I've had multiple large breed puppies, I think it comes down to what you can't tolerate. Labs: chew and eat everything. I left mine alone for 10 minutes and ate the molding off the walls. Personally I have a GSD/heeler mix now, and turns out my tolerance for mouthiness is way lower than destruction. I can replace chairs and molding, but cattle dogs and German shepherds are both notoriously mouthy puppies and I walked around for months with scraped up arms and ankles. Add in prey drive/chase instinct...I spent a long time running away from my little land shark until I bought a pair of knee high rubber boots!
The only exposure to puppies I ever had was via television. They seemed so nice and sweet and calm.
I have a GSD/Poodle mix so you can imagine my horror at how I now had a dress code for myself and others when they walked into my house if they wanted to survive. My coworkers thought I was self harming because of all the thin scratches I had on me. No sock has made it out alive, my sandals paid the ultimate price, and my hands still remember the terror.
My little dude gets excited and CHOMPCHOMPCHOMP
I have a GSD/aussie doodle mix (super mutt) and honestly other than 2-3 weeks of land shark she has been by far the easiest puppy I’ve ever had 😭
Do you know if yours GSD side is working or show line? Or just a regular GSD? I’ve done a tone of research and there’s a huge huge huge difference between the different shepherd lines.
My guess is that mine is "regular", but was from a working line, but he's a rescue so no real idea. He was a rez dog roaming around in Montana, we DNA tested him and he's mostly cattle dog and GSD, and like 2 other working breeds. No idea why a show dog would be roaming around in Montana haha
I snipped this in the bud early with my heeler puppy and redirected every time she started chewing me out trying to herd me. Got her herding balls, got lots of chews, and things like lick mats and stuff and it went well! She is 7 month old and the raptor stage is pretty non-existent because she knows how to self soothe and play with me in ways that fulfill her needs but don't hurt me.
She will still try to herd the cat but there's no nipping.
When she starts to get rowdy I say "go get a toy" and she'll bring me one to distract her with.
Sounds like you did a great job with her! We got ours around 5 months (former rez dog) and he had a ton of bad habits. At about a year in he's only nippy when he gets excited after waking up after his nap :) Just so excited to be awake he can't contain himself!
That’s what I did with my GSD mix puppy, she understood within 2-3 weeks that the biting was hurting us and now she brings us toys to play with her. She’s almost 7 months old now, and honestly she acts like an adult dog. I’m still in shock.
There may (or may not!) be regressions in the coming months. This would not mean you have done anything wrong, but 9-11 months or so you can feel like you have a brand new and entirely too cheeky puppy. Take heart, the early work is still so useful!
Honestly, I’ve been waiting for regressions since I brought her home at 8 weeks old.
She had a little bit around 4.5 months when she went through her fear period where everything HAD to be barked at.
This puppy has never once not chewed anything she was supposed to. She is even gentle with our cats, which is surprising at how high her drive is. Since literally day one she sat patiently waiting for food and a release word, which I know for a fact no one taught her. She picks up training insanely easy. I honestly think I’ve found my once in a lifetime dog.
I have a 7 year old border collie mix who has been an angel also since a puppy, and our puppy has been watching her behavior and copying her too. She acts just like our older dog.. which is why I said she acts like a an adult dog already because she is just as chill as she is.
This is probably a dumb question, but how did you redirect her? My 4 month old Corgi is destroying my legs and feet trying to herd me constantly. She rarely goes after a toy I try to toss to get her to stop nipping me.
Sorry I was thinking about my response to you and just wanted to say not a dumb question at all. And my dog is pretty toy motivated. She like her jolly ball, and this big kong brand ball that is meant for water use. Those stimulate her herding needs so they were great redirecting tools. She would push her balls into me, and bring them to me to play with her and stuff, but she wasn't nipping me. She has a high play drive but that doesn't bother me at all. She also likes tug and has a few tug toys and she also has an assortment of plush toys that she uses more so to self soothe for some reason. I think it's great, she keeps them pretty in tact. My last heeler was like that though as well.
For food motivated toys, lick mats are a great distraction for them. A frozen kong full of that kong cheese and harder to get out treats is a great training tool too since it can be a toy and food. I really hope this info helps!
If you still feel lost a trainer can be wonderful.
lol so funny.. I compare my pup to a shark! Specifically I said “his little shark bites” and someone said that was totally “not normal” “what do I mean shark bites” I have a beagle and he’s super playful, nippy and a “little land shark” I commiserate with you on the boots my ankles get nipped on a daily!
I was shocked at how "mean" my corgi was as a puppy. He'd nip, we'd cry out, he'd come back to bite harder. Everything else was smooth sailing, but good lord did he crave blood for a period of time.
My puppy bit so hard and so often with such fervor that I thought it would never stop. She was such a shark and the only way she would stop was if she physically couldn’t get at me.
As an adult though she so fun, makes me laugh, and is such a good dog! I love her so much more than I even thought was possible.
I have a corgi/ mini aus mix, and she's a little monster. A very smart monster who helps round up the cats when it's time for them to come inside. I have no doubt that she would fight off an intruder if one broke into my home
My stepdad had a GSD who was a block head that's bark was a lot more Vicious than her bite lol - she grew up though with my English Setter and my mom's labradoodle who were both laid back dogs (mine still is, she turned 14 yesterday but sadly the labradoodle passed a few years back). But my stepdad use to take her to run around his buddy's farm to burn off her energy until it got too much for her to get into his truck, then she just chilled at home until she passed 😔 she wasn't a bad dog at all, but I'd never get one - I much prefer my smaller English setters lol.
Don’t get me wrong, mine certainly wasn’t a bad dog. I had him for almost twelve years. He was very well behaved and I could walk him off leash and he’d stay right next to me. His main issue was dog reactivity that he developed around three that made him difficult to take to a lot of the places I like to take my dogs (bars, breweries, my apartment dog park…I live in an incredibly dog friendly area).
Also the shedding was a fucking nightmare to the point where I’ll never have another dog with a double coat.
My current boxer goes with me everywhere she’s allowed to. She came with me to a friend and his wife’s kid’s first birthday party on Saturday and many a kid had their face licked by her.
I love my corgi 800x more now that he's grown. He was an absolute terror. And the cutest damn thing I ever saw. Now he's just a menace. Still the cutest damn thing I ever saw.
My son has 2 corgis 7 & 3 the 7 year her vet ( life long) say she doesn’t NOT have the corgi attitude. She’s had some medical issues. He said as many times as she’s been flipped over on that table for invasive testing she’s never once gotten an attitude. Rare most would try to tear you up. Lol. Never seen a corgi as sweet. The 3 year old not aggressive ( pretends to be, but runs & hides behind a trusted human. Chicken 100%) He is a total jackazz. Lol Family dogs are Saint Bernards, they can be challenged. I don’t care what you’ve seen on TV or the movies! 30 years been there, done, more than once, got tshirts to prove it. Lol lol. Probably my worst was human teenagers lol
Jane is the most stubborn dog I've ever had. But damn I would jump in front of a bus for her. I absolutely love that stubborn piece of garbage. Corgis for life.
My Corgi is almost 9 months old and he is a stubborn little asshole but also the cutest damn thing in the world and I would jump in front of a car for him.
i had the cops called on me once when i was crate training my corgi 🙃 imagine their surprise when the “noise complaint” they came out for turned out to be a 4 month old puppy
Don't let their cute looks fool you. They're a high energy working breed packed into a tiny body. Realistically, something like a GSD would probably be worse just due to their size, but corgi puppies are stubborn little barky assholes who will fight you.
We got our first corgi and while a bit stubborn, she was probably the closest thing to a perfect puppy that you could get. Don’t get me wrong, I completely get that she’s an exception, not the rule, and I will probably rue the day with our next corgi LMAO
Why don’t I see husky here? My oldest made a nest of my stolen, chewed underwear and socks and chewed through so many shoes. She has never enjoyed a toy despite all my efforts. She could never get enough exercise so she was a digger, a climber, and an escape artist. She would tease you when you tried to catch her and when you finally did, she’d scream like you hurt her. That tricked a lot of helpful neighbors into loosening their grip. She is not food motivated and does not listen if she doesn’t want to. She doesn’t even like being pet.
Notice it turned to present tense? She’s 14 and still hates the world. I am but her humble servant.
That said, I’ve now owned and fostered a few more husky and husky mix pups and it’s been a toss up whether they’re insane or somewhat manageable. I’d never say easy though.
I have two huskies. The second one is nicknamed “2 socks” because she acts like a skittish coyote yet begs for affection. She refused to leash train, begged to leave the kennel and wanted outside the second we got her. Our male is a king and I do not look forward to his journey concluding. He was a good puppy too.
Sounds like my aussie/keeshond mix. The screaming like he's being murdered when he's caught after escaping or when he's left alone for 10 seconds when I empty the trash is dreadful.
Haha this very accurate. My 1 year old beagle is super mischievous. He needs to sniff, taste, and touch everything. He knows he’s not allowed to do certain things, so he’ll check to see if you’re watching before doing it.
I am glad someone said this. We have a beaglier and omg she is so stubborn, was so hard to potty train. She destroys everything. Lucky is adorable as hell.
He would be a nightmare in an apartment. He likes running up and down the stairs, and wants to go outside all the time so he can sniff around. Even being in a house it can be annoying, because multiple times a day he goes to the door to go out, does a perimeter sniff, then wants back in.
I have a beagle mix in an apartment and she’s doing fine, that being said she does get an hour and a half of straight up run in every day in a large field of grass
Maybe the mix helps haha. Because my beagle gets lots of exercise as well, he just loves sniffing outside. Beagles are working dogs that were bred to sniff, and I swear that’s how he likes to spend 90% of his time when he’s awake.
Dachshunds. Bark. A lot. At everything.
Nightmare at potty training. Diggers. Scent is razor sharp so they don’t hear you when they’re in the zone.
10/10 cuddles though
Agreed! Expert cuddlers. We have two. Our puppy gets triggered by other dogs barking in the apartment complex and it's been so much work training him to stop on command. Potty training took months but we're actually not doing too bad!
Ditto. Sit? “Why do I need to be closer to the ground?” Why pee on the grass and tickle the ivories when the walkway will do. When they don’t want to walk, they increase their mass and become rooted to their spot. Smart, but the stubbornest dogs I have ever owned.
Bordercollies, in my opinion the best breed, but if you don’t know how to handle their workdrive, intelligence and hyperactivity you have one big problem on your hands.
I have an 8 month old bc x whippet and wow he is a handful. We also have a 13 year old (in 13 days 14!) collie x bc x some other breeds and she was also very difficult. Borders are definitely not for everyone!
