Teaching Your Dog to Listen to Your Command
So
your dog is ignoring you and you don't like that. Nobody likes being
ignored. It even makes some people very angry. They are the ones that tend to
get ignored even more as a result.
It's quite common for
dogs to ignore commands. Often owners give dogs very few reasons to listen and a lot of
reasons not to. A typical scenario might go something like this:
An owner is calling to their dog to
"come," the dog ignores them; they call louder and with more venom; the dog continues ignoring
them; they start marching angrily toward the dog, clenching their teeth with
all the determination of someone not willing to tolerate this degree of
disrespect (especially in public); the dog begins to crawl reluctantly toward
the owner, knowing their number is up; finally, the owner takes the dog
forcefully by the collar, maybe even throws in a smack or two for good measure,
and issues another reminder of who the boss is around here.
Words cannot convey how backwards this is!
This "technique" may eventually get a
result, but it obviously goes about doing it in all the wrong way. In the short term, it
stresses out your dog (which is to say nothing about the potential harm from
physical punishment, which I assume does not need to be said to anyone
subscribing to a dog training newsletter series). In the long term, this form
of discipline establishes a relationship based on fear and threats, rather than
a healthy serving of respect.
Your dog needs a leader, and needs to be able to
recognize and respond to what we call "commands." But that doesn't mean
that you should be "ordering" your dog around. We create short,
simple, and direct "commands" for dogs because dogs don't speak
English, not because they love to be ordered around in this way. Even though
you need to be the top dog, you don't have to make everything sound like a
threat to establish your position in the hierarchy. If everything sounds like a
threat, you'll get nowhere fast.
We like to say that a
dog disobeys commands mostly for one of two reasons:
1) They don't understand
you.
Because dogs are responding more to your tone
than the actual words you are using, if your tone contradicts your command, you may not be giving
your dog a clear idea of what you want him to do.
For example, let's say you have a dog named Bob that jumps
up on you all the time. If you say "Get Down Bob, get down" while at
the same giggling and pushing him gently, almost playfully away, you have just
communicated to Bob the following: "Get down" equals "this game
is fun, let's keep playing."
I see this mistake ALL of the time with dog
owners.
Another related mistake is the practice of
asking a dog to do something rather than telling. So, if you say,
"Bob, come here" in way that sounds more like "Could you please
maybe come here please??? Then you are effectively giving Bob a choice. So tell
Bob to come. You don't have to yell or demand, just make it clear that you mean
business.
Also, make sure your commands are simple enough. If you are blessed with
a dog who understands "Bob, bring me a beer from the fridge," then
you don't have to worry too much about this one. Most of us, however, do. Keep
your commands short and simple. Make sure they don't sound too alike.
Lastly, it is always much better to pair hand
signals with your verbal commands. In the first part of this course on problem jumping, I talked
about using a simple extended hand gesture to tell your dog to "stop"
before jumping up on you. My adult dogs are all to the point where I mostly use
my voice when I want to "talk" to them. But when I want them to DO
something, I can make eye contact and use a hand signal to get them to come,
sit, lie down, get in the car, go inside or outside, wait at the curb, etc.
Ideally, you'll get to this point as well, but you need to establish those hand
signals, and use them.
If you've worked through all of these
possibilities and your dog still does not seem to understand you, then you
likely need more training. For older dogs, there is the added possibility that the hearing
is going, so do consider that if it applies. It's another case where hand
signals can go a long way.
2) They are ignoring
you.
When your dog ignores commands, it means they
understand what you want them to do but are deciding not to do it.
But, you ask, how can you tell? How can you tell if
your dog is in fact understanding the exchange but has no intention of obeying?
The answer depends a lot on the body language of
your dog. If they are showing signs of fear when you are giving training
commands (submissive posturing, avoiding eye contact, ears back, tail tucked),
then it is more likely that they don't understand. In these cases, owners can
make the situation worse by being more forceful. By contrast, if your
dog is posturing confidently, and they do not appear stressed, then it is more
likely that they have opted not to listen. They may even be defiant - making
direct eye contact, even barking at you, and running away when you approach.
This suggests a dominance issue. You will have
to take active steps to establish yourself as the top dog, in addition to being
a fun person to play with. But there are also a few immediate steps you can take to have
more success with a stubborn mutt. Let's return to that all too common scenarios
of a wayward dog and the heard but unheeded command to "come."
Always:
• use a positive, happy, even excited tone of voice.
• try squatting down when calling. Open your arms as if to suggest an embrace
or praise when they arrive.
• If you can, try walking the opposite way. This forces your dog to make a
decision: Stay and get left, or go home with you and get dinner.
• Praise your dog whenever they come, no matter how long it takes.
• Praise your dog when they come to you without being asked. Create an
environment in which they absolutely love coming over to you.
Never:
• chase after a dog that won't come, unless safety is an issue.
• call your dog to you to reprimand them.
• call your dog over for something they clearly do not enjoy (getting their
nails clipped, taking a bath, etc.).
One final word of advice: if you are still
struggling with your position as leader of the pack, I highly recommend naming
your next dog "Boss"… "Come here Boss!" "Sit down,
Boss!" "Go fetch Boss!" It's a most empowering remedy I assure
you!
Well, that concludes the second installment of your Secrets to Dog
Training 6 Day Course. Join me next time for a comprehensive newsletter on
problem barking, where you'll find out how to get the final word with a barking
dog that never seems to stop.