If my akita cared about balls...

[akane]

I could see her doing this

http://www.weather.com/series/crazimals ... clever-dog

Sadly akitas get put low on lists of most intelligent dogs mainly because they are too smart to obey you. :lol: They were bred to make their own decisions on what game they could bring down and what game they needed to just keep in place until the hunter got there. Part of this decision making also includes whether they should bother expending energy and mine has decided ball chasing is a waste of energy.

 

[imajpm]

Lol clearly they are smart. I had a Lab/husky a long time ago, who'd fetch a stick reluctantly, only once, and then look at you like you were some sort of idiot. I fetched many more sticks than she did...

 

[Zass]

Newf:

"Ball? I'll get the ball!!! I'll get it, I'll get it. I'll get it!!!!!

How how do you want me to jump??? I can jump REALLY high? Wanna see?

I can woof too, and roll over, and give you my paw and...Oh...you lost interest
I'll just lay by your feet...Forever...Or at least until your ready to notice me again."

 

[akane]

That's why we avoid dogs such as pretty much any herding breeds. They would drive my husband insane. The husky is bad enough with her unending energy and she will play ball. She's not obsessive though and she'll throw toys around by herself.

 

[HowlsOfAngels]

This is why the majority of my pack is made up of Pyrenees crosses and only a single ACD cross, the latter of which is anxious to please. My pyr girls are stubborn, a bit aloof, and highly intelligent. They are a challenge to train and will often ignore any newcomers who'd like to cue them to perform. I find it downright hysterical when I hear someone trying to cue my dogs from across the house and walk in to see the animal completely turned away from them, playing dumb, but with a snap of my fingers I get an ear flick of acknowledgement and they, reluctantly, do as they are told. They tend to respect a chosen few and phooey on anyone that tries to treat them like your average lab.

 

[Zass]

The newf isn't toy-obsessive or overly energetic (I'd think, compared to a young husky, he's probably downright sluggish)..He's just VERY eager to please and DELIGHTED to be given a task.

I guess you could say he's people or job oriented/obsessive. He has absolutely no "life of his own."

Early on I taught him fetch, and he's always been on love with the idea that making us happy could be so easy.
He's not the type to drop a ball into your lap or carry it around all day. He IS the type to follow ME around all day, watch everything I do, and lay by my feet everywhere I rest, etc. Ready to act on anything he might be able to do that could be helpful or pleasing.

He's a 4-footed babysitter :roll: , and really, he did turn out to be an excellent choice for younger aged children, since I didn't have much time or energy to spend on training when the kids were small, or to exercise him all that much. Thankfully he mostly figured out the basics on his own.
The rest took very minimal instruction, but, he gets me compliments on my dog training ability.

He's just very good at reading the situation and acting accordingly, but his desire to please is his number one driving ambition. Not much room in his dog brain for independent thoughts. :lol:

 

[akane]

For puppy class once they switched dogs and my husband got a retriever while they got our husky. They just idly gave a command and nope. Not happening. They never got her to do anything and her attention was on the instructor walking around to see if she could score more cheese. :lol: Meanwhile, my husband is just shocked at how easy the retriever is. There wasn't a whole lot to do with the puppy because it just sat there waiting and then did what you wanted the first time. And I find huskies extremely easy compared to akitas. If I'd known a spitz breed could be that easy to train I would have gotten a husky right off. You can't really beg, threaten, or bribe an akita. You can make them happy to be part of the pack and then they decide to listen for as long as it's worth expending the energy.