Dog Training For Beginners - What Breeds Are Known To Be Difficult To Train?

If you are taking the time to read this, you're probably a "dog person." There are four categories of dog people. First is the life-long dog person, with years of experience. They almost certainly had a dog when they were a child, and got the needed experience in being responsible for their care and training. Then there is the "I like dogs, but don't want one," person. Followed closely by the "We had a dog when I was a kid... but, I only played with it." And, lastly, the "I never had a dog, but want one now," person.

All dogs aren't created equal, especially in the training department. True, there are exceptions to every rule. None-the-less, fact is some breeds are known to be easier to train than others.

Generally, training issues are not from a lack of intelligence. Most often, the problems arise from the lack of the training experiences of the owner! What happens with several breeds are their instincts overpower their need to please their human. Often they are stubborn, strong headed and get bored easily. Some even resent being told what to do! They have been bred to rely on their instincts, such as high prey drive, independence and their senses, especially their sense of smell! It's almost guaranteed, as soon as their nose hits the ground, they don't hear a thing you are saying!

Basset Hound Harder to Train

Beagle Harder to Train

Chow-Chow Harder to Train

Bloodhound Harder to Train

Shar Peis HArder to Train

Afghan Hound Harder to Train

Shiba Inus Harder to Train

Pekingese Harder to Train

A lot of dog trainers will agree, breeds that have a reputation to be harder to train than others often include: Basset Hounds, Beagles, Blood Hounds, Chow-Chow, Shiba Inus, Shar Peis, Afghan Hounds, several terrier breeds, and the adorable little lap dog, fur balls, the Pekingese. As beautiful or cute as they may be, these dogs are not for novices, nor are they for people who are not willing to make a genuine commitment of time and energy to train.

Golden Retriever Easier to Train

Labrador Retriever Easier to Train

Poodle Easier to Train

Australian Shepherd Easier to Train

Border Collie Easier to Train

Australian Cattle Dog Easier to Train

For first-time dog owners, biddable breeds are the ones to check into. They come in all shapes and sizes. They are inherently less independent. They have been bred to connect with their human companion and to work as a team. If it's a larger dog you are looking for, there are plenty in the Sport and Herding groups that are bred to happily interact with their human companion. They include any of the Retrievers and Poodles. The dogs in the Herding group, such as Border Collies, Australian Shepherds, and Australian Cattle Dogs are easy to train because they too were bred to interact with their owner. Looking for a small dog that wants to please, and is recognized to be easy to train, do some homework. Check into the Pomeranian, Papillion, or Cairne Terrier.

Pomeranian Easier to Train

Cairne Terrier Easier to Train

Papillion Easier to Train

Bottom line: If you are a new or inexperienced dog owner, don't start with a hard to train breed. You will be doing an enormous disservice to yourself and the dog. Lack of training is a common cause why dogs are surrendered to rescues and shelters. Do your homework. Find a biddable breed that fits your family and lifestyle. Enroll in a recommended positive reinforcement, punishment-free Puppy Kindergarten or obedience class as soon as you can. You'll be glad you did!

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Does Your Dog Have Any Limitations With Training?

Before we get started on talking about what type of limitations your dog may have when it comes to training let me point out one simple fact. I've never seen a dog that couldn't be obedience trained. I don't care what breed it is or how big or how small it is every dog can be obedience trained. Of course, some dogs will train easier and better depending on what they were bred to do.

So now that we've determined that every dog can be obedience trained even though some will be better than others let's talk about some other areas of training that your dog may or may not be suited for.

Today I had a lady call me who wanted to get an eight-week-old husky puppy and have it trained as a service dog. I explained to her that she'll never see a service start organization training Huskies to be service dogs. Now that's not saying anything bad about Huskies. In fact I have worked with a bunch of them and they can be real nice dogs but it's just not the type of work they were bred to do.

I recently had a police officer call and want to find out about training a bloodhound to be a drug detection dog. I explained to him that bloodhounds are the ultimate man trailing dog. When it comes to tracking human beings you just can't beat the nose on a bloodhound. However, you'll never see a bloodhound doing drug detection work. Why I'm not sure it may just be that they don't understand the game. There's more being a drug dog than just having a good nose.

