Dog Behavior Training - My Dog Doesn’t Listen to Me! - Understanding Why
Understanding why your dog does not listen to you is not as hard to understand as you may think. Did you ever call your dog and ‘Nothing?’ You get no response as though he’s gone deaf, right? Or maybe you get to look at the tail end of your dog as he is running away from you as fast as his little (or big) legs can go.
You might be the lucky owner of a dog who plays ‘Catch me if you can!’. They come sweeping in at tremendous speed coming right at you, then, at the very last second, they veer off like an airplane swooping on the enemy, or like the small birds that chase a hawk away. These dogs circle around (maybe several times) and come at you again, confident of their prowess to escape those arms reaching out to grab them as they fly by. They know exactly how long your arms are and never come closer than that inch or two needed to stay out of reach.
I have to be honest with you. You, the owner, are responsible for teaching your dog all of the antics he performs. I know that is a hard pill to swallow, but until you can accept it, you are not going to have much success with getting your dog to listen to you.
First off, shouting never makes you dog hear any better. He’s not deaf, does not need a hearing aide and hears you perfectly fine, unless you have a strong wind blowing your words away or he’s long gone and is way down the road towards freedom, and you need some sort of fast transportation to catch up to him.
Second, if you chase your dog, he is going to run, no question about it. Dogs see this as the greatest game in the world. I’m sure you’ve seen two or more dogs interacting and chasing each other around and around in circles, sometimes making a direct tackle. The only dogs I’ve witnessed that don’t run are those who have been terrified into a frozen state where they can’t seem to move, pee on themselves, and even when dragged, are stiff as a stuffed dog, not resisting, but not helping either. If this is the case, please seek professional help.
Some other things that cause your dog to not listen are:
You are either rewarding or punishing your dog following his actions to your commands. Your dog is responding positively or negatively according to what follows his action. What I mean is that whatever follows his response to your command causes him either to see his behavior as good or bad for him.
What does all of this mean? It means that you are a great dog trainer. The problem is you trained your dog to perform the wrong behaviors. So start watching what it is you do when your dog is not listen in order to discover what you may have done to train this behavior into your dog, and then do the opposite. Sounds simple. But, I’m encouraging you to try it. What can it hurt? You already think your dog defies you and ignores you on purpose. Go give it a shot. And don’t go thinking I’m telling you to shoot your dog, either.
Karen has been training dogs for over 35 years. She’s also helped others learn to train their own dogs. Karen manages several dog web sites to benefit dog owners. Visit for more great info at 4theLuvofDogs.com. Or if you need more information on dog health care and dog obedience training? Visit Dog Health Care
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Tags: Dog Behavior Training