AKITA -- Akita dog tourism facilities in Akita Prefecture have started taking measures to relieve stress for the dogs after one, who had met many tourists, fell ill due to being overworked.
Akita dogs are generally not friendly to people other than their owners. The job of being on show for visitors to the prefecture, which is the home of the dogs, is believed to have put a heavy burden on the dog that became unwell.
On the back of a boom in Akita dogs' popularity, seven new facilities where people can see them have newly opened in the prefecture this year alone. Meanwhile, operators of such facilities and other groups have begun taking measures to reduce the canines' stress with the slogan, "Akita Dog First."
Akita dogs have been drawing attention both at home and abroad since an Akita puppy was given to Russian figure skater Alina Zagitova -- who won the gold medal in the women's singles at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics -- and another to former yokozuna Asashoryu.
The prefecture said it had been flooded with inquiries asking if there were places to see Akita dogs. As part of efforts to boost tourism by using their popularity, the number of Akita dog visitor centers in the prefecture rose from five to 12.
All the facilities had been crowded with visitors, especially on weekends. But a 2-year-old female dog at Akitainu Fureaidokoro visitor center in Odate in the prefecture became unwell at the end of August. On a busy day, as many as 100 tourists had visited the facility in one hour, so the deterioration of the dog's health is believed to have been caused by stress from overwork.
The facility had allowed visitors to pet the dogs five days a week, but it changed the days to Wednesdays, Saturdays, Sundays and holidays. Other facilities also reduced the number of opening days, and some have decided to suspend making the dogs available when they seem to become fatigued.
Some facilities have allowed visitors only to look at their dogs, prohibiting any petting.
Municipal governments and private organizations that operate the facilities established an association at the end of October in a bid to act in concert over handling dogs' stress at such facilities.
The facilities decided to share their efforts to relieve pressure on the dogs, and are trying to convey information such as, "Putting your hands above dogs' heads makes them very stressed."
"I wanted to pet the dogs, but I'm satisfied that I could take photos of them. I hope the dogs will be well for a long time," said a company employee from Sanjo, Niigata Prefecture, when he visited the Akitainu Station facility in the city of Akita.
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