Video summary
The video presents a countdown of seven popular dog breeds that the speaker argues are unsuitable for typical household environments due to specific behavioral and health challenges often overlooked by potential owners. The host emphasizes that while these dogs are beloved worldwide, their unique genetics and temperaments can lead to heartbreak if owners do not fully understand the realities of ownership before bringing them home. The core message is that popularity does not equate to suitability, and many people end up overwhelmed because they were not told the difficult truths about these specific breeds' needs and limitations.
Starting with the Shiba Inu and French Bulldog, the speaker highlights how certain breeds are essentially "cats in dog bodies" or suffer from severe health burdens due to selective breeding. Shibas are described as fiercely independent hunters with low social dependency, making them unresponsive to standard training commands and more tolerant of owners than truly attached to them. Similarly, brachycephalic breeds like French Bulldogs and Pugs face critical respiratory issues, spinal defects, and skin infections that significantly shorten their quality of life and require constant medical intervention. The host argues that adopting these dogs is ethically difficult because one is essentially signing up for a lifetime of managing genetic conditions rather than enjoying a healthy pet relationship.
Moving down the list, the Beagle's excessive vocalization and inability to recall when distracted by scents are presented as major liabilities for neighbors and owners who cannot provide raw meat diets to keep them focused. The Chow Chow is characterized as a dignified but deeply suspicious guard dog whose territorial nature makes it dangerous in the wrong hands, while the Border Collie's extreme intelligence and herding instinct can lead to destructive behaviors like chasing cars or children if not given a demanding job on a farm. Finally, the Siberian Husky is criticized for being an escape artist with high energy needs that most households cannot meet, leading to dangerous off-leash roaming and potential attacks on small animals, which makes them a poor fit for average families despite their stunning appearance.
The speaker concludes by urging viewers to conduct thorough breed research before making any adoption decisions, noting that understanding the genetics and behavioral drives of a specific breed is one of the most important choices an owner can make. He promotes his professional dog training courses as a resource for those who still wish to own these breeds but need advanced techniques to manage their complex needs, though he personally refuses to own any of the seven listed dogs. The ultimate takeaway is that loving a dog does not mean ignoring its fundamental nature, and responsible ownership requires matching the right breed with an environment and lifestyle that can truly fulfill both the human and the animal's needs.
Read the full video transcript
Let me stop you right there. Because if
you are thinking about getting one of
these dogs, this is going to be by far
the most important video you watch all
year. Now, these are some of the world's
most popular dog breeds on the planet.
People love them. They buy them, and
they bring them home every single day.
And a lot of those people, maybe
possibly you, end up completely
heartbroken and overwhelmed. Not because
these are bad dogs, of course, but
because nobody told them the truth about
these breeds. Now, I'm counting down all
seven right now, and I promise you some
of these are going to make you mad. Some
might even make you rethink a decision
you've already made. So, stay with me
all the way through because the breed at
number four almost literally nobody sees
coming. Let's start the list off with
number seven, the Shiba Inu. Now, let's
start with this dog because the internet
has essentially made this breed into a
meme. It's so fitting because the Shiba
Inu is literally the internet of dogs.
It is fascinating to look at, impossible
to fully understand, and it does
literally whatever it wants regardless
of what you want it to do. Now, here's
the thing about Shibas. They are not, at
their core, a dog dog. They are
literally cats wearing a dog costume,
and not even convincing one, to be
honest. And they are aloof, fiercely
independent, and operate on a
motivational framework that has very
little to do with
you. Now, researching canine behavioral
science consistently shows that dogs
bred for independent hunting, like the
Shiba, have significantly lower social
dependency scores than working or
herding breeds because they are
independent dogs, and the Shiba is super
independent. And what that means in
practice is this. You call their name,
they look at you, and
they go,
"No. No, not doing it." Now, as a pro
dog trainer, I can tell you training a
Shiba is not impossible, but it requires
a level of patience and consistency and
psychological flexibility that most dog
owners, myself included, simply do not
have the time to invest into. Now, I
want a dog that wants to be with me. A
Shiba tolerates you, and that's [music]
the difference. They are literally a cat
in a dog's body. Number six is the
French French Bulldog. Now, a French
Bulldog is one of the most popular
breeds in the world right now. That's
why I'm making this video, and I
completely understand why. They are
charming. They have faces that look like
they just received moderately bad news,
and somehow that's adorable. So, I get
[music] it. I can understand why they're
popular, and I think they're cute and
