Coat, Ears & Tail

AKC Working Group · No. 62 in 2025

How to identify an Akita

The Akita is a large, powerful spitz from Japan, ranked No. 62 by the AKC in 2025. The broad head forms a blunt triangle, the erect ears tilt forward, and a big, full tail curls over the back. Any color is allowed, including white, brindle and pinto.

Photo of an Akita
Photo: Caro108 · CC BY-SA 2.0 de · Wikimedia Commons

Field marks

These four marks are the ones the game gives you as clues. They paraphrase or briefly quote the AKC Akita standard.

  1. “Large and full” tail carried over the back in a three-quarter, full or double curl
  2. Broad head “forming a blunt triangle” with small eyes
  3. Erect triangular ears “carried slightly forward over eyes in line with back of neck”
  4. “Any coloring including white; brindle; or pinto,” with or without mask or blaze

Tell them apart

Akita or Shiba Inu?

Check the size and the markings. A Shiba Inu is small, about 14½ to 16½ inches for males, and always has cream urajiro on the cheeks, throat and belly. An Akita is large and heavy-boned, with a broad, blunt-triangle head, and can be any color, including pinto and brindle.

Akita

Akita

  1. “Large and full” tail carried over the back in a three-quarter, full or double curl
  2. Broad head “forming a blunt triangle” with small eyes
  3. Erect triangular ears “carried slightly forward over eyes in line with back of neck”
  4. “Any coloring including white; brindle; or pinto,” with or without mask or blaze
Shiba Inu

Shiba Inu

  1. Small, triangular ears “firmly pricked” and tilted forward
  2. Thick tail “carried over the back in a sickle or curled position”
  3. Red, black and tan, or sesame, always with cream-to-white “urajiro” on the cheeks, throat, belly and inner legs
  4. Somewhat triangular, deep-set eyes; stiff, straight outer coat; males 14½ to 16½ inches

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