Have you ever felt or said that your dog is stubborn? This is such a common label that is put on so many dogs who really don’t deserve it!

Dogs don’t just get up and say: “I want to be difficult” or “I don’t want to do this” for no good reason.

If you have in the past put the “stubborn” label on your dog, please consider this: calling your dog stubborn puts all the blame on your dog. It’s their fault for not complying with your wishes! How about instead we take responsibility for teaching our dogs in a way that they want to do the things we ask of them. I’m not saying that this is easy but it’s the right thing to do!

There are several reasons why some dogs may appear to be stubborn

1. Clarity: do they truly understand what we’re asking them to do? Have we proofed a particular behavior so they can do it anywhere, anytime, not just in the living room? Is our communication really clear and consistent? Dogs will pick up on subtle body language cues very quickly and we’re often are not aware of them, assuming that our dogs understand and listen to our verbal cues.
2. It’ a bad deal! Asking for obedience from our dogs can often be considered a bad deal, from the dog’s perspective. They may do it because we told them to but not because they consider it a desirable choice. In positive dog training everything should look like a good deal. If at least the majority of interactions leads to a good outcome for our dogs, they will be much more likely to comply, even when once in a while the experience is not quite as good for them.
3. Are they overwhelmed? Are they able to “Think in Arousal” = able to listen to cues when highly excited or faced with distractions? Maybe they simply can’t do it in that particular situation or in that state of arousal!
4. What is your dog’s emotional state? Are they worried or stressed and simply unable to respond in a particular situation because they are too stressed out and unable to perform?
5. Sudden behavior changes can be caused by physical pain or discomfort. A refusal to sit or lie down may very well happen because it’s uncomfortable or painful for them to do it!

Top Tips:

1. Clarity: if there is no joy and quick response to a cue, how about re-teaching the behavior! Start from scratch as if they’ve never done it before and bring back the joy through a positive reward history!
2. Keep tabs on good deals: if the majority of your interactions are positive and lead to a good outcome, the odd “not so good deal” won’t have such a great impact on your relationship.
   Dogs are making decisions based on past experiences! We all understand the “what’s in it for me?” … or not too many people would go to work every day (if they didn’t get paid). Is the offered reward proportionate to what you are asking? Maybe upping the reward value is all it takes to turn a “bad deal” into a “good deal”. In dog speak: liver treats instead of kibble!
3. We have many games that teach our dogs the concept of Thinking in Arousal. We can’t always foresee or counteract distractions in the environment but how about putting behaviors to the test by having a favorite toy present, in our hand or on the floor, while asking for well know behaviors? Can your dog still “sit” when asked? Can they do a Middle or Nose Touch while their favorite toy is in your hand or lying on the floor? By testing this in a non-critical situation we’ll all be better prepared for real life distractions!
4. What is your dog’s overall stress level? Maybe they need some down time to re-set the brain to a calmer state of mind where they are better able to respond to our wishes. You can never have too much calmness!!!
5. When it comes to sudden behavior changes it’s always a good idea to get your dog checked by a vet, massage therapist or chiropractor to rule out any physical issues. We surely don’t want to ask our dogs to do things they aren’t physically capable of!

For those who have known me for a while or trained with me, you know that I’m all about teaching dogs to make better choices but before I can expect that I have to put in some work and build a relationship that is built on trust, created by lots and lots of “good deal outcomes” and positive experiences. I truly believe that there are no stubborn dogs out there but it’s rather that we haven’t found what motivates them. It’s not all about the type of food either, how about a fun game of roughhousing, catch me if you can, praise, touch ….there is no one size fits all. It’s YOUR job to observe, experiment and figure out what YOUR dog truly enjoys and they’ll be happy to follow your lead and instructions joyfully!