they're fun to train. But, here's what I
have to be honest with you guys about,
because I think the pet industry does a
genuinely poor job at disclosing what
the French Bulldog ownership actually
looks like. Now, I have a lot of clients
with Frenchies, and French Bulldogs are
brachycephalic breeds, meaning they have
selectively [music] bred to have flat
faces and compressed airways. The
consequence of this from a veterinarian
standpoint is significant. We're talking
about a dog that may struggle to breathe
literally just walking. They cannot
tolerate heat without serious health
risk. They statistically have the
highest rate of surgical interventions
of any breed. They have spinal issues,
[music] eye conditions, skin infections
in those beautiful little face folds
that they have. In a 2021 study
published by Canine Genetics and
Epidemiology found that French Bulldogs
were over twice as likely [music] to
experience one or more health disorders
compared to any other breed. Literally
twice as likely. Now, I'm not willing to
watch my dog suffer because of how it
was bred, and the French Bulldog,
despite every charming quality it
possesses, carries a medical burden that
I find ethically and emotionally
difficult to sign up for. So, if you own
one, great. Love them fiercely. They
deserve it. But, for me, I'm going to
have to pass on this one. Number five is
the Beagle. Guys, stay with me here,
because the Beagle is going to cause
some serious controversy and I want you
to hear from me before you guys head to
the comments. Now guys, Beagles are
absolutely wonderful creatures. They
are. They are gentle, curious, and
historically one of the best family dogs
ever developed. They were bred to hunt
in packs following scent trails for
hours across difficult terrain and that
heritage is exactly why I would never
own one. I can't literally give that dog
the fulfillment they need. And the
Beagle is so vocal and it's usually
constant and not in a charming
conversational way. It is sustained and
resonates clearly and it carries through
three walls and into your neighbor's
living room kind of way, right? And I
value my relationship with my neighbors.
So beyond the noise guys, Beagles are
scent driven to a degree that overrides
literally everything. Once a Beagle
catches a scent, recall becomes
aspirational rather than reliable and
recall for me is a non-negotiable. You
have to make sure your dog comes back.
The Beagle is a phenomenal breed in the
right environment. [music] I just would
have to hate that environment. For me,
I'd have to have my dogs we feed raw
meat all the time just for a Beagle to
look at me. Literally, I'd have to have
my dog's food just like on me at all
times for the Beagle to even pay
attention to me and that's just not it
for me. Number four is the pug. Now this
one, this one right here gets people
fired up every single time I bring it up
because the pug is one of the most
beloved dogs ever. It's the most
recognizable and honestly most marketed
breeds on the planet and I understand
the appeal completely. But here's what
the pug industry doesn't put in the
advertisement. [music] Pugs, like French
Bulldogs, are brachycephalic, which
means flat face, compressed airway, and
a body that was never designed to handle
anything that we demand for it. But the
pug takes these issues even further.
We're talking about a dog that can
struggle to breathe just sitting still.
Not during exercise, not during the
heat, just existing. We're talking about
a dog that can't cool itself down the
way a normal dog can, which is panting.
They can't breathe efficiently. The vet
bills for pugs are out of this world.
Pugs carry a genetic predisposition to
spinal degeneration, specifically a
condition called hemivertebrae, where
the vertebrae are all malformed at
birth. It's not a risk factor, it's
practically baked into the breed. And
that's before even you factor in the
chronic eye ulcers, the skin fold
infections that require constant
maintenance, and every other possibility
that pug dog encephalitis, a fatal breed
specific brain disease that no amount of
love or veterinary intervention can
[music] reliably stop. Now guys, now I
love dogs too much to choose one that is
statistically likely to suffer because
of how it looks. Now the pug deserves
better than that, and so do you,
honestly. And the pug is undeniably
adorable. Look how cute they are. And
that irresistible squishy little face
charm is plastered across merchandise,
movies, social media for decades. And
they have convinced millions of families
to bring one home without even asking
the hardest questions. Is this dog going
to be able to breathe? And the pug's
stubbornness, that sweet comical I'll do
what I want personality that people find
endearing makes training a super real
challenge, [music]
which compounds every health and
behavioral issue down the line. And for
me,
that's a weight I am not willing to
carry. Now before we get into number
three, I want to take a second just to
tell you about something that I built
specifically for dog owners [music] like
you, and I think you're going to love
it. If this video is making you realize
that dog ownership is much more nuanced
than you thought, you're right. [music]
And that's exactly why I created my
professional dog training courses. Now
these are the same methods that I've
used [music] for thousands of dogs over
my career, broken down into simple
steps, step-by-steps that you can take
at home and watch it anytime and [music]
you have forever that you can apply
right now. There's no gimmicks, there's
none of that stuff, just results, right?
