My experience w different breeds
My first ever dog was an australian shepherd border collie mix. When I was born he was already 3, so I didn't get to experience his puppyhood but my parents said he was absolutely terrible. Extremely destructive and humped everything. Very easy to housebreak though, they said it literally took 1 day. When I knew him he was pretty well behaved. Not destructive at all but he would steal food if it was sitting where he could reach it. Very patient with us young kids and only rarely growled at us, and usually just if we tried to touch his belly. He was polite to all people. He was an escape artist and frequently got out of the yard & even learned how to unlock gates. He had to be rescued from the pound so many times they threatened not to give him back again lol.
He was very difficult to train and basically knew sit and that was it. Our favorite game with him was to stick a treat in a shoe and watch him try to get it out. He also loved to jump back and forth in front of the tv while chewing up towels that were designated for him. He would do it for hours. I think because he had so much pent up energy. He wasn't really noisy at all and hardly barked to my memory. He was afraid of thunder and used to hide in my room when it stormed. He was also terrified of other dogs due to being attacked by one when he was a puppy and would flip out if he even saw one, so my family didn't really go on walks with him. We ended up putting him down when he was 11 after discovering he had really far progressed cancer.
My second dog was a corgi. I was 11 when we got her. She was a lovely puppy, just slept most of the time. She was not easy to housebreak and actually was never successfully housebroken. She was not particularly easy to train either, she knew sit and maybe shake. She was very willful/stubborn and dominant, definitely the most aggressive of any dog I've had and would not hesitate to bite us if we did something she didn't like. My brother had to get stitches once because of her! She either got along great with other dogs and they were her best friend or she hated them and wanted to kill them, she did not care how much bigger they were than her. She absolutely loved all people though (so long as they didn't try to get in the way of what she wanted!). She was so sassy and bossy and would just stand there and stare you in the eye and bark at you until you did what she wanted. She drove me insane but I still loved her, and she adored me. She loved to go on walks and to zoom around the house and play wrestle, but really wasn't difficult to manage energy wise at all. Most of the day she lounged on the couch or scouted around for food scraps.
She did have ongoing issues with her legs and often from jumping on and off furniture would injure herself and limp around for a few days. She actually tore her acl once. So if you get a corgi I'd recommend either not letting them on furniture or getting ramps to protect their legs. However she was also chronically fat due to my baby sisters always dropping snacks around her. She got bad arthritis toward the end that made her very grouchy as well as dementia and didn't know who any of us were anymore. Finally we put her down when she had a stroke at age 11.
My next dog I got when I was in my early 20's. She is a havanese. She was a difficult puppy. My first ever extra small dog at just 2 lbs when we brought her home, there were a lot of challenges that came with that. She could fit through the bars of our fence and escaped sooo many times resulting in mad neighborhood chases and a fence wrapped in chicken wire. She was also difficult because tiny puppies have to pee SO FREQUENTLY. I had to take her out every 5-10 mins at the beginning! And she is still not even fully housbroken now 4 years later. She especially hates to potty outside in bad weather, no other dog I had cared about that before. She was also our first dog with hair not fur, which was amazing for shedding because well she really does not shed and our last dogs shed so much. But bad in that the coat is so high maintenance, she would get so matted until we learned to get her on a regular grooming schedule. She also went through very pronouced fear phases as a puppy, being suspicious and yappy at both people and dogs alike, that I had to work with her through. She is now very friendly towards people (though she likes guys more) and is polite towards other dogs so long as they are polite towards her. She was high energy as a puppy but at least took frequent naps. She mellowed out a ton as she aged and now is very low energy, she doesn't even like to go on walks, just likes occasional playtime with her toys. No real health issues at all so far either.
She was the most easily trainable dog I've had. She learns new things lightning fast and LOVES training sessions. She knows so many tricks and is decent with general obedience as well, though she still has a will of her own definitely. She like our first dog is also very gentle and patient and has never bitten or even snapped at any of us, including my little sisters who harassed her mercilessly, though she will give them a hearty growl sometimes.
Then finally my most current dog is a pug. We got him because we wanted a low maintenance small dog, easy for an apartment. Well he has turned out to be the most active puppy I have raised so far. He is crazy hyper all the time, even with 2 30 min walks a day he still requires vigorous play sessions to wear him out. He would never nap as a puppy or calm down/stop moving unless we put him in his crate.
In regards to training I would say he was pretty easy to train obedience wise (absolutely the easiest to crate train, he never cried not even on day 1) but he is slow to learn tricks. He is extremely friendly and absolutely adores all people and dogs and even cats but despite our numerous socialization attempts has absolutely no social skills and often overwhelms both just not respecting personal space and trying to play even if they don't want and is not popular as a result. He was VERY slow to housebreak, took like 6 months. As for health issues, he is a pug so we got him surgery to help open his airways and remove overcrowded teeth. We also always make sure to keep him inside if it is 80 degrees or up outside, unless we are taking him to play in water, so he doesn't overheat.
