These are the breeds most often rehomed for behavior problems, and the behavior problem is almost always boredom. If you cannot commit the time, pick from the calm list instead.
| Breed | Size | Lifespan | Energy | The catch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alaskan Malamute | Large | 10-14 years | Very high | This is not a bigger husky you can keep quiet in an apartment: Malamutes are powerful, determined escape artists… |
| Australian Cattle Dog | Medium | 12-15 years | Very high | This dog was bred to nip the heels of running cattle all day, and a bored, under-exercised Cattle Dog will redir… |
| Australian Shepherd | Medium | 12-15 years | Very high | Aussies were bred to work livestock all day and genuinely need a job — hours of real exercise and mental work, e… |
| Belgian Malinois | Large | 12-14 years | Very high | This is a police- and military-grade working dog with drive most pet homes cannot use up, and it is one of the m… |
| Border Collie | Medium | 12-15 years | Very high | Border Collies are widely considered the most intelligent dog breed, but a Border Collie stuck in an apartment w… |
| Brittany | Medium | 12-14 years | Very high | Brittanys are working bird dogs before they are family pets, and a Brittany that does not get to run or hunt dai… |
| Dalmatian | Large | 13-16 years | Very high | Close to 3 in 10 Dalmatians are born with measurable hearing loss in one or both ears, and every single Dalmatia… |
| Doberman Pinscher | Large | 10-12 years | Very high | A widely cited European study found that 58% of screened Dobermans had dilated cardiomyopathy, a heart-muscle di… |
| English Springer Spaniel | Medium | 12-14 years | Very high | This is a gundog built to work all day in the field, and without serious daily exercise and a job to do, that fr… |
| German Shorthaired Pointer | Medium | 10-12 years | Very high | This is an all-day hunting athlete, not a jogging companion — a GSP that only gets a 20-minute walk instead of s… |
| Jack Russell Terrier | Small | 13-16 years | Very high | Jack Russells are working hunting terriers bred to chase prey underground, and breed sources are blunt that this… |
| Rat Terrier | Small | 12-18 years | Very high | Rat Terriers were bred as working vermin-hunters and keep a genuinely high prey drive and farm-dog energy level … |
| Samoyed | Medium | 12-14 years | Very high | That famous 'Sammy smile' comes with real costs sellers rarely mention: this breed's odds of developing diabetes… |
| Siberian Husky | Medium | 12-14 years | Very high | Huskies are bred to run for miles and treat a fenced yard as a fun puzzle to solve, not an instruction to stay, … |
| Vizsla | Medium | 10-14 years | Very high | Nicknamed the 'velcro dog,' Vizslas are bred to work closely with a handler all day and genuinely struggle with … |
| Weimaraner | Large | 10-13 years | Very high | The elegant 'gentleman's gun dog' image hides a breed that is one of the most likely to develop genuine separati… |
Pick two and put them side by side, then read the full dog guide for costs and daily time.