Data study · 240 breeds · Updated June 2026

The most (and least)
trainable dog breeds.

Name: TailorPup Trainability Index: dog breeds ranked
Creator: TailorPup
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Keywords: dog trainability, most trainable dog breeds, least trainable dog breeds, dog breed ranking, biddability score

We scored all 240 breeds in our library on trainability, how quickly and willingly a typical dog of the breed learns. Here is the full ranking, what the score really means, and why the "least trainable" breeds are not the ones you think.

On the TailorPup trainability index (1 to 10), the most trainable breeds are eager-to-please herding and working dogs like Belgian Malinois, Border Collie and Doberman Pinscher, scoring 10/10. The least trainable are independent, primitive and scent-driven breeds such as Tibetan Mastiff and Saluki. A low score does not mean a dog is unintelligent or untrainable, it means the breed was bred to work apart from people and needs more motivation, shorter sessions and patience. The average breed scores 7/10. Every breed can be trained with reward-based methods, the difference is how much the handler has to work for focus.

breeds score 9+ (highly biddable)

breeds score 5 or under (independent)

7/10

average across all breeds

240

breeds ranked

How we scored it

What "trainability" actually measures.

Trainability is a 1-to-10 rating of biddability, how readily a typical dog of the breed wants to do what you ask, based on focus, sensitivity to feedback, and how independently the breed was developed to work. It is not a measure of intelligence. Many of the lowest-scoring breeds are brilliant problem-solvers that simply decide for themselves when to cooperate, a sighthound built to chase or a scent hound built to follow its nose was never meant to check in with a handler every few seconds.

Scores reflect the typical dog and are a general guide, not a verdict on any individual. Socialization, early training and the right motivation move dogs up or down in real life. Reward-based training works for every breed on this list.

Hardest to train (most independent)

The 25 least trainable breeds.

Independent, not unintelligent. These breeds reward patient, high-value, short-session training.

The full index

All 240 breeds, ranked.

