Good post. I think people get in their heads the idea of a “perfectly trained” dog and make the mistake of thinking that looks the same for every breed.
A big one is off-leash training. So many people think that the ultimate sign of a well-trained dog is the ability to work/walk/play off-leash, but like you said, that’s not the case. Sighthounds (like the borzoi) are another example of dogs I wouldn’t take hiking off-leash.
Another one is barking. To many people barking = bad behavior. But for a dog breed bred to hunt or alert (beagles), barking is often natural & desired breed behavior.
Others think patience and calmness are the Highest Training Standard, and then they go and get a terrier, or worse, a herding dog like an Aussie or Border collie (not that herders can’t be patient or calm. they just have soooo much energy & are so intelligent so they need a lot of stimulation).
@ People considering getting a dog, whether adopting or from a breeder:
Dog breeds have been developed (some for centuries & centuries) to do jobs. Not all breeds will fit your needs. In fact, most won’t. There are many, many breeds, and each person/family has a pretty narrow window of what they actually need/want in a dog.
The Golden Standard of a well-trained dog will look different from one breed to the next. You cannot impose your ideal behavior on an animal with decades or centuries of specifically designed behavior opposed to what you want.
If you get a dog with breed traits you don’t like and intend to train them out of the dog, you’re usually fighting a losing battle that sets both you and your dog up for failure, frustration, and stress.
Consider carefully what you want in a dog, and look for breeds appropriate for that.
I’m not saying there’s no way you can make certain breeds work, but it’s something to be carefully and seriously considered. When I was a groomer, the number of people I met that were at their wits end with dogs that didn’t fit their lives, usually herding or hunting dogs (usually Aussies and beagles), and sometimes more aloof dogs that need intense socializing (shibas and chowchows) was mind-boggling.
I KNOW how badly you want that SPECIFIC breed, but ask yourself: Can you make that dog happy? Can it make you happy?
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