Training a stubborn dog is something that many dog owners think isn’t possible.
A Stubborn dog may leave you feeling a bit frustrated, especially if you’re trying to break down bad habits.
Worry not! In This article, we dive deep into the little-known secrets of training a stubborn dog, no matter your dog’s breed, age, or size!
What Is Considered A Stubborn Dog?
A Stubborn dog is a very determined dog focused on what he/she wants and actively disobeys what he/she knows; Instead of following your lead, a stubborn dog will want to lead.
Why Is My Dog Stubborn?
Dogs can be a bit stubborn for various causes. Below, we have created the most common reason your dog is stubborn.
Unknowingly Reinforced
You may be struggling with training a stubborn dog because your dog is unknowingly being reinforced for not listening to you in the first place.
For instance, if you ask your dog to come and your dog instead eats a piece of bone on the ground, your pup just got rewarded for not coming!
Learned Irrelevance
Another reason your dog may be behaving stubbornly is that your dog has begun viewing your commands as “irrelevant.”
Learned irrelevance occurs when your dog learns that listening to you has no consequence, positive or negative.
Genetics
Genetics plays a significant role in dog behavior; stubbornness can also be genetic and specific to some breeds over others.
Some breeds were genetically bred to be more “headstrong” and not take human direction, while others were bred to work closely with us.
Genetics do play a role, but it isn’t the only reason your dog may be stubborn
“Show Me The Money” Syndrome
Show me the money syndrome isn’t a clinical term; it’s simply io term we use to describe dogs who are stubborn and won’t listen unless you “show them the money” or treats in this case.
This usually develops due to human error when initially training their dogs!
Training A Stubborn Dog
Training a stubborn dog doesn’t have to be complicated or frustrating, but it does take patience; below are seven effective ways to training a stubborn dog.
Create A Routine
When training a stubborn dog, it’s essential to create a routine for you and your dog to begin creating the proper habits and working on the issue you are experiencing.
Stay Consistent
Now that you created a routine, you want to stay consistent!
Consistency ultimately leads to reliability and creates the proper habits.
If you want your pup to stop being stubborn, ensure that you stay consistent when training your dog to begin seeing reliable, consistent obedience.
Use Rewards To Your Advantage
When training a stubborn dog, always remember to use your dog’s views as a reward to your advantage.
For instance, if you have a dog that loves running out the door, using the reward at that moment (access to outside )to teach your dog not to dart out.
Stop Repeating Yourself
When training a stubborn dog or any dog for that matter, we never want to get in the habit of repeating our commands.
What happens when you repeat a command to your is? Your dog learns to ignore the first command, the second, and so on until your pup chooses to listen after x amount of times.
Repeating a command teaches your pup to ignore your the first time.
Be Patient
When dealing with a stubborn dog, remember to be patient; you’ll get nothing out of getting frustrated, instead stay consistent
As owners, we have to understand that patience is vital whenever we are undoing weeks, months, or even years of bad habits.
Create A Controlled Environment
To begin training a stubborn dog, one of the best things your can do is create a controlled environment for your pup to start teaching your dog how to listen to you in a variety of different scenarios.
Creating a controlled environment also ensures that you are prepared for the distractions because you can add or remove distractions as you please.
Start Slow
Always begin training a stubborn dog slow; never hop into the most challenging task before your dog is ready.
Whenever you begin training your pup, you want to go at the pace that your dog is currently at, not at the pace you want your dog to be.
The objective is to gradually increase the difficulty, not push your pup too far too soon before he/she is ready for a given challenge.
Conclusion
Training a stubborn dog isn’t complicated. It just takes consistency on your end to begin creating consistent, reliable behaviors from your pup.
If you follow the guidelines above, you’ll begin to notice that training a stubborn dog is easy!
For more guidance on training a stubborn dog and to awaken your dog’s true potential contact us here or Give us a call!
Receive your free dog training consultation and set your pup up for success!
