Off to a great start to showing our Akita!!!

[EddieWalker]

Kaminari is now 14 months old and one of our two Akita's that we show. Our other two Akita's are pet quality. Matsu is the other show dog. He just turned 8 months old and he did OK in the ring, but it was new for him and he was a little distracted by all the new smells, sounds and other dogs.

Kami won her AKC Championship when she was 9 months old in four shows. All where Major wins!!! She hasn't competed since then, so we where a bit unsure of what to expect. Tyler Kennel Club had their yearly competition in Canton TX this weekend, and Kami competed as a Special, along with three other Specials, including two that are ranked top 20 in the Nation , and 7 other Akita's. She took Best Of Breed in the Akita's and 4th in the Working Dog Group against 25 other breeds two days in a row!!!!! We are overwhelmed at how well she did, especially at such a young age against mature, seasoned dogs. All of the judges said that she will do even better as she matures.

That's 8 points towards her Grand Champion title, and several required categories checked off.


Karen with Kami and one off her Best Of Breed ribbons.



Becca is our Handler who is showing Kami, and this was after her second Group 4 win.



Just a nice picture that I took of Kami

 

[newbury]

Well done Eddie!
Those dogs are beautiful.

 

[Streetcar]

Good job Eddie
How much difference between pet and show Akita.
I used to work with someone with show German shepherd. I though t they looks almost like a different breed. Show dogs were much larger and had severe slope to back as compared to pets/ police dogs

 

[mddorange]

Great news Eddie, Thanks for the update.

 

[two_bit_score]

Great job done by everyone! Congratulations!

 

[TomSeller]

Dang good looking dog

 

[Buppies]

Beautiful dogs wishing you and your wife much success

 

[forgeblast]

Awesome Job!!!

 

[polo1665]

Beautiful dog.......congratulations!

 

[EddieWalker]

Thank you everyone.

The Group 4 wins are really a big deal. That's when the compete against the other breeds, and for whatever reason, Akita's normally don't do very well. Of all our friends that have been competing for decades, none have made it to the top 4 more then once in their lives. Doing it twice in one weekend is unheard of!!!! There are 30 breeds in the "Working Dog" Group. usually the Boxer and the Doberman do the best. That placing for Kami will be huge in determining her ranking with AKC. She shot up to number 18 in the Nation when she won her championship because she did it with all Major wins in just four shows. This last weekend was even more impressive.

Good job Eddie
How much difference between pet and show Akita.
...

Quick history on Akita's. The breed was almost eliminated during WWII and the dogs that made it out of Japan after the war where few and far between, so breeders starting using German Shepard's to breed them, and that has become a trait that everyone is working to breed out of them now. Long snouts, pointed ears, small rear ends are found in pet quality Akita's, but not show quality. Their head should resemble a bear more then anything else. Too tall is bad. Certain makings are bad too. A really nice dog in every way will never make it as a show dog if it's coloring is off. Then there are the little things between show dogs that define a good one from a great one. From all we know, Kami is as close to perfect as there is. People are taking selfies with her, the other breeders are asking about breeding with her, wanting to know her bloodline. Even more amazing is that three times now, judges have all met after the show to look at her and discuss what to look for in the breed using her as an example of what an Akita should look like. It's very exciting for us, especially since we are so new to it.

Raiden was our first show dog. He did OK, but after a year of showing him, we realized that he was just too similar to everyone else competing in our area of Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas and Oklahoma. We all know each other, we all breed with each other, and all of our dogs have become the same. My wife decided that we needed to search all over the country to find the best puppy out there. When we found Kami's litter, we started talking to the owners. We did the interviews, we allowed them to send a lady to inspect our home, evaluate us and our other 2 Akita's at that time, and learn about our history in the ring. When they learned of how we took care of Raiden after he got sick with Tick Paralysis, that really helped our position a lot. There where four female puppies. Number one was Kami, she was first born, and stunning. The others where all good show quality puppies, but number 1 seemed to be the pick of the litter. The competition for those puppies was intense. We know of at least a dozen people wanting one. Several where top show people, not armatures like us. So when it was announced that number 1 was going to us, we where very happily surprised!!! You do not just go an pick out a puppy at this level, you get selected.

None of her litter mates have done anywhere as well as Kami has. Two have made Champion, but it took a dozen shows for it to happen. Not two weekends like Kami. None have won Best of Breed, so then have never competed in Group. Part of what makes a dog great is it's environment. The breeder felt our home would be the best place for her. They knew about my wife making her own dog food, that nutrition would be the best possible. And it is!!!! We try not to be snobs, but too many others in the show ring do not seem to realize how important food is in their development from day one.

A quick example of what it takes to get a top show puppy, a friend of ours owns the number 1 female in the nation. She is an amazing dog, but they live in town and there isn't a lot of room for any other dogs. They wanted to buy the sister of our newest puppy, Matsu. During the process, the breeder asked what they would do if they had two females and one went into season. Akita's can become very aggressive to other female dogs when this happens!!! She didn't have a good enough answer and that ended all her chances of getting that puppy.