Our old dog, Luther, was an Akita. We had him before I was born, and he was kind of like a brother to me He protected me, he wouldn't let strangers pick me up unless my mom or dad said it was ok He died of cancer when he was 9 years

Yup they can get big! In the winter (with his winter coat) Luther was over 130 lbs, normally he was around 110-120.
We know a lady who has mastiffs, and she's trying to get us to take one that is 163!