Breed Stereotypes

 ~ I think the Australian Shepherd gets stereotyped as a dog that's so easy to train that you barely have to know anything to do it.  But a biddable dog is also often a quick dog, and if the owner is a dope, the dog will learn bad habits quicker than most dogs learn their names.

~ Hounds.  Stupid, lazy, stubborn, right?  Wrong - intelligent but independent.   

~ Golden Retrievers are always good with kids.  Ya, right.  Some of the worst face bites I've seen have been from ill-bred Goldens.

~ Pit bulls have locking jaws.  Nope, but the people badmouthing Pits without any real knowledge of the breed should have a lock put on their jaws to keep them from flapping. 

 I have had 3 Irish Setters. My first one was a dream. She was the small field type though. I hadnt ever been around a IS before I had gotten Willow (IS #1). My grandmother got her for me cuz she knew I thought they were pretty and loved the book Big Red. She wasnt hard to train or keep focused on me.

Now if I had Morgan ( IS #2) as my first dog I dont think I would have had anymore. No fault to her though it was her previous owners. They thought keeping a dog in the backyard only feeding and watering her was alright. Took me forever to get her used to human contact. She was great though after she figured out people were good for something besides meals. But she could never be let off leash. She was the cuddliest out of the 3 I've had.She would have made a great dog if she had been socialized like she should have been. She was a combination on field breed IS and show IS.

Now Lillie the IS I have now. What can I say about her? She's crazy, lovable, goofy, the list can go on and on. She loves hanging out with us in the house and then getting to play with Cheyanne and Jayde outside.She's my toy that I love to play with. All that nice long pretty red hair to brush. Oh I love grooming this dog. She keeps me on my feet to which is good for me.

But none of the Irish Setters I've had would ever be classified as dumb.I dont think their hard to train. They just need their special training/handling like any other breed. Their my favorite breed aside from the Aussie. 

Cool thread. "Labradors are born to retrieve." Though I have seen many Labs with perfect ball focus, retrieve, & drop -I happen to own the world's greatest Labrador non-retriever. On a given trip to the offleash Toby will steal several (over 10) things that do not belong to him including other dog's toys, kid's hats, sandals etc. He is bold enough to swipe a tennis ball from another dog's mouth. Toby then proceeds to taunt the righteous owner into a game of chase. Toby will then only trade the item for a treat or if I say "enough" with the appropriate expression will he give it up. My 3 month old puppy "Hannah" seems to be a natural retriever, though.

I have seen more than one item here concerning German Shepards. Though I was attacked as a kid by a Shepard & went to hospital, my view on so called "guard breeds" has changed by many trips to the offleash. I was teaching my dog but I learned as well, that a German Shepard, Rottweiler, Doberman or Pitt Bull can be a delight for anyone to meet. It is just up to the owner how they choose to raise them. Just my two cents worth.

 "I mean, when I was a kid, there weren't even pitbulls"

Unless you are reaaaaaaaaaalllly old, there were Pitties around when you were a kid!  They have been around at least 150 years.

I once nearly fired a guy who was building a fence with our neighbor's brother because he was such a snot about Gypsy.  Gypsy and the neighbor's dog (a Lab pup named Bailey) were happily sharing my dog run while this idiot was spewing nonsense about how mean  all Pits were.  My neighbor's brother finally took the guy aside and basically said, "Hey, SHE is paying you. SHUT UP".