The magnificent Akita comes in colors that include white, brindle or pinto, and these colors are, according to the breed standard, “rich, brilliant and clear.” The breed can also have a mask, a blaze, and evenly placed patches that cover the dog’s head and more than one-third of its body.

An Akita can also have small colored spots on the white areas of the dog’s coat, spots we’d call freckles, but in the Nihon Ken world are known as “buchi” also written in Japanese as 斑.  The “fancy” (read: genetic) term for this pattern is ticking.

Black freckles are common on the legs of brindle Japanese Akita, but red freckles are usually hidden by “urajiro,” the symmetrical white undersides of a dog with a darker coat that softly graduates from white to red hairs (it’s not visible at all on a white dog). As aside, all of the native breeds of Japan express “urajiro.” The genetics term for this pattern is countershading.

As for this image, it comes from the Orvis website which has a line of dog products, and an entire section on dog breeds.  You should know that right this minute, you can enter your photo of your “outdoor dog” for a chance to get him or her on the cover of the Orvis catalog, win a $500 gift card, and help fund canine cancer research. You have until April 30, 2021 to enter.  National Purebred Dog Day encourages our readers to enter the contest with photos of your beautiful purebred dogs. Let’s show ’em what we’ve got!