I recently had a firefighter contact me about training his Labrador Retriever to be an arson detection dog. After testing the dog we realized that the dog had no prey drive. He didn't pass the retrieve test or the hunt test either. In order to have a good detection dog you need high prey drive.

I tell people that if you lined up 100 Labradors Retrievers or any other breed as a matter of fact and we came in to test them we would be tickled pink to get one out of that hundred that had what it took to be a detection dog. Keep in mind that doesn't mean that the other 99 dogs are not nice dogs it simply means they don't have the drive to do the type of work we want them to do.

I think you're beginning to understand now that not just any dog can do just any kind of training. The dog needs to have the particular drives to do that type of work. That's why as trainers we need to be good talent scouts and know exactly what we are looking for in the selection process.

So do some research and find out what your dog was bred to do and then find something that you can train your dog to do that will allow you both to have fun together.

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How Fast Is The Fastest Dog?

The fastest dogs are the Sighthounds: Greyhounds, Salukis, Whippets and their kin. Many of these dogs are ancient breeds. These Sighthounds or gazehounds were developed for hunting different animals over different terrain.

Greyhound

Most people consider the Greyhound to be the world's fastest dog. These dogs have been not only used for hunting but they are also used for dog racing. They are able to reach speeds of 45 mph over short distances. The breed dates back to at least 2900 BC in ancient Egypt where they were used on all kinds of prey, from deer to mountain goats. Their natural prey is the hare.

Saluki

However, Saluki owners often claim that their dogs are faster than Greyhounds. As proof, they claim that Salukis were bred to hunt gazelles and gazelles can reach speeds faster than 45 mph. Therefore, they say, Salukis must be faster than Greyhounds since that is faster than a Greyhound's speed.

Salukis are not used for racing so they aren't timed at short distances. This makes it harder to estimate their speed. Salukis may excel at speeds over endurance distances.

Whippet

Whippets are another very fast dog. They have been used for dog racing, too. Smaller than Greyhounds, they are estimated to travel at speeds over 35 mph.

The cheetah is generally accepted to be the fastest land animal. They travel at an estimated 70 mph. Lions have been clocked at 50 mph. A Quarter Horse can travel at 47.5 mph.

Afghan Hound

Other members of the Sighthound family of dogs include the Afghan Hound - a relative of the Saluki from the cold mountains of Afghanistan. These dogs are thousands of years old and were used to hunt gazelles and hares. Even today these dogs still have a very high prey drive and it may not be safe to have them in a home with other small pets.

Irish Wolfhound

The Irish Wolfhound and the Scottish Deerhound are also Sighthounds, although because of their large size they are not as fast as some other members of the group. These dogs from the British Isles were used to hunt wolves, boar and deer. These are very

Scottish Deerhound

ancient breeds that may date back to Iron age times. The Borzoi, a tall, graceful Sighthound from Russia, was likewise used to hunt wolves.

All of these dogs are known for being fast. They had to be in order to chase and bring down their prey. Unlike some other hunting dogs which worked with humans, these dogs both found and killed their quarry, whether it was a hare, a wolf, a deer, or something else.

Borzoi

Beagle

At the opposite end of this spectrum are the scent hounds. Scent hounds, such as the Beagle, the Foxhound (American, English), Coonhounds, the Bloodhound, and so on, work by gathering scent, usually from the ground. This is often a slower process

American Foxhound

and the dogs often have their nose to the ground. They may work more closely with humans to follow and find their prey. Where a Sighthound may be out of sight of the hunter, the scent hound is usually in touch with the hunter, or at least can be heard.

Bloodhound

Today most Sighthounds excel at being great pets and wonderful couch potatoes. There is little call to use them for hunting wolves or even hares. However, lure coursing makes a fun activity that Sighthound owners can enjoy with their dogs. Lure coursing uses a piece of plastic attached to a wire and runs it across a field like it's "prey." The dogs are turned loose to chase it. Lots of Sighthounds love lure coursing. If you have a Sighthound you and your dog might enjoy lure coursing.

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