All you guys have to do is click the
link below in my description. [music]
You can check it out if you're having
issues with your dog, you want to reset
with your dog, I have everything that
you need in the link [music] in the
description. Number three is the chow
chow. If the shiba inu is a cat in a dog
costume, [music] the chow chow is a lion
that has decided somewhat reluctantly to
live indoors with you. They are
dignified, loyal, intensely loyal, and I
mean loyal, and deeply suspicious of
strangers. But that suspicion is not a
training failure by any means. It is a
core temperament trait that has been
reinforced through thousands of years of
selective breeding as guard dogs. It
does not go away with socialization at
all. It softens, for sure, but it does
not disappear. It's always going to be
here. That's what these dogs are known
for. Chow chows consistently appear in
breed specific data on dog bites, not
because they're inherently dangerous,
but because they are dominant, [music]
territorial, and they require an owner
with significant experience in reading
and managing canine body language. A
misread signal from a chow chow can have
serious [music] consequences. I work
with a lot of dogs, and I understand dog
body language at a clinical level and a
practical level, and I still would never
own a chow chow because the margin for
error is simply [music] too narrow for
my comfort. Number two is the BC, the
boco, the border collie. Now, I know I
know exactly what you're thinking. But
they're the smartest dog in the entire
world. Yes, precisely. That is the
problem. The border collie's
intelligence is not just a metaphor.
Stanley Coren's landmark research in
canine intelligence ranked the border
collie as the single most intelligent
dog breed capable of understanding,
listen to this, new commands in fewer
than five repetitions and obeying them
with 95% accuracy. That means this dog
is looking at you like a computer. That
intelligence requires an outlet, a
demanding outlet. The border collies
were developed to herd sheep, not for an
hour in the morning, but for an entire
working day, making hundreds of
independent decisions, covering dozens
of miles, and operating with a level of
focus and drive that is almost unnerving
to observe, to be honest. I just spent a
couple days out in Montana watching them
work cattle. Guys, unbelievable. Without
a job, a Border Collie will absolutely
find one, and it will not be a job that
you assigned. Now, I have seen Border
Collies develop obsessive behaviors,
fixating on shadows, lights, and
reflections. And as a consequence of
inadequate mental stimulation, I have
also seen them herd children, herd cars,
herd anything that moves because the
herding instinct is so deeply in
embedded that suppressing it without an
outlet leads to behavioral fallout. Now,
I do not have a farm, and I do not have
sheep. I cannot give a Border Collie
what it actually needs, and I refuse to
set that dog breed up for a failure
because I admire their abilities. Number
one, guys, drum roll,
again another popular dog that meets
every list is the Husky. The Siberian
Husky is breathtaking, and I mean that
literally. When you see one in person,
those beautiful blue eyes, that coat,
and that elegant wolf-like frame, it is
physically difficult not to want one,
right? Like, that is the large part of
the problem with these dogs. Now,
Siberian Huskies were bred by the
Chukchi people of northern Siberia to
pull sleds across hundreds of miles in
the Arctic terrain [music] with minimal
food and maximum endurance. They are
escape artists with cardiovascular
systems of a marathon runner and the
independence of a Harvard graduate. They
shed not seasonally, but continuously in
volumes. They howl, they dig, and they
require the most exercise than most dogs
ever. And because their appearance
drives impulse adoption [music]
decisions, they are disproportionately
represented in shelters when reality
doesn't match expectation. I want this
big beautiful dog. Oh, crap, what did I
get? But here's the deepest issue for
me. Huskies are pack animals with strong
independent instincts. Their recall is
notoriously unreliable unless you're a
professional dog trainer. Off leash,
they run. Not because they don't love
you, but because running is their
biological imperative. That's what they
want to do. And a running husky in an
unclosed environment is a husky that is
a serious risk. I would never put a dog
in that position. And so, as much as I
admire the husky, and I genuinely do, it
will never be my dog. Oh, and last but
not least, they want to kill pretty much
any little small thing that moves. And I
have a cat, and that wouldn't work out
either. So, there you guys have it.
Seven very popular dog breeds that
despite their many incredible qualities
are simply not the right fit for me,
possibly not the right fit for you. I'd
love to know in the comments what
[music] you think about this list. And
here's the takeaway that I hope you
actually internalize. Breed research is
not only an option. It is one of the
most important decisions that you will
ever make as a dog owner for you and for
the dog that you're about to get. It's
also really important that you really
think about the genetics of that
particular breed. Now, if this video
made you think differently about any
breed, let me know in the comments
because I read every single one of them.
And if you know someone who's thinking
about getting one of these dogs without
doing their homework, do them a favor,
share this video with them. And you
should subscribe to my YouTube channel
if you love dogs as much as I do. I
appreciate every single person out there
watching.
>> [music]
>> I really, really do. And we put videos
out like this at least twice a week.
Make sure you head over to my No Bad
Dogs podcast, [music]
which is my second channel where we put
out podcast videos every single week
with guests and we talk about all sorts
of stuff, and I even do hot takes.
Thanks for watching, thanks for
listening, tuning in. [music] I will
talk to you guys next time. Peace.
>> [music]