QUALITY JAPANESE IMPORTS CAN WIN IN THE AMERICAN RING

As the new imports began competing in the American rings, the idea of a breed split gained supporters from those who insisted the imports were so different that worthy dogs were being ignored by American judges. The growing number of quality imports pointed or already champions is steadily undermining this argument.

Most import owners are realistic about the vagaries of the show ring and recognize that earning a championship takes time.  They also understand that judges are more comfortable with the familiar, and  less likely to reward any Akita with an uncommon appearance. Even before the arrival of the latest imports, judges were often reluctant to award wins to dogs from our original foundation stock with self- or white-masks and urajiro markings even though these have always been acceptable under our standard.  No one should be surprised that the judging community has taken time to adjust to the even more exotic look of the imports.

The fact is, this breed has great diversity.  A look at our top winners illustrates the variety of sizes, colors, and markings that fall within the standard.  Entering a dog show is not and should not be a guarantee of winning.  Exhibitors show Akitas all the time that fall far short of the standard’s ideal, and no one really wants those dogs rewarded just for showing up.  Akitas of domestic breeding range across the board in terms of quality and temperament, and so do those imported from Japan. 

AMERICAN AND JAPANESE PEDIGREES CAN BE COMBINED SUCCESSFULLY

When blending domestic and import pedigrees comes up, proponents of the split claim they have “been there--done that” with little or no degree of success.  They have also implied that mixing the two pedigrees would result in some sort of third breed, different altogether from its parent stock.  Disproving this handily is the success of progeny from blended Japanese and American pedigrees both as conformation exhibits and as breeding stock. 

Deserving imports and blends have been successful under a wide assortment of judges, especially when you consider how few are in the ring in comparison to the total number of Akitas shown.  Many have already finished in both the US and Canada and have gone on to Best of Breeds, Specialty Awards of Merit, and multiple group placements in the US and Canada.  Akita blends have already won a Canadian BIS and a Specialty Best of Breed.  Imports and blends are working in agility and obedience.  One of the breed’s greatest rarities, a Champion with a Utility Dog title in obedience, is an import. 
 

Despite the dire predictions about genetic disasters from crosses, the first and second generation blends already in competition are harbingers of great promise for the future.  At last year’s national, the sixteen entries in the Stud Dog class offered plenty of choices for Dr. Sophia Kaluzniacki, a leading proponent of splitting the breed.  Yet her winner was the only entry representing a blend of import and domestic pedigrees, and his get were from different litters.  Speaking in the Winter, 1998, issue of Akita Dog, she said,  “When judging Stud Dog and Brood Bitch classes the most important thing to me is to see the consistency in both type and overall excellence in the offspring.  The stud dog winner was a perfect example of what I look for.”