POINTS OF CONFORMATION

We have used hand drawn diagrams, to help assist in explaining some of the conformations points of The Japanese Akita Inu, which by their nature may not be as exact as the information that they represent.  However, the diagrams serve a means to an end in that it is easier to see the information explained pictorially rather than just explained in words.  Furthermore, it is important to understand that the information contained within this section is OUR Understanding and may not necessarily be shared by everyone.

HEAD PROPORTIONS

The head of The Japanese Akita-Inu is best described as a symphony of triangles.  As the right-hand diagram clearly shows, the head itself when viewed from above is a blunt triangle with the points of balance all being divided in to a variety of triangles.  The skull represents 60% and the muzzle 40% of the overall head proportions.

The eye shape is that of a scalene (un-equal sided) triangle and far enough apart to give a regal look, too close together and the Regal aspect is lost and the dog takes on a snippy sly look.  Ideally the eyes should be oblique and set at 35 degrees to the horizontal of the muzzle.  The line form the lower edge of the eye should converge with the lowest point of the ear.

The shape of the ear is also that of a scalene triangle which should be hooded and ideally set at an inclining angle of between 75 & 90 degrees from the angle of the stop and running virtually parallel with the neck.  The inner edge of the ear should ideally line up with the centre line of the eye, to be perfectly in balance.

The stop should be moderate and preferably at an angle of 135 degrees from the horizontal of the muzzle.

 

When viewed from the front the muzzle should be rounded and without dewlap.

 

The bite should be a perfect scissor bite neither undershot or overshot and full dentition amounting to 42 teeth.

 

POINTS OF CONFORMATION

It is generally accepted that different people prefer different variations on a theme and as much as there can be preferences the foundations have to be solid and these are the points of conformation.

The diagram below highlights what we believe to be the desired angles of The Japanese Akita Inu.

The following diagram highlights the main points of conformation of the Japanese Akita Inu, for those of you that are not familiar with the various names and terms of body parts.

One of the most important aspects of the Japanese Akita Inu is the tail, this should be well curled and held high on the back.  It is most important to the overall balance of the dog as it balances against the strong crest of neck and magnificent head of the breed. 
The length of the tail should, if un-furled, reach the hock of the dog.  However, this should NOT be done as it can be very painful for the dog and to be perfectly honest if one cannot imagine the length of the tail unfurled, one shouldn’t be judging the dog anyway.

One of the biggest contentions with the Japanese Akita Inu is that of body height to length.  You will see from the various standards that the ratio is regarded as 10:11 or very slightly longer than tall.  However, if you look at Japan is breeding its dogs they are 10:10, 50:50 or square however you want to put it.  This means that the mother land is breeding differently to the standard, but the problem is the bureaucracy involved around the ownership of the standard. 

This will not help the novice judge or those looking to become involved in the breed and to be fair the best dog will stand out and the chances are it will be 10:10.  The breed standards are a guideline and allow the judge to be flexible, to a degree, in their interpretation of the standard.

It has not been our aim to talk you through the various breed standards or to state the obvious.  Instead we have tried to give you a few pointers that we believe will help people to acknowledge what they see when looking at a Japanese Akita Inu.