What do you consider to be the most "difficult" breed? Controversial

Following on from the interesting replies to the "easiest" breed thread (see a few threads below this one in this area of the forum), I thought I'd start a new thread....

What do you consider to be the most "difficult" breed, generally? By "difficult", this could be one requiring a lot of training, not being very easy to train, a lot of exercise, tricky to groom, or maybe even just one that you find hard to own because of peoples' perceptions of your dog(s).... "difficult" could mean any number of different things.

Lets see what people think

For me, one of the most difficult dogs I've ever worked with has to be Boxers. Hoping not to offend anyone but, personally, I find they are a bit "dim" and because of that the Boxers I've worked with before were hard work because it seemed to take them a long time to get the hang of even just basic training.*
* NB. please don't take offence, I know not all Boxers are "dim", but the ones I've met certainly have been - that and also simply just not interested in learning anything new.

Equally the same applies to bulldogs - never met a "bright" one yet! But there again, y'see both Boxers and Bulldogs are a doddle to groom so they're not difficult in that respect.

What do you consider to be the most "difficult" breed(s) and why?

I personally do not think that ANY breed is "difficult" in terms of training.

If I cannot get through to a dog, I blame myself not the breed or the individual, I have failed to make it simple enough for the dog and/or provided sufficient reward.

So I do not buy into this aspect of "difficult", unless of course you are trying to train a dog to do something that it is physically or mentally unable to do eg training a dachsund to scale 6ft or training a gundog to be an effective sheepdog and perform in the SAME way.

Which is again a trainer failure to recognise the limits of that dog.

I personally do not DO hairdressing so my worst nightmare would be something like an Afghan, OES or something that needed lots of hand stripping.

I could not care less about other people's perceptions about either of my breeds, I cannot control other people's thoughts, I just go out and demonstrate that they are sadly mistaken!

Expectation management is everything so if you do not want a gobby dog why get say a Spitz breed or a GSD? Nuts.

I would find Greyhounds very difficult as they cannot cope with the amount of exercise I would want to give it, so I would not have one for that and many other reasons.

I do not do bathing either so white dogs are off the shopping list as I would find having to keep them clean a nightmare.

Some excellent points. Thanks!

Haha yes, totally agree about white dogs. That would be a total nightmare for me!

People.
Definitely.

I`ve had easy GSDs, laid back, GSDs, reactive GSDs...
I will say though that certain dogs suit certain people. I couldn`t be faffed with a dog that needed masses of grooming, and I don`t like lapdogs.
So research your breed is probably best.

Soooo true!

Being the owner of a white dog I think he must be a teflon coated, self cleaning model. The only time it's necessary to bath him is if he's rolled in dead crow, sheep wool or cow pat. We're not yet in double figures.

Yes to the points mentioned above. My Mum thinks Estrelas are hard work, yet she has a Border Collie and I think he's a handful. But to me Estrelas are the perfect match and to my Mum Collies are just right. Depends on your point of view. Personally I wouldn't like anything that needed lots of mental stimulation, or anything that needed a lot of grooming. I wouldn't have a dog that had long hair on it's feet and legs, because although I groom for a living, I am too lazy to groom my own dogs daily.

Hehehe! It is a bit of a faff on, isn't it?

And you're very lucky with your Teflon coated dog, Sosha! Wish all dogs were Teflon coated The bits of white on my Border Collie get terribly grass-stained at times which can get rather frustrating!

All i am saying is ..
White Boxer owner with one training for the KcGc Gold...

I don't think there is a singular "most difficult" breed, or breeds. I do however think that some dog breeds are generally more challenging than others. But like others have pointed out, what someone perceives as challenging will differ from individual to individual.

I have found my Slovak, Bo, to be quite "difficult". She is highly strung, very vocal, has a high prey drive, outsmarts me on a regular basis, is extremely high energy and is very demanding in most respects. Even though she is "difficult" to me, I also LOVE the fact she is challenging -- she keeps me on my toes on a daily basis.

Agggggghhhhh, nooooooo a white boxer!!!!! Only kiddin'!

Well done to dog and owner for your training level

Agree with you Labradork aswell. What one persons ideal breed is is another persons worst breed.

