I've always liked German Shepherds, and would have had one, had I not fallen in love with Akitas.
When I was stationed in Texas (Abilene) I was looking to get a German Shepherd when I ran across a guy who was selling mixed Akita (Akita - Alaskan Malamute) puppies for 50 bucks, so I bought a male. Black with white stockings and a small white patch on forehead.
Beautiful dog. We named him Max, and he got up to north of 130 pounds. We ended up giving him to a friend when I got orders to Holland. Unfortunately, I don't have any photos as I was out of photography at that time.
Anyway, while in Holland I bought a pure breed Japanese Akita (sandy colored). We named him Cujo. He only got up to 90 but he was strong. Unfortunately, we had to get rid of him as he was getting bit too aggressive after we got back to the states, and our kids were still young. He was however fiercely protective of my wife, so much so that we had to put him outside whenever we had visitors.
That was my last dog. And I swore I'd never get another until I moved to a place where I can keep it until the end.
I love the big dogs but hate the small ones. I call those purse cats
