I fostered Haruto for the weekend and what a truly lovely weekend we had! Haruto is fantastic inside a home environment, no accidents in the house, no disruptive behaviour, no begging for food, knows basic commands and has a sweet loving nature. A true gent and a real pleasure to have around. After our time at the secure field Friday, we returned home where Haruto had a well deserved nap (he does sleep in some questionable positions ) before playing with his toys. We headed off on our evening walk and when the sun started to set Haruto did become nervous when people passed us but nothing some reassurance couldn't fix and after all it's all new to him!
We went to Ashdown Forst on Saturday for a nice long walk and Haruto was in his element, he met the wild horses and passed nicely with no reaction. We passed off lead dogs along with the owners where Haruto showed playfulness.
Come Sunday morning Haruto would head to the back door letting me know when he needed a toliet break!
Before returning to the rescue on Sunday we went for a walk around Tilgate Park, it was busy but Haruto wasn't phased by goups of people, kids running around, bikes/scooters, ball games (although Haruto did enjoy watching the ball go back and forth.) Haruto got to see plenty of wildlife while he stood taking it all in.
Haruto is a wonderful cuddly chap with so much to give and a real joy to have in your life
This majestic teddy bear has come to stay with us for a bit. We picked him up yesterday from RR. He was as good as gold on the journey home (about 50 mins). At home, he first wanted to go for a short walk around the block, then he loved being in the garden and goofing around.
Haruto has a lot of love to give and his new owners will need to be ready for a lot of kisses and cuddles and hugs.
He slept through the night, on our bed. We tried to explain to him that his bed was right next to ours, but he wanted to be with us . He didn't take up too much space and didn't snore, which was great.
This morning he was up bright and early. Breakfast, then quiet time, then hilarious zoomies in the garden. I wish I had had my phone with me - will be prepared tomorrow! Then a nice long walk around the neighbourhood. We're pleased to report that Haruto didn't mind traffic, building works or giant lorries.
Another great day with the wonderful Haruto
Keira's toilet training was very effective (thank you Keira!), as we haven't had any accidents in the house.
He has clearly been looked after extremely well at the kennels, as he barely needed brushing.
He has crazy goofy playful moments in the garden, where he enjoys playing ball for a few minutes and he enjoys going for walks, but overall he doesn't have much energy and gets tired quite quickly. His favourite thing seems to be lying around, chilling out and being cuddled. It's still early days, so we'll see what the next few days will be like.
Here's a video of Haruto playing with a tennis ball:
We've been getting to know this wonderful goofball over the past few days and we can confirm that Haruto is just adorable and so very intelligent!
He knows his name and a few commands, like sit, paw and other paw. And understands what you tell him really fast. He's great in the house, respectful of property and toilet trained. He's happy to do his business in the garden or on a walk. He can be cheeky, he's just a big puppy, like the other day he gently took my clog and took it to the garden, just because, and left it there. No chew marks, he was gentle with it.
He doesn't beg for food and takes himself to his bed when we're eating at the table. He's picky with new food and left both a fresh carrot and a courgette, but he had a bit of frozen banana (eventually) and loves yogurt.
He doesn't mind stairs. He can start a bit strong on the lead when going for a walk, but it's manageable and does listen when you ask him to slow down. He's been barked at by a few dogs, but hasn't responded at all. We met our neighbour's elderly rescue beagle cross earlier. He wanted to play and say hello to her, but she was a bit scared by his size and excitement.
He's incredibly cuddly and loves giving kisses. And does come up for hugs too, every now and then. He's gentle, but he's now a small dog and this is why we don't think he'd be suitable to live with young children. We're loving having him here, but we're just fostering him and if he sounds like your kind of dog, do submit an application form!
This majestic pooch has been with us for nearly two weeks - time flies when you’re having fun! He’s an absolute joy to be with and a wonderful guest.
He’s relaxing more and more as the days go by. He’s mostly not bothered by noises in the house. He can still get a bit scared of random noises from time to time. We think it’s mainly metal noises like when I bumped the clothes horse against the radiator this morning and he lept up like he was in a Tom and Jerry cartoon! His reaction to scary things is to run away. Moving a dining room chair to sit at the table would have caused the same reaction at the beginning, but he’s now used to that. He’s such a lovely big softy and a very intelligent dog - he just needs time to get used to life.
