting or pulling to another dog he sees that he's interested in. He alerts and perks up to squirrels and birds, but does not lunge or chase them.

Overall, he's a very happy dog. Obedient, confident, and intelligent, and he has a true bond with the wife and I. His recall isn't great, but again that is pretty standard for the breed. I've never seen a dog that is as patient as him, we can have him sit and wait for up to five minutes and we can freely move around the house or yard with a treat or toy until we tell him come. Spends a lot of time being close to us, but he still values his independence. This is good, and as we continue to round out some of the more undesirable behaviors I think he'll turn into a great Akita.