I currently have two adults and a litter of four seven-week-old puppies and holy god they are into EVERYTHING. They move at the speed of light, they can work out what you're going to do before you do it, and they work as a tag team. It's awesome and terrifying in equal measure. For me, no breed compares, but they certainly aren't for the faint hearted!
Whippets are pretty notoriously awful puppies. Super brave, curious, stubborn and zero self preservation instinct.
Mine wasn’t that bad, but I’ve heard crazy stories.
My iggy is like that, she just passed the 1 year mark and she is still an absolute terror when she wants to be. From day dot, she has believed she can fly, is fearless to a fault (I've sometimes wished she was more scared of some things for her own safety), and has the worst case of "what's in it for me?" attitude when it comes to training. She might sit for me if I tell her to without waving a treat in her face. Maybe. Anything else I ask of her, she completely ignores until I've made it worth her while. She's gotten herself stuck into weird places and has escaped every sort of barrier or enclosure I've attempted to contain her in. She can clear a nearly 5ft jump from a standing start. Her favourite dogs to play with at the park are a working line German Shephard, Bully/Ridgeback mix, and a Rottweiler, because she genuinely believes she is their size and just as tough. And oh man, does she have OPINIONS about things that she makes sure i am aware of. I wouldn't have her any other way.
Ugh I love her. My whippet is exactly the same. I *loved* his teenage sass and he never really lost it. He’s almost 3 and has only slightly more sense than he did as a puppy. Though mercifully he’s slowed down. But he makes me laugh *all* the time with his sass and craziness.
The sighthound sassy side eye is my favourite thing ever. They're such funny things, I think the goofiness and lack of sense is built into their DNA. Your boy sounds like fun, I hope mine keeps a little bit of her silly too!
It is 100% in their DNA, sassy little noodle dogs, I love them. The noises they come out with when they're unimpressed about something are SO funny. So many feelings and opinions and you will know about every single one of them.
ANY herding dog.
Corgis, border collies, australian shepherds, cattle dogs, etc.
They’re all menaces as puppies.
Think about it, A LOT of the complaints on this sub are ‘my puppy nips a lot how do I fix this?’ it’s in their DNA to be nippy! That’s what they do!
Not only that, they’re all prone to some sort of reactivity. Easily trainable but you’re fighting against their natural instincts.
Thank you for saying this!!! My border collie turns one this week and I thought I was ready. Needless to say, I was not. He’s so smart that it is challenging to stay ahead of him. The slightest noise rattles his core and he’s very reactive. He has gotten slightly better over the last couple months but that’s in part to a ton of training. I love him to death but man, there were days I seriously questioned my sanity.
My female giant schnauzer is full of energy and is a little shark at the moment , but super smart. Training from day one is necessary and never ending for this breed.
From what I’ve gathered from my pup’s friends and training classes I’m gonna say
Border collies/ heelers/ aussies: I’ve never had one but seems like their owners are constantly trying to find ways to run them out of energy and they just keep going no matter what lol. Absolutely full of energy.
Great Pyrenees- mine is a mixed breed pyr and she’s so stubborn and hard to train because she doesn’t care about pleasing me. I wouldn’t say she’s more energetic than the average puppy but definitely more mouthy and stubborn.
Golden retrievers- this one surprised me but almost every training class the most neurotic puppy was a golden retriever. They grow up to be lovely but look like quite a chore to deal with as puppies lmao
Can confirm. Have a 6 mo golden retriever. Let’s just say I wasn’t even close to ready for their antics. Beyond stubborn and strong willed. Bite the shit out of you for months on end. Energy always. The list goes on. 🙃
I have a pyr mix training him was easy AF. That said, he listens to me exceptionally, my partner well, and everyone else can kick rocks. He's 100% my dog, friend of mine found him abandoned in the woods, and gave him to me, and he immediately decided I was his human.
I'd never get a Jack Russell puppy ever again. The first 5 months I cried everyday. The nipping was next level. The training was impossible. Smart dogs, but with an agenda of their own. Potty training was a piece of cake, but everything else, even 5 years later, still not 100%. Puppyhood nearly killed me and owning them in general takes way too much brain power and energy. I love my dog more than anything I have ever known, but man he's a jerk LOL.
Yess this is the first dog I couldn't handle on my own and had to get multiple trainers involved lol. I'd like to think I was pretty well equipped getting him too haha. I got him as a Chihuahua mix through a rescue then after a few weeks I knew something was up and did a DNA test. Then it all made sense.
I had a JRT as a child and she was mean to small children (I was old enough she liked me) and always escaped. She eventually got hit by a car after escaping our fence but man I remember my parents being frustrated with her haha.
I came here to say this, my first dog (Jack Russell/mountain feist mix) was a TERROR as a puppy the extremely high energy mixed with bad separation anxiety equaled him destroying whatever he could when I was simply in A DIFFERENT ROOM. Our second puppy is a German Shepherd/ Australian cattle dog mix and shes so much easier to train and doesn't have any separation anxiety (which my older dog STILL struggles with even though it's much better than it was).
My poodle has separation anxiety but is trying to act all cool now in her 8mo teenage phase. She was downstairs alone whilst i was upstairs (all doors open so that she can follow me up)
But she chose to be downstairs. Alone. And it was quiet. Eventually she won that game of chicken and I called her up😂 was not in the mood to see her experiment with carpentry
I'm so lucky my jack doesn't have separation anxiety but my god he is hyper and bitey lol. 7 months in and he's still crazy haha. I'm doing nose work to help give him a job but he just has no chill lol 😆
I know puppies are hard but I was shocked when I got him. No regrets but my goodness.
JRTs are my favorite but at the same time, they don't start to calm down until they're 7. Once they're around 10 years old, you'll have a really great dog!
My pup is a JRT / Yorkie mix and he is the cutest little jerk in the world. He's super smart, nippy, fearless, talks back when I correct him, he attacks harder when I redirect bites. I wouldn't want to miss him for the world, but I can't wait until he's done teething.
I think mine was pretty horrible up to 4 months. bit me to shreds. Sweetest dog now though. (He turned 2 the other day!) Japanese spitz, said to be a great first timer breed.
So with that said, I wonder how hellish an actual difficult breed would be. Cause really, he's only still here cause he was cute.
I have a 3 month old Japanese Spitz. Can confirm he is a piranha. I (and my hands) dream for the day that redirecting his nibbling works and he stops 😭
I think it comes down to good ownership, but my friend who is a vet tech told me once not to get a Dalmatian as they are prone to all of the above undesirable behaviors if not trained very carefully.
I have a great dane and thankfully she was an angel and never chewed anything even as a puppy BUT our friend had a whole family of great danes and when left unattended one day they chewed through an antique wooden cabinet because it had a 12 kg bag of dog food and their instinct of fear others will eat it kicked in :D
My Great Dane loved drywall as a puppy especially when he wasn’t feeling well. So glad it didn’t last long!! He hasn’t chewed a wall in over a year now lol
I have a 9.5 week old dalmatian puppy right now. She's a little mouthy but can already sit, shake, and lay down. Already sleeping through the night too. Take this as a grain of salt though, I used to be a professional trainer and she's my 4th dalmatian.
Oh their reputation is entirely deserved. People love to comment on how cute and well behaved my dogs have been, and oooohhh they want one. I beg them please do not get a dalmatian...
That's the problem they have, they are super over-popularized by 'cute disney dog' syndrome, only for everyone to want one and expect them to immediately be that 'cute disney dog' not knowing it actually takes a lot of work to get a well behaved dog, of any breed. Dals high energy doesn't help the matter because it takes just that much more to keep them happy enough to not chew your house apart.
I just got my 4th dalmatian puppy. She's 9.5 weeks old and I adore her.
Exactly! Disney needs to be careful with things like that! Just make the mutts cute. Then everyone will want one. I have a xolo like the one in Coco. Those are not for new or casual owners. Luckily they are hard to come by or we'd have shelters overrun with xolos once people realized they are a stubborn primitive breed. I love my hairless boy, but he is the weirdest dog I've ever had. And I adore the breed.
I've owned many breeds from Golden retrievers to Wolf hybrids (25 years ago, and she was a very sweet animal, and well trained, don't come for me) and the most absolutely stubborn, difficult, why for the love of God will you not potty outside and stop SLAMMING your nose into things pup I've ever owned.....is my current pup.
She's dachshund x French bulldog. She was an OOPS that no one wanted, and I took her in at about 5 months old. NEVER NEVER have I had this much trouble training an animal. Just selective fucking hearing and after almost 2 months (?) YESTERDAY was the first time she's pottied outside.
My last dog got the gist of voice command peeing and pooping in *2 days*, and he didn't have more than 2 brain cells firing at any given time. 😭
Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. I have never had a dog as stubborn as Augustus. Such a butt head. He does things on his own time and thinks he rules the house and all other dogs at 2. Potty training for him was a nightmare. Swore off puppies forever, yet I just got an Irish Setter puppy on May 4th. I’m a glutton for punishment apparently
How you getting on with the Irish? I have an 8 month old Irish, no experience with other puppies so no idea how she compares but, she's quite the challenge. Stubborn, mouthy, sometimes stroppy and snaps between crazy cause of understimulation and crazy because of overstimulation.
Between all that, loving, affectionate and playful too.
She is also very mouthy and very opinionated. She just turned 14 weeks, so she is still very much a puppy. I give Penelope puzzle toys to keep her mentally stimulated, and she plays really well with Augustus and my other dog Lacey, so she gets physical stimulation as well. Sometimes you have to walk a fine line with Irishes regarding their stimulation. There are sometimes that I have to do enforced naps with her (typically she will settle herself down and nap), and I can definitely tell when she is over tired.
She is definitely the mouthiest puppy I have had, but she does pretty well when I tell her no bite if she’s biting me (or something else I don’t want her to bite) and redirect her with something she can bite. Right now we are working on loose leash walking. Structure is key for Setters
My pugs are right there with them. Dumb as a box of rocks but oh we love them! We’ve had two CKCS as well-love love love that breed too. The Goldens of the small breeds.
I hear you there on CKCS. He was hell on wheels for the first year or so. I called him my Sour Patch Kid. Sweet, yet sour. He's finally calmed down at 18 months. He's a Velcro dog now. Guess I lucked out on the potty training, no issues in that department.
I mean, it wasn’t super horrible, but at almost two years old, he was still having accidents a couple times a week. One day it just “clicked” with him about not going inside the house
I want an Irish setter some day ❤️ I have two English setters, my oldest is 14 and youngest is 2, and they're completely night and day - my oldest though grew up with my mom's labradoodle that was gentle and sweet so I think that's why she was an instant couch potato lol, but quiet and reserved (though crotchety in her old age) where my youngest is a lot more playful than what she was and mouthy too - and by mouthy I mean she talks back to me constantly 😅 but she's also a lot more attached to me and follows me everywhere at home yet is okay when I leave the house where it took my oldest years to not chew my stuff if I left.
