Hard and Soft dogs

Hard and Soft dogs

Dogs are wonderful creatures and we all love them to bits. When they come into our homes we fuss over them, give them their names, try to train them and give them much of our attention. In return we expect them to do what we want from them. At least to the extent that they can understand what we expect of them.

We take our dogs to puppy and/or obedience classes where they learn by the immediate results of their actions and the events which follow closely thereafter. The handler says “Sit,” the dog sits and receives a “Yes” and a treat. We say this is how dogs learn, for the praise and the reward. All that must be done is teaching them ESL – English as a second language.

At the club we find that some handlers have difficulties in getting their dogs to do what seems to be so easy for other dogs. They think their dogs are disobedient and have to repeat commands and give leash corrections to get them to stop what they are doing. They call their dogs, “naughty” or “stubborn” and soon don’t enjoy training and want to give it up. However, dogs (just like people) are all individuals! Different dogs have different abilities and different personalities and are motivated by different things or methods. Some dogs are known as hard and others as soft dogs.

The terms hard dogs and soft dogs seem to mean so many different things to so many different people that it can be confusing. However, for the purpose of this article I use the term hard dog to describe dogs that take judicious use of punishment in their stride so to speak.A correction or aversive action is usually a tug on the leash to tell the dog to, “Stop doing what you are doing.” I explain to my students that on a scale from 1 to 10, the first 3 in order of intensity are “mosquito bites” and will only work for soft dogs. For some hard dogs a “bee sting” or intensity level 4, 5 or 6 may be needed to get a reaction. Each one must try and establish the ‘hardness’ of their dog. An 8, 9 or 10 correction is cruelty, the dog will yelp in pain and you could well be expelled from the club if repeated.

Hard dogs

Hard dogs seem to take an intense correction for what it is, part of the training process in which his handler is providing him with information that he needs, instead of thinking of it as an act of intimidation. They seem to care less when corrected and wonder what the handler is wanting from them. So he is likely to get a repeat correction more strongly next time. Therefore, if you judiciously use corrections to your dog as a way to help him to become properly socialized a hard dog will get it. A hard dog will accept and understand the spirit in which you correct him. A gentle smack or check on a hard dog’s collar can be the handler’s way of saying, Think; there is something else you should be doing now.

For a hard dog, an aversive correction is just another form of communication. If you use aversive punishment (leash corrections) it should work straight away!! If the dog does not react positively, then don’t blame the dog. Stop, calm yourself and rethink your strategy.

Over time a hard dog will come to know the spirit in which he is corrected andwill learn to differentiate between corrections that are abusively delivered and those that are lovingly but firmly administered.

Soft dogs

Soft dogs, in comparison, seem to lack the ability to discriminate in the same way as hard dogs do. They will view an aggressive correction as an unacceptable form of intimidation that will rob them of all joy in the exercise. A soft dog may take it personally, and see the correction as a smack on the nose. You can have a soft dog that may even bite the handler for a light physical correction that the dog feels is unjustified. If the dog was hard he may have simply not responded to the correction.

If your dog responds to punishment by brooding, then, either there is a problem with the way you are punishing the animal, or, it could be that you are dealing with a soft dog and the use of less intense aversive action is called for.

When we think of soft dogs we more often think of those we have trained that were soft in the sense that it took very little physical force to make them comply. We think of them as the ones that responded to voice control, often were extremely talented with great drive and speed.

Soft dogs are ones that want to please and are easy to teach provided that you don’t use any kind of punishment. Hard dogs don’t seem to care very much about what you want and don’t mind punishment.

A soft dog, especially a smart soft dog, can be particularly well-suited to a beginner dog trainer. A novice training his or her first dog is usually willing to adapt the methods to the dog and teach each new task with minimum pressure.

Top 6 Hard dogs to train

1. Beagles have high amounts of energy, are very independent and take longer to get used to commands.2. Rottweilers are powerful dogs that are usually very loyal to their owners. They have a bad reputation because many are not properly obedience trained when young. This leads them to go after strangers, be stubborn and overly protective. However, a well-trained Rottie will be one of the best behaved dogs you can meet.

3. Siberian Huskies are gorgeous, very active dogs that need more involved, dedicated training. They will act out if they get bored and can be difficult to care for.

4. Basset Hounds are known for being difficult to housebreak so extra time in training is needed to catch on. A Basset Hound follows his nose, so positive reinforcement in training is required.

5. Chinese Shar-Peis’ aren’t very friendly dogs. They have a shorter lifespan and many have vision problems. They are very territorial which makes training a challenge.

6. Afghan Hounds are intelligent but often do what they want when they want. They will listen to your commands for a while but change their mind later for a truly frustrating task for you.

To this list can be added the American Pit Bull Terrier, the Bull Mastiff, Bull Dog and the Chow Chow all dogs that notoriously are not easy to train.

Soft dogs to train are generally found amongst those dogs that are easy to train.

6 Dog breeds that are easy to train

1. The Border collie is thought to be the most intelligent and easy to train dog. They have a lot of energy and love to work so need to be kept busy. They thrive on canine activities like obedience and agility.

2. Poodles are highly intelligent and obedient and as such are typically easy to train. They come in three different sizes, so they are a very versatile breed, too.

3. Miniature Schnauzer Affectionate and smart, a Miniature Schnauzer is generally easy to train and is great as a companion dog.

4. Labrador Retrievers are always eager to please their owners, so training comes naturally to this breed. They are easy to train as a family or working dog and tend to socialize well with humans and other dogs alike. 

5. German Shepherds are ready to work, eager to please and very motivated. They are quick learners and great protection dogs, which is why they are often used as police and military dogs.

6. Bearded Collies traditionally were used for herding cattle and sheep in Scotland. They are very responsive, intelligent and hard working. They are very trainable and willing to please which makes them great companion, family and working dogs.

To this list can be added the Golden Retriever the English springer spaniel, the Australian Cattle dog and the Pembroke Welsh corgi.

Training tactics for Soft dogs

Because soft dogs tend to react negatively to a correction it is better to react more pro-actively in training instead of reacting to mistakes. Negative punishment i.e. the withdrawal of what he or she wanted/could have had or no-reward marker could to be a better training method to use for them.