6 Dog Breeds I do NOT Recommend

I have worked at a dog kennel/doggie daycare/dog grooming facility for almost six years now, as well as having dogs at every point in my life. I am an avid animal lover, and knowing about the ins and outs of breeds is one of my specialties. So, if you’re looking to get a dog anytime soon, here are some dogs that I, based on personal experience and ONLY personal experience, do not recommend getting. The reasons can vary from their interactions with children, how much they shed, or just how much they bark. The list will be out of six, with six being the least likely to not be recommended, and one being the most likely to not be recommended. 

I should clarify that if you have any of these dog breeds, or like any of these dog breeds, that’s completely okay! This is just my opinion, and shouldn’t be taken super seriously. 

6. Australian Shepherd 

Photo Courtesy of American Kennel Club 

The Australian shepherd has become a very popular breed over the past couple of years. I most often see late Gen X couples or Millennials owning them, just from observation. Aussies are beautiful dogs who can be very great with kids. I personally think that an Australian shepherd can be a great dog breed to own IF they are properly trained. However, this is normally not the case. Aussies have an extremely high amount of energy, and because of this, it can be hard to properly exercise them. This leads to Aussies being overly-hyper, often hurting those around them due to their constant energy spurts. They also require a lot of maintenance that many people find difficult to keep up with. If you are looking to adopt an Aussie, I recommend doing the proper research before you go through with it, and make sure you have enough time for upkeep. 

5. Husky

Photo Courtesy of American Kennel Club 

I know I might get a lot of negativity about this choice, but I promise after six years of this breed being one of the most popular to show up in daycare, I feel it’s justified. Huskies can be great dogs. They can be funny, loyal, and genuinely fun dogs to have around, especially when you have kids wandering about. The problems I have with huskies include their fur, their voice, and their stubborn nature. When it comes to huskies, it’s fun to pick out the tufts of fur they shed during Spring, but the way they shed comes in hefty sprinkles of short, pokey fur. It is impossible to ever get rid of husky fur, so expect to be finding it on your clothes long after having a husky. Huskies are also very loud, with a couple exceptions. They often scream and bark to the point where they strain their vocal cords, and their anxieties cannot be curbed despite every effort, which only makes things worse. They are stubborn creatures who will think really hard about taking something out of your hand before running away with it and eating it/playing with it. 

4. Belgian Malinois 

Photo Courtesy of American Kennel Club

The Belgian malinois is a sturdy breed. They are loyal, intelligent, and often used as police dogs in place of German shepherds. However, the pronunciation of the second half of this dog’s name is not the only difficult thing about it. Belgian malinois are EXTREMELY active. Their ability to run, jump, climb (yes, climb), and exercise is part of the reason why they make great K9s for police forces. But, the average person cannot, or does not, keep up with this dog breed, so this leads to a lot of wound-up malinois. A wound-up malinois then leads to a form of self-destructive aggression because they have no way to channel their energy, emotions, etc. If you want a dog like this, you have to be willing to put in 110% effort physically in order for this dog to remain healthy and happy. 

3.  Dalmatian

Photo Courtesy of American Kennel Club 

Dalmatians are beautiful dog breeds. Like snowflakes, one dalmatian will never look like another (pattern wise), which is pretty cool! Dalmatians are pretty active, loyal, and their fur is standard and stable when it comes to shedding. There is just one thing that holds people back from getting dalmatians, aside from the difficulty in finding somewhere to adopt one from. They are NOT good with kids! Sure, there are some exceptions, and you have probably met a dalmatian who is great with kids. However, it is more often than not that if you bring your four-year old cousin over to your house to meet your dalmatian, it will either have no interest in the child, or actually display some aggressive/defensive behaviors. Their active energy can also harm small children if not properly trained. I blame 101 Dalmatians for making everyone believe that dalmatians are perfect household pets, when in reality, I would recommend child-free households to adopt a dalmatian. 

2. Shiba Inu

Photo Courtesy of American Kennel Club

Shiba Inus are mean. In my six years of work at an exclusively dog centered facility, I have only met a single shiba inu who is not incredibly mean, stand-offish, and aggressive. I have been bitten by shiba inus more than any other dog breed. I have zero explanation for this behavior, but it is just such a common thing that I dread the idea of dealing with any shiba that walks in the door. They’re not difficult to maintain grooming wise, or even activity wise, but these dogs have such a temper, I hardly consider adopting them worth it in the long run. Properly training them could do wonders for the person owning them, and the people who have to deal with them when the owner is away though. 

1. Doodle

Photo Courtesy of PetFinder.com

The last breed I will cover is the doodle, including labradoodles, goldendoodles, and whatever doodle combination is out there. There is a REASON that this dog breed is not recognized by the American Kennel Club, a purebred dog pedigree registry in the United States that was founded in 1884. Lisa Peterson, spokeswoman for the AKC, even came out and said that “… it’s (doodles) a trend people have bought into who want something different…” Being a mixed breed, doodles will not be recognized by the AKC. But that isn’t the only reason why these dogs are such a problem, and take it from someone who has two doodles (not by my own choice but my parents)! Before I go on, I will admit fully that my own family doesn’t always brush or maintain the fur of the doodles we own, but we do exercise them as much as possible. There are a multitude of problems overall with doodles, starting with the fact that nobody brushes their doodles! Doodle fur gets super matted super quickly, and is literally a groomer’s worst nightmare when they walk in. Every owner says “please don’t make them naked,” or “please don’t poodle my doodle,” before they give the groomer an incredibly knotted and matted dog that needs to be sheared like a sheep. Mixing two types of dog’s fur (poodle and labrador, golden retriever and poodle, etc) makes for a creature who will always be stuck in their “fur-prison” without frequent brushing. Goldendoodles suffer the most from such genetic defects, by the way. Combining one dog with another does NOT make the other dog’s fur tendencies go away, which also proves the fact that doodles aren’t even hypoallergenic the way people think they are, because the fur from the golden retriever or the labrador is still there. And with a labradoodle, you’re adding the labrador’s food obsession with a poodle’s emotional intelligence, creating a creature who wants to eat all the time, and knows how to manipulate you into getting exactly the food it wants. The man who created the breed and coined the term labradoodle calls the breed his life’s regret, ashamed by how many unhealthy and poorly behaved dogs came out of his experiment. And no matter how much money you spend, the chances of you getting a “purely bred” doodle are slim, because reputable and safe poodle breeders won’t even associate their dogs with anything along the lines of doodle. The dog is not worth getting, and will only cause you to spend bundles of money when you could have adopted a perfectly fine dog from the shelter that costs a fraction of the cost of a doodle. 

Sorry for such a long rant, I just strongly discourage the purchasing and “adopting” of doodles, simply because of how many problems and negative outcomes result from it. I hope this list was helpful, and please remember that this is just my opinion, as someone who has worked with and known dogs all her life. The moral of the story is to train your dogs, and maintain their fur/upkeep! 

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