Thanks for listening to me on Doggy Dojo!
Having a stubborn dog can be frustrating
But I’ve got good news for you.
The words “stubborn” and “willful” imply that our dogs are actively disobeying us out of spite or anger, or they’re intentionally ignoring us…but dogs don’t really do that.
Dogs behave in a way that benefits them to get what they want OR to avoid what they don’t want.
Why does this matter?
Because if your dog is stubborn, that’s an internal character trait, which would be extremely difficult to change.
But if your dog is disobeying for a good reason, then we can figure out what’s happening and change it!
For example:
-If a dog doesn’t “sit” when asked in the presence of a trigger (something they’re afraid of) - they’re not stubborn. They’re telling us that either they are so focused on the scary thing that they can’t pay attention OR that sitting is a vulnerable position and they won’t be able to defend themselves. (This is a behavior modification problem, not a dog problem.)
-If a dog doesn’t come when called because they’re smelling something good, they’re not being stubborn or willful — we just haven’t trained the dog to leave good smelling stuff in favor of returning to us. (This is a training problem, not a dog problem.)
-If a dog pulls on leash but “knows” heel - the dog doesn’t actually know “heel” in the context we are in. We have to proof behaviors against distractions in order for our dogs to perform at their best. Dogs are super context specific. That means if we train “heel” in the backyard, but don’t train it on our regular walk, or practice it at a busy park, then they won’t know how to focus in those areas. (This is a training problem, not a dog problem.)
So what do we do when a dog is ‘stubborn’ or ‘willfully ignoring’ us? Review the situation and observe their body language. It’ll tell you a lot!
-Is the dog afraid or in physical pain?
-Is the dog distracted/is the environment too hard or busy or scary?
Adjusting our training parameters and working from where our dogs have success leads to happier dogs and better training. We don’t need to force compliance - we need to listen to what our dog is telling us and set them up for success!