This page is dedicated to learning about "Man's best friend"; the canine. I'll start by saying that this information is general, in that it can be applied to most dogs but not always all dogs. As a trainer most of my clients have dogs with some sort of undesired behavior. Now, sometimes that's just a lack of understanding how to teach your dog, & sometimes it's form a dog not having needs met. The very 1st thing you can do to set you & your dog up for success is to make sure you can provide what your dog needs. 

    *do you have time to exercise a high energy dog?

    *do you have the energy to train an independent dog?

    *can you keep up with grooming needs?

    *can you afford the amount of food your dog needs? 

    *what are your limitations? Physically, Emotionally, Mentally.

    *what do you want the dog for? Hunting, Service Work, Companionship, Protection.

    *do you need an "easy to own" dog? are you a 1st time owner? 

  Each breed out there had an original purpose, be it a Shepard, Corso, Pyrenees, Husky, Chihuahua, Shih Tzu or Maltese. Some people still use dogs for working; sled pulling, service dogs, live stock guardians, herding, or protection, BUT the majority of people get dogs as pets or companions. There's nothing wrong with any of these as a companion IF you know what you're getting into. 

   Later on I may do breed profiles but for now we'll stick to the groupings; working, sporting, herding, hound, terriers, & toys. Let's start by understanding what these groupings mean & how dogs end up in the group.

*Working- These are typically large, independent thinking, have the capability to help humans with a number of tasks.

*Sporting- These are typically energetic, eager to please, quick learners. These dogs are mostly used for hunting feathered game, either on land or in water. These breeds have a decent prey drive.

*Herding- These dogs tend to be on the smaller side but they are quick, independent thinkers that have a decent prey drive. Used primarily to "round up" live stock, or move livestock from one place to another on a large piece of land.

 *Hounds- These tend to be bulkier than their Sporting "cousins" as they are used for larger game. Again these dogs will be energetic, eager to please, however they may be sight or nose dependent & have a mild to high prey drive.

*Terriers- These can be dogs of any size & I'd say they have some of the highest prey drives, Independent thinkers, that are fearless (even against the biggest opponent) originally this group was designed to kill vermin, & in some cases hunt burrowing animals. These dogs tend to be diggers too.

*Toy- These dogs tend to be small, with a wide range of attitudes. The breeds in this category often resemble stuffed toys. They're small, cute & most often fluffy. They have always been companion animals.

  Now these groups typically refer to "pure breed" but with the up rise in the "Designer dog" (the mixing of two pure breed dogs to produce a desired "mix" of traits) you can get alot of overlap & split grouping.

   For example the Goldendoodle, Mastador, Peekapoo, Maltipoo, Labradoodle, Pomsky, & Shorkie are all designer cross breeds or designer dogs. Now to explain the designer breeds i mentioned, Golden x Poodle = Goldendoodle, Mastiff x Labrador = Mastador, Peekanese x Mini Poodle = Peekapoo, Maltiese x Mini poodl= Maltipoo, Labrador x Poodle = Labradoodle, Pomeranian x Husky = Pomsky, Shih Tzu x Yorkie = Shorkie, the list goes on. I'm not saying there is anything wrong with these crosses just that

   Lets use the Pomsky, Pomeranian x Husky

   The Pomeranian is Toy group, >7 in tall, 3-7 lbs, affectionate, vigilant watchdog, adaptable, relatively trainable, decent with kids, strangers & other dogs, moderate energy & moderately vocal . The Husky is a Working group, 20-23 in tall, 35-60 lbs, extremely affectionate, good with kids, other dogs, & strangers, high energy, very vocal, needs a job, very playful. The product of these two breeds is a 26-60 lbs high energy, working, watchdog, that loves to tell you how much they missed you & may even sing for you.

   I've had the pleasure of meeting a trio of this breed & while they were extremely friendly they were also very vocal & demanding. The Owner of the trio said he wished someone had explained their needs better. While this breed is absolutely adorable they are also quite a hand-full, they require a ton of training & they don't particularly want to train. Imagine an unruly toddler that yells all the time... you get the picture. That's not a dog for every one.​

   How about this, your friend just got a Working breed (Akita, Rottweiler, Mastiff, Doberman...you pick) It's an adorable little ball of fluff. You meet it at 4 months old & it's just the most well behaved puppy you've ever seen. Now this is the breed for you! Hold on there, Chances are that your friend has put in some serious training in the form of games, general behavior requirements, boundaries, training sessions.

   Okay, so this isn't totally a hypothetical. When I got my Cane Corso, I had done months of research I knew what I was getting into. I started training they day I picked him up, I'm not talking long intense sessions I'm saying that we started asking him to wait to get food, to be quiet when alone, not to jump on people. I knew he was going to a big boy, & while a 8 week old puppy jumping up on you isn't so bad when that puppy is 50 lbs at 4 months it's a big deal. Cerberus is now 80 lbs at just under 2 (I know that's light for some Corso lines, I assure you he's healthy)

   My point is you can't judge whether you can handle a breed based on how someone else's dog of that breed acts. 

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    This page is an attempt to help potential owners really understand the dogs they like or want. A large percentage of shelter dogs are there because of "behavior" problems. Some of these "problems" are due to genetic makeup, some from a lack of understanding, some from a lack of training. I'm attempting to help educate potential owners so that we can keep dogs out of shelters by picking dog breeds we as owners can handle. 

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   I understand that sometimes there's a breed you absolutely love. I love guardian breeds (Rottweilers, Dobermans, Mastiffs, Akitas) the bigger the better. However, I will probably not own some of my favorites like the Tibetan Mastiff, or the Great Dane. I also love hounds but I will never have a Bloodhound or a Basset hound. I understand that these dogs require things I cannot give them, & as sad as this makes me I'd be sadder if I had to give one up. I know your thinking but you're a dog trainer, yes which means I know what goes into training & keeping these breeds happy. I know that a Bloodhound or a Basset hound are gonna thrive on being able to scent work. That a Bloodhound needs a decent amount of exercise. That a Basset may not get along with other pets. The Tibetan Mastiff may be difficult to get in my area but that's also a lot of dog & some serious grooming (which I do not like doing), as for the Great Dane it's not likely as most apartments don't like having Danes & I may not be able to handle a Dane in 10 years or so when I have to retire my service corso. It's not just dogs I like that i wont own, I know I don't like grooming dogs (& i have done it professionally so I'm not paying someone for it) so I wont own dogs that need regular hair cuts, a bath & some brushing I'm fine with, although I may think long & hard before getting another heavy shedding breed. (all the fur tuffs) I'm not a fan of tiny dogs but there are a few I might consider, maybe someday I do love the Shiba Inu (but that's as small as I go personally). 

    That's enough of my personal opinion. Lets dig into the groups & the most popular breeds in them.