Ben Madilynn
A dog trainer has revealed which breed he deems the most testing to train.
Canine behaviourist Will Atherton, boasting more than 900,000 followers on TikTok, dispenses invaluable advice on selecting suitable dog breeds, effective training techniques, and what behaviours to look out for in your pets.
In one of his videos, Will addresses the question:”What is the hardest dog breed I’ve ever had to train?”
Will has worked with hundreds of different breeds, and thousands of different individual dogs, meaning he is exceptionally qualified to answer the question.
Will suggested the most challenging breeds for training are usually those “bred to work very independently”. He said: “You combine that with violent or guarding tendencies, and it often means – not necessarily that they’re harder to train – but the potential for things going wrong goes through the roof.”
According to Will, livestock guardian breeds such as the Caucasian Shepherd and the Turkish Kangal epitomise this type of dog “perfectly”.
However, he also pointed to another popular breed that perpetually presents “challenging” training scenarios – the Siberian Husky.
Explaining his stance, he said: “It’s why you will rarely, if ever, see practising dog trainers or canine professionals actually owning them. And my opinion is that they are more cat than they are dog.”
In the comments section, people chimed in with their own experiences with Huskies, largely echoing Will’s sentiments.
One person wrote: “As a third time Husky owner I partially agree with that statement. They sure are stubborn and independent, though very smart, they just get bored, really.”
Another shared: “Yep! My Husky has been through three trainers. He listens most of the time…” And a third said: “I stumbled into owning a Husky. I love him but he’s A LOT to deal with. He’s not a cat … more an energetic toddler who drank a venti coffee.”
