Malinois are popular for showing off training, but they are typically environmentally sensitive and don't get along with dogs (I say typically, don't @ me lol).
I saw this Beckman video of Bosco and it got me thinking how effective a trainer could be at tackling behaviour problems if they had a super stable, confident dog, who will take a lot of reactivity from another dog and won't react, won't mirror it, but remain cool calm and collected.
@ryesenova Honestly I love seeing trainers with atypical hard to train breeds.
I follow a trainer who has trained chihuahuas some pretty amazing things. That to me is way more impressive than any Mal or GSD trainer just because those dogs were created to be high drive biddable dogs.
Also that video is kind of a mess....while it's just a short clip I hate how neither dog was having a good time and thankfully Bosco didn't escalate.
@pellebroekveld Please share this chihuahua trainer! I train a cattle dog and a chihuahua competitively and there’s very few toy dogs at my level of competition. The only trainer I have found in IG also trains a border collie & mal in addition to their chihuahua. Then there was a police dog trainer who trained her jack Russell terrier Schutzhund exercises.
@archer454 I'm 10000% sure a lot of people here will not like her because she is a force free trainer but her tiktok is ThePositiveChihuahuas. She's doing an amazing job at advocating for small dogs on top of improving her current dog's lives.
She's mostly focusing on behavioral training with small dogs but I still love that she's a space for showing how small dogs can still be great dogs.
There's also the cow pugs on tiktok who help herd the cows.
@pellebroekveld Thank you for this recommendation. I would love to see more videos of trainers working with small dogs. Now I just have to go download TikTok.
@pellebroekveld Yeah, one thing that was been really helpful for my more reactive dog was working with a mellow dog who enjoys it. A friend of mine has an Irish wolfhound who is practically a baked potato in a dog suit. Very sweet and nothing ruffles his fur. They are still the best of friends, but I wouldn't have allowed it to ever escalate to my dog behaving badly or being annoying. My dog was a pandemic pup and just needed some positive socialization with another dog who was calm and polite.
@ryesenova I second atypical breeds. While Border Collies, Aussies, GSDs, Mals are all impressive on these own to train I like to see trainers step outside the box. Mixed breeds, toy breeds, terriers, etc. Generally dogs that are less inclined to be handler oriented.
@kristinat I wholeheartedly agree. I have a 6 month old Cav puppy and it’s my first dog. It’s hard to know what expectations to set for training because he doesn’t have the drive or stamina of a working or sporting dog. (Plus, maybe it would encourage more toy dog owners to put forth the effort in training their dogs. Too many people let their tiny pooches behave so badly.)
@ryesenova Get the dog you want. I think it's silly to get a demo dog of a breed you may or may not like just to do socialization with client dogs. If you have clients and friends in dog training some of them will have dogs that you could ask to use if yours isn't keen on it.
If you do need a neutral dog of your own, you can teach your demo dog to ignore other dogs on a place board or in obedience. Dogs don't need to play with each other to get work done.
@ryesenova I see a lot of border collies in trainer videos too. It’s so much easier to train a border collie. I have a border collie mix and it’s ridiculously easy to get him to do stuff.
Given most of these type of breeds also have higher requirements otherwise. Like if you don’t give them the stimulation they become little monsters. Neurotic, destructive, stubborn. So the fact that the breeds are good listeners are indicative of the owner taking good care of them. But yeah, training wise, less of a challenge.
I get to though. They are just so much fun to interact with and you can go much farther much faster. They truly enjoy the training so it’s fun for both dog and trainer. And a trainer isn’t getting a dog to show off but to add a new family member. So of course they want a dog that is a good match.
I do enjoy watching videos where the trainer works on client’s dogs or an otherwise not already perfectly trained dog.
@americandeist exactly, we bred these dogs to listen to every little command to do a job.
What about a bulldog? What about a pug? What about a great dane? Shelter dogs are also great because they're such a wild mix of experiences and all.
Not saying having a super impressive well trained border, mal, or GSD isn't impressive but I'll give the trainer with an a typical breed and extra applause.
@pellebroekveld Saw a basset hound and mastiff run akc agility. Not impressive compared to the border whippets and other sport crosses that usually run it, but impressive given what breeds they were!
@jopra They are but also they're only really used because of their size and often for mobility. Out of many of the common breeds they are one of the hardest to train compared to a GSD, lab, or golden.
@pellebroekveld The classic "dog trainer breeds" are fun to train. I imagine if you're training other people's dogs all day, often problem dogs at that, you want to come home to a dog that enjoys training not one that you have to beg to work.
