Dog owners are being warned to pick carefully so you don’t risk taking home a dog whose needs you cannot meet
First-time dog owners are being cautioned that certain breeds are best steered clear of. And whilst they may look adorable, a growing trend is putting them at risk of landing in unsuitable forever homes.
Because of this, the home you bring them to might not turn out to be their forever home at all. With some people discovering their selected dog breed demands considerably more effort than they’d anticipated.
Taking to TikTok, Adam Spivey aka SouthendDogTraining has highlighted this as a mistake people often make – and one you must avoid. Naming particular breeds, he also identifies two categories and explains that if you own one and they’re misbehaving, there’s likely a valid reason for it.
1. Siberian Husky
Identifying the “top three worst breeds for a first-time dog owner”, the expert reveals that “number one” is the “Siberian Husky”.
He explains: “Yeah, that dog is designed to basically run all day, sleep for a very short period of time and then go again. Most people that have a Siberian Husky do not give it close to what that dog is capable of in terms of exercise.
“They wonder why it howls the house down and destroys their house, why it becomes problematic and hard to manage. Also, this dog is highly independent.
“This means that that dog has no problem f****** off and leaving you behind. It means it’s very smart, very intelligent and very independent. So if you don’t know how to manage this, recall training is super, super difficult.”
Due to a “very, very high prey drive”, he also notes that it’s “a very difficult dog if you don’t know what you are doing.”
2. Working line breeds
Rather than a specific breed, Adam points out that any “working line breeds” should also be avoided by first-time owners. “Working line Labradors, working line Cocker Spaniels, working line German Shepherds” are just a few examples he mentions.
He explained: “Just don’t. If you’ve never had a dog. Because the reality is, the clue is in the title, working line. These are what the police, these are what the military, these are what actual working people look for.
“There’s nothing wrong with a typical Labrador, a typical Cocker Spaniel. There’s going to be more than enough for your average active family.
“We see so many reactive working line dogs because they simply don’t have a job. They’re not getting enough exercise, not getting enough mental enrichment” and “they need to work”
3. Livestock guarding breeds
Next on the list are Caucasian Shepherds, Anatolian Shepherds, Kangals and similar breeds. “Big, powerful, massive jaw strength, massively strong protective instincts, very quick to act when they perceive a threat.
“These dogs need lots of land to be able to do their job. They’re very inactive, very laid back until they sense danger and then they spring into life and they have massive stopping potential.”
He warns that these breeds are “growing in popularity” but frequently sees them kept in London apartments, or similar homes, with owners then reaching out saying, “people contact us going, ‘Hi, my dog’s reacting to everyone in the garden, everyone in the lift, everyone in the communal stairwell’.
“And I’m like, yeah, you took one of the most protective, loyal breeds on the planet and you put it in a little community and wonder why it’s going wrong. You don’t know what you’re doing with these dogs.”
Concluding his advice, Adam said clearly that this is “not a hate on any of the categories or breeds” he mentioned, as he loves these breeds a lot and loves to work with them. But he warned that the “reality is that this is for first-time dog owners.
“This isn’t what dogs you should never get. This isn’t what dogs you should never own. This is for first-time dog owners.”