I love setters. Penny is my first one I’ve had as a puppy, but I had one growing up, rescued him when he was about 5. He was the best dog ever. She’s a very goofy girl. Not sure about English Setters, but Irish Setters are too sneaky for their own good. They also talk back to you. It’s just like having a teenager lol
I’ve had boxers and a German Shepherd. Boxers are easy. They’re crazy, but it’s a good natured, comical sort of zaniness and when they crash, they crash hard and are in a coma for a few hours. GSDs not so much. They become velociraptors for a good four months and always need something to do. I’m guessing they’re probably not the most difficult, but they can certainly be a challenge.
Boxers are a breed I frequently recommend to others for a first dog. I talk people out of getting GSDs as a first dog.
My boxer just turned 1 and she was such an easy puppy! Don't get me wrong, she drove me up the wall with her biting etc but she was toilet trained by 12 weeks, never destroyed anything in the house (not even her toys until she was about 6/7 months!) and slept through the night from 10 weeks old. She's such a cuddly girl and I'd never have another breed now.
Hounds.
I have a bloodhound that’s nearly 1. She’s the hardest dog I’ve everrrr had.
You basically have to train them to be pets lol. Otherwise they’ll do whatever they want, and are physically strong enough to get away with it.
Routine and consistency is absolute crucial. And keeping in mind that they’ll never be an obedient little Velcro dog. Never.
We have two basset hounds and they are awesome! Yes they are stubborn but besides that they are great! We have 2.5 year old and a 6 month old puppy. He is super easy puppy. He was pretty much housebroken in 4 months. The worst part of our dogs is getting their nail clipped! We have to drug her and take her to the vet! It’s terrible!
We also have to take our basset hound to the vet and sedate her to get her nails clipped, so dramatic! She’s super stubborn but so lovely! She was a bit of a shark for a while though…
This matches my experience. I've had puppies before, and it's always challenging and exhausting. But withing weeks of getting this puppy at 8 weeks old, it felt like having four puppies in one and we started suspecting she was not just a GSD mix like the shelter thought. The DNA test showed that she's 50% malligator. She's 10 months old now and she still needs a minimum of 6 hours of activation every day. I love her to bits, but I sure miss having a life. Never again.
VISZLA. holy gods my brothers was and still is insane. I have friends that have them too and theirs are pretty good but they're literally militant with their training, and you have to be to get these dogs anywhere remotely reasonable to live with. Endless energy they will not do anything with besides combust if you don't force them, zero ability to self settle, great white level sharkies.
I have a husky/gsd mix and he's a mad man for sure. I'm sure a lot of Spitz breeds can be wild. That said I've heard some wild shit about corgis and weenies
I had a corgi puppy when I was a teen, and there were a good 3 months where I couldn't walk through the house without her hanging from my ankles, biting my laces and pants etc
Australian shepherds. And likely any herding breed for that matter.
These dogs can be amazing and they are extremely smart but they will bring you through hell and back as a pupper. I remember when I rescued my Australian shepherd mix (half purebred other half unknown but everything about her is just typical aussy) she had razor sharp teeth and bit/nipped like crazy because of that herding tendency. My hands were covered in cuts because her teeth were so razor sharp; even if she didn’t actually nip me and her tooth just touched my hand it would get sliced open. I vividly remember being at the vet early on and the vet was in shock by the state of my hands. They are also high energy breeds that just need a ton of stimulation as a puppy. Between the razor sharp teeth, need for lots of stimulation and tendency to herd everything in sight I swear I was raising satan himself. I remember hiding from her by standing on my bed in my room because at the time she was very small and my bed was too tall for her to jump onto. I still laugh when I think about that 😂
All that being said my dog is super smart and it is still easy to teach her new tricks at 7 years old. Her teeth have worn down by chewing bones and those herding nips have been trained out of her. Now she’s a real sweat heart who cuddles with me in bed all the time. I’m so happy she’s in my life now even though I swear I was a single doggo mother in college raising the spawn of satan for several months.
They are just chaos incarnate. My 10 month old one rammed right into my nose two days ago and it felt like it broke and still hurts a lot. And he can always find more energy.
I agree with this. We currently have a 6 month old golden shark and it makes me appreciate my 6 year old good boy golden even more. It’s worth it once they turn the corner and calm down but gosh, it feels like forever when you’re in it, lol.
GSDs, are pretty difficult honestly all the smart working breeds, and herding dogs.
smarter worklines just have
1. Workline energy, extra physical and mental needs.
2. Learn very fast, which is the bad part, they are easy to train if you know what your doing, but boy will they train the hell out of you if you aren't careful, very hard to untrain bad habits imo, a single instance before your totally done can reset you to square one.
3. They teach themselves things, my I had to replace all the door handles in my house because I had lever handles, and my GSD learned how to open them all by watching me overtime, I learned this when he shoved his head into the shower while I was in it and almost gave me a heart attack.
GSDs take all of those, crank it to 11, then add in goblin mode, Big teeth, Strong jaws, big Paws, long adolescence due to large breed, elevated alertness and prey drive, and pound for pound the worklines are absurdly strong.
I love my West-German Workline, GSD, I'd get another; I'd also never recommend the breed unless someone's an experienced dog handler, has money to pay for one, or loads of time to dedicate. I was in the third category when I got mine, and boy, that was fun.
The most difficult puppy is the one you're trying to raise. Just like how the best doggo is the one that belongs to whoever is asking "who is the best doggo?"
i LOVE my gsd and I love owning German shepherds. I will not have another gsd puppy until I get amnesia and forget his puppy stage. and he was remarkably easy in a lot of ways. he was also the devil.
Cattle dogs, and any mix of it. Smart little assholes. They train you faster than you can train them. But they’re so cute.
I’ve have to gate AND tie said gates shut around my house because my 5mo old has figured out how to go upstairs. She loves to sneak up there when I’m in the shower for her morning poop. Does she poop in the house otherwise? No. Just where there is carpet.
My friend got a cattle dog and the puppy years were so stressful that her and husband are getting a divorce but then again they could have been just a bad match
GSD, Malinois, husky,border collie, and Australian shepherds. Basically any breed with a high energy or prey drive that are originally breed to have a job
Dalmatians, Huskies, Jack Russel Terriers, any herding dogs such as Australian Cattle dogs, all make insane puppies that turn into insane dogs if they do not have the correct owner. Primitive breeds too like Basenjis. My Xolo is a primitive breed and I had to constantly remind my family that primitives are weird, but they do get better. He's still weird, but better behaved.
I've had only pit bulls and Australian shepherds my entire life. Bf and I just got our first corgi, and at 6 months old she is hands down the hardest dog I've ever had to attempt to train.
I have a 7mo RR too- I was warned they can be psycho pups, but the reality surpassed my expectations. I think I got the spitfire of the litter. It’s been several months of battling her iron will and I’m finally seeing progress, thank goodness, but I’m so so tired….
They're reaaal hard work but they're genuinely the sweetest, gentlest dogs. It won't feel like it at first, but once you get into a groove, they really are.
My advice is less is more. The tendency is always to go 'oh, high energy breed? Better do ALL THE THINGS' but while they're teeny they get easily overwhelmed and overtired really quickly which makes them cranky and bitey. A bored puppy is easy to entertain. An over-aroused puppy is a small terrorist who refuses to be negotiated with, so keeping them from tipping over will make your life easier. Frequent naps and breaks in play to slow down and engage their brain (train or do sniffing games) can go a long way.
Non-cocker specific, if you're planning on crating, keep it level with your bed the first few weeks, close enough that you can touch her. Alone training can come later, but early on sleeping close to you helps them feel safe and dulls the sting of not being able to be on you. Plus it's easier for them to let you know when they need to go potty in the middle of the night.
I have one! Persephone’s currently 4.5 months. I don’t think she’s bad at all, just so nippy! I’d say work on keeping the puppy mentally stimulated (she has her basics down but we want to enroll in an actual class to socialize her more now that she’s fully vaccinated). Toys. Lots and lots of chew toys to redirect nipping. Work on preventing separation anxiety as well. My girl was SO GOOD but recently reverted so we are working on that as well. Shes not a barker or howler so we got lucky. But yeah, keep her mentally stimulated and enjoy the puppy love! Mine is now an adolescent and I miss my itty bitty girl!
Oh, and watch out for your socks. Apparently as a breed they LOVE THEM. My ADHD husband leaves his everywhere and she collects them. I’m trying to figure out how to train her to drop them in the hamper for me lmfao
Oh my gosh our previous WCS loved our socks and we thought it was just her but our new 4 month old has discovered them and I think we're headed down the same road with her hahaha. It's so sweet though when they bring them to you as a little present
How has no one said Shibas lol probably because most people know they’re the most difficult dogs and don’t own them 🤣
I think shibas are objectively speaking, the most difficult breed. And I’m not just saying that because I own one. I’ve been around so many different dogs, dog sat, and shibas are all the same. I don’t come by others often either since they are quite expensive dog breeds do own. But one does not OWN a shiba. The shiba owns you. And there’s really nothing you can do about it lol
I absolutely love Shibas but their reputation for being stubborn, difficult and noisy keeps me from getting one. (Ignoring the fact that I have two stubborn, loud, high-energy Papillons that I adore)
I actually think Labs are the easiest. One only thinks they are hard if you've not had a hard that isn't both people and food motivated or if they are particularly upset by having things chewed up.
My youngest lab (2 year old) is neither food or people motivated. Tennis ball yes. My oldest lab is almost 12. He was a holy terror destroying stuff. Getting into things he had no business in his defense he had terrible separation anxiety because his previous owner kept him a kennel all the time on base housing cause he was too much to handle.
I have a standard poodle and he was the best! Indoor and outdoor trained, learned tricks quick, didn’t really chew on stuff. He did play bite and scratch a lot but grew out of it by 4 months! Loud corrections fixed all his bad behaviors (yelping when he bit, stern NO when he tried to counter surf etc)
I’m sure it helped we had about 50 different toys and spend a ton of time with him
I am a vet tech who is doing "boarding/training" for standard poodle puppies through a breeder (as needed when owners are out of town.)
I have had a 12 week old for a week now and am so surprised by how good this breed is as a puppy! Like you said, she does have a lot of attention, 36 acres, and another dog to play with, but dang I took her to a family BBQ yesterday and she just relaxed and watched all the kids play while she was resting in her playpen. Very impressed.
