Dog Training Mistakes That Make Your Pet Seem Stubborn

Few things frustrate dog owners more during training than feeling like their dog is deliberately ignoring them.

You might wonder if your dog’s lack of focus is due to their age, breed, or just plain stubbornness. When it feels like your dog is turning ignoring you into a game, their lack of focus is actually proof that what you think your dog knows versus what your dog truly understands might not be the same thing.

Dogs pick up on cues and routines sometimes without us realizing it. If you ask your dog to “sit” and “stay” before placing the food bowl down each morning, you might think your dog understands a basic stay. Try giving the same request when you’re out on a walk and stop to talk to a neighbor. Does your dog still understand the stay?

Why Dogs Seem Stubborn

Sometimes dogs learn to only respond as part of a routine without the person realizing it. The verbal cues you give at feeding time might sound the same in human language, but for the dog, things have changed enough that the behavior no longer makes sense in the new context with distractions. It’s easy to get frustrated and assume the dog doesn’t want to listen. If instead you look at how to train for reliable responses, you’ll get results that you can be proud of.

Training your dog to listen, no matter what, makes daily communication much easier. It’s important for dogs who go out into the community to listen despite distractions. Can you take your dog out with confidence that they won’t jump all over people, drag you to see other dogs, or act unruly?

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Testing Your Dog’s Understanding

Dogs can appear stubborn for a number of reasons. Most frequently, it’s a miscommunication between the dog and the person causing the problem. You think your dog knows the word “sit,” but your dog is only watching for you to hold a treat up, so the dog looks up and lands in the sit.

To strengthen your dog’s training, you should put your dog's cues to the test. Find out if your dog truly knows what it means when you say “sit,” “down,” “stay,” or “come,” by giving verbal cues with your hands in different positions and from various distances from your dog. If the dog succeeds, it's time to train for distractions.

Training Around Distractions

If you’ve never taught your dog to listen despite distractions, it’s not in your dog’s skill set. Before you head out the door to find distractions to train your dog around, try introducing them while working on micro-skills first.

Instead of expecting dogs to sit and stay in the middle of a pet-friendly store, owners can start small. One example is teaching dogs to catch a treat after saying “catch.” This skill provides an easy way to test a dog's ability to focus and engage. If the dog can’t focus, offer eye contact and catch a treat around distractions (when they can at home), then the dog isn’t ready for more demanding skills, such as stay, in the same situation. This indicates a need for more practice.

Using Games to Improve Focus

Training games can make a big difference and shouldn’t take up much time. Training often requires a simple change in perspective rather than more homework. When you’re working with your dog, thinking about how clearly you’re communicating and how your dog is responding is important. If your dog is struggling, try an easier exercise to gauge focus, and then break up whatever you’re working on into smaller steps.

The Owner’s Role in Dog Training

Your own level of focus during training matters, too. This is especially important when training your dog on something new, but being out with your dog also requires awareness. If you’re distracted, your dog will be distracted. When training your dog on something new, make sure you can focus on what you’re teaching to help your dog succeed. For everyday outings, you don't have to be in training mode, but you should always know what’s going on with your pet on the other end of the leash; by reading your dog’s body language, having spatial awareness around other dogs and people, and in general, being a responsible dog owner.

The next time you feel like your dog is being stubborn, remember that you can adjust the way you’re interacting with your dog in the moment to find your focus together. It’s especially important to be patient with new rescue dogs. They aren’t ignoring you on purpose, but they need guidance and a reason to train with you. Playing training games instead of just giving commands, bringing your own focus to training time, and getting to know what your dog needs will make all the difference.

Melissa "MJ" Viera is the owner of MJ's Pet Training Academy in Acushnet.