Does breed matter when approaching a training problem?
Recently I was on a group walk with a friend and other doggy people when I overheard a conversation about a dog that recently DNA tested. The two owners were discussing how the dog that had been tested had been identified as having German Shepherd in her DNA, which in turn meant that they would need to approach her training differently. They had previously thought she was a Border Collie cross; however, this particular breed was not present in her DNA. But is this true? Should we alter our training approach depending on a dog’s breed? And more to the point, if we were to approach training differently… what does this actually mean?
Most modern breeds are bred for their looks, especially pet and show dogs, therefore there is not necessarily a huge selection for behavioural characteristics. This may explain why recent research (Morrill et al., 2022) found through genetic analysis (DNA sequenced from 2155 dogs) and questionnaires (owners of 18,385 dogs) that breed had very little impact on behaviour and personality. Another, less rigorous, study (utilising 11,417 owner questionnaires) however did find significant differences between characteristics across the different breeds they studied. For example, “training focus” was found to be highest in Labrador retrievers (over border collies, German Shepherds and other breeds often anecdotally viewed to be ‘high drive’ and eager to train) and lowest in ‘bull type terriers’ (Salonen et al. 2023). When looking specifically at cognitive ability, in relation to a problem-solving task, breed has been found to be insignificant with the greatest contributing factor to success being how much experience with training they have had (Marshall-Pescini et al., 2016). It turns out, the research in this area is often contradictory and highly dependent on the way the scientific question has been asked and specifically what the researchers were looking at.
So, what does this mean regarding how we approach training? Are some breeds more stubborn or wilful? Do some need a “strong hand” or more firm handling? Well, considering we can use positive reinforcement to train horses, chickens, dolphins, killer whales, elephants, chimpanzees, tigers, lions and basically every other animal under human care or in captivity…is it really likely that breed has that much of a difference? As well as this, it is much more important to look at the individual dog in front of you because one thing that is clear in the scientific literature is that variation within breed is great.
Of course, some breeds may be more predisposed to higher energy, or certain abilities (such as scenting or sight) or even possibly anxiety (if the breed has been selected for guarding tendencies, where hyper vigilance and reactivity is key to being successful at this job) – but this does not mean we should approach training them any differently. It may make us work a bit harder during their socialisation window or have to think a little bit outside of the box regarding how to reinforce them when out and about in interesting environments (and competing with scents and sights that may be highly distracting); but the approach to training should remain the same. Use management strategies to prevent undesirable behaviour from occurring and to set your dog up to display the behaviour you want, and then reinforce this behaviour with whatever your individual dog finds motivating.
It is a dangerous game to start thinking that your dog requires a different approach because of their breed. This can lead to the use of aversive and harsh equipment because the breed is believed to be ‘harder’ or ‘tough’. It can lead to people not working through undesirable behaviour because they think it is normal (such as aggression towards other dogs or strangers entering their home). Truly the best thing to do when working with a dog is to look at the individual in front of you and work with them based on the behaviours they actually display.