He was probably my most favorite dog ever, but my basset was really something else. The aloofness and selective deafness are REAL. Bassets might consider complying with your directive…maybe…either way, it’ll happen when and if they feel like it. … maybe.
Poodles. I have a golden doodle and the golden side wants to please, but the poodle side is too smart/stubborn. You can sometimes actively watch his brain log the command, decide he wants no part of it, and continue being a chaos bear.
That combined with golden puppyhood = raptor chaos bear for 2 years. But dang sweet.
I have a pit/lab mix. He is simultaneously the easiest and most difficult dog to train. You can see he gets the task very quickly.... but you can also see that he knows, HE KNOWS, that while he's "learning" the training treats will keep a-coming.
For example: he gets a chew stick whenever we need to leave him in the crate. This morning the little demon stared me down, darted into the crate, grabbed the chew and ran out, all in the space of 2 seconds. I was 3 feet away. He spent the next 5 minutes playing keepaway.
Goldens tend to be pretty mouthy, but I feel like they can be such different personality wise. My friend’s golden is like this sweet old soul, super calm, even as a puppy. Mine…baby shark, had to exercise this dog almost daily for the first 1.5 years. He’s 5 now, calmed down some, but still really hyper, can go for miles before he even shows signs he is getting tired. Absolutely the most lovable thing. Just have to direct that energy and he’s a pretty good dog.
Right now I’d say it’s my puppy. 100% pure bred domestic terrorist.
But I’ve had a lot of experience with other puppies and so far I gotta say Cocker Spaniels have been the most mad pups I’ve been around. I love em to bits tho.
I've had a couple Samoyed puppies. Very difficult. They are stubborn as can be and smart. The last one was near impossible to house train. The nicest guy you'd ever want to meet though.
It's not what ypu asked but it's the only feedback I have. Mini schnauzers are hard to train because they're stubborn and sort of smug but they're silly and charming, fairly non destructive and easy to socialize
Eta mine are 4 months. I may. Amend this when adolescence hits
Our rescue terrier/Ridgeback/whatever else mix was a massive PITA as a young pup, mostly because her energy was insane at baseline and we failed to realize that walking her 3-5 miles a day was just building her stamina. She literally does parkour off the back of our couch, which is now broken bc it’s a cheap POS, and she can jump straight UP and BACKWARDS over 3 feet high without thinking. Her nightly witching hour lasted for months and resulted in bloody noses/lips several times from her launching into us. She is 57 pounds of pure rippled muscle. We affectionately call her Speed as a nickname bc I frequently cried, “Did this bitch snort a line of coke in her crate?!” when she was a bitty baby.
Our slightly younger rescue is a LGD mix of some kind - we think Pyrenees or Anatolian, with maybe Golden Retriever mixed in. We were told he was a shepherd mix, like a German Shepherd, but as an almost adult we know for sure he’s some kind of LGD. He’s over 3 ft tall when he’s standing normally (at his head), we’re guessing at least 100 lbs. He’s super chill, except he will literally eat anything - he’s the dreaded chewer. Wires, remotes, drywall, blankets, board games, solid plastic bowls, the carpet… he has attempted to eat batteries and metal cups as well, thankfully we caught him in time. We were SO diligent when he was a baby to keep everything super clean but he would just find something else (like the coffee table, or the couch, or his sister) to chew on. He only somewhat grew out of that in the last few months, mostly because we just buy frozen beef marrow bones, carrots, frozen fruit, and the strongest dog toys we can find so he has a good selection to be destructive. Other than that, he’s pretty chill so his nickname is Weed.
We adopted a 9 month old Great Dane in December (we’re experienced with both rescue and the breed.) she was being rehomed because the family “didn’t realize Great Dane puppies come with normal puppy energy.”
The truth is, they are still less energetic than smaller breeds but it means shorter bursts not less intensity. And while it’s less time being zaney in any one given burst, they’re easily 100lbs by 7-10 months old. With our first, we had to move all the furniture up against walls because he’d flip the couch during zoomies.
Everything is just bigger. They can do more damage to both the house and the people in it. They can reach anything. And they’re stubborn as absolute fuck.
Still the best tho
My English bulldog had, by far, been my worst puppy. Every time we get a new dog, we choose a breed we havent had before, so we have had quite a few different breeds. I love the little shit, but he is so stubborn it is unreal.
I don’t think he’s the most difficult but we have a Jack Russell and he’ll be happy quiet and out of nowhere chew in to you like you’re a big mouse or something
I have a tibetan terrier mix and his energy levels are almost like a border collies. As a puppy he didn't sleep. Enforced naps didn't work for weeks, he just wouldn't calm down. During teething he gnawed on a carpet, the wall, the bed, the kitchen table, shoes and we could not find a chewing stick he would take as a replacement. He only eats when he's hungry and doesn't take every treat. He has a guarding drive and hunts on sight (he gives up fast though). He's independent. That means that when he's off leash and I call him, even with a fat treat in my hand, he will decide that he would rather sniff first and maybe come later. As for alternative rewards: most of the time he's not cuddly and toys hype him up way too much. If I give him higher value treats, he will stop eating his regular food for 2-3 days and demand sausage.
I swear he's more like a cat, than a dog.
On the plus side, he reacts extremely well to body language and has taught himself some words. He also communicates really well. Oh and he likes to stand on his hind legs to see better lol
I’ve raised an Alaskan malamute, border collie x blue heeler, Australian kelpie and now a miniature dachshund. By far the most stressful has been our goblin kelpie.. he is almost 2 now and has settled a little bit and we train extensively with all our dogs. He just has one brain cell that gets confused very often along with anxiety x high energy. As a working dog he definitely has a job and he is great at it but he is also a handful! Very sweet and sooky boy but just a little turd 😂🩷
Malinois, Huskie, Rottweiler, Heelers. I would never. ***NEVER.***
But my Boxer and my Aussie were particularly tough for me (I usually go for couch potato breeds...)
I work in pet care. Speaking as a caregiver and not as a pet owner. The worst puppies are usually: border collies, aussies, German shepherds, corgis, huskies. Not so coincidentally - also often the hardest to work with and treat as adult dogs.
Every lab mix I had ate up my entire home. I'll never get another lab mix if I can help it. They just chew too darn much. Pibbles are a walk in the park compared to lab pups.
I have an English staffy pup now and he hasn't been too destructive luckily. But he has been mouthy as ffffff. On and off for the past year. He just wants to play all the time and will nip for attention. Like a little terrorist!
I had multiple growing up. They can be great dogs, but SOCIALIZE EARLY. And your table will never be safe. They can and will learn to undo zippers to get to food.
Oh yeah she’s been socialised she was rehomed to me (sent back to the breeder) and she was living with like 5 other dogs and SHEEP! She’s good with farm animals and dogs
My Rottweiler/working line gsd mix is an amazing pup...super well behaved at 5 months...but he gets regular naps, daily or twice daily training, multiple walks a day, has a bigger (for now) dog to play with outside in a nice fenced in yard, food games, etc. his drive is so high he'd climb a telephone pole for a single piece of kibble if he could, so I can get him to lay down next to my recliner in the evenings for like 2 hours by giving him maybe 1 piece of kibble every 5-6 minutes...then he just wanders off to his crate to sleep for the night.
Jack Russel Terrorist is the worst puppy I've ever had.
Our Ridgeback pup has has brought me to tears often, but we were just walking her & saw a tiny Border Collie puppy dragging its owner down the road, barking and leaping all over her. I can’t believe I actually said to my husband, thank god we got a Ridgeback & not a Border Collie! 😂
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I've had multiple large breed puppies, I think it comes down to what you can't tolerate. Labs: chew and eat everything. I left mine alone for 10 minutes and ate the molding off the walls. Personally I have a GSD/heeler mix now, and turns out my tolerance for mouthiness is way lower than destruction. I can replace chairs and molding, but cattle dogs and German shepherds are both notoriously mouthy puppies and I walked around for months with scraped up arms and ankles. Add in prey drive/chase instinct...I spent a long time running away from my little land shark until I bought a pair of knee high rubber boots!
The only exposure to puppies I ever had was via television. They seemed so nice and sweet and calm. I have a GSD/Poodle mix so you can imagine my horror at how I now had a dress code for myself and others when they walked into my house if they wanted to survive. My coworkers thought I was self harming because of all the thin scratches I had on me. No sock has made it out alive, my sandals paid the ultimate price, and my hands still remember the terror. My little dude gets excited and CHOMPCHOMPCHOMP
Omg the concerned coworkers are so relatable! I wore long sleeves for months because I didn't want to give people the wrong impression.
I have a GSD/aussie doodle mix (super mutt) and honestly other than 2-3 weeks of land shark she has been by far the easiest puppy I’ve ever had 😭 Do you know if yours GSD side is working or show line? Or just a regular GSD? I’ve done a tone of research and there’s a huge huge huge difference between the different shepherd lines.
My guess is that mine is "regular", but was from a working line, but he's a rescue so no real idea. He was a rez dog roaming around in Montana, we DNA tested him and he's mostly cattle dog and GSD, and like 2 other working breeds. No idea why a show dog would be roaming around in Montana haha
I snipped this in the bud early with my heeler puppy and redirected every time she started chewing me out trying to herd me. Got her herding balls, got lots of chews, and things like lick mats and stuff and it went well! She is 7 month old and the raptor stage is pretty non-existent because she knows how to self soothe and play with me in ways that fulfill her needs but don't hurt me. She will still try to herd the cat but there's no nipping. When she starts to get rowdy I say "go get a toy" and she'll bring me one to distract her with.
Sounds like you did a great job with her! We got ours around 5 months (former rez dog) and he had a ton of bad habits. At about a year in he's only nippy when he gets excited after waking up after his nap :) Just so excited to be awake he can't contain himself!
That’s what I did with my GSD mix puppy, she understood within 2-3 weeks that the biting was hurting us and now she brings us toys to play with her. She’s almost 7 months old now, and honestly she acts like an adult dog. I’m still in shock.
There may (or may not!) be regressions in the coming months. This would not mean you have done anything wrong, but 9-11 months or so you can feel like you have a brand new and entirely too cheeky puppy. Take heart, the early work is still so useful!
Honestly, I’ve been waiting for regressions since I brought her home at 8 weeks old. She had a little bit around 4.5 months when she went through her fear period where everything HAD to be barked at. This puppy has never once not chewed anything she was supposed to. She is even gentle with our cats, which is surprising at how high her drive is. Since literally day one she sat patiently waiting for food and a release word, which I know for a fact no one taught her. She picks up training insanely easy. I honestly think I’ve found my once in a lifetime dog. I have a 7 year old border collie mix who has been an angel also since a puppy, and our puppy has been watching her behavior and copying her too. She acts just like our older dog.. which is why I said she acts like a an adult dog already because she is just as chill as she is.