We found out that he travels really well in the car. We’ve been on a few longish trips and he just lays down in the back seat and naps. On Tuesday, we went to the beach which was a bit more than an hour’s drive and he loved it! As you can see in the video below, he was very curious about the sea and he enjoyed dipping his paws in the water.
He’s progressed massively over the time we’ve had him and walks so much better with loose leads most of the time now. He can get a bit excited in new environments and he tends to pull more. However, when you’re on familiar routes, he’s very chilled and likes a bit of sniffing here and there. He’s pretty amazingly well behaved for such a young dog who has had a tougher than average start to life.
Haruto has been barked at by a few dogs, but there has been no reaction at all from him - making us feel very proud of him. He has barely barked for the entire time we’ve had him. In fact, he’s maybe barked twice in total in the time we’ve had him.
At the beginning he was often pulling towards people on a walk which he still does sometimes here and there, but this has settled a lot and he now ignores most people. He just seems curious and wants to investigate them to say hi if someone does peak his interest. When meeting people, he picks up on the other person’s vibe, and if they’re a bit tentative and/or have bad vibes, he gives a soft warning grumble. If the other person is showing happy vibes, he’s happy to give them a few sniffs and nose bumps which is adorable. We met a lady just this morning who complimented him on his good looks and he was great with her and he gave her some affectionate nose bumps. People will often stop to chat with us on a walk with him. He’s a pretty stunning dog and a lot of people seem interested to find out about him.
We’ve started leaving him for short periods of time and he doesn’t seem bothered at all.
In terms of sleeping arrangements, Haruto didn’t like sleeping on our bed - he got too hot and fidgety, as he didn’t have enough space. So he’s decided that our living room sofa is way more comfortable and he’s been sleeping downstairs on his own. He’s such a gent and doesn’t touch anything in the living room and doesn’t counter surf in the kitchen. We have a very small galley kitchen, with no door, and he has been super well behaved there.
He likes to keep me company in the kitchen when I’m cooking. He didn’t particularly enjoy the electric whisk noise much, so he took himself to the living room.
He’s more comfortable with the brush, too. He now knows it’s not a toy and lets me brush him every day.
After a nice long walk in the morning, Haruto enjoys a bit of play with Chris, which involves a bit of running, playing ball and jumping about. It usually only lasts 5 to 10 minutes, but is pretty full-on and great fun if you don’t mind a big dog jumping at you with joy . Haruto then spends most of the day horizontal on the floor or sofa or mooching about a bit. A couple more short walks and play times during the day and that’s him satisfied, really. He’s very chilled overall with short periods of big energy. Oh, and he loves cuddles and he will paw you or nose bump you for extra love.
It’s worth mentioning that he doesn’t beg for food at the table, but might come and have a look to see if there’s anything for him - he’s very well behaved around food.
Haruto would love to find his forever home very soon, but in the meantime we’re enjoying having him around. He’s an absolutely wonderful dog.
Haruto is staying with us for a while longer, as he’s such a wonderful pup!
We looked up the meaning of ‘Haruto’ in Japanese and we realised that Lynne chose the perfect name for him. Haruto in Japanese can mean a variety of things, but our favourite meanings are ‘sun’ and ‘sunlight’ and it is usually associated with bright and warm personality. Well, Haruto is definitely all of that!
Akitas originated in the cold Japanese mountains and that’s why Haruto is not a fan of the warm weather. He has a lot less energy as soon as the temperature soars. However, when the weather is colder, his bouncy, playful, puppy personality comes out and you need to be ready for zoomies and playtime in the garden.
The other day we left Haruto for two hours and monitored him via webcam. He was absolutely fine. We left him in the living room and he didn’t attempt to open the door. He didn’t touch a thing - and we do have quite a few items he could have taken. He’s so respectful!
I’ve been brushing him every other day and he’s not shed at all in the house, which is pretty impressive. The brush removes his fluffy undercoat - I’m sure a few birds will have a very cosy, soft nest thanks to him!
On his walk this morning Haruto had to deal with a lot of school kids - and even an ambulance with its siren on, which was a novelty for him. He did really well and walked by everyone and everything without wanting to pull towards them. Just a bit of mild curiosity here and there. He was much more interested in sniffing about. He’s made great progress.
It’s easy to forget that Haruto is basically a big puppy, but he listens really well to directions and instructions and loves routines.
Please do submit an application form if you think you need a fluffy Haruto in your life!
) before playing with his toys. We headed off on our evening walk and when the sun started to set Haruto did become nervous when people passed us but nothing some reassurance couldn't fix and after all it's all new to him! 
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