Canine behaviourist Will Atherton, who has more than 900,000 followers on TikTok, has named the breed he considers the most difficult to train. In a video, he addressed the question: "What is the hardest dog breed I've ever had to train?"
Why some breeds are harder to train
Atherton, who has handled hundreds of distinct breeds and thousands of individual dogs, indicated that the most demanding breeds for training are typically those "bred to work very independently."
He said: "You combine that with violent or guarding tendencies, and it often means - not necessarily that they're harder to train - but the potential for things going wrong goes through the roof."
Breeds that fit the category
According to Atherton, livestock guardian breeds including the Caucasian Shepherd and the Turkish Kangal represent this category of dog "perfectly." He also highlighted another well-known breed that consistently creates "challenging" training situations - the Siberian Husky.
Elaborating on his position, he said: "It's why you will rarely, if ever, see practising dog trainers or canine professionals actually owning them. And my opinion is that they are more cat than they are dog."
Owner reactions
In the comments section, individuals shared their personal experiences with Huskies, predominantly supporting Atherton's views. One individual commented: "As a third time Husky owner I partially agree with that statement. They sure are stubborn and independent, though very smart, they just get bored, really."
Another revealed: "Yep! My Husky has been through three trainers. He listens most of the time..." While a third admitted: "I stumbled into owning a Husky. I love him but he's A LOT to deal with. He's not a cat ... more an energetic toddler who drank a venti coffee."