This is probably a dumb question, but how did you redirect her? My 4 month old Corgi is destroying my legs and feet trying to herd me constantly. She rarely goes after a toy I try to toss to get her to stop nipping me.
Sorry I was thinking about my response to you and just wanted to say not a dumb question at all. And my dog is pretty toy motivated. She like her jolly ball, and this big kong brand ball that is meant for water use. Those stimulate her herding needs so they were great redirecting tools. She would push her balls into me, and bring them to me to play with her and stuff, but she wasn't nipping me. She has a high play drive but that doesn't bother me at all. She also likes tug and has a few tug toys and she also has an assortment of plush toys that she uses more so to self soothe for some reason. I think it's great, she keeps them pretty in tact. My last heeler was like that though as well. For food motivated toys, lick mats are a great distraction for them. A frozen kong full of that kong cheese and harder to get out treats is a great training tool too since it can be a toy and food. I really hope this info helps! If you still feel lost a trainer can be wonderful.
lol so funny.. I compare my pup to a shark! Specifically I said “his little shark bites” and someone said that was totally “not normal” “what do I mean shark bites” I have a beagle and he’s super playful, nippy and a “little land shark” I commiserate with you on the boots my ankles get nipped on a daily!
ITT: Everyone chooses their own puppy as the worst breed. Having said that, corgis suck.
I was shocked at how "mean" my corgi was as a puppy. He'd nip, we'd cry out, he'd come back to bite harder. Everything else was smooth sailing, but good lord did he crave blood for a period of time.
My puppy bit so hard and so often with such fervor that I thought it would never stop. She was such a shark and the only way she would stop was if she physically couldn’t get at me. As an adult though she so fun, makes me laugh, and is such a good dog! I love her so much more than I even thought was possible.
I was so glad when those needle-canines finally fell out! My corgi actually broke one from biting too much.
When I was a teenager, we had a corgi and she was mean as a puppy too!
We have a Corgi/Heeler and he is a terror… a very smart terror.
I have a corgi/ mini aus mix, and she's a little monster. A very smart monster who helps round up the cats when it's time for them to come inside. I have no doubt that she would fight off an intruder if one broke into my home
Eh, I’ve had two boxers and a GSD. There’s a reason I’ve had two boxers and not two GSDs. GSD puppies are actual terrorists.
Agree. Mines a year and a half old and still kinda a terrorist. Just not as bitey
Mine pretty much stayed the same energy level from two until about a week before he died at almost twelve. They are not a breed with chill mode.
My stepdad had a GSD who was a block head that's bark was a lot more Vicious than her bite lol - she grew up though with my English Setter and my mom's labradoodle who were both laid back dogs (mine still is, she turned 14 yesterday but sadly the labradoodle passed a few years back). But my stepdad use to take her to run around his buddy's farm to burn off her energy until it got too much for her to get into his truck, then she just chilled at home until she passed 😔 she wasn't a bad dog at all, but I'd never get one - I much prefer my smaller English setters lol.
Don’t get me wrong, mine certainly wasn’t a bad dog. I had him for almost twelve years. He was very well behaved and I could walk him off leash and he’d stay right next to me. His main issue was dog reactivity that he developed around three that made him difficult to take to a lot of the places I like to take my dogs (bars, breweries, my apartment dog park…I live in an incredibly dog friendly area). Also the shedding was a fucking nightmare to the point where I’ll never have another dog with a double coat. My current boxer goes with me everywhere she’s allowed to. She came with me to a friend and his wife’s kid’s first birthday party on Saturday and many a kid had their face licked by her.
Growing up corgis can suck a lot, but honestly I'll probably never get another breed. Super worth it.
I love my corgi 800x more now that he's grown. He was an absolute terror. And the cutest damn thing I ever saw. Now he's just a menace. Still the cutest damn thing I ever saw.
My son has 2 corgis 7 & 3 the 7 year her vet ( life long) say she doesn’t NOT have the corgi attitude. She’s had some medical issues. He said as many times as she’s been flipped over on that table for invasive testing she’s never once gotten an attitude. Rare most would try to tear you up. Lol. Never seen a corgi as sweet. The 3 year old not aggressive ( pretends to be, but runs & hides behind a trusted human. Chicken 100%) He is a total jackazz. Lol Family dogs are Saint Bernards, they can be challenged. I don’t care what you’ve seen on TV or the movies! 30 years been there, done, more than once, got tshirts to prove it. Lol lol. Probably my worst was human teenagers lol
Corgis are amazing adults but man, they're jerk puppies. It's been over a decade since mine passed and I am not ready for another corgi puppyhood.
Jane is the most stubborn dog I've ever had. But damn I would jump in front of a bus for her. I absolutely love that stubborn piece of garbage. Corgis for life.
I’ve got a corgi and while she was a terror and remains an asshole, I’d take 10 of her over a German Shepherd puppy!
My Corgi is almost 9 months old and he is a stubborn little asshole but also the cutest damn thing in the world and I would jump in front of a car for him.
i had the cops called on me once when i was crate training my corgi 🙃 imagine their surprise when the “noise complaint” they came out for turned out to be a 4 month old puppy
Interesting; what makes Corgis the worst?
Don't let their cute looks fool you. They're a high energy working breed packed into a tiny body. Realistically, something like a GSD would probably be worse just due to their size, but corgi puppies are stubborn little barky assholes who will fight you.
We got our first corgi and while a bit stubborn, she was probably the closest thing to a perfect puppy that you could get. Don’t get me wrong, I completely get that she’s an exception, not the rule, and I will probably rue the day with our next corgi LMAO
Why don’t I see husky here? My oldest made a nest of my stolen, chewed underwear and socks and chewed through so many shoes. She has never enjoyed a toy despite all my efforts. She could never get enough exercise so she was a digger, a climber, and an escape artist. She would tease you when you tried to catch her and when you finally did, she’d scream like you hurt her. That tricked a lot of helpful neighbors into loosening their grip. She is not food motivated and does not listen if she doesn’t want to. She doesn’t even like being pet. Notice it turned to present tense? She’s 14 and still hates the world. I am but her humble servant. That said, I’ve now owned and fostered a few more husky and husky mix pups and it’s been a toss up whether they’re insane or somewhat manageable. I’d never say easy though.
Sounds exactly like by puppy Shiba lmao
I have two huskies. The second one is nicknamed “2 socks” because she acts like a skittish coyote yet begs for affection. She refused to leash train, begged to leave the kennel and wanted outside the second we got her. Our male is a king and I do not look forward to his journey concluding. He was a good puppy too.
Sounds like my aussie/keeshond mix. The screaming like he's being murdered when he's caught after escaping or when he's left alone for 10 seconds when I empty the trash is dreadful.
Beagles! They are mischievous troublemakers who never grow up!
Haha this very accurate. My 1 year old beagle is super mischievous. He needs to sniff, taste, and touch everything. He knows he’s not allowed to do certain things, so he’ll check to see if you’re watching before doing it.
I am glad someone said this. We have a beaglier and omg she is so stubborn, was so hard to potty train. She destroys everything. Lucky is adorable as hell.
Beagles do not belong in apartments yet so many people living in apartments own them. It will only cause misery for both the dog and the owner
I made this mistake with my beagle. But even moving to a house with a nice yard wasn’t enough for her. They are meant for a farm/ranch lifestyle.
100% I take mine for a 10k run and she wants to destroy something as soon as she gets home. She is so hard to calm down with her infinite energy
He would be a nightmare in an apartment. He likes running up and down the stairs, and wants to go outside all the time so he can sniff around. Even being in a house it can be annoying, because multiple times a day he goes to the door to go out, does a perimeter sniff, then wants back in.
I have a beagle mix in an apartment and she’s doing fine, that being said she does get an hour and a half of straight up run in every day in a large field of grass
Maybe the mix helps haha. Because my beagle gets lots of exercise as well, he just loves sniffing outside. Beagles are working dogs that were bred to sniff, and I swear that’s how he likes to spend 90% of his time when he’s awake.
Dachshunds. Bark. A lot. At everything. Nightmare at potty training. Diggers. Scent is razor sharp so they don’t hear you when they’re in the zone. 10/10 cuddles though
I have a dachshund! Maybe because he’s being raised with cats, but he literally never barks!
Agreed! Expert cuddlers. We have two. Our puppy gets triggered by other dogs barking in the apartment complex and it's been so much work training him to stop on command. Potty training took months but we're actually not doing too bad!
Ditto. Sit? “Why do I need to be closer to the ground?” Why pee on the grass and tickle the ivories when the walkway will do. When they don’t want to walk, they increase their mass and become rooted to their spot. Smart, but the stubbornest dogs I have ever owned.
Cuddles the best but my guy drew blood today 🫠 shark mode
Bordercollies, in my opinion the best breed, but if you don’t know how to handle their workdrive, intelligence and hyperactivity you have one big problem on your hands.
I have an 8 month old bc x whippet and wow he is a handful. We also have a 13 year old (in 13 days 14!) collie x bc x some other breeds and she was also very difficult. Borders are definitely not for everyone!
I currently have two adults and a litter of four seven-week-old puppies and holy god they are into EVERYTHING. They move at the speed of light, they can work out what you're going to do before you do it, and they work as a tag team. It's awesome and terrifying in equal measure. For me, no breed compares, but they certainly aren't for the faint hearted!
Oh yeah, Border Collies must have a good handler and the opportunity to work out that energy. They are extra special smart and hyper.
Whippets are pretty notoriously awful puppies. Super brave, curious, stubborn and zero self preservation instinct. Mine wasn’t that bad, but I’ve heard crazy stories.
My iggy is like that, she just passed the 1 year mark and she is still an absolute terror when she wants to be. From day dot, she has believed she can fly, is fearless to a fault (I've sometimes wished she was more scared of some things for her own safety), and has the worst case of "what's in it for me?" attitude when it comes to training. She might sit for me if I tell her to without waving a treat in her face. Maybe. Anything else I ask of her, she completely ignores until I've made it worth her while. She's gotten herself stuck into weird places and has escaped every sort of barrier or enclosure I've attempted to contain her in. She can clear a nearly 5ft jump from a standing start. Her favourite dogs to play with at the park are a working line German Shephard, Bully/Ridgeback mix, and a Rottweiler, because she genuinely believes she is their size and just as tough. And oh man, does she have OPINIONS about things that she makes sure i am aware of. I wouldn't have her any other way.
Ugh I love her. My whippet is exactly the same. I *loved* his teenage sass and he never really lost it. He’s almost 3 and has only slightly more sense than he did as a puppy. Though mercifully he’s slowed down. But he makes me laugh *all* the time with his sass and craziness.