Anyways I like to read peoples' personal experiences with breeds when determining which dogs I'd like to get so I thought I'd post mine, sorry it was so long! Feel free to share your dog experiences!
He was very difficult to train and basically knew sit and that was it. Our favorite game with him was to stick a treat in a shoe and watch him try to get it out. He also loved to jump back and forth in front of the tv while chewing up towels that were designated for him. He would do it for hours. I think because he had so much pent up energy. He wasn't really noisy at all and hardly barked to my memory. He was afraid of thunder and used to hide in my room when it stormed. He was also terrified of other dogs due to being attacked by one when he was a puppy and would flip out if he even saw one, so my family didn't really go on walks with him. We ended up putting him down when he was 11 after discovering he had really far progressed cancer.
My second dog was a corgi. I was 11 when we got her. She was a lovely puppy, just slept most of the time. She was not easy to housebreak and actually was never successfully housebroken. She was not particularly easy to train either, she knew sit and maybe shake. She was very willful/stubborn and dominant, definitely the most aggressive of any dog I've had and would not hesitate to bite us if we did something she didn't like. My brother had to get stitches once because of her! She either got along great with other dogs and they were her best friend or she hated them and wanted to kill them, she did not care how much bigger they were than her. She absolutely loved all people though (so long as they didn't try to get in the way of what she wanted!). She was so sassy and bossy and would just stand there and stare you in the eye and bark at you until you did what she wanted. She drove me insane but I still loved her, and she adored me. She loved to go on walks and to zoom around the house and play wrestle, but really wasn't difficult to manage energy wise at all. Most of the day she lounged on the couch or scouted around for food scraps.
She did have ongoing issues with her legs and often from jumping on and off furniture would injure herself and limp around for a few days. She actually tore her acl once. So if you get a corgi I'd recommend either not letting them on furniture or getting ramps to protect their legs. However she was also chronically fat due to my baby sisters always dropping snacks around her. She got bad arthritis toward the end that made her very grouchy as well as dementia and didn't know who any of us were anymore. Finally we put her down when she had a stroke at age 11.
My next dog I got when I was in my early 20's. She is a havanese. She was a difficult puppy. My first ever extra small dog at just 2 lbs when we brought her home, there were a lot of challenges that came with that. She could fit through the bars of our fence and escaped sooo many times resulting in mad neighborhood chases and a fence wrapped in chicken wire. She was also difficult because tiny puppies have to pee SO FREQUENTLY. I had to take her out every 5-10 mins at the beginning! And she is still not even fully housbroken now 4 years later. She especially hates to potty outside in bad weather, no other dog I had cared about that before. She was also our first dog with hair not fur, which was amazing for shedding because well she really does not shed and our last dogs shed so much. But bad in that the coat is so high maintenance, she would get so matted until we learned to get her on a regular grooming schedule. She also went through very pronouced fear phases as a puppy, being suspicious and yappy at both people and dogs alike, that I had to work with her through. She is now very friendly towards people (though she likes guys more) and is polite towards other dogs so long as they are polite towards her. She was high energy as a puppy but at least took frequent naps. She mellowed out a ton as she aged and now is very low energy, she doesn't even like to go on walks, just likes occasional playtime with her toys. No real health issues at all so far either.
She was the most easily trainable dog I've had. She learns new things lightning fast and LOVES training sessions. She knows so many tricks and is decent with general obedience as well, though she still has a will of her own definitely. She like our first dog is also very gentle and patient and has never bitten or even snapped at any of us, including my little sisters who harassed her mercilessly, though she will give them a hearty growl sometimes.
Then finally my most current dog is a pug. We got him because we wanted a low maintenance small dog, easy for an apartment. Well he has turned out to be the most active puppy I have raised so far. He is crazy hyper all the time, even with 2 30 min walks a day he still requires vigorous play sessions to wear him out. He would never nap as a puppy or calm down/stop moving unless we put him in his crate.
In regards to training I would say he was pretty easy to train obedience wise (absolutely the easiest to crate train, he never cried not even on day 1) but he is slow to learn tricks. He is extremely friendly and absolutely adores all people and dogs and even cats but despite our numerous socialization attempts has absolutely no social skills and often overwhelms both just not respecting personal space and trying to play even if they don't want and is not popular as a result. He was VERY slow to housebreak, took like 6 months. As for health issues, he is a pug so we got him surgery to help open his airways and remove overcrowded teeth. We also always make sure to keep him inside if it is 80 degrees or up outside, unless we are taking him to play in water, so he doesn't overheat.
Anyways I like to read peoples' personal experiences with breeds when determining which dogs I'd like to get so I thought I'd post mine, sorry it was so long! Feel free to share your dog experiences!
