20 Popular Dog Breeds That are Bad For First-Time Dog Owners

Often times, first time dog owners make a mistake of choosing a fashionable breed they saw on TV or social media, without further investigating the breeds temperamental traits or exercise needs and they end up with a dog that is beyond their abilities and they could not handle it.

Powerful livestock guardians, hunting dogs with high prey drive or hyperactive herding dogs are generally not the best choice for novices, but many of these dogs are pretty trendy, either for their attractive appearance or their ability to learn a lot of commands with experienced trainers. But those should not be the main traits to look in your first dog breed. You should rather look for traits such as eagerness to please, overall friendliness, to you, but also towards strangers and other animals. You should look for calm, gentle, affectionate and outgoing dog.

And without further ado, here is the list of 20 fashionable dog breeds that i would not recommend to novice dog owners.

1) Belgian Malinois
One of the most popular police and military dogs gained lately a lot of popularity among the ordinary owners as well, including the newbies. They are so good at various jobs mainly thanks to their high intelligence and extremely high energy level, which is great for dog sports and jobs, but it can make the breed quite handful for normal owners. It would not be very wise to start your dog journey with this dog breed.

2) Akita Inu
Akita Inu became very popular after the movie Hachiko. People from all around the world started to admire the loyalty of this breed. And indeed, the Akita Inu truly is one of the most loyal dog breeds of all, but it is also very independent dog with strong guarding instincts that is known to not showing much of its own emotions. It is also very strong and powerful dog and that is not the best combination for novices.

3) Siberian Husky
Many people fell in love with the wild and wolf like appearance of Siberian Husky, but before you consider one as a first time owner, you should be prepared for a very vocal, very energetic and independent dog breed.

4) Shar Pei
The Shar Pei is known for its cute wrinkly looks, but deep inside, it is an independent dog breed that is very distrustful towards strangers and other animals. It is challenging to properly socialize this breed.

5) Border Collie
Everyone knows Border Collies from various dog shows, dog sports or even from television talent shows, where they are performing the hardest tricks you can imagine. But this breed is far from being good for novices. They are extremely active and extremely smart. They need constant physical and mental stimulation to stay docile, healthy and happy and most owners are not able to provide them with enough exercise.

6) Rottweiler
Rottweilers are known to be very affectionate and friendly towards its own family. But you should not forget, that they have strong natural guarding instincts and they will be distrustful of strangers. It is also extremely strong and powerful breed and if you fail training and socialization with dog this powerful, you will be in big troubles.

7) Beagle
Beagles are popular for their cute face and lovely coloration. It is definitely super playful and friendly dog breed, but it is also a hunter at heart and when they smell something interesting, it will be almost impossible for them to listen to your commands rather than its own nose. Beagles are pretty hard to train even for experienced owners.

8) Airedale Terrier
Almost all the terriers are not the best choice for first time dog owners. It is because they are hunters with high prey drive, independent thinkers and very active dogs. The Airedale Terrier is not an exception and because it is the largest and strongest true terrier, it just must be on this list.

9) Bloodhound
Similar to Beagle, even the Bloodhound has extremely high prey drive. They also have one of the best senses of smell of all dogs, if not the best. They also like to be in control and are very independent. This is another dog breed that is hard to train and socialize for the classic companionship.

10) Chow Chow
The Chow Chow has a cute teddy bear like appearance, but it is excellent guard dog and watchdog which is very dignified, independent and alert dog, that is naturally suspicious of strangers. It typically does not get along with other dogs and pets very well.

11) Jack Russell Terrier
The second terrier is much smaller than the Airedale Terrier, but it is one of the most hyperactive of all dogs. These dogs just run and play all the time and they do it to the fullest. Without enough exercise, these dogs will burn out their energy with digging, barking or destruction.

12) Mastiff
Whether it is English Mastiff, Bullmastiff or for example the Tibetan Mastiff, it is not recommended to novices, mostly due to their extreme strength. Most Mastiffs are very gentle, relaxed and confident dogs, but with bad training and socialization, they might be extremely dangerous, which is a reason why novices should stay away from them.

13) Dalmatian
Dalmatian is another breed popularized by a movie, 101 Dalmatians. It is a reason why many people fall in love with this breed. The reason why we put Dalmatians on this list is their very high energy level, which might be little bit too much for ordinary person.

14) Saint bernard
The Saint Bernard is known as a gentle giant. They also gained a lot of popularity in a movie Beethoven. They are naturally very friendly, loving, pretty calm and sweet, so why are they ranked in this video? It is true, that they are gentle and loving, but they are also very stubborn and without proper socialization they might develop some temperamental issues. Plus they drool. A lot. Both things would be okay for small, medium or large sized dog, but i would not recommend stubborn giant dog for any novice.

15) Alaskan Malamute
Similarly to Husky, the Alaskan Malamute was developed as a sled dog and they have very high energy level. They are also slightly bigger and stronger than the Husky and they are on this list for the same reason. Their energy level might be just little bit too much for ordinary person.

16) Cane Corso
The Cane Corso is beloved for their majestic and strong appearance. But it is a dog with strong guarding instincts, which is suspicious of other people or animals. Most dogs with these characteristics are not a good choice for first time owners

17) Shiba Inu
Basically smaller version of Akita Inu we talked about earlier in this video. Many first time owners are thinking about Shiba Inu for their cute fox like appearance, but they are not ready for strong willed independent thinker.

18) German Shepherd
One of the most popular dog in the world is German Shepherd. They are very intelligent, trainable, loyal and affectionate to its own family. But, they need plenty of physical and mental stimulation, many of them are naturally protective and sadly, many of them suffer a lot from various health issues such as hip dysplasia.

19) Australian Cattle Dog
Another extremely active dog breed, which can be too hyper for a novice owner. It is also independent thinker that will try to outsmart its owner. Combination of these two traits is always very bad for unexperienced owner.

20) Weimaraner
The last dog in this video is the „grey ghost“. And once again, the reason why they are on this list is their energy level. They are also pretty sensitive and attached to its owners and might easily develop separation anxiety.

So here you have it. 20 popular dog breeds that are not a good choice for first time owners. None of these dogs is a bad dog, they just might be too energetic, too independent, too strong or too protective, which makes them challenging to handle for a novice.