My friend had an Akita & he wanted to kill anyone & everything outside during walks. It was so bad, that he was over powering my friend & killing frogs & snakes left right & center. She would cry a lot as she had so very little & he ment the world to her.. I talked her into a spiked choaker, so when he would try to kill something or someone, he was allowed to bark all he wanted, but could no longer pull her around. After that he seemed to calm down all on his own.. BUT he was still protective of her, just didn't go nuts all the time.

Maybe the spiked collar would make you feel better?
remember it doesn't harm the dog at all (if you follow the directions properly, which are easy)