How easy were your dogs to train?

And were they how you expected them to be? Because, sure, soem breeds have reputations for higher intelligence and more drive to work etc.
I have a lab who, contrary to all expectations was tricky to train. He's VERY headstrong and dominant (not in a CM way, but when with other dogs it's very obvious that he feels the need to lead everything). It helped that he (like all labs) is an enormous dustbin and will jump off a cliff for food, but it has it's difficulties too, such as making 'leave it' an absolute nightmare!
He's also very frustrating as he has a gorgeous grin when he's panting, however, when he's refusing to recall (not often, I'll be honest, he is good), he does look like he's smirking at you from the other side of the field, while you're silently fuming away!
Chewing was another nightmare as a pup, and another story altogether! This is the main reason I protest lab pups being an easy first dog!
However, I want to add that I am very proud of the boy I have today. It's took a lot of hard work, and as a 10 year olds first dog he could've been a serious nightmare by this time, but I think he's alright really

So, has anybody else has, for instance, a lazy collie or an incredibly intelligent afghan?

Celt my BC is a nightmare and forgets things very easily. Springer is amazing though.

Having said that I suppose Celt does more than most dogs even at his worst-----I just had high expectations. More fool me (G)!

rune

I guess that I've been lucky as all of my dogs have been reasonably easy to train - even my Akita (rest in peace baby bear).

Then again I don't have high expectations of any of them. The only thing I ask of them is to come when called, I combine this with the heel command so that they also behave onlead, leave when told and to wait when told. They don't need to know anything else really

Oh yes, do I ever have a lazy collie!

As a pup, Jed was a nightmare to train. He chewed the plaster off the kitchen walls, took ages to get the hang of going to the toilet outside. He would just pee every few minutes without warning. As an adult he's very keen on marking.
At obedience training he was awful. Anything I asked him to do was met with resistance and then when I insisted, his teeth used to come out and he'd bite my arms and hands. Thankfully he's grown out of this for the most part but will still grumble if he disagrees with me.

In one way Jed is very easy to train as I only have to show him something once and he's got it. He has the typical high collie intelligence and you can always count on him to understand what you want. On the other hand, his reluctance to do anything he's taught is a problem. He's not toy orientated and only mildly food orientated so trying to motivate him to listen and learn is a big problem. Coupled with low motivation he's also very independent and wishes only to please himself and nobody else. Recall was an issue and still can be if he gets an idea into his head.

Flynn however is the complete opposite and both a headache and a joy at the same time. He too is highly intelligent and adores learning new things. He also hates to be away from me so his recall is just about as good as it gets but his reluctance to leave my side means the hunting side of his gundog work suffers because I cannot get him to work at the distance he should. Unlike Jed, Flynn will do anything for a tennis ball or a treat and will respond almost immediately. Plus, learning in itself is good enough for Flynn most of the time and will do what I ask just for a pat on the head.

Such a high drive to work also means he is a complete handful. Sometimes he has difficulty concentrating because he's so excited and this is what I find difficult to cope with at times. I just get a torrent of barking and jumping around but he's such a good dog despite that. There are many people out there who, if he'd fallen into their hands, would've given him up within a short space of time.
With regards to toilet training he seemed to come fully trained, not sure whether that was because he was raised in a kennel and so used to toiletting outside. Plus he never chewed anything.

I've never had to teach Jessie any of the basics because she already knew them and her recall is excellent. She's obviously got intelligence but if I take her to a new environment and try to teach her things she just goes to pieces. Her timidity gets in the way of her learning. I gave up agility twice because, although she knew what she had to do and nothing bad ever happened to her there she was immensely worried and just refused to co-operate.

I guess my expectations are very high.

I like each dog to have a discipline and to work for their keep. The way I see it is if i'm providing everything for them at great cost to myself then the least they could do is earn it. I'm not happy with just a pet dog, I need my dogs to do something and do as I ask without arguing.

Lab -- very easy generally speaking. Only problem is that he has got more stubborn as he as aged. Other than that, reliable, willing especially when when there is food involved, and eager to please.

Yorkshire Terrier -- again, surprisingly easy. Picks up commands well, but still can't master 'Stay', nor can I get her to stop yapping.

Slovak Pointer -- another story all together LOL. She was easy to train all the basics, but she doesn't see the point in obedience training. Being a typical pointery type, she gets very bored of repetitiveness. She is ridiculously high energy and drivey and I don't think I'll ever be able to knock the chase instinct on the head with her. Luckily she is loyal and very responsive if you make yourself tempting enough; walk or run in the opposite to direction to whatever the distraction is, and she will come running. My Lab on the other hand would gladly give me the dog equivalent of the middle finger if distracted by something, and no amount of calling and bribery would work until he was finished.

Ahh but mine do work for a living - as my companions. They do everything that I ask of them, I just don't ask them to do that much

Molly has been a bit of a roller coaster when it comes to training. She's very intelligent & masters things quickly & absolutely loves training but she only does things when she wants to She's also not too fond of visitors & guards the house rather ferociously which are 2 things that do worry me a lot. That said, considering what she was like when I first got her & the fact that she's my first dog & I've done everything with her myself, I think she's doing alright

Daisy is wilful but very bright. Once I`d found what motivated her, she was easy to train.
Shamus is a bit dim but well-meaning and I`ve taught him the basics but won`t go any further. He`s not food or toy oriented so training him isn`t easy.
It`s the motivation that makes the difference IMO.

Rupe isn't motivated by treats or toys or affection while out, all he wants to do is chase and kill. At home he's not so bad to train but out of the house and garden is an absolute nightmare. He'll work for food, toys or affection to some extent at home but will give up if he doesn't get the reward easily.

He's very easily distracted, very easily frustrated, very easily stressed and has to be taught everything all over again in each new place. Even if that new place is just the opposite side of the road to the one you usually walk down.

However, he seems to absolutely love clicker training so he actually knows a lot of tricks and commands at home, the vast majority don't carry over to anywhere else though. He has the basics while out, walk nicely on leash, sit, wait and this way (when we change direction on the field but don't need him to come to us). Tend to use wait rather than recall as he'll get distracted on the way to us