I met my first Akita in 1986, my mom had a friend that was showing and breeding at that time. They had a big white male named King, he looked like a polar bear and I fell in love with the breed from that point on but was not able to get one for several years later.

Heatwave Akitas was established in 1995, the foundation is based on respect for the Akita breed and my passion for dog showing. We are a small kennel (located in Northern California); in fact all of our dogs live in our home, raised with the family. We have outdoor kennels but they are rarely in them.

I purchased my first Akita (Duke), out of the local newspaper not knowing the difference of a backyard breeder vs. a reputable breeder or pet vs. show quality. I thought I was getting a quality dog for $500.00(I was lucky that Duke never had any health issues until he was geriatric). Two years after owing Duke I wanted a female to Breed and show. That is when I went in search of a breeder that had similar lines as Duke. At, that time I had learned that Duke’s dam was sold as a pet (not to be bred). I was disappointed to learn that Duke would not be competitive in the show ring and also should not be bred so, I had him neutered. Hard lesson learned. When I purchased my next Akita (Tara) I did a little more research (so I thought). I went to a couple of confirmation classes and some AKC shows and talked with Breeders and handlers and got some references. Tara was from a well known breeder and was a very sound dog. I learned how to show from Tara but her show career went nowhere, she was lacking coat and ended up with severe allergies. After learning from trial and error, I took more time to research the breeder’s reputations, pedigrees, health, confirmation and temperaments. That is when I found my foundation bitch Int. Champion Kiowa’s Pistol Packn’ Mama (Tessa).

When purchasing your first Akita we encourage you to do your research and make sure that an Akita is right for you and your family. Akitas aren’t for everyone. “But once you have owned an Akita, an Akita will own you forever”.

Since we are a small, family-oriented kennel, we do not breed that often (This is not our source of income). When we do breed a litter, it is a breeding well planned for to improve our kennel. We have simple-but-strict standards for breeding: Health, Temperament, and Type. All dogs that will be a part of our breeding program must have stable temperaments; have health certificates for OFA, CERF, Thyroid (without medication) and Brucellosis.

Heatwave’s mission is to: produce outstanding temperaments, solid structure, sound movement and type.
 

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•Last Updated: 07/31/2009