Are Akitas Smart? Dog Intelligence Test

I had two Akitas, a male and a female. They were still too young to mate, so when we went to work we separated them in the yard. They could still move freely, but couldn’t reach each other. Another dog managed to get in the yard and tried to “take advantage” of the female. She actually killed him but she and the foreign dog were entangled in her cable. My male actually managed to release himself from his cable, and went across the street to the house of a neighbor that he knew and brought him back to help the female. Leading me to believe that both of my dogs were highly intelligent and that my female was very selective. Sadly they are both gone and there isn’t a day that I don’t miss them.

Oh for sure Akitas are smart. My Akita has 3 buttons to help me know what she wants. Water, Walk, and Outside. And the outside button is the most useful button, definitely when I’m in a different or part of the house. But one example that really shows off her intelligence is, when I let her outside in the morning and go back in bed, they way she tells me she wants back inside is she gives out a quiet little howl by the back door. But if I don’t get up and open it quickly she’ll go to my bedroom window and howl instead. I was surprised she knew it was the same window since I usually have the curtains down. But shows she has great spatial awareness.

As all I have to do is look at him tilt my head and he knows we're going out side.

When I let my Akita out he would rattle the wind chimes back and forth until I heard it to come back inside. Never barked. I also had a brand new gallon water jug sitting on the table. I left out real quick. He opened the new jug. Drank some. The jug fell over and worried that he was going to get in trouble he sat it back upright on the table (half the water now spilled) like I wouldn’t notice the open jug or water everywhere.

My akita is deaf...I was able to teach him basic commands like sit, lay,stay,and come to me in sign language in no time flat...he's super smart and hyper vigilant...best dog ever!!! My reason to even get up in the morning.

Our Akita mix (her other parent was a Shepherd/Retriever mix of some type) was always a quick study but definitely had a mind of her own. It took her about 10 minutes to learn how to turn lights on and off, but after a few months she got tired of it and when given the command would either make halfhearted attempts or just whine and refuse. She could also always tell when we were talking about her even if we weren't using her name. She didn't like it and would get up, look at us, and leave the room. 😂 She also had ear mites a couple of times and hated the treatment, Afterwards when she overheard the word "ears" in a conversation she would get concerned and sometimes hide.

Yes! So smart our Akita shinju is 6 months most amazing dog we have ever had! Definitely self willed, but I swear he understands everything we say! When he does not like it he turns is back to us, when he wants to go out he goes to his leash and hits it with his nose, if we don’t respond he make a noise, he learns so fast he has sat, lay, place, fetch (although on his terms) since he we got him at 10 weeks, never an accident (great breeder as well) he seemed to be potty trained, he goes to bed between 9-10 pm and gets up about 7. If we are not up he wants us up and if myself or my husband do not go on his morning walk with him he wants to know why, he is sweet, funny and tender hearted. We socialize him all the time he loves people he can be rough with play he’s 67.2 pounds right now!! We love this guy!❤

I had a Akita for ten years, he was super clever, and huge problem solver. And yes, super emotionally tuned in to their owner, almost scary how in tune they are, loved him to death...best dog ever.

The leash is not ambiguous. We have to hide the leashes in our house if we are just moving them so they don't see them and lose their minds. I love the part of the Akita that makes them their own person. They are more like people that way. I think the more people like they are the more intelligent they are.

We have had 2 Akitas and I would say they adapt to their environment/take on the family dynamics. They are the most human like breed I have ever had and I have had a German Shepherd, English Mastiff, Cocker Spaniel and a mix breed rescue. It seems key that the Akita know who is alpha or else they run the show.

