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 owning one of the breeds, you’d be wrong.  Just because they were tested by professionals and shown they have higher train-ability IQ than other breeds, doesn’t automatically make them good family pets.  As a mater of fact, some of these so called “smartest breeds” are far from perfect and come with a lot of baggage.

The dog in the # 5 spot: Labrador retriever is the breed I get more calls about than any other and the breed that goes through my training course the most.  People complain the breed is like a clown in a dog’s suit, always stealing food, mouthing body parts, acting hyper, jumping and banging into kids, chewing and grabbing at everything, jumping on strangers and other dogs.  The breed frustrates and embarrasses 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, I hope we all understand it’s not the breed’s fault owners are having trouble! People probably got the dog for the wrong reasons i.e. they’re supposed to be a smart, they like the look of the breed, a friend has a nice one, they grew up with that breed, they now have a backyard, and the bad reason list goes on > DON\’T GET A DOG .  Regardless of what we know about the intelligence of the different breeds, dogs are still predatory animals which comes “Hard wired”  with traits like jumping, licking, guarding, eating everything, chasing, holding, grabbing, tearing. For an unsuspecting owner who doesn’t understand behaviorism or learning theories and how to re-direct those behaviors towards except-able things, this will only lead to a life of misery for dog and dog owner.

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