Akita and American Akita
Akita and American Akita
FCI Breed Standards Comparison FCI Breed Standards Comparison

Specification	Akita (Akita Inu)	American Akita (Great Japanese Dog)
FCI Standard Number	255	344
Standard Date	4/2/2001	1/5/2006
Origin	Japan	Japan
Development		USA
Date of Original Standard	3/13/2001	7/6/2005
Utilization	Companion Dog	Companion Dog
Group	5	5
Section	5	5
History	History	History
General Appearance	Large-sized dog, sturdily built, well balanced and with much substance; secondary sex characteristics strongly marked, with high nobility and dignity in modesty; constitution tough.	Large-sized dog, sturdily built, well balanced, with much substance and heavy bone. The broad head, forming a blunt [sic: blut] triangle, with deep muzzle, relatively small eyes and erect ears carried forward almost in line with back of neck, is characteristic of the breed.
Important Proportions	The ratio of height at withers to length of body (from the point of the shoulders to the point of the buttock) is 10 : 11, but the body is slightly longer in bitches than in dogs.	The ratio of height at withers to length of body is 9 : 10 in males and 9 : 11 in bitches. The depth of the chest measures one-half of the height of the dog at withers. The distance from tip of nose to stop corresponds to the distance from stop to occiput as 2 does to 3.
Behaviour / Temperament	The temperament is composed, faithful, docile and receptive.	Friendly, alert, responsive, dignified, docile and courageous.
Head		Massive, but in balance with the body, free of [sic: or] wrinkles when at ease. Head forms a blunt triangle when viewed from above.
Cranial Region
Skull	The size is in proportion to the body. The forehead is broad, with distinct furrow. No wrinkle.	Flat and broad between ears. A shallow furrow extends well up on forehead.
Stop	Defined.	Well defined, but not too abrupt.
Facial Region
Nose	Large and black. Slight and diffuse lack of pigment accepted in white dogs only, but black is always preferred.	Broad and black. Slight and diffuse lack of pigment on nose is acceptable in white dogs only but black is always preferred.
Muzzle	Moderately long and strong with broad base, tapering but not pointed. Nasal bridge straight.	Broad, deep and full.
Lips	Tight.	Black. Not pendulous; tongue pink.
Jaws / Teeth	Teeth strong with scissor bite.	Jaws not rounded, but blunt, strong and powerful. Teeth strong with regular and full dentition; scissor bite preferred, but level bite acceptable.
Cheeks	Moderately developed.
Eyes	Relatively small, almost triangular in shape due to the rising of the outer eye corner, set moderately apart, dark brown: the darker, the better.	Dark brown, relatively small, not prominent, almost triangular in shape. Eye rims black and tight.
Ears	Relatively small, thick, triangular, slightly rounded at tips, set moderately apart, pricked and inclining forward.	Strongly erect and small in relation to the rest of the head. If the ear is folded forward for measuring length, tip will touch upper eye rim. Ears are triangular, slightly rounded at tip, wide at base, not set too low. Viewed from the side, the ears are angled forward over the eyes following the line of the neck.
Neck	Thick and muscular, without dewlap, in balance with head.	Thick and muscular with minimal dewlap, comparatively short, widening gradually toward shoulders. A pronounced crest blends harmoniously into the base of skull.
Body		Longer than high. Skin not too thin, neither too tight nor too loose.
Back	Straight and strong.	Level.
Loin	Broad and muscular.	Firmly muscled.
Chest	Deep, forechest well developed, ribs moderately well sprung.	Wide and deep. Ribs well sprung with well developed brisket.
Underline and Belly	Well drawn up.	Moderate tuck-up.
Tail	Set on high, thick, carried vigorously curled over back; the tip nearly reaching hocks when let down.	Large and well furnished with hair, set high and carried over back or against flank in a three-quarter, full, or double curl, always dipping to or below level of back. On a three-quarter curl, tip drops well down on flank. Root large and strong. The terminal bone of tail reaches hock when let or pulled [sic: puled] down. Hair coarse, straight and dense, with no appearance of a plume.
Limbs
Forequarters		Forelegs heavy-boned and straight as viewed from front.
Shoulders	Moderately sloping and developed.	Strong and powerful with moderate layback.
Pasterns		Slightly sloping forward in an angle of approximately 15° to the vertical.
Elbows	Tight.
Forearms	Straight and heavy-boned.
Hindquarters	Well developed, strong and moderately angulated.	Strongly muscled, width and bone comparable to forequarters. Dewclaws on hind legs customarily removed.
Upper thigh		Strong, well developed, parallel when viewed from behind.
Stifles		Moderately bent.
Hock joints		Well let down, turning neither in nor out.
Feet	Thick, round, arched and tight.	Straight, cat feet, well knuckled up with thick pads.
Gait / Movement	Resilient and powerful movement.	Powerful, covering ground with moderate reach and drive. Hindlegs move in line with forelegs. Back remaining strong, firm and level.
Coat
Hair	Outer coat harsh and straight, undercoat soft and dense; the withers and the rump are covered with slightly longer hair; the hair on tail is longer than on the rest of the body.	Double-coat. Undercoat thick, soft, dense and shorter than outer coat. Outer coat straight, harsh/stiff and standing somewhat off body. Hair on head, lower legs and ears short. Length of hair at withers and croup approximately 5 cm, which is slightly longer than on rest of body, except tail, where coat is longest and most profuse.
Colour	Red fawn, sesame (red fawn hairs with black tips), brindle and white. All the above mentioned colours except white must have « urajiro ». (Urajiro = whitish coat on the sides of the muzzle, on the cheeks, on the underside of jaw, neck, chest, body and tail and on the inside of the legs).	Any colour like red, fawn, white, etc; or even pinto and brindle. Colours are brilliant and clear, and markings are well balanced, with or without mask or blaze. White dogs (solid in colour) have no mask. Pinto have a white ground colour with large, evenly placed patches covering head and more than one-third of body. Undercoat may have a different colour from the outer-coat.
Size (height at withers)
Males (dogs)	64 to 70 cm.	66 to 71 cm.
Females (bitches)	58 to 64 cm.	61 to 66 cm.
Faults	Any departure from the foregoing points should be considered a fault and the seriousness with which the fault should be regarded should be in exact proportion to its degree.
	Bitchy dogs / doggy bitches.	Feminine dogs, masculine bitches.
		Narrow or snipey head.
	Undershot or overshot mouth.
	Missing teeth.	Any missing tooth (except 2 of the PM1 and/or M3).
	Blue or black spotted tongue.	Blue or black spotted tongue.
	Iris light in colour.	Light eyes.
	Short tail.	Short tail.
		In or out at elbows.
		Any indication of ruff or feathering.
	Shyness.	Shyness or viciousness.
Serious Faults
		Light in substance.
		Light bone.
Eliminating Faults
		Aggressive or overly shy.
		Totally unpigmented nose. A nose with unpigmented areas (Butterfly nose).
	Ears not pricked.	Drop, hanging or folded ears.
		Under- or overshot bite.
	Hanging tail.	Sickle or uncurled tail.
	Long hair (shaggy).
	Black mask.
	Markings on white ground.
		Dogs under 63.5 cm (25 inches), bitches under 58.5 cm (23 inches).
		Any dog clearly showing physical or behavioural abnormalities shall be disqualified.
N.B.	Male animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum.