Survey: Florida dogs ranked most obedient, Washington the least


A Samoyed won the working group competition at the 145th annual Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show in Tarrytown, New York, on June 13. According to a survey, Florida has the most obedient dogs and Washington the least. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo


Dec. 2 (UPI) -- Florida, Utah and Arizona are the states with the most obedient dogs while Washington, Michigan and Illinois have the least obedient pooches, according to a poll the website OneVet released Thursday.

The poll came from a survey of more than 3,100 dog owners with at least 50 owners from each state. Respondents rated their dog's obedience level on a scale of 1-5, with 1 being not obedient at all and 5 being the most obedient.

OneVet also asked a series of supplemental questions centered around teaching obedience in both new puppies and fully grown canines.

Florida ranked as the state with the best-behaved dogs with a rating that is 6.79% higher than the national average, followed by Utah at 6.31% and Arizona at 5.39%. Arkansas and North Carolina tied for fourth with a rating 4.53% higher than the national average.

On the other end, Washington was found to have the least obedient dogs with a rating 7.42% below the national average, followed by Michigan at -6.76%, Illinois at -6.16% and Indiana at -5.21%.

"On average, dogs across the nation were rated 3.37 out of 5 by their owners when it comes to obedience," OneVet said. "This is certainly not a bad score, but clearly, there is room for improvement.

The survey also found 67% of dog owners started training their dogs in the first year they were born, 49% of male dog owners think their dogs are trained better than other people's dogs, and 43% of dog owners admit that they judge other people on how well their dog is trained.

Another 20% of dog owners have sent their dogs to obedience training classes, 57% of pet owners said their dog listens better at home than out in public and 33% of female dog owners said they were prevented from taking their dogs to dog parks or restaurants due to obedience issues.