The dog breed vets will do anything to avoid treating in their clinic

Big or small, disobedient or submissive, calm or aggressive, the type of dog being treated must make the difference between a good day and a challenging one at the vet clinic.

So much so that one veterinarian has taken to Tik Tok to ask other vet professionals which dog breed they are most scared to treat with the unanimous response being – the German Shepherd.

While it was the large long-haired German Shepherds that put the most fear in the hearts of those who care for them, the diminutive but feisty chihuahuas and high-energy boxers also received a mention.

@lorintay0 Did this surprise you? 🤔 #veterinarian #vettechlife #vettechtok #dogbreeds #dogsoftiktok #germanshepherd ♬ original sound – Taylor N 🪴🐈‍⬛

Fellow veterinarians and German shepherd owners were quick to respond to the video. Some fully supported the vet’s revelation.

“10 years in the vet industry. I agree German shepherd,” one wrote.

“Vet tech here. 100% German shepherds.”

“30 years working with dogs professionally. German shepherd agreed. Also bouviers.”

“25 yrs in Vet Med, answer will always be German Shepherds, however, my Chi is the meanest dog I’ve ever met.”

“As a former groomer. German Shepherd was #1 on my list.”

Other animal professionals acknowledged that poor training could have a lot to do with the German Shepherd’s or any dog’s unpredictability when visiting the vet.

“Many owners don’t properly train them or know how to handle them. Untrained German shepherds are very dangerous,” one wrote.

“As a dog groomer German shepherds are up there, but I’d have to say I’ve had more issues with Rottweilers. Too many owners not properly socializing their dogs in my area.”

“Any dog that hasn’t been properly socialized and trained can be dangerous or scary to your vet staff,” commented another.

Despite German shepherds having a bad reputation at the vet, a recent survey by Compare the Market paints a much more paw-sitive picture about the intensely loyal and versatile canine .

As pet ownership continues to surge across the nation, the survey shed some light on the top dog and cat breeds that are capturing the hearts of Aussie animal lovers.

While the cavoodle, miniature daschund and golden retriever were top of the list of Australia’s ten favourite dog breeds, the German shepherd came in at eighth place, before the Maltese cross and groodle (golden retriever cross poodle).

Other breeds that made the prestigious list are the French bulldog, Labrador retriever, border collie, and English Staffordshire bull terrier.

While there are many dog breeds all with their own quirks and idiosyncrasies, a pioneering study has revealed the five distinct dog personalities that will give pet owners better insights into their dog’s temperament. 

Over two years, Dr Mohammad Hossein Amirhosseini, of the University of East London, Professor James Serpell of the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Veterinary Medicine, and the US dog training company Dogvatar applied machine learning techniques to behavioural data from the University of Pennsylvania’s C-BARQ database which contains over 70,000 behavioural records.

The outcome was five distinct categories, each corresponding to a different personality type:

• Excitable/Hyper-attached
• Anxious/Fearful
• Aloof/Predatory
• Reactive/Assertive
• Calm/Agreeable

Dr. Amirhosseini said, “This innovative AI-based methodology holds promise for revolutionising the selection and training of dogs for specific roles, both working and non-working.”