“Why won’t my dog listen?”
This is a big question that we get a lot from frustrated dog owners. “Why won’t my dog…
- Come when I call?
- Stop jumping on visitors?
- Listen when it sees a squirrel?
There are two main things happening here that we see pretty consistently across the board.
First: whatever your dog is doing is much more rewarding that what you want it to do. Think about it. If the choices were to either chase a squirrel all over the yard, or sit quietly and do nothing, of course your dog is going to have more fun blowing you off to chase the squirrel.
Second: you’re not being consistent in what you ask your dog to do. We get it -you’re busy, tired, and have a lot on your plate. Sometimes you’re going to let things slip and not follow through when you ask your dog to do something. We’ve all been there. But your dog is incredibly smart and picks up on those little moments. She begins to notice that you will let her behaviors slide sometimes. And once she figures that out, it’s game over because she’s going to keep testing your limits to see when she can find another moment to take advantage of.
So what can you do? Start by figuring out what motivates your dog -treats, toys, affection. And then work on being incredibly consistent when you ask your dog to do something.
Need help? We’re here for you! We know it’s not easy to fix old behaviors, so let us show you how we can make little changes with big results.