So you know my dog, Reno, is an Ibizan Hound right and what I love about the breed is that it was basically created to not listen to human beings.

Ibizan Hounds aren't the only dogs like this of course. A lot of the livestock guardians (not sheepdogs, not dogs that herd but those that protect flocks from wolves and things) were bred to care more about sheep than people

But Ibizan Hounds--they come from the Balearic Islands of Spain and parts of France as well.

(Fun note, their Spanish name is Podenco Ibicenco and there are podencos, or hounds, from lots of Spanish regions: Podenco Andaluz, Podenco Canario, etc.)

Their purpose was basically to hunt rabbits among the rocky terrain of the Balearic Islands. And when I mean hunt rabbits I don't mean "show the hunter where the rabbits are" No, the podencos literally hunted the rabbits themselves. All parts of the hunt

Recently, this has become more of a sport in Spain & France but back in the day, podencos were often used to hunt rabbits for food for farmers.

They are unique in that they use sight, sound, and scent to hunt. Most dogs are fairly reliant on one or other, not all three

But dogs who are released to hunt need to be fairly self-reliant, and capable of making their own decisions without direction from a person.

This is in contrast to like, a Labrador or Golden Retriever, who are directed to do one thing--retrieve--at the discretion of the hunter

So Reno, like other Ibizan Hounds, believes deep in his bones that he is responsible for making his own choices. That he has the judgment and capability to analyze a situation and react accordingly

He does not.

Ibizan Hounds are rare in the US and they're very striking so people are curious about them.

Now here's the thing. You take a dog that has very sharp senses and an instinct to hunt. Give them the ability to leap six feet straight up in the air. Make them independent & stubborn

What you have, essentially, is a cat but without the refinement of a cat. Without the judgment of a cat

This is why a dog's breed (or combination of breeds) is actually pretty relevant when figuring out the best methods for training.

Reno will never be as tractable as a retriever. He wasn't built that way

Reno will never have the recall of a retriever, or a shepherd-type dog. He will never understand the logic in doing what people tell him to do because his instincts are like "no I am supposed to make my own decisions I jump up on counter-tops because I want to"

Dogs are all individuals of course, but they do share attributes based on their genetic backgrounds. A dog like Reno will not be an obedience champion. It doesn't make sense to him. He's supposed to go find rabbits alone. He's supposed to climb rocks and murder things.

Just like Great Pyrenees were bred to be livestock guardians. They were bred to go up into the mountains with sheep and protect the flock with almost no direction or even contact with humans at all. They're meant to be independent and defensive

And this is the key point here: some dogs were bred to make decisions on their own; other dogs were bred to look to people to make decisions.

Reno's breed was made to make decisions without a lot of human guidance.

Not always good decisions!!

We do our dogs a great disservice when we don't try to understand them. If I'd gotten Reno to have a champion obedience dog I'd have been very much disappointed!! Reno's idea of "obedience" is occasionally responding to his own name

Saying a dog's breed (or mixture of breeds) matters isn't a bad thing! It's a responsible way of approaching dog ownership. It's knowing you will need to tailor both your strategies and expectations based on how your dog was bred to process information.

[Reno, processing information]

So even if you have a mutt, try and determine what breeds they may descend from and maybe figure out how those dogs were bred to think/react and that may help you better understand and support your dog!