As a dog trainer and behaviourist I have the privilege of working with some pretty extraordinary dogs. One repeated issue I find is that people do not put enough time and effort into learning about the breed of dog they bring into their home and this can lead to many issues. I recommend taking the time to research the breeds thoroughly prior to committing to adopting a dog.
DISCLAIMER & PRIVACY: I participate in affiliate marketing programs. If you click on a link from my blog to one of these affiliates for product purchase, your origin here will be tracked only for the purpose of paying me a very small amount (with no effect on pricing for you).
Whether I am helping a client find the right dog for their family, setting up a customized training program or addressing behavioural issues I tend to look at dogs as one of 2 types. They are either a dog that has been bred specifically to do a job such as hunt, guard or herd or they are dogs that are bred mainly as companion dogs. I also must strongly consider individual qualities such as energy level, drive type and drive level when addressing behaviour issues or setting up training programs.
If you are currently considering adding a new dog to your household, I suggest learning more specifics on how breeds are categorized as that should help guide your choices. The Canadian Kennel Club (CKC) is a good place to start when searching for information on individual breeds. The CKC separates dogs into 7 breed categories.
1. The first category is sporting dogs which includes breeds such as Retrievers, Spaniels and Pointers. Dogs in this category were originally bred to find, flush and retrieve game birds and tend to be quite active especially the first 2-3 years.
2. The second category is hounds which include both sight hounds and scent hounds. Some included breeds are Beagles, Basset Hounds, Dachshunds, Whippets, and Irish Wolfhounds. Hounds tend to be harder to train, as they are often more interested in the scent the are following than their owner.
3. Working dogs are energy efficient and include breeds such as Rottweilers, Huskies and Great Pyrenees. They are bred to do a job such as pulling sleds, guarding livestock, guarding for personal use and also often for military use. These dogs are often very serious about their work and do not get distracted easily from their jobs once trained properly.
4. The fourth breed category is terriers. Included in this group are Bull Terriers, Schnauzers, and Fox Terriers. Terriers are quite feisty and always ready to search out and do battle with vermin such as rats, badgers and weasels. Training terriers can be difficult if you don’t keep them active.
5. The Toy breeds include Havanese, Pekingese and Pugs, Griffons and Yorkshire Terriers. Although many are bred as lap dogs there are some in this group that were bred specifically to remove rodents. The Yorkshire Terrier for example is often kept as a highly pampered pooch however the original purpose (mid 19th century) of this breed was to kill rats in the coal mines in England and these traits live on in the dogs still today.
6. Non-sporting dogs include Dalmatians, Shih Tzus and Poodles. These breeds are a mish mash of breeds that just didn’t fit well into any of the other categories so it is difficult to generalize any of the breeds in this group.
7. The Herding category includes some of the most high energy and intelligent breeds. Australian Cattle Dogs, Border Collies, German Shepherds and Belgian Shepherds are included in this group. Although highly trainable and task focused, their extremely high energy can create issues for people that are not prepared to properly engage them in suitable jobs.
DISCLAIMER & PRIVACY: I participate in affiliate marketing programs. If you click on a link from my blog to one of these affiliates for product purchase, your origin here will be tracked only for the purpose of paying me a very small amount (with no effect on pricing for you).
A Balancing Act 