Is Your Dog Stubborn?

​I have consulted with many dog owners who express their frustration that, while their dogs can do a terrific job of following behavior cues at home, the dog often ignores their owners requests in real life circumstances such as while on a walk, when company visits or at the park. I often hear statements like “She knows what I want her to do, she’s just so stubborn”. What is my response? Is their dog really just stubborn?

Most likely not!
Yes, their dog went to puppy socialization class. You bet, they moved on to an obedience class. They even have a graduation certificate to prove it! Sure, their dog was introduced to sit, down, stay and leave it. They have performed them in class and in the back yard. So they are trained, right? Maybe not. Introducing a new behavior and putting it on cue is only the beginning of training. The real work is yet to come!


Let’s talk about generalizing and proofing!
Generalizing is the process of associating a particular behavior or cue in different environments. Dogs are great at association, but not so good at generalization. This means that just because your dog can do a beautiful down stay in the back yard doesn’t mean they will be able to do it at the park. This is would be like to asking your eight-year-old child to do their homework at Disneyland.

Proofing is the process of training your dog to follow cues in distracting or potentially stressful environments. If you haven’t practiced a sit stay using high value reinforcers at your vet’s office, don’t expect your dog to comply, especially if vet visits are stressful for her. I often recommend bringing super tasty bite sized treats with you to your dog’s annual wellness exam. The waiting room is a great place to generalize and proof your training. An added benefit is that your dog starts to make a positive association with a potentially scary place.

Another consideration when training your dog to respond to your cues is proper reinforcement. Build the foundation for your training wisely. Think of good behavior as a bank account. Each behavior that gets paid whether in tasty treats, praise, or play will add credit to the account, while each unpaid behavior will be like a withdrawal. In the beginning pay, pay, pay to build up that minimum balance. Each correct answer equals one tasty treat. If the balance is high enough, then withdrawals (when we won’t be using treats) will be a breeze. You’ll find your dog will want to work for you just because your awesome!