The sighthound sassy side eye is my favourite thing ever. They're such funny things, I think the goofiness and lack of sense is built into their DNA. Your boy sounds like fun, I hope mine keeps a little bit of her silly too!
It is 100% in their DNA, sassy little noodle dogs, I love them. The noises they come out with when they're unimpressed about something are SO funny. So many feelings and opinions and you will know about every single one of them.
I have a whippet cross staff, and he is insane! The loveliest boy ever, but such an energetic, confident puppy
ANY herding dog. Corgis, border collies, australian shepherds, cattle dogs, etc. They’re all menaces as puppies. Think about it, A LOT of the complaints on this sub are ‘my puppy nips a lot how do I fix this?’ it’s in their DNA to be nippy! That’s what they do! Not only that, they’re all prone to some sort of reactivity. Easily trainable but you’re fighting against their natural instincts.
Thank you for saying this!!! My border collie turns one this week and I thought I was ready. Needless to say, I was not. He’s so smart that it is challenging to stay ahead of him. The slightest noise rattles his core and he’s very reactive. He has gotten slightly better over the last couple months but that’s in part to a ton of training. I love him to death but man, there were days I seriously questioned my sanity.
My female giant schnauzer is full of energy and is a little shark at the moment , but super smart. Training from day one is necessary and never ending for this breed.
From what I’ve gathered from my pup’s friends and training classes I’m gonna say Border collies/ heelers/ aussies: I’ve never had one but seems like their owners are constantly trying to find ways to run them out of energy and they just keep going no matter what lol. Absolutely full of energy. Great Pyrenees- mine is a mixed breed pyr and she’s so stubborn and hard to train because she doesn’t care about pleasing me. I wouldn’t say she’s more energetic than the average puppy but definitely more mouthy and stubborn. Golden retrievers- this one surprised me but almost every training class the most neurotic puppy was a golden retriever. They grow up to be lovely but look like quite a chore to deal with as puppies lmao
Can confirm. Have a 6 mo golden retriever. Let’s just say I wasn’t even close to ready for their antics. Beyond stubborn and strong willed. Bite the shit out of you for months on end. Energy always. The list goes on. 🙃
Border collies have been bred for being working dogs. And they are definitely not for people who want to have a life outside of the dog lol
I have a pyr mix training him was easy AF. That said, he listens to me exceptionally, my partner well, and everyone else can kick rocks. He's 100% my dog, friend of mine found him abandoned in the woods, and gave him to me, and he immediately decided I was his human.
Jack Russell terrier hands down.
I'd never get a Jack Russell puppy ever again. The first 5 months I cried everyday. The nipping was next level. The training was impossible. Smart dogs, but with an agenda of their own. Potty training was a piece of cake, but everything else, even 5 years later, still not 100%. Puppyhood nearly killed me and owning them in general takes way too much brain power and energy. I love my dog more than anything I have ever known, but man he's a jerk LOL.
Yess this is the first dog I couldn't handle on my own and had to get multiple trainers involved lol. I'd like to think I was pretty well equipped getting him too haha. I got him as a Chihuahua mix through a rescue then after a few weeks I knew something was up and did a DNA test. Then it all made sense. I had a JRT as a child and she was mean to small children (I was old enough she liked me) and always escaped. She eventually got hit by a car after escaping our fence but man I remember my parents being frustrated with her haha.
Jack Russell Terriers are on my "Nope" list.
I came here to say this, my first dog (Jack Russell/mountain feist mix) was a TERROR as a puppy the extremely high energy mixed with bad separation anxiety equaled him destroying whatever he could when I was simply in A DIFFERENT ROOM. Our second puppy is a German Shepherd/ Australian cattle dog mix and shes so much easier to train and doesn't have any separation anxiety (which my older dog STILL struggles with even though it's much better than it was).
My poodle has separation anxiety but is trying to act all cool now in her 8mo teenage phase. She was downstairs alone whilst i was upstairs (all doors open so that she can follow me up) But she chose to be downstairs. Alone. And it was quiet. Eventually she won that game of chicken and I called her up😂 was not in the mood to see her experiment with carpentry
I'm so lucky my jack doesn't have separation anxiety but my god he is hyper and bitey lol. 7 months in and he's still crazy haha. I'm doing nose work to help give him a job but he just has no chill lol 😆 I know puppies are hard but I was shocked when I got him. No regrets but my goodness.
Seconding this. I miss my JRT who passed like crazy BUT raising him nearly killed me.
Yes 😆 they're great dogs but they don't know what to do with all that energy when young lol
JRTs are my favorite but at the same time, they don't start to calm down until they're 7. Once they're around 10 years old, you'll have a really great dog!
My pup is a JRT / Yorkie mix and he is the cutest little jerk in the world. He's super smart, nippy, fearless, talks back when I correct him, he attacks harder when I redirect bites. I wouldn't want to miss him for the world, but I can't wait until he's done teething.
I think mine was pretty horrible up to 4 months. bit me to shreds. Sweetest dog now though. (He turned 2 the other day!) Japanese spitz, said to be a great first timer breed. So with that said, I wonder how hellish an actual difficult breed would be. Cause really, he's only still here cause he was cute.
I have a 3 month old Japanese Spitz. Can confirm he is a piranha. I (and my hands) dream for the day that redirecting his nibbling works and he stops 😭
I think it comes down to good ownership, but my friend who is a vet tech told me once not to get a Dalmatian as they are prone to all of the above undesirable behaviors if not trained very carefully.
My uncle had one. He chewed *through* a wall. He was crappy owner, but still, impressive
I’ve heard of that happening with a lot pf Great Danes too 😅 not necessarily just as puppies though. Definitely impressive for pretty much any dog imo
I have a great dane and thankfully she was an angel and never chewed anything even as a puppy BUT our friend had a whole family of great danes and when left unattended one day they chewed through an antique wooden cabinet because it had a 12 kg bag of dog food and their instinct of fear others will eat it kicked in :D
Dang that’s crazy!!! 😭😭😭 Great Danes are such goofballs
My Great Dane loved drywall as a puppy especially when he wasn’t feeling well. So glad it didn’t last long!! He hasn’t chewed a wall in over a year now lol
I have a 9.5 week old dalmatian puppy right now. She's a little mouthy but can already sit, shake, and lay down. Already sleeping through the night too. Take this as a grain of salt though, I used to be a professional trainer and she's my 4th dalmatian.
Seems like good ownership plays a huge part!
Oh their reputation is entirely deserved. People love to comment on how cute and well behaved my dogs have been, and oooohhh they want one. I beg them please do not get a dalmatian...
Dalmatians are notoriously bad dogs for undisciplined or new pet owners. It's so unfair to the dog to not have the right owner.
That's the problem they have, they are super over-popularized by 'cute disney dog' syndrome, only for everyone to want one and expect them to immediately be that 'cute disney dog' not knowing it actually takes a lot of work to get a well behaved dog, of any breed. Dals high energy doesn't help the matter because it takes just that much more to keep them happy enough to not chew your house apart. I just got my 4th dalmatian puppy. She's 9.5 weeks old and I adore her.
Exactly! Disney needs to be careful with things like that! Just make the mutts cute. Then everyone will want one. I have a xolo like the one in Coco. Those are not for new or casual owners. Luckily they are hard to come by or we'd have shelters overrun with xolos once people realized they are a stubborn primitive breed. I love my hairless boy, but he is the weirdest dog I've ever had. And I adore the breed.
I've owned many breeds from Golden retrievers to Wolf hybrids (25 years ago, and she was a very sweet animal, and well trained, don't come for me) and the most absolutely stubborn, difficult, why for the love of God will you not potty outside and stop SLAMMING your nose into things pup I've ever owned.....is my current pup. She's dachshund x French bulldog. She was an OOPS that no one wanted, and I took her in at about 5 months old. NEVER NEVER have I had this much trouble training an animal. Just selective fucking hearing and after almost 2 months (?) YESTERDAY was the first time she's pottied outside. My last dog got the gist of voice command peeing and pooping in *2 days*, and he didn't have more than 2 brain cells firing at any given time. 😭
Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. I have never had a dog as stubborn as Augustus. Such a butt head. He does things on his own time and thinks he rules the house and all other dogs at 2. Potty training for him was a nightmare. Swore off puppies forever, yet I just got an Irish Setter puppy on May 4th. I’m a glutton for punishment apparently
How you getting on with the Irish? I have an 8 month old Irish, no experience with other puppies so no idea how she compares but, she's quite the challenge. Stubborn, mouthy, sometimes stroppy and snaps between crazy cause of understimulation and crazy because of overstimulation. Between all that, loving, affectionate and playful too.
She is also very mouthy and very opinionated. She just turned 14 weeks, so she is still very much a puppy. I give Penelope puzzle toys to keep her mentally stimulated, and she plays really well with Augustus and my other dog Lacey, so she gets physical stimulation as well. Sometimes you have to walk a fine line with Irishes regarding their stimulation. There are sometimes that I have to do enforced naps with her (typically she will settle herself down and nap), and I can definitely tell when she is over tired. She is definitely the mouthiest puppy I have had, but she does pretty well when I tell her no bite if she’s biting me (or something else I don’t want her to bite) and redirect her with something she can bite. Right now we are working on loose leash walking. Structure is key for Setters
I thank god my CKCS is dumb as rocks. He is similarly difficult to train and stubborn, but at least he hasn’t figured my tricks out (yet).
Does yours bark at anything on the TV that remotely resembles an animal?
Oh god, CONSTANTLY. He will also bark for any reason or no reason at all.
I’m glad I’m not the only one who has a cav with a windows screen saver as a brain cell
My pugs are right there with them. Dumb as a box of rocks but oh we love them! We’ve had two CKCS as well-love love love that breed too. The Goldens of the small breeds.
Augustus is a brilliant name for a king Charles cavalier
Nooooo, I won't hear of it. Maybe we got lucky but found ours were very easy to toilet train, little maniacs but in an endearing way.
I hear you there on CKCS. He was hell on wheels for the first year or so. I called him my Sour Patch Kid. Sweet, yet sour. He's finally calmed down at 18 months. He's a Velcro dog now. Guess I lucked out on the potty training, no issues in that department.
I mean, it wasn’t super horrible, but at almost two years old, he was still having accidents a couple times a week. One day it just “clicked” with him about not going inside the house
I want an Irish setter some day ❤️ I have two English setters, my oldest is 14 and youngest is 2, and they're completely night and day - my oldest though grew up with my mom's labradoodle that was gentle and sweet so I think that's why she was an instant couch potato lol, but quiet and reserved (though crotchety in her old age) where my youngest is a lot more playful than what she was and mouthy too - and by mouthy I mean she talks back to me constantly 😅 but she's also a lot more attached to me and follows me everywhere at home yet is okay when I leave the house where it took my oldest years to not chew my stuff if I left.
