The "easy dog" and "hard dog" thing

[Sit Stay]

Quinn is very easy - to me. She is ready to go at the drop of a hat, easy to motivate, intelligent and willing, but will also chill on the couch for hours no problem. She was the EASIEST puppy - ever, I mean. Never chewed anything that wasn't a toy, very clean, very trustworthy and completely out of the crate with free rein at 4.5 months old. I think most dog people (assuming they like herding dogs) would find her easy, too.


To the average person, she wouldn't be so easy I don't think. Some pet people might be intimidated by her DR and/or fun policing. She also wouldn't be the kind of dog that would be satisfied with 1-2 leashed walks a day. She's a smart girl and I could see her outsmarting certain owners.


I'm sure some of it is conditioning, though. Quinn has been active with me since she was 8 weeks old. So now she expects that to some degree - she is not a demanding dog by any means, but you can tell she starts to get a little sharp on her second day of doing nothing. If she had been placed in a pet home (an experienced and/or active pet home...but still a pet home) I'm sure she (and they!) would have fared just fine.

 

[Dogdragoness]

Has anyone else noticed the kind of easy dog vs. difficult dog thing in the dog world.

Merlin & I just came from agility class (fun!), but we were all talking after class and everyone is comparing horror stories and crazy dog tales and how the average dog owner could NEVER handle their dogs and stupid me when it was my turn mentioned that Merlin has never really done anything naughty...and then the average family could pretty easily care for him.
It wasn't well received, like they thought it was a bad thing and felt bad for me lol but it's true! and I don't think it's a bad thing at all! (they weren't mean about it, it just seemed like they thought he was less cool lol)

He LIKES high energy activities, he LIKES training, he LIKES lots of stuff.. but he certainly doesn't need it.
Merlin would be perfectly happy with 3 walks a day and a family who just wanted to snuggle and play fetch in the yard sometimes and give him bully sticks, and take him to the dog park once in a while (this is what average dog owners do right? lol)

It's so interesting to me because for me, who owns the usually napping, happy with a bully, happy to go for a few brisk walks and laze around the house all day.. I think it's awesome!
But one of the trainers was horrified, she said a dog like that would bore her.

and yet.. her spinning, staring, pacing border collie (who is a great dog and ideal for her)...would drive me nuts. Drive or no (to be fair the dog is really focused and really fast) the dog never stops moving and it gives me anxiety. Plus she has to have one of those industrial strength tiger crates because the dog ALWAYS breaks out!

What are your experiences with the easy dog vs difficult dog thing? I think it's so interesting that in the dog world, the more difficult dog is a high commodity.
and what do you consider easy vs difficult?

To me, having ACDs, a hard dog is an easy dog for me. Because you don't have to worry to much about "hurting their feelings" or shutting them down.

With buddy since he as abused and not socialized to things when he was young. Bear is also soft and will shut down easily ... I don't like dogs like that, I like hard dogs like Josefjna or Izze who aren't phased by things that I do, like if I fuss at one dog, Josefina doesn't care she just looks at the dog like "ha ha your in trouble !"

 

[frostfell]

soft and hard in temperaments dont equate with easy or hard in terms of ownership. an easy dog is one that is easy to be around, with minimal accommodation. theyre easy to physically be around, with straightforward and simple energy requirements, and theyre easy to mentally be around, with honest personalities, even if theyre "handler hard". a "hard dog" in terms of ownership is one that requires fussing and rearranging and "oh no musnt have that" and "she absolutely needs this". very handler soft dogs require enormous levels of human behavior modification, lest our own normal daily behavior ruin the dog. so unless anyone on this forum is going to dramatic lengths to rearrange everything for the sake of a highly neurotic or high maintenance dog, everyone here has pretty easy dogs

 

[Catsi]

I once considered Abby a hard dog in some ways I guess. Problem child. She is reactive with strange dogs and people and has a nervous disposition.

However, after coming to terms with her limitations (and more importantly, mine!) and understanding that I have to manage the situation, she lives a very full live and really isn't that bad. Honestly, it took me quite a few years to really 'get' her.

To live with she is easy, easy, easy. Great off switch, very enjoyable energy level - I can throw what I want at her and she completely laps it up. An absolutely solid temperament with those she knows and trusts. We have a lot of fun. She is an awesome little dog and really, really easy... I just didn't quite realise that because I was too caught up with behaviourial issues. I wanted to turn her into something she isn't and could never be. I'm very glad that I've accepted her for who she is because we are both much happier.

