QUESTION

I have got a Japanese Akita. He is nearly one year old and is male. He is very dominant. We are looking to buy a Border Collie bitch puppy and wonder whether he will accept it.

Kelly

ANSWER

Dear Kelly,
Having a dominant male Akita sounds like a handful to begin with. Border collies are a breed of dog that requires vast amounts of exercise or they become bored and can become aggressive and dominant. The collie would probably get on fine with the Akita but I would be looking towards trying to get him less dominant first. Castration can help but is only a very small part of dominance and will not work to solve the problem on its own. I would advise getting involved in training classes and possibly seeking help from a pet behaviourist. The 2 breeds that you are looking at combining are 2 that require a lot of dedication from the owners and a lot of exercise. Agility training can often be a good way of channelling a dogs energy when they have excess.

Paul Wilson