Smart, Not Perfect

I posted a blog on the TOP TEN SMARTEST BREEDS and if you think I’m giving you a green light to own one of the breeds, you’d be wrong.  Just because they were tested by professionals and shown they have higher train-ability IQ’s than other breeds, doesn’t automatically make them a good family pet.  As a mater of fact, some of these so called “smart breeds” can be far from the perfect pet, for the unprepared owner.

The dog in the # 5 spot: Labrador retriever is the breed that goes through my training course the most.  People complain they’re like clown’s in a dog’s suit; stealing food, mouthing body parts, really hyper, jumping and banging into kids, chewing and grabbing at everything, jumping on strangers and other dogs. The breed frustrates them when they don’t listen or behave around people.

The dog in the # 9 spot Rottweiler: Has the strongest jaw pressure of any breed and are very vocal dogs that occasionally growl at their owners. People are intimidated by them so they tend to get what they want.  The Rottweiler is in the working breed group and because of it’s mastiff line, can be a good, maybe too good guard dog, intimidating people & dogs.

The dog in the # 3 spot the German shepherd: Is responsible for more bites to humans than any other breed. The breed is a very protective and can make a good guard dog or a bad one when biting friends and family. It’s a hard working dog in the Herding group, so many complaints are about how their dog likes to chase moving things:  kids, cars, small dogs etc… Many small dogs are bitten my German Shepherds.

The dog in the # 2 spot, the poodle: Owners complain the small poodles are difficult to housebreak and they have excessive barking problems and won’t shut up! (Their words, not mine) The standard size poodle owners complain about pulling and lunging on leash at anybody or for no apparent reason.

The dog in the #10 spot Australian Cattle dog: Is in the herding group, so you guest it, likes to heard, chase jump and nip at family members.. They get bored very easily and require lots of room and a job, if they don’t have one, they take it out on anything that isn’t nailed down.

With that said,  it’s not the breed’s fault owners are having trouble! First, they probably got the dog for the wrong reasons?  i.e. train-ability, looks, a friend has one, they grew up with one, or they have a backyard > DON\’T GET A DOG.  Or they probably don’t know how dogs think or learn, or the importance of early socialization and education. Regardless of what we know about the intelligence of the different breeds, all dogs are still predatory animals that come “Hard wired”  with traits the unsuspecting owner won’t like. And when this happens, the dog get’s the worst of it.

If your dog has a specific breed trait or behavioral issue you’d like to change, please use the comment form below