Grace is the epitome of easy for me. Lovely, confident temperament, perfect energy level again and just an all around star. She is sweet and easy going in temperament, Abby is a bit more serious, but yes, they are both easy dogs for sure.

 

[yv0nne]

soft and hard in temperaments dont equate with easy or hard in terms of ownership. an easy dog is one that is easy to be around, with minimal accommodation. theyre easy to physically be around, with straightforward and simple energy requirements, and theyre easy to mentally be around, with honest personalities, even if theyre "handler hard". a "hard dog" in terms of ownership is one that requires fussing and rearranging and "oh no musnt have that" and "she absolutely needs this". very handler soft dogs require enormous levels of human behavior modification, lest our own normal daily behavior ruin the dog. so unless anyone on this forum is going to dramatic lengths to rearrange everything for the sake of a highly neurotic or high maintenance dog, everyone here has pretty easy dogs

I can see this but as an extreme. My dog would be a hard dog to deal with for some people. Same as a Mal would be a hard (okay, impossible) dog for me to own/ live with. I could do it, sure but it wouldn't be my ideal since I live with a guy who in no way would find Mals an easy dog to co-exist with. I think you can find a dog 'hard' in ways other than them totally destroying life as you know it.. I have been known to be wrong before, though.

 

[sassafras]

I have been known to be wrong before, though.

Well it's hard to be "wrong" about subjective experience and opinion. If (general) you think your dog is hard to live with, then your dog is hard for you to live with and whether anyone else thinks it is hard is really irrelevant.

 

[yv0nne]

Fair enough ..I just found frostfell's example of a 'hard' dog extreme to say none of us had hard dogs because we aren't rearranging our entire lives when I am inclined to think most of us have made changes to our lives to better accommodate our animals, whether they are a few large changes or a bunch of little ones!

 

[frostfell]

Fair enough ..I just found frostfell's example of a 'hard' dog extreme to say none of us had hard dogs because we aren't rearranging our entire lives when I am inclined to think most of us have made changes to our lives to better accommodate our animals, whether they are a few large changes or a bunch of little ones!

but do you rearrange your life to revolve around your dogs because you love them and you want to and it makes you happy, or because if you DONT everything falls apart and the entire house goes to hell in a handbasket? i guess thats more my point. and yeah, its my opinion. everything is :rofl1:

 

[yv0nne]

I got a dog that fit my world so I wouldn't have to do that ..I think she would be an annoying dog (not really hard) if a busy family who didn't really want a Vizsla but wanted the looks of one got one. She'd never last in that home.. she would drive them insane.

Which I guess is the point ..most people on here find their dogs easy because they did the research& got a dog that fits into their lifestyle.

 

[golden&hovawart]

My easiest,ever dog was Priska,my Golden.
She came,already,potty-trained,at 3 mths and her basic training was a breeze as her will to please,was very strong.Off leash,by 6mths & very confident.Calm in the house but very active,outside which is what I like.
She was clever and could solve problems.She was a non stop retriever and found thing to retrieve if I didn't allow to carry a toy like the neighbours'news-paper,lol.

My Leos were easy and so are my Hovas but they do question authority.They are sensitive and hate repetition so you need to be inventive when you train.

My 4 PyrSheps were the same as the Hovas but with a very busy attitude.Hyper active but had an off-switch,in the house.I even had one in Paris who was quite content but she had to be exercised,a lot(a minimum of 2to 3 hrs,a day.

All in all,I dont think,I've ever own a truly difficult breed but i chose them,well and were exactly what I wanted,in size & energy.

I look for dogs that question authority and can think for themselves.

 

[meepitsmeagan]

Harlow is extremely easy to live with. She's happy to lounge around for 2-3 days at a time. Easy to take out. Slight DR, but that's basically gone and was only started because of being attacked. A decent sized hike or bike ride at least once a week and she's golden.

Rider is difficult to live with. He's OCD, timid, not good with most men, slight SA and just plain weird. He's got quite a bit of prey drive, wouldn't do well with correction methods, ect. He needs a lot of mental stimulation in order to be "sane". Sometimes I don't even fulfill that need. It's not outings or meeting dogs... it's flat out structured obedience training. And a lot of it. He would not be okay as a house dog with one or two leashed walks.

 

[Dogdragoness]

I don't think you can be that black and white about it, because every dog requires some form of rearranging to live with them, so in that literal explanation all dogs would be hard to live with.

A lot of ppl would find Josefins hard to live with because you have to keep an eye on he all the time to make sure she isn't getting into mischief or something :/.

Buddy for me is a "hard" dog because he is very sensitive and it's very easy to shut him down, so for me, he is "hard".