I had a female Akita, Kiku, in the early '70s. The owners of her father, Niko, moved and couldn't take him so we adopted him. Once, my mother was cooking hamburgers and made some miniburgers for the dogs. Niko ate his, then snatched Kiku's. After he left the kitchen, my mother made another for Kiku. Instead of eating it, she took it and dropped it on the floor where Niko could see it. When he came to investigate Kiku attacked him and pinned him to the floor, then went back and ate the burger while he watched. This shows that Kiku recognized an offence, planned retaliation, and successfully executed it. Niko was smart enough to stay put. After that they could eat from the same bowl without a problem. Niko was not a shrinking violet. In Japan champion dogs were determined by facing off two dogs rather than what they looked like. The winner was the dog that stood his ground. If a dog lunged or cowered it lost. At an Akita club meeting his former owner foolishly faced Niko off against another dog. The other dog's owner couldn't control his dog and Niko stood his ground, then won the resulting fight.

When I was younger our Akita followed my school bus 4 miles down the road to school wanting to go with me. I remember my mom coming to school to get him it was kinda hilarious for me as a child. We always went camping with him he would always come to me on command no matter if you couldn’t see him. Sadly years later during a big move out he unlocked and opened the door. Protected our house from a black bear that came out of the woods. He was always protective over me and our female Akita. He was the best friend anybody could ask for. Years later I’m adult now and his memory pops up every time I watch my neighbors dogs. Your channel and me watching my neighbors pets is inspiring me to gain the courage to have my 3rd Akita. For my current living space it would be very unfair for the Akita but the other day a job opportunity arose and would allow me to have the space to have one roam more freely and comfortably. (Akitas definitely have their alone time or mine did atleast) Thank you to you and Haga for teaching me some things I didn’t know raising my first 2.

100% agreed with your final conclusion great video 👌🏻

My boy is extremely intelligent.

I may sound like a proud parent, but I truly believe my Akita is the smartest; for example, he learned to communicate all his needs; He sleeps in my room every night and when he needs to poop or pee I wake up at night to take him out, he has learned to open the door, to get on the public bus and to know how he has to be there, no matter how full the bus is . He knows how to behave, when we're at home he learned where he can't enter and many other things that most of us don't teach him, maybe I only told him once, and that was enough, there are other things that were difficult to make him understand; for example, not to fight with all the dogs on the street; but with a lot of patience and perseverance now he learned to behave everywhere.

My Akita Kai which is an American Akita he can open up doors that have levers and he also can open up a wrought iron gate with his nose . And if a bedroom door is not shut properly he'll just barge into any room and make himself comfortable

We are down to our second Akita a female. Her big brother passed 1.5 years ago. Both showed signs of being highly intelligent. I recall when our big boy was a puppy he would basically inhale is food. To try to slow his eating down and following advice of another dog owner, I placed a tennis ball in his food bowl. He walked over to his bowl and instantly picked up the ball, dropped it on the floor and proceeded to inhale his meal. We ended up purchasing a maze style bowl for him. We purchased the same puzzle you demonstrated for our girl which she solved in under 2-minutes. That puzzle was rated at 1-2 levels, we are now on another puzzle rated at levels 3-4 which on her first try she solved in just under 5-minutes. She now does it in under 3-minutes. A funny story indicating intelligence. One morning I was laying in bed trying to wake up and she started pawing and repeatedly licking me, significantly more than she ever had. Thinking she was desperate to go for a walk to do her business, I jumped out of bed, quickly threw on some clothes. I turned around after dressing to find her in our bed, in my place asleep. These are only 2-small examples but they both constantly impressed us with their intelligence and problem solving abilities. I agree with your take on dog intelligence tests and how accurate they may or may not be since there are many factors making up intelligence and not all covered by the tasks in these tests.

I'll add that our Akita Kenosha knowd the command "go around". We use a retractable leash and she will follow the leash out of whatever brush, or around trees, to get back to the path on her own.

My Akita watched me open the bin, fridge, doors etc. and then started opening them too. But if I told him to sit he sometimes laid down (and vice versa). They are super smart when it's beneficial to them :)

My first Akita was incredibly intelligent. My husband traveled for work which left my daughter and me home alone. We live in a 2 story home and as soon as he left she would station herself at the foot of the stairs in a dark spot. In order for anyone to go upstairs where we slept they would have to get past her in the dark. As soon as my husband came home she went back to sleeping next to my daughter's bedside.