5 Reasons Dogs Don’t Obey

Do you often think you’ve solidly taught your dog a command or corrected a negative behavior only to have your dog not do as you said or repeat the behavior problem?  Don’t get frustrated, it’s most always totally fixable. There are a few simple reasons dogs disobey. Once you nail the reason for an unwanted behavior, you are more than half way to the solving the problem.

When I first began training and showing dogs I ran into the problem of disobedience.  For a competitive obedience trainer this is a problem, a BIG problem.  Disobedience isn’t just a problem for a show ring competitor.  Any dog, home pet or show ring competitor, that is inconsistent in obedience and behavior cannot be relied upon and can become costly, sometimes to the point of injury or loss of life. Being in the public eye, from teaching classes to performing in competitions, my dogs have to perform as directed and being a willing team player anywhere we went.  For a pet home, let’s face it, an obedient dog isn’t just a “dog that’s a member of the family,” its one of the family.  Yes, there’s a difference.

Basically, there are only 5 reasons a dog disobeys (Diane Bauman)

1. Fear

2. Confusion

3. Feel they have a choice

4. You never had their attention when you gave them the command or directive.

5. They can, because nothing happens when they do what they want.

In the situation of fear and confusion, you help the dog work through it.

When they feel they have a choice, you clarify it for them that they do not.

If you didn’t have their attention when you gave a command or directive, that’s on you as a handler and you need to be more diligent when communicating.

Now we’ve come to the fifth reason for a dog not to obey…. Because they can, they get away with it. This completely on the handler. The dog is not afraid of the command and certainly not confused about it. He knows exactly what’s being asked and what’s expected of him, and it has been defined as not being a choice. He may have been impressively cooperative and obedient for months to years, until he wasn’t and nothing happened.

To be Continued….