Is Your Dog Being Stubborn Or Is It Something Else?

It's been my experience that most people don't have as much success as they think they do when using cues (commands) because they begin by assuming their dog understands the meaning and behaviour associated with the cue (command) they are using from the moment the puppy or dog enters their home.

Before teaching any behaviour/cue you want your dog to do, take a step back and first think "gibberish". What do I mean by that? If you begin with words that make no sense to you - you will have a better understanding of the position your dog is in.

When I used to teach classes I'd do the following. I’d ask for a volunteer, look at them and then say "fliberty gibbet". I'd repeat that one or two times and show my frustration at a lack of response. My frustration would increase each time.

The volunteer would look at me, head tilted, eyes round, slightly uncomfortable smile, raising hands in the air as if to say “what?” I don’t know what you want from me”

I was speaking a language he didn't understand and he had no idea what was expected of him. Because he didn’t do what I wanted him to do, did that mean he was stubborn or being defiant?

Take a step back. Think "fliberty gibbet" when you ask your dog to do something and he doesn’t. Ask yourself if you truly taught your puppy or dog the behaviour associated with the cue you used or did you just assume he understood?

In my fantasy world "fliberty gibbet" meant sit on the nearby chair. Repeating it over and over did nothing to help the person understand the meaning of the phrase. Raising my voice simply created stress. Only when illustrating the behaviour I expected did I see any sign of understanding and then relief as he finally understood what was expected.

In class, when teaching sit or down, many people would say “my dog already knows that”.

To test that I had them do the following: Ask the dog to lie down however they usually did. This most often included speaking and bending forward to a degree. What did the dog do? The dog lay down.

Next: I had them keep their body extremely still, no motion at all, say “down”. Most of the time, the dogs would continue to sit or stand or do anything other than lie down.

Next: Without saying a word I asked them to bend forward. All the dogs lay down. Dogs are not stupid, stubborn, trying to dominant or ignore you - especially puppies who are learning English as a second language. Neither are adolescents or adults if they have never been truly taught the relevent vocabulary.

Dogs are brilliant at guessing, reading body language and understanding context. They often figure out what you are asking by employing all of the above skills.

Keep this in mind when you do not get the response you are expecting.