If you have a stubborn dog, then your work is cut out for you in terms of training it. When a dog refuses to drop their bad habits, pet owners can feel exhausted, frustrated, and defeated. If you find it challenging to train your pup, don’t give up just yet. Even the most difficult dog can be trained. You may just need to tweak your tactics a bit. And you don’t even need to pay a lot of money to dog trainers. Even with a decent program like Brain Training for Dogs, you can handle the most stubborn dogs.
When a puppy doesn’t follow commands or listen, it is not that the dog is untrainable or hardheaded. You need to understand those normal dog behaviors are far from human standards. Sometimes, it can take time and a great deal of patience to change this behavior. Here are 6 of the best strategies to train stubborn dogs.
Reassess Your Expectations
Unrealistic expectations are one of the reasons dog owners find it hard to train some pets. In the hunt for a dog that can do more, pet parents can sometimes be carried away and expect too much too soon.
Being our friends, we tend to expect them to get teaching and respond faster. But you need to understand that these are dogs and so their behavior and actions should align with what they are. This means you should not expect your pup to recognize the “sit” command instantly. They will need time to even recognize their own names. Equally, you shouldn’t be angry if it is frustrated while trying to learn.
If he isn’t getting it, you take stop to think and try to see if you are rushing things. For most dogs, a lot of repetition will be required before they can really click. You should be ready to repeat the process up to 100 times before you succeed.
Consistency is Vital
Without knowing and meaning it, you and your other family members may be using different ways to ask your dog to learn the same behavior. This may cause your dog to appear stubborn but in truth, he is just confused. It’s important that everyone who gets time with the dog to employ the same set of commands or cues and reward the dog consistently when it gets it. This will encourage your dog to do what you ask it to.
For instance, if you want to teach it to sit down when greeting people, ensure your kids or other family members don’t allow it to jump up to them when they enter the house.
Remove Distractions
Sometimes, young dogs can be excited and distracted to the point of annoying you. Puppies are like toddlers. To them, everything is new, exciting, and fresh. They are constantly sniffing/playing with or chewing. Provided doing so doesn’t harm them in any way, you should encourage them to explore. It’s part of their learning.
But the problem with this distraction is its capability to take your dog’s focus away from training. Instead of concentrating on your command of “sit”, it is eating a stick, fetching a towel, chasing a cat, or barking at the clouds. This is too much distraction and it greatly hampers training.
If you realize that your dog is unable to focus for a long enough period to listen, it could be that it is distracted as opposed to being stubborn. You may want to rearrange a single room in the home where there is no distraction, and then give it another go.
There are times in the training of every dog when they can actually benefit from a low-level distraction. Usually, this comes after he has learned the basics. You aim at taking its calmness and ability to remain focused on new levels. During the early times of training, distractions should be kept at a bare minimum. Introduce them slowly by slowly after the confidence of your dog grows.
Avoid Punishing it
Punishment not only increases anxiety in dogs but also undermines its trust in you. The long term effects of punishment are that it can make your dog aggressive. Instead, professional dog trainers recommend opting for rewards-based methods. These focus on giving your dog the things it desires such as treats, playing with it, or petting it every time he responds desirably to a command. Instead of punishing or yelling at your dog, point him in the direction of the more acceptable behavior. Give him a reward when he gets it right.
One of the best books that emphasize positive reinforcement is Adrienne Faricelli’s Brain Training for Dogs. The author has successfully used these methods to train her dogs and will be sharing with you just how to implement the strategies.
Give the Right Rewards
Make training relevant by ensuring that desired behaviors are highly rewarded. If you give it rewards infrequently or provide things that aren’t of value, he will not respond the way you want. Your dog’s response can be increased by rewarding the dog more often and giving it more valuable rewards. His behavior will also dramatically improve.
Different dogs have their own taste when it comes to rewards. Try to find out the most favorite things for your dog and give him that in exchange for good behavior. Some ideas for rewards could special treats, playing with their best toys, and petting among other things.
Get Help
If you have tried all this and your dog still shows signs of excessive fear or aggressive behavior, you may want to seek help from an expert. Your veterinarian should be your first port of call. Another suggestion is to invest in good PDF-based guides that teach you how to train a stubborn dog. One particular guide that stands out from the crowd is Brain Training for Dogs. Written by an expert trainer, this book is dirt cheap and just as effective, if not better.
Conclusion
If you happen to have an aggressive and excitable dog breed like the Golden Retriever, it can be quite frustrating to train her. But with patience and a change of tack, nothing is impossible. The above tips will help you to handle even the most stubborn dogs. But as stated earlier, if you have tried everything but your puppy is still arrogant, seeking expert help isn’t a bad idea after all.
