Welcome to Kabuto Akitas where our motto is "Our Akitas are members of our family until they become a member of yours." I am Melissa Harper; years ago, I moved to Arizona and decided to get another Akita, based on my love for them. His name was Kabuto thus making him my kennel namesake, meet Kabuto or "Buto" as we called him, may he rest in peace!:
I had always been a rescuer, springing various dogs from shelters and pounds so shortly after moving to Arizona, when my vet told me about a male Akita at the pound, my rescue roots kicked in and I decided to spring him from jail, Diesel: that was the beginning of my actual Akita addiction. Meet Diesel the day after I rescued him in:
From then on, I have been an Akita addict if you will and began producing my own again... I even met my husband through my Akitas. Meet Sake and my wonderfully supportive husband, Ben. See Sake's story for more details. Sake was adopted by Ben when she was retired from breeding to give her a home that would provide more one on one attention for her as is the case with most of my retired dogs while they are still young enough to have a long life with their new forever family as well as adjust to a new climate and house rules, little did I know, I would be getting her back shortly! :-)
After our marriage, our family had over 57 years of combined Akita ownership experience.
Ben agreed that I would continue to stay at home to enjoy my very expensive dog obsession because it is my passion and what makes me happy. It wasn't until after we were married for a while that I realized how backwards my thinking had been for many years and it really hit me after the unexpected passing of my foundation bitch, Katana:
When I moved to Phoenix after my divorce in 2004, with my best friend Charlie MacLeod - meet Charlie:
(Charlie deserves so much credit for helping me with the dogs over the years) and got back into dogs I was trying to substitute my lack of a family. I was able to have alot of dogs, too many dogs, and keep them together in harmony which I have never heard of anyone else doing. People would come to my home and see this wonderful group of Akitas playing in a pack and take pictures and exclaim on their beauty and how it was awesome that they could be together. I thought because I was good at this and had control of my dogs in a way other people didn't understand that it meant I was good at what I was doing. I couldn't have been more wrong. I do have a gift with Akita temperaments that I cannot take credit for because it is a gift from above, not one that I earned, but that didn't make me a good owner, what does is my love for each of them. I disagree with actual kennels warehousing alot of dogs when numbers defeat you in loving them just as any other pet owner loves a single dog at a time. So this is who I am, after years of learning who I want to be and what works for me, I have a few dogs, although it would be more than a few for most people, that I am truly bonded to and that are spoiled the way they should be in addition to working occasionally. I believe that I finally found the right way to run a kennel, for me personally, with each dog being adored for the short time we have with our treasured friends.
We live in a modest home, located in rural area, about 30 minutes from downtown Phoenix, allowing our dogs room to play and have fun. If you are expecting to find a wealthy breeder with huge kennel buildings then look elsewhere. Our property is 1.7 acres facing a gorgeous view of the Superstition Mountain, divided into two sections and fenced entirely backing up to part of the Usery Park Reserve so we are very private. The front portion of our property is used primarily as a buffer for our neighbors and the back section is where the dogs live which remains locked for their security. We do NOT believe our dogs would thrive in a kennel environment so we have a very different set up than most breeders. We have half of our property divided into sections with four play yards. Each play yard has it's own buildings for shelter for the dogs (not dog houses, but actual buildings no pens). Our smallest yard is approximately 700 square feet, then one that is 1500 square feet, another that is about 2000 square feet and the fourth is half an acre. Each yard usually has a male in it with one or more females and the females are rotated so that everyone gets to play with each other in different groups. Each play yard has 50 or more toys in it, a play pool, filtered water in frequently cleaned galvanized metal containers, and stainless steel elevated feeding buckets. Every dog gets biscuits daily at a minimum and other treats from time to time so that they know just how treasured they are. Our dogs also co-exist happily at our home with several hundred toys, some de-stuffed, littering the house and yard near several puppy pools at any given time or we might be out taking turns often with special bonding trips with us for two dogs at a time throughout the year. Our dogs live very well.
Owning as many dogs as we do, breeding them, showing them
and making room to rescue more is a very expensive hobby that will never pay for itself so unless you are independently wealthy before you begin, you certainly won't be afterward. Our dogs are, however, quite happy and have plenty of room in a clean environment with non-stop love and affection and of course a plethora of squeaky toys. We are supported by several vets who each assist us in their own areas of expertise as needed strengthening our own abilities that much more.
I don't start breeding our females until they are approximately 2 years old, usually allowing them to have a maximum of 3 litters prior to being retired and spayed. The reason for this is to allow for them to skip cycles, as there are usually two cycles a year, between breedings to keep them healthier and allow them to live longer. Our whole family is very hands on with mom and puppies so are are happy and healthy.
After they retire, some of our Akitas are adopted to comfy couch potato homes to families that appreciate the joy an adult can bring without the work of training a puppy and appreciate a well behaved adult - if we believe we have a great prospect for them and that they are a good candidate to be re-homed, some are not. All adults are spayed and neutered prior to being re-homed to allow for better health and longevity. I will absolutely not place an in tact dog or a puppy that is intended to be kept in tact as it is my experience that those dogs are often more than their owners can handle and require future re-homing. If you are looking for a show dog or want to breed there are so many people that will place a puppy or adult with you but I am not one of them. I do not think I am better than those breeders - in fact everyone has to start somewhere - but I feel responsible for every pet I place and worrying about those kept in tact does not work for me. I promise that I will be around for you to ask questions to throughout the life of your dog. My scores of references available to view online and comments on my Facebook page are proof of this! I want to be an information source for you as you dog develops. I want to hear about how your training is going and offer advice if I can. I want pictures of you and your dog as you grow together. A smile is worth a thousand words... I believe your dog smiles too.
Email is preferred method of contact: akitasandshibas@gmail.com
480-584-8868 ; on Facebook as Melissa Marshall Harper (Akita-Shibas)
Most recent impromptu AKC kennel inspection: June 22, 2010 by Elizabeth White, IN COMPLIANCE
