Dog trainer shares ‘harsh truth’ for owners across UK

Canine behaviourist has issued a warning to new dog owners

A dog behaviourist has opened up about three breeds he wouldn’t suggest for novice owners, with one particularly known for incidents involving youngsters. Will Atherton, a canine expert, has dedicated his professional life to working with numerous dogs displaying behavioural and aggression issues.

While he maintains that every dog has the potential to become well-mannered and safe given proper training, certain breeds appear at his training facility more frequently than others. This has prompted him to caution inexperienced dog owners about specific breeds, warning that things could go ‘terribly wrong’.

“These are three breeds that first-time owners should never get,” Will said in a TikTok video. “Now, as a clinical canine behaviourist here at my training centre, we work with [dogs] when dogs go wrong and often terribly wrong every single day. And I want to talk about three that we are seeing regularly right now that you can prevent any heartache by simply making a better choice.”

At the top of Will’s list sits the Japanese Akita. While not prohibited in the UK, these dogs hold ‘restricted breed’ status in Ireland owing to their aggressive tendencies, reports the Mirror.

Waterford Council stipulates that owners must ensure they’re muzzled and secured on a sturdy lead ‘no greater than two metres’ in length while out in public spaces. Over the past year , Will has noticed a growing trend of Japanese Akitas being brought to his training facility.

Despite their appeal, he strongly advises against them for most people, particularly those new to dog ownership. “Now, when I first got into this industry, they were way more popular than they are right now,” Will explained. “But in the last year or so, it’s a breed that’s really started to come back through my system, and my inbox is having more and more.

“They’re just a breed that I just don’t recommend for the vast majority of people, let alone first-time owners.”

Perhaps unexpectedly, Working Line German Shepherds also featured on Will’s cautionary list. While he acknowledged that certain varieties might suit novice owners well, the ‘hard-core’ working lines seldom make suitable companions for beginners.

Experts at The Dog’s Way have raised comparable concerns about behaviour, highlighting that lunging, biting, intense whining, and ‘barking like a machine gun’ are amongst the challenges they encounter with German Shepherds and similar breeds.

“Shepherds are probably one of the most common dogs that we work with for both severe behavioural issues, and issues that look bad but aren’t,” they wrote in a previous blog. “They’re also one of the highest bite risk breeds that we deal with – sometimes.

“This breed, which is renowned for its loyalty, trainability and natural desire to protect its family – a breed that is still to this day used for a multitude of different tasks in police forces around the world, is more often than not highly anxious, overstimulated, and low in confidence – which is often a surprise to those that would go off the breed description.”

Rounding off his list, Will highlighted the final breed, noting these dogs are regularly brought to him with one particular aggression issue. He explained: “Last but not least, a breed I’m seeing all the time and, unfortunately, it is often around biting of children. And that’s the Border Collie.”

While Will didn’t elaborate further on his worries, he’s previously highlighted that Border Collies are often ‘riddled with extreme behaviour problems’. These canine s, famous for their livestock herding abilities, typically bring these instincts into domestic settings.