You remember when you were having a Golden Retriever or a Labrador dog how crazy they were when you left the house! You were like “Oh my god! Stop Crying!”, you could do nothing about it and it was absolutely frustrating. What should I do about it?
Now that you will have Akita, you must be curious whether or not he will be the same and you have always been curious about this question “Can Akitas be left alone?”
Yes in 90% of the time Akitas can be left alone without issues. On some occasions, they can suffer from separation anxiety and this can lead to some problems in leaving them home alone. They can get separation anxiety from being left alone in the streets, or a sudden loss or death of a family member. They can show anxious behavior, excess barking or howling, destructive behavior, peeing in the house or try to escape through an open door or window. If your Akita doesn’t show any signs of this behavior you might just be fine leaving him home alone.
Reminder about Akitas Articles
We have started a series about Akitas where we go in-detail through everything related to Akitas if you’re curious to look at Akitas in-depth please refer to our latest articles: Akitas’ Howling, Akitas in-depth and Akitas in cold weather
What is Separation Anxiety in Dogs?
When you are away from home your dog can exhibit extreme stress. This is what we call separation anxiety. The stress will disappear within minutes after you return home. According to Patricia McConnell, who wrote a book about it, the issue is like a panic attack and that we still don’t know why this happens. The symptoms can be
Anyway, it’s easier to be managed at puppy dogs than older dogs, since older dogs have already been dealing with this issue for a long time already but puppies are still building their behaviors.
Before we start addressing the issue of Akita being left alone, we have to look at symptoms of separation anxiety first:
- Anxious behavior: You will notice that whenever you change your clothes, go near the door or start to pick up your keys, that your dog will whine a lot, chew or destroy anything. That’s because of his tries to grab your attention through any possible way
- Excess barking or howling or crying.
- Destructive behavior.
- Peeing in the house.
- Trying to escape or open the door or jumping out of the window.
If your dog has some of the above symptoms then 90% he will be suffering from Separation Anxiety.
Causes for Separation Anxiety
Well, unfortunately, no one knows the causes. It’s not clear why some dogs are prone to it more than others. General speaking, we can say that all dogs are prone to it but the percentage is different. For example, golden retrievers are highly prone to it which is contradicting to German Shepherds.
However, one of the most known causes is leaving your puppy suddenly. Many of us when they get their puppy, take a break from work to say with him during the first week or two to make him used to the new environment. Then suddenly, you decide to return to work after you make sure he is well potty-trained and return to find your house in a complete mess as if attacked by 100 dogs. That’s because your dog in this period got really attached to you like his mother and you suddenly left him which isn’t fair. That’s why we say, you have to train him that you will not be around all the time even from young ages.
Another cause is changing the schedule, sudden accidents like the death of someone in your family, and anything unfamiliar.
Dealing with Separation Anxiety
This is a huge topic to be covered in this article that’s why I will just point to places where you can learn a lot from them.
First, you can find Zak George’s Dog Training Revolution: The Complete Guide to Raising the Perfect Pet with Love on Amazon which is a must-have book for any owner and the book that I linked to earlier I’ll Be Home Soon. Also, it’s worth checking this article from AKC which is a detailed article that goes through every aspect of Separation Anxiety in dogs.
Are Akitas Prone to Separation Anxiety?
Akitas are considered from Wolf-crosses dogs, generally, wolf dogs have a strong bond in their packs. They value their leader a lot and they trust him a lot.
It’s hard for Akitas to develop Separation Anxiety since they trust their leader a lot. They will trust that you come back whenever you leave them even for a month and perhaps that was well described in the movie: Hachi: A Dog’s Tale where we have the seen the sweet dog waiting for his owner for a lot of time no matter what happens.
So, if you get a puppy Akita, you are in a position where 90% he will never suffer from a Separation Anxiety but as we know, sometimes the opposite can occur.
Famous Causes for Separation Anxiety in Akitas:
As I said earlier Akitas trust their owner greatly which makes them in a complete shock when their owners abandon them in the street. That’s when the dog will continue with separation anxiety for the rest of his life since he lost his trust in people.
So it’s quite common to see on Akita’s forums people complaining that their rescue dog is suffering from separation anxiety after being rescued from the streets.
Another cause for separation anxiety in Akitas is the sudden loss of his leader or the death of any member in his family. As I said, Akitas are really connected deeply with their pack, so whenever a loss happens, it’s usually a shock for them.
These are the famous causes, there might be Akitas with separation anxiety that are not related to the above causes, however, the percentage is really small.
Separation Anxiety in Akitas is different from other dogs due to the following reasons:
- They are very strong: So, if they decided to do any form of destructive behavior, it will be a disaster.
- They are very dominant.
- They are very loyal: Statistics say that more than 60% of the Akitas suffering from SP will kill themselves because they just can’t handle it.
And usually, if you have a backyard, it will turn into a bunch of heaps everywhere, so it is better to address their behavior early on instead of abandoning your dogs.
Usually, when you have an Akita suffering from SP, having another dog will most likely fix this issue.
Therefore…..
90% of the time, Akitas will be able to handle themselves alone with no issues at all. They will never make any mistake in their house because they respect their owners and they believe that they are responsible for their house.
They are loyal dogs whom you can trust deeply whenever you go out that they will keep your house safe and clean.
Conclusion:
Akitas are really able to handle themselves in their houses alone if they are normal dogs, but if they have any separation anxiety issues then it’s best to consult a trainer immediately before things go out of your hand.
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Have a wonderful day 🙂