Personally I think Spitz breeds can be challenging. They aren't your typical "love everyone" labrador, strong willed, independant, smart, many can't be let off lead etc.

Speaking generally I have found people aggresive dogs to be the most challenging and difficult to work around.

They can come in any shape. size or breed.

I have decided I would not have another one of those, I won't have another collie and I don't do cleaning either.

OTOH---never say never.

rune

That's exactly why I like them. The only thing I don't like about them is they tend to shed a lot. Especially the ones with the short, plush coats like sibes. And some breeds can be noisy.

I really don't like wire haired or shaggy dogs. I find them ugly (sorry) and they always seem to smell like sweaty feet. I also don't like dogs that need clipping regularly as I'm not into canine topiary. I really can't be doing with a lot of grooming, constant slobbering or hairy feet that get muddy.

My ideal dog is my Tibetan Mastiff. Has a wonderful temperament, a shrewd judge of character - sweet and kind or a fierce looking bodyguard as appropriate, does not need me to 'entertain' him by throwing stuff for him to bring back, has no doggy smell even when wet, does not shed for 10 months of the year then it's easy to groom off him, coat is self cleaning and a quick wipe over when muddy and he's sparkling clean again, quiet and unobtrusive in the house most of the time. I wouldn't recommend the breed for most people as livestock guardians are a huge responsibility to raise correctly, but I knew what I was getting when I took him on.

The shar-pei are not far behind him apart from shedding more and slobbering when overexcited. The horsecoats can be a bit on the smelly side, but the bearcoats are like the TM and have no body odour.

I said I'd never have a shar-pei as I thought they were hideous freaks. Anyway, on shar-pei number 4...

The only breed I really would rather not have a dog at all than have one are jack russells. Oh god - I said that about shar-pei didn't I.

"I really don't like wire haired or shaggy dogs. I find them ugly (sorry) and they always seem to smell like sweaty feet"

Maggie is long haired, and she smells of sweaty feet very slightly...I LOVE it, can't get enough of her smell lol!

For me dogs that shed a lot or slobber would be a no no.
And although I enjoy walking my dogs it's nice to just be able to do a quick fifteen minutes if I'm busy...I couldn't cope with a really high energy breed.

I think it largely depends on the owners, and what they are comfortable with.
i have a few i would never own, most terriers, bestfriend has always had them and i've never loved them.
I'd only own a collie if i had loads of time, the intensity of how energetic they are puts me off.
I'd never own a spitz type either. I think they are gorgeous and there is an impecably wel behaved one, think lab in a sibes body, near my mums, but they aren't for me.

I also hate slobber. ha.

I find my Dalmatian challenging (but my darling boy Sam was the worlds easiest most saintly dog ).
He is very bright, and sometimes this can be a wonderful trait and other times it is the most annoying thing in the world, I sometimes wish he was a bit dim like the Springer so he would just do as I say
He has the attention span of a door knob, needs constant attention and mental stimulation. He also needs a lot of exercise, sheds a bucketful of hair every day that stick to everything, and empties the contents of the toy box around my chair about 3 times a day
Apparently he cries non stop when I leave him with someone else and won't get in the car unless I'm there as well (he won't do anything my mum asks him, oops)

I can only speak from the dogs I have owned, but I do not find any breed is more difficult than another - I just find male dogs a total nightmare compared to bitches

I could never own a Spitz breed or a hound, as their reputations are being stubborn, independant and strongwilled and i like an easy life.

I don't ask for much from my dogs - just that hey don't pull on the lead, comeback when I call them and don't destroy the house when I am out

I don't agree when people say that definite traits are because of the dog's breed-this is not always the case.

When I had Cherry trainers would tell me that Kerries were known to be dog-aggressive and it was because of her breed. Yet at home I had another Kerry who was extremely sociable around other dogs!

Some breeds are more likely to have certain traits and you do need to know and research about these before you get any breed so you are aware of what you are letting yourself in for. However, condemning a dog as being unable to do anything solely because of its breed is an excuse for being a poor trainer in my opinion. You just have to be more inventive and think of a way to teach that particular dog.