Easy Dogs

Ooh this was fun....here are Rory's scores

 

Prey   = 50
Pack   = 65
Defense - Fight  = 20
Defense - Flight = 5

 

 

I find that I work better with stubborn dogs. I have great patience and dont mind a battle of the wills. Its those aussies and collies I have to stay away from.....honestly I think they are too smart for me, lol.

I think all these test need to be tempered by the breed charactistics. 

For example the sheepdog is expected to gather/chase flock animals but at the same token they should only do it when instructed to and there needs to be an ability to call them off.  They shouldn't though attack and attempt to kill the animal they chase/gather,  that sort of prey drive is unacceptable.  To try to lump all breeds into one class of scores, I believe, does a disservice to the scores.  There can be shelties that can be classified as hard dogs to train for their breed but then again they could be a breeze compared to the easiest afgan hound.

 as for easy versus difficult dogs - it is definitely in the eye of the beholder so I won't comment much on that - I'll just say that Bugsy is very easy in some ways but super hard in others.  He can be super easy to train, he does want to please you, but once learned he prefers to respond on his terms.  He definitely chooses whether he'd like to do what you ask or not.  If its the latter good luck.

 as for that Volhard test here is Bugsy's scores, no surprises except may be a higher 'pack' score than I would have predicted

Prey = 85

Pack = 55

Fight = 40

Flight = 5

oh and fight was higher than I would have thought - he has never shown and desire to fight or retaliate but he certainly doesn't 'flight' 

Just today we were in Petsmart and two dogs started going at it.  Started with some nasty barks and growls escalating to lunges and snaps.  Bugsy stood up very, very tall, head high and ears perked, tail was elevated (pretty much his norm) but he just looked at them.  Kind of like an adult watching two kids like "tut tut you shouldn't be doing that!"  We were at the register at the time and the checkout guy said wow he's a confident dog.  I said lets go and off he went like 'whatever'

"Kind of like an adult watching two kids like "tut tut you shouldn't be doing that!"  We were at the register at the time and the checkout guy said wow he's a confident dog.  I said lets go and off he went like 'whatever'"

Ah I love stories like that! I love those proud moments!

Oh, yea.  That's another reason we got Misty, after reading how smart they were, I figured, they would be easy to train.  For the most part, it's true.  She's such a quick learner.  She's still a pup, and we still have lots to do, but all in all, she's fantastic!

GoldenAC

It makes me wonder if other people consider the ease of training an important consideration when chosing a dog? 

I like independent dogs.  I don't want a working dog because I don't want a dog that will respond without question.  I want a dog that can creatively accomplish tasks that it is asked to do.  I've had GSDs in my life and I love them to death.   It's just that as an adult, I want a challenge and I want to push myself to become creative in my training methods as well as creative in what I teach.
 

I had a pretty interesting conversion with a trainer the other day. She was telling me that her "dumber" dogs are so much easier to train and live with than her smart poodle. I was taken aback. To me, smart dogs are easier to live with, not to mention train. "Dumb" dogs drive me up a wall.

I totally agree with the independent vs. dependent thing though. Independent dogs aren't easy for me. Dependent dogs are.

It really is individual. 

I can definitely see where the trainer was coming from. Smart dogs figure out ways to get what they want if you won't provide it immediately. It can be difficult to thwart the efforts of a really smart dog. The dog who learns to open a door by the knob is a lot harder to manage and contain that the one who just stands there and stares at the door! 

oh yeah- super-smart dogs can be HARD to train- they learn too fast, and often learn things you really didn't want them to learn.

mudpuppy

oh yeah- super-smart dogs can be HARD to train- they learn too fast, and often learn things you really didn't want them to learn.

So true. Luna is very smart and all it takes are two bad clicks in a row to create a mess!

I learned that when she was eight weeks old and put her paws on the coffee table, I clicked her when she got down (like an idiot thinking I would teach her "off";) and instead she learned, if I put my paws on the table, then get down and sit, I get a treat. clicked it twice and she started offering that behavior on everything in the room. God bless her for learning that fast, but it really does mean I have to "bring my 'A' game" 24/7 to train her. We're still working on that. LOL
 

lol well that is true. A smart independent dog (like my husky who can open doors and windows) is hard to manage. A smart dependent dog is pretty easy imo. 

mudpuppy

oh yeah- super-smart dogs can be HARD to train- they learn too fast, and often learn things you really didn't want them to learn.

Like how to open doors, windows, the dog food bin, refrigerators?  Or learn how to remove the cat-door from it's base so that they can get out the door with no hassle?  How to "hide" dad's phone so he can't talk on it anymore?  Even further, I've a friend who's PH learned how to push a stool over to the counter to climb up and check for scraps.  

 There's nothing better in life than knowing your dogs can solve puzzles and figure things out...just because they can.