Breed obedience

Just out of interest...

Do you think a dogs obedience is down to the breed or the owner?


I have a 2 year old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and she has always been very disobedient. Not in a 'naughty' way, its just she choses to do things when she wants, and not when I want her to!

I also own a 16wk old Staffy x American bulldog who is extremely obedient. I do not have to ask him more than once to do my commands, 9 times out of 10 he does what he's asked to do first time.

Was just wondering if you think a dogs obedience is down to the dog or the owner?????

mmm tough one
I have 3 leos, the eldest one (3yrs) will (almost) do anything to please me. she will sit, stay, wait, down, off, etc etc whereas the second one, well its more of a case of ''talk to the paw cos the face aint listening'' unless there's a treat involved. The first one pulls like a steam train on the lead and its a nightmare taking her for walks even though she is good in every other way. The second one walks to heel nicely but will take you by suprise if she see's something she wants to investigate The third one is only a youngster (11 weeks) so is in training lightly
Personally I think its down to character and personality of the individual dog. Well thats my excuse and I'm sticking to it

I too think its the dog's personality. Star is very independant and will only do things when there is something in it for her but Finn will do anything just to please. You can't get two more different dogs of the same breed.

I believe that with some breeds, eg. scent hounds, it's diifficult to tap into their world and find something really rewarding that you can use in training.

For example, a scent hound will get more of a buzz from getting to the next sniff than anything I can offer. Nothing seems to beats the thrill of a new scent.

When trying to train scent hounds, food treats, toys and loving have less importance. IME, trying to get a scenthound not to pull on the lead and zig-zag in front of you is near impossible (but if anyone knows how to do it, PLEASE PM me) !

When I had a cocker which was scared of any thing that moved, i was told that was probably down to breeding, cause she never got over it

Mmmm that's a toughie - a mixture of breed/owner as well as the character of the dog.

All my setters have the ability to train and do enjoy it too - but once out on a walk that is where it's either the breed or the character - Charlie my English is probably the one that couldn't give toohoots to train / play ball etc. but wants to just sniff and check out the bushes for birds/rabbits - my previous English was exactly the same - is it breed or me? My gordons aren't nearly as bad and check back with me continously - but i know people whose gordons 'disappear' and owners have to wait for them to decide when its time to come home - is that breed or owner? One of the Gordons sticks to me like glue and will happily play ball on a walk ! My Irish girl is/was the same (now getting on so happy to trot alongside anyway) - we also did agility together!

leospride - like you I'm putting it down to character not me!!!

Charlie just doesn't see the point if there are birds/rabbits to be checked out why play with mum!

I think it is probably a mix of individual character of a dog, breed will play some part in it (some breeds are more biddable, some more intelligent and eager to learn etc) and then also the dedication and experience of the owner.

My dogs are both very trainable - I have a German shepherd and a Border collie. My GSD was incredibly intelligent and quick to pick commands up as a pup and we passed the bronze Good Citizen test at 6 months and silver at 9 months. She was always very biddable and was easy to train, although she never seemed to have the gusto and enthusiasm that my collie has ... but she is a much quieter dog all round.

My collie is even quicker to learn things - yet he picks up bad habits as quickly as good! He is much more headstrong than my GSD but he loves to learn and is fun to train. He needs much more in the way of mental stimulation and I have found that herding sheep is the best way to satisfy his need to work and learn.

Sorry, I seem to have gone off on a bit of a tangent ...