Akita Grooming

About the Akita

The Akita carries a thick, harsh, standing double coat over a dense woolly undercoat, on a frame that runs from seventy pounds up to a hundred and thirty. It is a spitz coat built for northern Japanese winters and it behaves like any other spitz coat, at a larger scale.

The grooming skill required is not high. There is nothing to cut, and matting is a secondary problem rather than the main one. What there is, twice a year, is a coat blow that has to be seen to be believed: the entire undercoat releases over two to four weeks and comes off a dog this size in bin bags.

The part that makes an Akita a specialist appointment is not the coat at all. It is the temperament. Akitas are dignified, powerful, deeply loyal to their own people and entirely uninterested in strangers, and many are seriously intolerant of other dogs. A salon needs to know both of those things before the dog arrives, not after.

The coat, and blowing it twice a year

The outer coat is straight, harsh and stands away from the body. The undercoat beneath it is soft, thick and woolly, and it is the part that does the work and causes the trouble.

Year round shedding is moderate and unremarkable. Then twice a year, usually spring and autumn, the whole undercoat releases across two to four weeks. On a dog this size the volume is genuinely difficult to describe: it comes away in sheets that can be pulled off by hand, the dog looks visibly patchy while it happens, and the quantity fills sacks.

An undercoat rake is the primary tool, worked in sections in the direction the coat lies, followed by a slicker to lift what the rake loosened. Daily during a blow and outdoors, without exception.

A bath and a high velocity dry at the start of each blow is the single most valuable appointment of the year for this breed. Warm water loosens the dead undercoat and the dryer drives it out, and one session does what a fortnight of brushing does not.

Between blows, every two or three days keeps things in order.

Matting is a lesser problem than on a Chow or a Sheltie, because the outer coat is harsh and relatively short, but it happens behind the ears, in the armpits, on the trousers and around the ruff, and dead undercoat left in place is what causes it.

There is also a long coated Akita, a recessive variety with noticeably longer feathering on the ears, legs and tail. They are not shown but they are purebred, and they mat considerably more, so say if you have one.

Never shave an Akita

The argument is the same as for the Samoyed and the Husky, and it gets ignored on Akitas for the same reason it gets ignored on all of them: the shedding is exhausting and a shave looks like it would help.

It does not. The dog sheds the same quantity of undercoat whether or not the outer coat has been cut off, so shaving does not reduce shedding at all. What it does is remove the harsh outer layer that blocks sun and holds an insulating pocket of air, while leaving the woolly undercoat that traps heat. The dog is hotter, not cooler, and its skin is exposed to direct sun for the first time.

The regrowth is the permanent part. Undercoat returns faster than guard hairs and comes to dominate, and the coat that grows back is frequently woolly, dull, uneven and far more prone to matting than the original. On older dogs, sections may not return at all.

Akitas do struggle in genuine heat, being heavily coated and large. The answer is a thoroughly deshedded coat so air can move to the skin, plus shade, cool floors, water and walking at the ends of the day.

The only legitimate exception is a coat so badly pelted that brushing it out would mean hours of dragging on skin, or a clip requested by a veterinarian.

Trimming the feet, the hocks and the sanitary area is normal and is not the same thing.

Temperament, and the two things a salon must know

Akitas were bred to guard and to hunt large game, and they retain both. A well raised Akita is calm, quiet, dignified and utterly devoted to its own household, and completely indifferent to everyone else. They do not seek approval from strangers and they cannot be jollied into cooperating the way a Labrador can.

Two facts need to reach the salon before the dog does.

They are frequently intolerant of other dogs, particularly of the same sex, and this is a breed characteristic rather than a training failure. An open salon floor with loose dogs is not appropriate for most Akitas, and a salon that cannot separate them should decline the booking. Say this when you book, not on arrival.

They do not accept handling from strangers as a matter of course. An Akita that has decided it is finished is a hundred pounds of dog that will not be moved, and pushing one is how people get hurt. A groomer who works slowly, gives the dog space and stops when told is what this breed needs.

What makes all of this manageable is early work that cannot be retrofitted. Handle the feet, ears, mouth and tail daily from eight weeks. Book short, uneventful salon visits from puppyhood so the building is familiar. Find one groomer and stay with them, because an Akita that knows and accepts a particular person is a completely different appointment from one meeting somebody new.

Sedation at a veterinarian for nails is a legitimate outcome for a dog that genuinely cannot be handled, and it is better than a fight.

What a full groom involves, and the rest of the routine

Two and a half to three hours, and most of it is drying. Getting water and shampoo through a coat this dense takes time, rinsing takes longer, and drying all the way to the skin is the step that cannot be rushed. An Akita that goes home damp underneath develops hot spots, and on a coat this thick they are invisible until they are large.

The order is: rake and brush through dry, dealing with anything felted before water is involved, then bathe, then a high velocity dry with brushing throughout, then the feet, hocks, nails, ears and sanitary area.

Nails are thick and grow fast, and they are the job most often left because doing them on a dog this strong is genuinely difficult. Every three to four weeks and small amounts.

Ears are small, thick and upright, which is the easy version: airflow is good and problems are uncommon. A weekly look is enough.

Skin is worth checking during the blow, because a dog carrying dead undercoat against the skin in warm weather is exactly the setup for a hot spot.

And keep an eye on weight. Akitas are prone to joint problems and to bloat as a deep chested breed, so no vigorous handling around a large meal, including a long appointment.

What to tell your groomer

Say the breed when you book, and say plainly whether the dog is comfortable around other dogs. This is a safety question and it must be answered honestly.

Say how the dog is with strangers and with handling, including anything that has gone wrong before.

Ask whether they have a high velocity dryer and have booked three hours. A badly dried Akita gets hot spots.

Ask for a deshedding treatment rather than a bath and brush, and book at the start of each coat blow.

Say if you have a long coated Akita, because it is a different and longer appointment.

Ask for nothing cut beyond the feet, hocks and sanitary area, and decline any offer to shave the dog.

And try to keep the same groomer. It matters more on this breed than on almost any other.

Keeping the coat between grooms

Common Questions About the Akita