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No, not by any honest standard. Magyar Agárs are not easy to train, and honest owners admit it: trainability is rated 2 out of 5 in our record, near the bottom of the scale. The Magyar Agár is a medium Hound breed with a Sweet, aloof with strangers, devoted and fast asleep by the fire temperament, and it was developed to think for itself, often at a distance from people and often correctly. It fails, sometimes spectacularly, when it is framed as obedience for obedience's sake. The sections below are a field guide to the approach that works.
Owners describe training as a conversation with a courteous steppe aristocrat that mostly agrees with you. Priorities are recall (always managed outdoors), lead manners on a proper sighthound collar, a settle, and socialization that builds quiet confidence. It is described as sweet, aloof with strangers, devoted and fast asleep by the fire. The adult stands 24 to 28 in at the shoulder and weighs 49 to 64 lb.
The record in one paragraph: trainability 2 out of 5, energy 4 of 5, barking 2 of 5, grooming effort 3 of 5. The Magyar Agár needs 45 to 90 minutes of exercise a day, stands 24 to 28 inches, weighs 49 to 64 lb and lives 12 to 14 years. A high energy, highly trainable dog is a joy with structure and a whirlwind without it, while a calmer dog at the same score simply learns in a lower gear. The Magyar Agár's Hound heritage, from Hungary and Transylvania, supplies the why behind the numbers: the breed's original work decided what it pays attention to, and modern training succeeds when it pays in that currency.
The core difficulty is that repetition insults this breed. Drill a Magyar Agár with the same cue ten times and the first three reps are good, the next three are slower, and the rest are a protest, because a dog bred to think independently reads repetition as evidence the exercise has no point. Sessions must be short, varied and finished early, ideally with the dog wanting more. The breed's defenders make one more point owners should hear: a Magyar Agár often complies on a delay, thinking first and moving second, and punishing the delay destroys the thinking, which was the breed's whole value. Owners in a hurry try to withdraw before they have deposited, and the breed's 2 out of 5 score is what that looks like from the outside. Owners who invest early find the interest compounds: the dog starts offering attention it never gives strangers.
Senior status arrives around eight: twice yearly checks, warmer coats, joint friendly exercise and continued gentle gallops.
Owners describe the steppe aristocrat: a dog of silk and iron in equal parts. Agars are tougher and more weatherproof than the English greyhound, gentle, quiet and deeply devoted at home, with a sighthound's serene dignity.
Look sideways for a moment at the breeds this record finds most similar: the Banjara Hound, the Galgo Español and the Saluki. Their training scores are not identical to the Magyar Agár's 2 out of 5, which is worth remembering in both directions: do not borrow a similar breed's training reputation, good or bad, and do not lend this one out. Each score on the record was assigned breed by breed, and the shortlist exists for comparison, not for averaging. The Magyar Agár's 2 out of 5 is its own: plan lessons from it, not from a lookalike's reputation, because two similar breeds can be very different students.
Build the day around the record: 45 to 90 minutes of exercise, with training folded inside it rather than bolted on. Five minutes of cues before breakfast, a recall game mid walk, two minutes of settle practice in the evening teaches more than a weekly marathon, because the Magyar Agár learns in repetitions spread across real life. Puppies need the same shape at a smaller scale, with the breed's growth stages respected: joints and attention spans are both unfinished in the first year, and the 12 to 14 year lifespan rewards owners who pace the early work. Keep rest days genuinely restful: consolidation happens off duty, and a 2 out of 5 breed returns from them sharper, not rustier.
For completeness, the record's remaining lines: the record's color line for the Magyar Agár reads: Any, except for black and tan, blue and tricolor. Its coat is recorded as Smooth, dense, and its apartment rating is With enough exercise. Its health watch list, Eye conditions, Anesthetic sensitivity and General soundness, intersects with training more than owners expect: exercises, positions and session lengths all get adapted around those conditions, especially after senior status arrives around age 8 years. A training plan that reads the whole record, not just the trainability line, is the one still working in the dog's tenth year.
Money puts the training effort in proportion. Feeding a typical Magyar Agár runs near $36 a month, insurance cover sits between $36 and $65 a month, and a set of group classes costs less than either line's quarterly total, yet owners routinely fund the first two and improvise the third. The record suggests the opposite priority order for year one: the classes, a long line and a treat budget are what convert a 2 out of 5 score into an adult dog that is cheap to live with for 12 to 14 years, in every currency that matters. Budget the treats, schedule the 45 to 90 minutes, and the record's other numbers take care of themselves.
Classes help this breed twice over: the instruction, and the controlled room full of other dogs and people to practice around, given its record reads Reserved with strangers. In the Magyar Agár's case the setting matters as much as the method: bark level 2 out of 5, shedding 4 out of 5, and a home routine built around a dog of 49 to 64 pounds shape what practice actually looks like. At 2 out of 5 for trainability, a good force free class gives the owner more than the dog, a system, a sequence and feedback on timing. Private lessons suit owners working on a specific problem. What the breed does not need is a heavy hand: board and train programs built on punishment are a poor match for the Magyar Agár's temperament and a good way to damage a working relationship.
The basics, sit, down, stay, recall foundations and loose lead walking, take most Magyar Agár owners a few weeks of short daily sessions, because the breed's trainability is rated 2 out of 5. With the Magyar Agár, whose lifespan runs 12 to 14 years and whose senior years begin around 8 years, the honest answer also shifts across the dog's life, and the training plan should shift with it. A fully reliable adult dog, calm in public and steady around distractions, is a first year project in any breed. The Magyar Agár's timeline bends with its energy, 4 of 5: exercised dogs learn in the morning what tired evenings undo, so schedule sessions after exercise, not instead of it. Adolescents are leggy, exuberant sprinters in secure areas only, and recall management carries the household through.
The trainability record says 2 out of 5, and that is the heart of the answer. The Magyar Agár's own numbers frame it: trainability 2 out of 5 alongside energy 4 out of 5 is a specific combination, and it produces a specific kind of student rather than a generic one. A first time owner who follows a structured puppy course and trains a little every day will find the Magyar Agár very manageable at the higher scores and a genuine education at the lower ones. Weigh the whole record before deciding: 45 to 90 minutes of daily exercise, a Usually good with dogs verdict around other dogs and Good with children around children make the full picture, and training is only one panel of it.
Last updated: November 10, 2026