What have you found to not be true with your breed?

 I can't point to a specific source, but there seems to be a common misconception (amongst people who have heard of them) that Maremmas aren't particularly affectionate, which isn't true.  All the ones I know just don't like to be seen asking for attention, they all have this funny "oops! Look at that!  I moved and my ear just happened to wind up underneath your hand, you may as well scratch it while you're there" move. 

Labs...well Ben is pretty typical of his breed, I think.  The only major thing I can think of is that I was warned he'd eat my furniture, the plaster off my walls, food would never be safe around him etc.  My walls and furniture are intact, I can leave my lunch on the coffee table and Ben spends at least a few hours a day alone in a room with an open bag of dog food, and he has never touched it.  

My experience is the descriptions of paps are pretty accurate. One thing I hear a lot is that they don't like kids. Mine don't like kids, they adore them! A gentle kid is fine with a papillon. Also, I've heard they're one person dogs which is very far from the truth. Other than that.... completely true. Brilliant, energetic, easy to train- all very true.

Dog breed info says that RRs are cunning, straight forward, loyal, brave, vigilant, strong and stubborn. WOW that is definitely Wyatt! 

Kaiser differs a bit from their GSD description. It says that can be weary of strangers...but Kaiser doesn't know a stranger!! Other than that, he fits the description quite well. 

i have always had shih tzus.  They are generally not very yappy.  My current tzu is super yappy!  She is an excellent watchdog!  Otherwise, she is pretty typical of the breed, loves people, energetic but not overly active, affectionate and sweet.

I was going to do a separate Maremma post since the BC one got so involved. People say of all LGDs that they are independent and not trainable. Far from it - in fact they desperately require direction to do their jobs properly, not to mention being dogs you can live with. It's just that you have to find the right motivation for them, and also normal aversives don't work at all with them, so people think of them as being "hard-headed." They aren't, they are just dogs bred for roughing it, and defense, and to be very tolerant of being pushed around - so they have a high pain/pressure threshold. Also, people think that they must be aggressive and hair trigger. Instead, what makes an LGD good at what they do is the opposite - low natural aggression and a very thoughtful disposition and great impulse control. Therefore, there's no point in the exercise so often recommended, to isolate an LGD from family so it will "bond with its stock" and won't become people friendly - a good LGD will learn its WHOLE job and the more people it meets, the easier it will be for it to learn the difference between benign visitors and those with intent to do harm.

1. huskies make horrible guard dogs - i cant remember why but they sure make great warning dogs >.> he woo wooo's everytime he sees someone; including me

2. independent - i think it might just be with me, but he seems to have to be with me every single minute of the day. at the dog park, and it was crowded that day too, he stopped playing and wento the fence to watch me when i left the gated area to get something from my car

3.  dont shed - i remember reading somewhere they're not supposed to shed alot... i have white fur on everything... :[ maybe its the winter and he just has excess fur or maybe its the shampoo i'm using (i dont mean his coat blowing out like it does in the spring... i'm so ready with the brushes)

i'll add more later... if i thnk of any

brookcove

Also, people think that they must be aggressive and hair trigger.

 

So true.  My copy of our Maremma Club newsletter arrived about an hour ago in the post, and in it is a story of an English Maremma who went on holiday to the Maremma region with her owners.  There are plenty of the dogs around there, but mostly they are working ones and aren't "scrubbed up" like the pet ones are, both here and in Italy.  The owners were sitting somewhere with their Maremma at their feet and an Italian woman came up to talk to them about their dog - only it soon became obvious that she didn't know it was a Maremma because she'd never seen a groomed one.  As soon as the owners told this woman what the dog was, she said "Oh!  But they are savage dogs!"...I *think* I've met the dog in that story and believe me, she's the furthest thing from savage LOL.  

I'm not positive, but I think to some extent in Italy that misconception is encouraged to prevent people from approaching the dogs.  

I did a lot of research on the Alaskan Klee Kai prior to bringing Kaiser home -- he falls in line with much of what I read.  He's wary of strangers, is very intelligent & independent, etc.

Personally, I think that the reason they may get a "bad rap" in the training department is because they tend to belong to primarily "pet" owners.  I don't think that a lot of the people involved in this breed have a whole lot of training experience under their belt.  I started working with Kaiser the day I brought him home (4 months) and he has picked up on everything I've thrown at him in a single training session.  He doesn't have as much focus as Luke and I will attribute that to his breed, but it's just made me step up my training skills to be able to keep his attention.

Luke is the perfect blend of the Lab and Shepherd -- when he was younger, I felt he had more of the goofy Lab personality in him, but as he's matured I see more of the Shepherd personality coming out.  He's very driven & focused on the task at hand and has become more of a "protector" over the years.

 I think "hard to train" must mean "doesn't respond to 'old fashioned' training", LOL. So many of us have had an easy time with "weird" breeds for obedience. I think it's just because we're all approaching the dogs as individuals, instead of slapping on a choke chain and forcing them to do what we want.

I'd read on a few sites and heard from various people that Aussies were "hyper" and needed to be in constant motion. Sure, Bandit was an energetic maniac when he was a puppy, but he is very calm and well mannered now. As long as he can play with our other dog and guard the yard from birds during the day when we're gone, he's perfectly happy to come snuggle down in the house during the evening. He may follow my every step and supervise me constantly, but he's very polite about it all.

 I'd also heard that pyrenees were "independant" and somewhat stubborn. Our little girl is almost 8 months old now so she may still outgrow it yet, but she's almost as needy as my Aussie. She wants to be with us constantly and can be rather demanding when she thinks she needs to be petted. No seperation anxiety though, surprisingly. She's also pretty easygoing about following directions and has learned all the basic commands very quickly with little effort. My husband says she seems to have a radically different personality so far than the others his family has had in the past.