29/05/2023
During the early 20th century, the Akita was in decline, as a result of being cross-bred with the German Shepherd Dog, St. Bernard, and Mastiff. As a result, many specimens started to lose their spitz characteristics and instead took on drop ears, straight tails, non-Japanese color (black masks, and any color other than red, white, or brindle), and loose skin. A native Japanese breed known as Matagi (hunting dog) was used along with the Hokkaido Inu breed to mix back into the remaining Akita Inu to bring back the spitz phenotype and restore the Akita breed