I love setters. Penny is my first one I’ve had as a puppy, but I had one growing up, rescued him when he was about 5. He was the best dog ever. She’s a very goofy girl. Not sure about English Setters, but Irish Setters are too sneaky for their own good. They also talk back to you. It’s just like having a teenager lol
I’ve had boxers and a German Shepherd. Boxers are easy. They’re crazy, but it’s a good natured, comical sort of zaniness and when they crash, they crash hard and are in a coma for a few hours. GSDs not so much. They become velociraptors for a good four months and always need something to do. I’m guessing they’re probably not the most difficult, but they can certainly be a challenge. Boxers are a breed I frequently recommend to others for a first dog. I talk people out of getting GSDs as a first dog.
I 100% agree. Boxers are a great breed, and pretty easy to train as puppies. I miss mine so much!
Yeah I’m team boxer for life now. They’re pretty much exactly what I want from a dog. Easy to train but also kind of dumb and fun.
I have a mostly-boxer mutt (mixed with GSD and lab) and you’re spot on. He’s so eager to please and as crazy as he can play, he LOVES a comfy nap
My boxer just turned 1 and she was such an easy puppy! Don't get me wrong, she drove me up the wall with her biting etc but she was toilet trained by 12 weeks, never destroyed anything in the house (not even her toys until she was about 6/7 months!) and slept through the night from 10 weeks old. She's such a cuddly girl and I'd never have another breed now.
Hounds. I have a bloodhound that’s nearly 1. She’s the hardest dog I’ve everrrr had. You basically have to train them to be pets lol. Otherwise they’ll do whatever they want, and are physically strong enough to get away with it. Routine and consistency is absolute crucial. And keeping in mind that they’ll never be an obedient little Velcro dog. Never.
This was my answer. I hear basset hounds are worse but I imagine they are very similar.
We have two basset hounds and they are awesome! Yes they are stubborn but besides that they are great! We have 2.5 year old and a 6 month old puppy. He is super easy puppy. He was pretty much housebroken in 4 months. The worst part of our dogs is getting their nail clipped! We have to drug her and take her to the vet! It’s terrible!
We also have to take our basset hound to the vet and sedate her to get her nails clipped, so dramatic! She’s super stubborn but so lovely! She was a bit of a shark for a while though…
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This matches my experience. I've had puppies before, and it's always challenging and exhausting. But withing weeks of getting this puppy at 8 weeks old, it felt like having four puppies in one and we started suspecting she was not just a GSD mix like the shelter thought. The DNA test showed that she's 50% malligator. She's 10 months old now and she still needs a minimum of 6 hours of activation every day. I love her to bits, but I sure miss having a life. Never again.
VISZLA. holy gods my brothers was and still is insane. I have friends that have them too and theirs are pretty good but they're literally militant with their training, and you have to be to get these dogs anywhere remotely reasonable to live with. Endless energy they will not do anything with besides combust if you don't force them, zero ability to self settle, great white level sharkies.
I have a husky/gsd mix and he's a mad man for sure. I'm sure a lot of Spitz breeds can be wild. That said I've heard some wild shit about corgis and weenies
I had a corgi puppy when I was a teen, and there were a good 3 months where I couldn't walk through the house without her hanging from my ankles, biting my laces and pants etc
Australian shepherds. And likely any herding breed for that matter. These dogs can be amazing and they are extremely smart but they will bring you through hell and back as a pupper. I remember when I rescued my Australian shepherd mix (half purebred other half unknown but everything about her is just typical aussy) she had razor sharp teeth and bit/nipped like crazy because of that herding tendency. My hands were covered in cuts because her teeth were so razor sharp; even if she didn’t actually nip me and her tooth just touched my hand it would get sliced open. I vividly remember being at the vet early on and the vet was in shock by the state of my hands. They are also high energy breeds that just need a ton of stimulation as a puppy. Between the razor sharp teeth, need for lots of stimulation and tendency to herd everything in sight I swear I was raising satan himself. I remember hiding from her by standing on my bed in my room because at the time she was very small and my bed was too tall for her to jump onto. I still laugh when I think about that 😂 All that being said my dog is super smart and it is still easy to teach her new tricks at 7 years old. Her teeth have worn down by chewing bones and those herding nips have been trained out of her. Now she’s a real sweat heart who cuddles with me in bed all the time. I’m so happy she’s in my life now even though I swear I was a single doggo mother in college raising the spawn of satan for several months.
Golden Retrievers - amazing once grown but freaking sharks for MONTHS. It’s like living with a shark.
They are just chaos incarnate. My 10 month old one rammed right into my nose two days ago and it felt like it broke and still hurts a lot. And he can always find more energy.
I agree with this. We currently have a 6 month old golden shark and it makes me appreciate my 6 year old good boy golden even more. It’s worth it once they turn the corner and calm down but gosh, it feels like forever when you’re in it, lol.
I have a 6 month old golden puppy too and I cry every other day 💀 I can’t believe how much they turn around lmao
The good thing is that they do! There is a light at the end of the long, sharp tunnel
Ya know, based on comments in this sub I was expecting golden puppyhood to be *way* tougher than it turned out.
I have had 4 golden retriever puppies growing up and they were all saints lol
GSDs, are pretty difficult honestly all the smart working breeds, and herding dogs. smarter worklines just have 1. Workline energy, extra physical and mental needs. 2. Learn very fast, which is the bad part, they are easy to train if you know what your doing, but boy will they train the hell out of you if you aren't careful, very hard to untrain bad habits imo, a single instance before your totally done can reset you to square one. 3. They teach themselves things, my I had to replace all the door handles in my house because I had lever handles, and my GSD learned how to open them all by watching me overtime, I learned this when he shoved his head into the shower while I was in it and almost gave me a heart attack. GSDs take all of those, crank it to 11, then add in goblin mode, Big teeth, Strong jaws, big Paws, long adolescence due to large breed, elevated alertness and prey drive, and pound for pound the worklines are absurdly strong. I love my West-German Workline, GSD, I'd get another; I'd also never recommend the breed unless someone's an experienced dog handler, has money to pay for one, or loads of time to dedicate. I was in the third category when I got mine, and boy, that was fun.
The most difficult puppy is the one you're trying to raise. Just like how the best doggo is the one that belongs to whoever is asking "who is the best doggo?"
i LOVE my gsd and I love owning German shepherds. I will not have another gsd puppy until I get amnesia and forget his puppy stage. and he was remarkably easy in a lot of ways. he was also the devil.
i have a welsh terrier and she’s beating my ass
Cattle dogs, and any mix of it. Smart little assholes. They train you faster than you can train them. But they’re so cute. I’ve have to gate AND tie said gates shut around my house because my 5mo old has figured out how to go upstairs. She loves to sneak up there when I’m in the shower for her morning poop. Does she poop in the house otherwise? No. Just where there is carpet.
My friend got a cattle dog and the puppy years were so stressful that her and husband are getting a divorce but then again they could have been just a bad match
My fiancé and I actually almost broke up because of our cattle dog. We are now in couples therapy 😂
GSD, Malinois, husky,border collie, and Australian shepherds. Basically any breed with a high energy or prey drive that are originally breed to have a job
Dalmatians, Huskies, Jack Russel Terriers, any herding dogs such as Australian Cattle dogs, all make insane puppies that turn into insane dogs if they do not have the correct owner. Primitive breeds too like Basenjis. My Xolo is a primitive breed and I had to constantly remind my family that primitives are weird, but they do get better. He's still weird, but better behaved.
My 5 month English bulldog puppy is basically a bowling ball with jaws, legs, and an unrelenting hunger for man flesh. Pray for us.
I've had only pit bulls and Australian shepherds my entire life. Bf and I just got our first corgi, and at 6 months old she is hands down the hardest dog I've ever had to attempt to train.
I love my 7 month old Rhodesian ridgeback puppy but she has taken years off my life 🥲 she is so strong and sensitive and mouthy!
I have a 7mo RR too- I was warned they can be psycho pups, but the reality surpassed my expectations. I think I got the spitfire of the litter. It’s been several months of battling her iron will and I’m finally seeing progress, thank goodness, but I’m so so tired….
👏working👏cocker👏spaniels👏 Fr, they're mental, but they're so sweet too 🥹
I am about to bring home my working cocker spaniel girl in two weeks! I'm terrified 😬 hahaha any insight, tips, or funny stories??
They're reaaal hard work but they're genuinely the sweetest, gentlest dogs. It won't feel like it at first, but once you get into a groove, they really are. My advice is less is more. The tendency is always to go 'oh, high energy breed? Better do ALL THE THINGS' but while they're teeny they get easily overwhelmed and overtired really quickly which makes them cranky and bitey. A bored puppy is easy to entertain. An over-aroused puppy is a small terrorist who refuses to be negotiated with, so keeping them from tipping over will make your life easier. Frequent naps and breaks in play to slow down and engage their brain (train or do sniffing games) can go a long way. Non-cocker specific, if you're planning on crating, keep it level with your bed the first few weeks, close enough that you can touch her. Alone training can come later, but early on sleeping close to you helps them feel safe and dulls the sting of not being able to be on you. Plus it's easier for them to let you know when they need to go potty in the middle of the night.
I have one! Persephone’s currently 4.5 months. I don’t think she’s bad at all, just so nippy! I’d say work on keeping the puppy mentally stimulated (she has her basics down but we want to enroll in an actual class to socialize her more now that she’s fully vaccinated). Toys. Lots and lots of chew toys to redirect nipping. Work on preventing separation anxiety as well. My girl was SO GOOD but recently reverted so we are working on that as well. Shes not a barker or howler so we got lucky. But yeah, keep her mentally stimulated and enjoy the puppy love! Mine is now an adolescent and I miss my itty bitty girl!
Oh, and watch out for your socks. Apparently as a breed they LOVE THEM. My ADHD husband leaves his everywhere and she collects them. I’m trying to figure out how to train her to drop them in the hamper for me lmfao
Oh my gosh our previous WCS loved our socks and we thought it was just her but our new 4 month old has discovered them and I think we're headed down the same road with her hahaha. It's so sweet though when they bring them to you as a little present
I just taught mine to bring them to me and he thinks it's his calling in life to bring me anything that's out of place 😂
lol that’s so cute!!!! You have a little helper!!!
