Mr Stuhldreer with Kin

ORIGINALLY bred as a hunting and guard dog, the Japanese Akita Inu is known more as a fighter than a cuddly companion – which is why Robert Stuhldreer spent a year researching the breed before he bought one.

“The thing that swung it for me is, if you look at the breed characteristics, it says standoffish, aloof, intelligent, not interested in strangers, and I thought, that sounds just like me,” he joked.

Dog trainer Mr Stuhldreer, who lives in Holloway, has since owned Akitas for 25 years, and now his assistance dog, Kin – the UK’s first and only Japanese Akita Inu working as a seizure alert dog – is generating positive press for the breed as one of four nominees for Dog of the Year.

Mr Stuhldreer developed epilepsy after a major car crash in 2000 and Kin can detect when he is about to have a seizure.

“Nobody knows what it is the animals pick up on,” he told the Tribune. “They’re either picking up minute movement changes in your body or, more likely, they’re sensing or smelling chemical changes within your body.”

If Kin senses a seizure while Mr Stuhldreer is sitting down, she will sit directly in front of him and make eye contact to let him know that he is in danger. If they’re walking, she might stop dead or block his path.

If the seizure is imminent, Kin will bark, which is particularly unusual for this typically quiet breed.

“Then I know I have to get to a place of safety,” said Mr Stuhldreer, whose seizures have caused him to fall and break bones when out on his own in the past.

“I would be lucky if I got by a couple of weeks without having one,” said Mr Stuhldreer, whose seizures can leave him feeling “wretched” for days afterwards.

Not all dogs have or can develop the ability to predict seizures – it is rare and unproven – although they can be trained to perform certain behaviours to protect their owners after a seizure.

If Kin wins Dog of the Year she will be no stranger to the limelight, having previously starred in a play at the Almeida Theatre in 2016 as well as in the West End immersive show You Me Bum Bum Train.

Mr Stuhldreer trained Kin himself, along with the rest of his pack – another Akita and three Hungarian Pumis, some of whom have had their turn on the stage too.

But Kin is the boss – the “iron fist in the velvet glove”, Mr Stuhldreer said. “She likes order, so she keeps the other dogs under control, but she’s actually quite mischievous. She’s looking at me now and almost smiling. I think she knows we’re talking about her.”

You can vote for Kin for Dog of the Year. at greatbritishdogs.co.uk/doty-voting-2024-form/