#	Breed	Score
1	Belgian Malinois	10/10
2	Border Collie	10/10
3	Doberman Pinscher	10/10
4	German Shepherd	10/10
5	Medium Poodle	10/10
6	Miniature Poodle	10/10
7	Poodle	10/10
8	Shetland Sheepdog	10/10
9	Standard Poodle	10/10
10	Toy Poodle	10/10
11	Australian Cattle Dog	9/10
12	Australian Kelpie	9/10
13	Australian Shepherd	9/10
14	Barbet	9/10
15	Belgian Groenendael	9/10
16	Belgian Tervuren	9/10
17	Brittany	9/10
18	Collie	9/10
19	Doberman	9/10
20	Dutch Shepherd	9/10
21	English Springer Spaniel	9/10
22	German Shorthaired Pointer	9/10
23	Giant Schnauzer	9/10
24	Golden Retriever	9/10
25	Goldendoodle	9/10
26	Labradoodle	9/10
27	Labrador Retriever	9/10
28	Miniature American Shepherd	9/10
29	Miniature Australian Shepherd	9/10
30	Mudi	9/10
31	Papillon	9/10
32	Pembroke Welsh Corgi	9/10
33	Portuguese Water Dog	9/10
34	Pyrenean Shepherd	9/10
35	Rottweiler	9/10
36	Schnoodle	9/10
37	White Swiss Shepherd	9/10
38	American Eskimo Dog	8/10
39	American Pit Bull Terrier	8/10
40	American Staffordshire Terrier	8/10
41	Appenzeller Sennenhund	8/10
42	Bearded Collie	8/10
43	Beauceron	8/10
44	Bernedoodle	8/10
45	Bernese Mountain Dog	8/10
46	Black Russian Terrier	8/10
47	Bouvier des Flandres	8/10
48	Boxer	8/10
49	Boykin Spaniel	8/10
50	Bracco Italiano	8/10
51	Briard	8/10
52	Cane Corso	8/10
53	Cardigan Welsh Corgi	8/10
54	Cavalier King Charles Spaniel	8/10
55	Cavapoo	8/10
56	Cockapoo	8/10
57	Cocker Spaniel	8/10
58	Coton de Tulear	8/10
59	Croatian Sheepdog	8/10
60	English Cocker Spaniel	8/10
61	Entlebucher Mountain Dog	8/10
62	Field Spaniel	8/10
63	Finnish Lapphund	8/10
64	Flat-Coated Retriever	8/10
65	German Wirehaired Pointer	8/10
66	Great Dane	8/10
67	Havanese	8/10
68	Icelandic Sheepdog	8/10
69	Japanese Spitz	8/10
70	Keeshond	8/10
71	Kooikerhondje	8/10
72	Lagotto Romagnolo	8/10
73	Lapponian Herder	8/10
74	Leonberger	8/10
75	Miniature Schnauzer	8/10
76	Mixed Breed	8/10
77	Newfoundland	8/10
78	Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever	8/10
79	Pumi	8/10
80	Rat Terrier	8/10
81	Rough Collie	8/10
82	Standard Schnauzer	8/10
83	Swedish Vallhund	8/10
84	Toy Fox Terrier	8/10
85	Vizsla	8/10
86	Weimaraner	8/10
87	Welsh Springer Spaniel	8/10
88	Wirehaired Pointing Griffon	8/10
89	Airedale Terrier	7/10
90	American Bully	7/10
91	American Cocker Spaniel	7/10
92	American Water Spaniel	7/10
93	Bedlington Terrier	7/10
94	Bergamasco Shepherd	7/10
95	Bichon Frise	7/10
96	Biewer Terrier	7/10
97	Bolognese	7/10
98	Border Terrier	7/10
99	Boston Terrier	7/10
100	Brazilian Terrier	7/10
101	Bullmastiff	7/10
102	Catahoula Leopard Dog	7/10
103	Chesapeake Bay Retriever	7/10
104	Chinese Crested Dog	7/10
105	Clumber Spaniel	7/10
106	Curly-Coated Retriever	7/10
107	Dalmatian	7/10
108	Dogo Argentino	7/10
109	English Setter	7/10
110	Eurasier	7/10
111	Fila Brasileiro	7/10
112	French Bulldog	7/10
113	German Spitz	7/10
114	Gordon Setter	7/10
115	Greater Swiss Mountain Dog	7/10
116	Hovawart	7/10
117	Irish Setter	7/10
118	Irish Terrier	7/10
119	Irish Water Spaniel	7/10
120	Jack Russell Terrier	7/10
121	Kerry Blue Terrier	7/10
122	King Charles Spaniel	7/10
123	Lakeland Terrier	7/10
124	Malshi	7/10
125	Manchester Terrier	7/10
126	Mastiff	7/10
127	Morkie	7/10
128	Norfolk Terrier	7/10
129	Norwich Terrier	7/10
130	Old English Sheepdog	7/10
131	Parson Russell Terrier	7/10
132	Picardy Shepherd	7/10
133	Pointer	7/10
134	Polish Lowland Sheepdog	7/10
135	Pomchi	7/10
136	Pomeranian	7/10
137	Pomsky	7/10
138	Puli	7/10
139	Rhodesian Ridgeback	7/10
140	Russian Toy	7/10
141	Saint Bernard	7/10
142	Samoyed	7/10
143	Schipperke	7/10
144	Silky Terrier	7/10
145	Smooth Fox Terrier	7/10
146	Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier	7/10
147	Spinone Italiano	7/10
148	Staffordshire Bull Terrier	7/10
149	Sussex Spaniel	7/10
150	Tibetan Terrier	7/10
151	Welsh Terrier	7/10
152	Wire Fox Terrier	7/10
153	Xoloitzcuintli	7/10
154	Yorkshire Terrier	7/10
155	Affenpinscher	6/10
156	Aidi	6/10
157	Akita	6/10
158	Akita Inu	6/10
159	Alaskan Malamute	6/10
160	American Akita	6/10
161	Beagle	6/10
162	Bluetick Coonhound	6/10
163	Boerboel	6/10
164	Brussels Griffon	6/10
165	Bull Terrier	6/10
166	Bulldog	6/10
167	Cairn Terrier	6/10
168	Chihuahua	6/10
169	Cirneco dell'Etna	6/10
170	Czechoslovakian Wolfdog	6/10
171	Dachshund	6/10
172	Dandie Dinmont Terrier	6/10
173	Dogue de Bordeaux	6/10
174	Drever	6/10
175	English Bulldog	6/10
176	English Mastiff	6/10
177	Finnish Spitz	6/10
178	Glen of Imaal Terrier	6/10
179	Great Pyrenees	6/10
180	Greyhound	6/10
181	Harrier	6/10
182	Hokkaido	6/10
183	Irish Wolfhound	6/10
184	Japanese Chin	6/10
185	Kangal Shepherd	6/10
186	Karelian Bear Dog	6/10
187	Kishu Ken	6/10
188	Korean Jindo	6/10
189	Long-Haired Dachshund	6/10
190	Maltese	6/10
191	Miniature Bull Terrier	6/10
192	Miniature Pinscher	6/10
193	Norwegian Elkhound	6/10
194	Petit Basset Griffon Vendéen	6/10
195	Plott Hound	6/10
196	Presa Canario	6/10
197	Pug	6/10
198	Redbone Coonhound	6/10
199	Sealyham Terrier	6/10
200	Shih Tzu	6/10
201	Shikoku	6/10
202	Skye Terrier	6/10
203	Tosa Inu	6/10
204	Treeing Walker Coonhound	6/10
205	West Highland White Terrier	6/10
206	Whippet	6/10
207	Anatolian Shepherd	5/10
208	Azawakh	5/10
209	Basset Hound	5/10
210	Bloodhound	5/10
211	Borzoi	5/10
212	Caucasian Shepherd	5/10
213	Central Asian Shepherd	5/10
214	Chinese Shar-Pei	5/10
215	Hungarian Greyhound	5/10
216	Italian Greyhound	5/10
217	Komondor	5/10
218	Kuvasz	5/10
219	Lhasa Apso	5/10
220	Miniature Dachshund	5/10
221	Neapolitan Mastiff	5/10
222	Otterhound	5/10
223	Pharaoh Hound	5/10
224	Saarloos Wolfdog	5/10
225	Scottish Deerhound	5/10
226	Scottish Terrier	5/10
227	Shiba Inu	5/10
228	Siberian Husky	5/10
229	Sloughi	5/10
230	Spanish Greyhound	5/10
231	Spanish Mastiff	5/10
232	Thai Ridgeback	5/10
233	Wirehaired Dachshund	5/10
234	Afghan Hound	4/10
235	Basenji	4/10
236	Chow Chow	4/10
237	Greenland Dog	4/10
238	Pekingese	4/10
239	Saluki	4/10
240	Tibetan Mastiff	4/10