How has no one said Shibas lol probably because most people know they’re the most difficult dogs and don’t own them 🤣 I think shibas are objectively speaking, the most difficult breed. And I’m not just saying that because I own one. I’ve been around so many different dogs, dog sat, and shibas are all the same. I don’t come by others often either since they are quite expensive dog breeds do own. But one does not OWN a shiba. The shiba owns you. And there’s really nothing you can do about it lol
Shibas are one of the ancient breeds, though, so that makes sense
I absolutely love Shibas but their reputation for being stubborn, difficult and noisy keeps me from getting one. (Ignoring the fact that I have two stubborn, loud, high-energy Papillons that I adore)
I will add Labradors as they are so high energy and mischievous as pups. They learn quickly though but have to keep them busy
I actually think Labs are the easiest. One only thinks they are hard if you've not had a hard that isn't both people and food motivated or if they are particularly upset by having things chewed up.
My youngest lab (2 year old) is neither food or people motivated. Tennis ball yes. My oldest lab is almost 12. He was a holy terror destroying stuff. Getting into things he had no business in his defense he had terrible separation anxiety because his previous owner kept him a kennel all the time on base housing cause he was too much to handle.
I have a standard poodle and he was the best! Indoor and outdoor trained, learned tricks quick, didn’t really chew on stuff. He did play bite and scratch a lot but grew out of it by 4 months! Loud corrections fixed all his bad behaviors (yelping when he bit, stern NO when he tried to counter surf etc) I’m sure it helped we had about 50 different toys and spend a ton of time with him
I am a vet tech who is doing "boarding/training" for standard poodle puppies through a breeder (as needed when owners are out of town.) I have had a 12 week old for a week now and am so surprised by how good this breed is as a puppy! Like you said, she does have a lot of attention, 36 acres, and another dog to play with, but dang I took her to a family BBQ yesterday and she just relaxed and watched all the kids play while she was resting in her playpen. Very impressed.
He was probably my most favorite dog ever, but my basset was really something else. The aloofness and selective deafness are REAL. Bassets might consider complying with your directive…maybe…either way, it’ll happen when and if they feel like it. … maybe.
Poodles. I have a golden doodle and the golden side wants to please, but the poodle side is too smart/stubborn. You can sometimes actively watch his brain log the command, decide he wants no part of it, and continue being a chaos bear. That combined with golden puppyhood = raptor chaos bear for 2 years. But dang sweet.
I have a pit/lab mix. He is simultaneously the easiest and most difficult dog to train. You can see he gets the task very quickly.... but you can also see that he knows, HE KNOWS, that while he's "learning" the training treats will keep a-coming. For example: he gets a chew stick whenever we need to leave him in the crate. This morning the little demon stared me down, darted into the crate, grabbed the chew and ran out, all in the space of 2 seconds. I was 3 feet away. He spent the next 5 minutes playing keepaway.
Goldens tend to be pretty mouthy, but I feel like they can be such different personality wise. My friend’s golden is like this sweet old soul, super calm, even as a puppy. Mine…baby shark, had to exercise this dog almost daily for the first 1.5 years. He’s 5 now, calmed down some, but still really hyper, can go for miles before he even shows signs he is getting tired. Absolutely the most lovable thing. Just have to direct that energy and he’s a pretty good dog.
Right now I’d say it’s my puppy. 100% pure bred domestic terrorist. But I’ve had a lot of experience with other puppies and so far I gotta say Cocker Spaniels have been the most mad pups I’ve been around. I love em to bits tho.
I've had a couple Samoyed puppies. Very difficult. They are stubborn as can be and smart. The last one was near impossible to house train. The nicest guy you'd ever want to meet though.
It's not what ypu asked but it's the only feedback I have. Mini schnauzers are hard to train because they're stubborn and sort of smug but they're silly and charming, fairly non destructive and easy to socialize Eta mine are 4 months. I may. Amend this when adolescence hits
Our rescue terrier/Ridgeback/whatever else mix was a massive PITA as a young pup, mostly because her energy was insane at baseline and we failed to realize that walking her 3-5 miles a day was just building her stamina. She literally does parkour off the back of our couch, which is now broken bc it’s a cheap POS, and she can jump straight UP and BACKWARDS over 3 feet high without thinking. Her nightly witching hour lasted for months and resulted in bloody noses/lips several times from her launching into us. She is 57 pounds of pure rippled muscle. We affectionately call her Speed as a nickname bc I frequently cried, “Did this bitch snort a line of coke in her crate?!” when she was a bitty baby. Our slightly younger rescue is a LGD mix of some kind - we think Pyrenees or Anatolian, with maybe Golden Retriever mixed in. We were told he was a shepherd mix, like a German Shepherd, but as an almost adult we know for sure he’s some kind of LGD. He’s over 3 ft tall when he’s standing normally (at his head), we’re guessing at least 100 lbs. He’s super chill, except he will literally eat anything - he’s the dreaded chewer. Wires, remotes, drywall, blankets, board games, solid plastic bowls, the carpet… he has attempted to eat batteries and metal cups as well, thankfully we caught him in time. We were SO diligent when he was a baby to keep everything super clean but he would just find something else (like the coffee table, or the couch, or his sister) to chew on. He only somewhat grew out of that in the last few months, mostly because we just buy frozen beef marrow bones, carrots, frozen fruit, and the strongest dog toys we can find so he has a good selection to be destructive. Other than that, he’s pretty chill so his nickname is Weed.
We adopted a 9 month old Great Dane in December (we’re experienced with both rescue and the breed.) she was being rehomed because the family “didn’t realize Great Dane puppies come with normal puppy energy.” The truth is, they are still less energetic than smaller breeds but it means shorter bursts not less intensity. And while it’s less time being zaney in any one given burst, they’re easily 100lbs by 7-10 months old. With our first, we had to move all the furniture up against walls because he’d flip the couch during zoomies. Everything is just bigger. They can do more damage to both the house and the people in it. They can reach anything. And they’re stubborn as absolute fuck. Still the best tho
My English bulldog had, by far, been my worst puppy. Every time we get a new dog, we choose a breed we havent had before, so we have had quite a few different breeds. I love the little shit, but he is so stubborn it is unreal.
I don’t think he’s the most difficult but we have a Jack Russell and he’ll be happy quiet and out of nowhere chew in to you like you’re a big mouse or something
With every single German shepherd I’ve owned I was told some Variation of “ooooh you’re in for it!” But I’ve had a great time all 3 times
I have a tibetan terrier mix and his energy levels are almost like a border collies. As a puppy he didn't sleep. Enforced naps didn't work for weeks, he just wouldn't calm down. During teething he gnawed on a carpet, the wall, the bed, the kitchen table, shoes and we could not find a chewing stick he would take as a replacement. He only eats when he's hungry and doesn't take every treat. He has a guarding drive and hunts on sight (he gives up fast though). He's independent. That means that when he's off leash and I call him, even with a fat treat in my hand, he will decide that he would rather sniff first and maybe come later. As for alternative rewards: most of the time he's not cuddly and toys hype him up way too much. If I give him higher value treats, he will stop eating his regular food for 2-3 days and demand sausage. I swear he's more like a cat, than a dog. On the plus side, he reacts extremely well to body language and has taught himself some words. He also communicates really well. Oh and he likes to stand on his hind legs to see better lol
German short-haired pointer. Have a 10 month old pup now and he's the most difficult puppy to train I've ever had! Love him though!
After getting my dachshund I understand the stereotype of being super stubborn, and very smart. He completely fits that to a T
malinois. they are just bitey machines. as puppies they are bitey machines that nobody controls yet.
I’ve raised an Alaskan malamute, border collie x blue heeler, Australian kelpie and now a miniature dachshund. By far the most stressful has been our goblin kelpie.. he is almost 2 now and has settled a little bit and we train extensively with all our dogs. He just has one brain cell that gets confused very often along with anxiety x high energy. As a working dog he definitely has a job and he is great at it but he is also a handful! Very sweet and sooky boy but just a little turd 😂🩷
Malinois, Huskie, Rottweiler, Heelers. I would never. ***NEVER.*** But my Boxer and my Aussie were particularly tough for me (I usually go for couch potato breeds...)
My Weimaraner nearly sent me into an early grave.
I work in pet care. Speaking as a caregiver and not as a pet owner. The worst puppies are usually: border collies, aussies, German shepherds, corgis, huskies. Not so coincidentally - also often the hardest to work with and treat as adult dogs.
Every lab mix I had ate up my entire home. I'll never get another lab mix if I can help it. They just chew too darn much. Pibbles are a walk in the park compared to lab pups.
I have an English staffy pup now and he hasn't been too destructive luckily. But he has been mouthy as ffffff. On and off for the past year. He just wants to play all the time and will nip for attention. Like a little terrorist!
I’m living with a Dinosaur (a cockerpoo)
I heard they’re good at hunting mice. lol I was considering getting one when I lived in a mice infested apartment. I ended up getting a mini poodle
Oh yeah she has such a high prey drive. She wants to put everything in her mouth, I’ve had to stop her attacking birds and bees.
My poodle also has some hunting instincts 😂 she loves hunting her toy bunny
Does your poodle like to burry things she thinks are special like Toys and bones and cry as she does it? My cockerpoo does this all the time
We don’t have a backyard so she doesn’t bury her stuff but she loves digging into my couch and loves hiding her toys under the bed LOL
Mine does this too! Whilst crying. I’m like Can you not just enjoy the pigs ear I brought you?
I had multiple growing up. They can be great dogs, but SOCIALIZE EARLY. And your table will never be safe. They can and will learn to undo zippers to get to food.
Oh yeah she’s been socialised she was rehomed to me (sent back to the breeder) and she was living with like 5 other dogs and SHEEP! She’s good with farm animals and dogs
My Rottweiler/working line gsd mix is an amazing pup...super well behaved at 5 months...but he gets regular naps, daily or twice daily training, multiple walks a day, has a bigger (for now) dog to play with outside in a nice fenced in yard, food games, etc. his drive is so high he'd climb a telephone pole for a single piece of kibble if he could, so I can get him to lay down next to my recliner in the evenings for like 2 hours by giving him maybe 1 piece of kibble every 5-6 minutes...then he just wanders off to his crate to sleep for the night. Jack Russel Terrorist is the worst puppy I've ever had.
I'm not real into small breeds. Their bark drives me nuts and they seem to nip and bite more.
Alsations are landsharks.
Border collie, I love my boy but he is absolute terrorist
Our Ridgeback pup has has brought me to tears often, but we were just walking her & saw a tiny Border Collie puppy dragging its owner down the road, barking and leaping all over her. I can’t believe I actually said to my husband, thank god we got a Ridgeback & not a Border Collie! 😂
Was waiting for someone to say border collie. My pup is the hardest I’ve ever had. And she’s my second border collie.
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