need advise on japanese akita's (owners/experts)?

I think its great that your friend has taken on this dog, problems and all. It takes some extra time, patience, and love to work with dogs that haven't had the greatest start to life, but when they break through their shell it is very rewarding.

I think behaviour classes are going to make a world of difference for this dog! Even having owned dogs before, when you are put in a situation with a dog that doesn't know how to just be a dog it can be very hard to work with, but dog trainers will have lots of useful tips that will help with her individual dog. Also, through training they will develop a better bond, more trust, and hopefully the dog will also build some confidence.

The main difference I've read about the two lines of Akitas is that the Japanese Akitas have been brought back to their original purpose of hunting dogs, where the American Akitas are a product of the war and are 'fighting dogs' or guard dogs. From the sounds of it, this dog's behaviour is a product of experience not genetics, so although learning about the breed is a great idea, I think looking at fearful dog information in general would be helpful.

Some little things she can work on until her classes start will help the dog feel more at home and comfortable around her.

- Taking the dog on short walks (not near other dogs, and always on leash until they know each other better) will help to build a bond, and they can share some positive time together.

- Working on simple obedience tasks such as attention focusing (asking for eye contact) and simple sits and downs with treats as rewards.

- If the dog isn't comfortable being touched then working on some very minimal contact is good too. Hold a treat for the dog to chew on while she runs the other hand down the dogs back, head, legs, etc (watching for any signs the dog is uncomfortable - this should be a positive experience for the dog, working on areas she doesn't like is something that can be done later when she has built some trust).

- When people visit she can ask them not to pay any attention to the dog. She may want to keep the dog in another room until the visitor is in and sits down. Then she can let the dog out and ask the person not to pay attention to the dog (no eye contact, no petting, no talking to). This allows the dog to greet the person on their own terms or at least to learn that other people are ok to be in the house and won't hurt her. In time when the dog is comfortable with this situation, she can give the visitor some treats to offer the dog nonchalantly. Again this just reinforces to the dog that strangers bring good things. It will probably take repetition with the same visitor for the dog to get comfortable with this. She shouldn't be surprised if the dog goes backwards in behaviour with a new person visiting. When the dog is good with a few people, she should work with inviting as many different people over (individually or in pairs at first) to get the dog used to many different strangers.

- As for the submissive peeing, she should ignore the behaviour and just clean it up. Scolding a nervous dog for this behaviour only makes them more nervous and increases the frequency of the accidents in the house. Praising her bathroom habits outside is also a good way to reinforce the correct place to go to the bathroom.

I hope this helps! Good luck!

There's no such breed. It's AKITA=NO MODIFIER!!!

A month IS "settled in"! Why on earth did the twit take on a beast w/such a horrible temperament?

& There's no such thing as "behavior classes". TRAINING alters behavior,but will not change temperament.