While all dogs have the potential to be ‘great dogs’, Will Atherton cautioned that some breeds are more challenging to own
A dog behaviourist has cautioned people to thoroughly consider one decision before ever getting a pet. Ignore this advice, and you may be left wishing you hadn’t welcomed home a dog at all.
Will Atherton, who is based in Derbyshire, shared his crucial advice in a recent TikTok video. The seasoned trainer has worked with a wide array of dogs with various behavioural issues, but said there’s a ‘harsh truth’ that ‘a lot of people don’t like to hear’.
“Choosing the right breed for your dog is one of the most important decisions you will ever make,” he said on the platform. “Yes, all dogs need training. Yes, all dogs need leadership.
“Yes, all dogs can be great dogs. And yes, all dogs have the potential to go wrong. The reality is that you will stack the deck massively in your favour by making the right choice of breed.”
For centuries, dogs have been selectively bred for a variety of purposes, including hunting, work, sport, or simply companionship. While this has made some dogs typically more gentle and kind, others are much more motivated to pursue prey or fight.
Will therefore argued that it’s a ‘huge disservice’ to claim behavioural issues are ‘never the dog’s fault’ and always the owner’s responsibility, especially when some issues are more deeply ingrained.
He continued: “For years and years, that was for a variety of different working purposes. Some dogs needed to be excellent at frankly being able to end the life of other animals.
“Some dogs needed to be very gentle, sweet and kind, and that was made through selective breeding. And for us to just disregard that [in] this day and age, and simply say that, ‘It’s never the dog’s fault, it’s always the owner,’ is doing a huge disservice to the reality of dog ownership.
“And whether it makes us feel uncomfortable to talk about or not, the reality is that a Pit Bull is more likely to want to do serious harm to another animal than a Labrador is, because of the way that we selectively bred them.
“I’m not saying a Pit Bull can’t make a great pet, they can, but they require somebody with the skill, knowledge and experience to be able to do that.” Another dog Will has previously cautioned first-time dog owners against is the Border Collie, according to the Mirror.
Although Will didn’t divulge his reasoning, he explained in a separate TikTok video that they are simply ‘riddled with extreme behaviour problems’. The breed, renowned for its sheep and cattle herding skills, also usually carries these tendencies into the home environment.
Nonetheless, in the more recent video, he added: “So, if you want to have a dog that you are happy with, make sure you are having honest conversations with yourself about whether you have the skill, knowledge, and experience to turn the breeds that you are interested in into a safe, reliable canine companion that you need them to be.”
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