Common questions.

What is the most trainable dog breed?

By the TailorPup trainability index, Belgian Malinois is among the most trainable breeds, scoring 10 out of 10, alongside other eager-to-please working and herding breeds. Trainability here means how quickly and willingly a typical dog of the breed learns cues, not how intelligent it is.

What is the least trainable dog breed?

The lowest-scoring breeds on our index are independent, primitive and scent-driven types such as Tibetan Mastiff. A low score does not mean the dog cannot learn, it means the breed was developed to work apart from people, so it needs more motivation, shorter sessions and patience.

Does trainability mean intelligence?

No. Trainability measures biddability, how readily a dog wants to do what you ask, not problem-solving ability. Many independent breeds are highly intelligent but choose when to cooperate, which reads as lower trainability even though the dog is far from unintelligent.

Can you train a low-trainability breed?

Absolutely. Every breed can be trained with reward-based methods. Lower-trainability breeds simply need higher-value rewards, shorter and more frequent sessions, and realistic expectations, especially around off-leash recall. The method is the same, the dial is patience.

How is the trainability score calculated?

It is the TailorPup index: a 1-to-10 ease-of-training rating per breed based on biddability, focus, sensitivity and how independently the breed was bred to work, drawn from breed standards and training experience. It is a general guide to the typical dog, individual dogs vary widely with socialization and training.

Whatever your dog scores,
the plan adapts.

TailorPup builds a 12-week training plan around your dog's breed, age and behavior, eager learner or independent thinker.

Find your breed How to train any dog

The most (and least)trainable dog breeds.