REFLECTIONS - Akita
Antics by Lynn Morgan, Midnite Akitas
Who
Collects The Most Toys?
 CH Gin No Taiyo Count O' Midnite that’s
who! This Top 20 Akita puts the toys the other dogs have been playing with back
in his toy box, but he never puts back the toys HE takes out; just the ones the
other dogs took from the toy chest. Dog show vendors know this Akita very well, as he
will carefully look over their offerings, choose an item, and carry it over to
wherever it is to be paid for and sit holding his prize and wagging his tail
while I pay for his "pretty."
One of the Louisville TV stations aired
a shot of the big macho Akita carrying his toy ground hog into the show building. The teddy bear in this picture was the first toy we bought
Bucky as a
youngster; it's as old as he is. Both the toy and the Akita will be 10 years old in November and the
teddy is not missing a single stitch. He not only takes very good care of his
own toys, after sharing a motel room with his Akita cousin, a confirmed toy-destroyer,
Bucky seemed to have somehow taught the other dog not to tear up toys. I have no
idea how he communicated this, but the other dog, who was younger and seemed to
watch "Bucky" a lot, did stop tearing up toys by the 5th or 6th
dog show we attended together. The two Akitas live in separate houses and traveled in separate
cars but "Bucky" taught the youngster to appreciate a toy collection.
Most Akitas enjoy playing with toys.
All sorts of toys. My Akitas love the ones we buy just for them, but can have just as
much fun entertaining themselves with everything from sticks & pine cones to
cardboard boxes, empty plastic drink containers, and articles of their human’s
clothing.
New visitors to our door are often
startled to be enthusiastically greeted by several large, furry Akita beasts, each
carrying a stuffed toy in it’s mouth, grinning winsomely and wagging
their curly tails so hard that the entire dog is wriggling, all the while
dancing in circles, Rooing & Wooing a welcome around the mouthfuls of
toy. Regular visitors have come to expect the "Akita meet
& greet show routine." I have even been asked, "What do they want,
jobs as Wal-Mart Greeters?"
Our Greeter Akitas will sometimes develop
a strong attachment to a certain favored toy. Wolfie has one of those stuffed
hedgehog toys which makes a very rude noise when it is squeezed. She
insists upon taking it everywhere with her; including to the vet’s office,
grinning and wagging when the vet asks her if she "brought her baby
in with her today?"
Snowy has a major shoe fetish going, her most favored
being Mom’s favorite sheepskin shearling bedroom slippers. Snowy the Stealth
Akita, finds them and will quietly appropriate them for her
own personal use: chewing them, no matter how well they are hidden from her.
My Akita Joe
has a real thing for toilet paper. If he manages to get into the
bathroom, he will grab the end of the toilet paper and then run
all through the house, dragging the
unreeling roll behind him from room to room to room.
Bucky owns more toys than a good many
children. We keep an extra large bin down on the floor filled with dog toys.
Bucky doesn’t mind sharing the goodies in his toy box with his Akita house mates,
but he does keep a very careful accounting of each and every toy. He will
watch very carefully when one of the other Akitas takes a toy, keeping an eye on where the other dog
and the toy are, and as soon as the other dog tires of that toy and leaves
it, Bucky will slip over to pick up the abandoned toy,
carry it back to the toy box, and replace it in his toy chest. Too bad he
doesn’t also put back those toys that he has taken out for his own amusement.
Those he leaves lying around for "mom" to pick up & put away.
Bucky amuses himself with a wide
variety of toys, from the plush stuffed ones that squeak or grunt or talk, to
balls, to hard plastic Giggle toys to Kongs & chewies. He always insisted on
carrying a toy to the Akita ringside with him at dog shows. There was Easter
show where I noticed that our judge was sending larger classes around the
ring all together before looking at the class standing still or doing individual
examinations. As the judge was someone I knew had quite a sense of humor, and
we were first in catalogue order in a large class of Akita Specials, I let
Bucky carry his brand new stuffed Easter Bunny into and around the ring,
leading his own Easter Parade of Akitas with his "bun-bun" proudly
carried along for the ride. He got a laugh from everyone that day.
Bucky began his "take my toy to the
ring routine" as a youngster. A local Akita club had supported the entry at
a show in which he was entered, and had placed the trophies, which were
stuffed dog toys, on a table at the ringside so the Akita judge could distribute to the
winners along with the ribbons. As the nice lady reached her hand out to give me
a ribbon and a toy, Bucky very gently raised up on his back legs and took
the toy for himself, grinning & Rooing & wagging & squeaking that
toy for all that it was worth.
Bucky loves to cruise the vendors at
the dog shows, paying special attention to those who offer anything to eat,
human or canine. Here's this big Akita, deliberately and carefully examining all the toys.
He will choose
the one that he wants, pick it up and carry it in his mouth over to wherever
one goes to pay for purchases. While I am paying for his
"pretty," he will sit smiling & wagging with his new prize in his
mouth. He is well
known & loved by a number of the dog show vendors who have toys, treats,
and/or food for sale. They know that Akita is a serious shopper! Bucky is so fond of the wares at a Canine Bakery vendor’s
booth, that she has named him her Official Akita Ambassador. She says that his
obvious enthusiasm for "Livereaties" has helped her make a few sales
from those who were previously only looking but not buying anything.
Bucky accidentally shoplifted from a
vendor at one extremely crowded "Christmas Cluster" dog show one year.
The vendors were on the show floor right up against the rings, making it difficult to get through the crowd of exhibitors waiting at
ringside. When I finally got to the Akita ring with Bucky, towel, brush for last minute touch-ups,
and
water bottle, I discovered that my Akita was gleefully gripping in his mouth a toy
that most certainly did not belong to him. It seemed that he had dropped the one
he had been carrying and taken one from a vendor’s booth as he was passing
by. As soon as we were finished showing, I had to work my way back through the
crowd exactly the same way we had come, holding up high the "illegally
obtained" toy until I found the vendor selling that particular
item so that I could pay for it.
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