These are Kay – Northern Inuit and Aschi – Japanese Akita Inu. The main difference between Northern Inuit and Japanese Akita is the neck. Akita’s neck is thick and muscular, in balance with broad head. NI’s neck is strong, long, graceful and well-muscled.
Akita’s outer coat is harsh and straight, whereas undercoat – soft and dense. The withers and the rump are covered with slightly longer hair and the hair on the tail is longer than on the rest of Akita’s body. Northern Inuit’s coat is moderately coarse in texture, straight and of medium length. Fur is short and smooth on the head, ears, front of forelegs and below the hocks. The moderate ruff is more pronounced in dog than bitches – you can see a coat difference from a distance.
NI’s can be pure white, Agouti colour from grey or apricot through to pure black. White faces are permitted on any colour, but where white appears on the legs and feet, the colour change must be gradual. Red fawn, sesame, brindle and white are the colours of Japanese Akitas. All the above mentioned colours except white must have “urajiro”. “Urajiro” is a whitish coat on the sides of the muzzle, on the cheeks, on the underside of the jaw, neck, chest, body and tail and on the inside of the legs.
