It's a common saying that an akita can't easily co-exist with other dogs of the same sex. Indeed, setting the limits and calming the akita in order to avoid tension at home isn't very easy for many akitas.

My experience is limited to a female akita living with other 2 female Shih-Tzus and a female cat.At least for the cat I have to admit that I didn't do anything special, this cat decided it was safe to come and demand to be adopted by a family with two Akitas roaming in the garden. A cold winter night she fell asleep on our balcony. I guess she had her way to show the akitas she wasn't prey and she slowly managed to become part of the family. When the third akita of my life came home the cat was already here and they somehow figured out how to live together in harmony.

 

With the shih-tzus we were more careful and avoided situations that would cause confrontation and possible aggressive behavior (e.g. food). We also didn't leave them alone in the same room. Limits were set from puppyhood. The game "I grab you from the neck and throw you around" was my major concern and I interrupted the game when the akita attempted to grab the little ones from the neck.

Even though they don't fight I still don't leave them alone unattended.

Besides the dogs living in our building we had to be friendly with the other animals too. So, from day one we started visiting the park where we met dogs of various ages.

Even though we were playing nicely in the park with the other dogs, at around 10 months she started to be aggressive towards some dogs and not only females. I immediately sought professional help, the professional socialization approach was very successful and after a few sessions we were ready to go back to the park. I feel it's important to mention that our trainer helped me and my girl without any kind of violence or abusive tools like choke collars, electric collars etc.

 

A typical day in the park:

Obviously there was no fight, the images are just humorous. Playing with other dogs in the park is our daily routine and we usually don't have any problems.

Christos Ioannou