When is a trait linked to a dog’s personality and not its breed? Conversely, when is a trait typical of an entire breed, and not an individual dog?
As an example, consider “stubbornness.” It’s likely that most of us have known a dog that we thought was stubborn, but this is a trait that can be misunderstood when it’s demonstrated by a dog. In some cases, it’s due to the dog receiving mixed signals during training, but in other cases, there are simply those dogs who are not inclined towards slavish obedience, and this can be perceived as stubbornness. It’s often the sign of a highly intelligent dog that thinks for itself and makes decisions on its own. If a command doesn’t make sense to a dog like this, s/he’s just not going to comply.
We can almost sense that some of you reading this are nodding your heads. You know a dog like this, don’t you.
We don’t have a definitive answer to the question we started out with, but we do suspect that when a quality appears in a breed standard, it’s a good bet that it’s a breed trait.
There are thirty-one hounds in the AKC’s Hound Group, but only one has a breed standard that mentions stubbornness, and it’s the Grand Basset Griffon Vendéen: “Temperament: Pack hound, friendly, not easily agitated by others. Temperament is happy, outgoing, independent. A little stubborn, yet willing to please.” The GBGV is happy and companionable, and a smart and quick learner, but he will test your limits and show his stubborn side which falls in line with his very independent nature.
Curious about other breeds in which “stubborn” is written into its AKC standard?
- The Bergamasco “is a vigilant guard, with a strong protective instinct. It is naturally stubborn and will persevere with a task until done;”
- “Though very sensitive to the desires of his master, heavy-handed training will produce a stubborn, unhappy Komondor;”
- In the Shetland Sheepdog, “shyness, timidity, or nervousness… stubbornness, snappiness, or ill temper” are listed as faults.
- The Wirehaired Vizsla is self-confident, eager to learn, clever, sensitive and yet stubborn;
Interestingly, not one Toy, Terrier, or Non-Sporting breed has the word “stubborn” in its AKC standard. Also noteworthy is that while there are lots of “most stubborn dog breeds” lists on the Internet (here’s one as an example), none that we found mentioned any of the breeds listed above.