Northern inuits and training... General Chat

From a personal viewpoint i find my NI's easier to train then my Sibe and even my lurcher, of all 5 dogs in my family they have the best recall and have been the best to work with. Yes they do have the attention span of a nat so you have to keep it varied and fun but they do seem more willing to learn then other dogs i have worked with before.

That being said they are more difficult to train then my cocker was or then a GSD or a lab would be i imagine because they are a very different type of dog. To a certian degree its true that you do get out what you put in. I know of a young dog just setting out onto the agility scene and so far she is doing well

When I had my first two I was more naive. I have since gained more experience and have altered my view point somewhat. I think it is misleading to base opinions on one or two dogs. I can only go by what I have seen and experienced and of course what I have read/heard. They say GSD was added to create a dog easier to train than the Husky or Mal, I think this may be the case in some of these dogs but certainly not others. They are fab dogs but I still believe not enough is done with them, ref some of the people representing them. It is nice to see more and more owners taking the time out to do things with their dogs rather than just having the dogs to 'breed' from.

Sorry WW i should have said (train from a puppy) this is what i believe due to what i have seen with all NI i know who have been enrolled in training from a puppy. Older dogs and rescue dogs would of course be much harder to train but not impossible as with any breed/type of dog.

Hi Abbie
We have not entered a competition yet, i dont know if we will, we just enjoy agilty classes, i'll be taking Alba when she's older and hopefully she will enjoy it as much as her Mum.
Some dogs in the class are much better than Ava some are not so good, all different breeds/types of dog. Some owners are really 'into it' most are like us and just do it for fun.
I'll let you know if we ever decide to take it further and how we do

p.s - it was you who inspired me to give it a try after seeing you do it with yours on here.

Excellent post.

No need to be sorry Liz xxx I just get worried that people will buy these dogs thinking they are easier than they are. Glad you are enjoying agility classess , we do puppy agility with our youngest and find it highly enjoyable too, not sure if we will take it further (not due to ability) but if owners have the time and a willing , healthy dog then I think it is a fab thing to do xxxxx.

Really pleased to hear that

I wish you all the very best. It can be very adictive. We have ended up away every weekend training and competing and really love it

Smokey bear, of course breed traits and characteristics can make some dog breeds easier than others!!!! Hence the fact that some dogs (including the NID depending on the breeder or rescue centre) are said not to be recommended to the first time dog owner!! Not sure what the fat Labrador comment means? There are two ' well trained' labs in my village, they are both of the shorter, chubbier variety.

Smokey bear, of course breed traits and characteristics can make some dog breeds easier than others!!!! Hence the fact that some dogs (including the NID depending on the breeder or rescue centre) are said not to be recommended to the first time dog owner!! Not sure what the fat Labrador comment means? There are two ' well trained' labs in my village, they are both of the shorter, chubbier variety.

Er yes I am aware of differing breed traits and characteristics which requires an owner to use a different approach to Dog A than they would use with Dog B.

The FACTS are that there is NO breed that is "easier" to train per se, and NO breed that is "harder" to train per se.

There ARE breeds which will never make (insert relevant discipline champion) or easily. And if you look at all the breed clubs you will find the VAST majority of them say their breed is not for the first time owner!

As an owner of a breed which would not be first on the list of "easy to train" dogs and someone who has met "you will never do anything with one of those" etc attitudes I know only too well how some peopel are dismissive of the abilities of a breed.

My remarks still stand; IME there is no such thing as "stubborn", "difficult" etc in dog training, but there IS such a thing as an owner/trainer having insufficient tools and experience at their disposal to train that particular dog or breed.

A labrador is considered "easy to train" by millions of people, witness their predominance in all sorts of capacities, but I know plenty of people who cannot train this "easy to train" breed, even when their dog is elderly and overweight!

As I said before I do not think the NI enthusiasts need to worry about being flooded by people who wish to buy this "breed" thinking they are easy to train, there are FAR more breeds they would be attracted to first!

I agree with you to a point, but do not agree that it is ALWAYS insufficient tools or experience and that sometimes a particular breed can be more "difficult" to train in whatever activity than another breed.

I do agree that not many people would purchase an NI particularly for competition, but what does happen is that these dogs are often sold as easy, have excellent recall, good with small furries etc etc and this is not always the case.

In my case I started competing with my NI and soon realised that they do have their limitations. I am very competitive and whilst I will continue to compete with my NI's aslong they are enjoying it, my BSD is totally different to them and to me when you put a vast amount of time and money into a sport it makes sense to have a breed that is more likely to do well.

I am not talking about NI's as a "breed", I am talking about my own dogs and their own individual personalities.

sometimes a particular breed can be more "difficult" to train in whatever activity than another breed.

That is what I said! they are not difficult to train "per se" but you would NOT for example train a Basset Hound to do Working Trials as physically they would not be able to do the jumps.

You would not train a gundog to be a sheepdog, as they do not herd, they do not go out in a "banana".


In my case I started competing with my NI and soon realised that they do have their limitations. I am very competitive and whilst I will continue to compete with my NI's aslong they are enjoying it, my BSD is totally different to them and to me when you put a vast amount of time and money into a sport it makes sense to have a breed that is more likely to do well.

Exactly, most people buy a tool for the job if they are seriously competitive as opposed to enjoying participating with "another breed"

Which is why I said, I doubt if there will be a rush on NIs, even by pet people!