My Dog is 'Stubborn,' Sound Familiar?

Your dog may be:

1) Unmotivated. 

We can do something about this! Food is the most obvious reinforcer, but depending on what motivates your dog, sniffing/exploration, praise and/or toys can also be used as a primary reinforcer. 

2) In pain.

Pain is often overlooked as it is not always obvious. If your dog's behaviour has suddenly changed, it is good to rule out pain before beginning training with a check-over from a vet.

3) Fearful/anxious.

Previous learning history can be impactful. A dog who has had a bad experience slipping on a pavement, for example, may refuse to walk on one. A dog who is nervous around other dogs, may refuse to move but instead stop and fixate on the trigger. In fearful situations, dogs can enter into a subconscious state often known as the fight, flight, freeze or fawn response. Training is often ineffective during this state as the dog is not thinking conciously. If you notice these behaviours in your dog, I recommend you work with a behaviourist to reduce your dogs stress levels and put appropriate training and management in place.

4) Overwhelmed by the environment. 

Dogs do not have the capacity to generalise behavior in the same way we do. If your dog responds to a sit cue in the house, but seems to ignore you outside, it could be that you have not proofed this behavior. Proofing refers to perfecting the behaviour in both familiar and distracting environments. For example you could start by teaching your dog 'sit' in the house, then try this behaviour outside without many distractions, and finally working up to more distracting enviroments.

5) Not understanding what you have asked.

Consider if you have been asking too much too soon. Often we teach a dog a new behavior and stop training way before they have had a chance to process and refine their new skill. It is good to stand back and recognise how we can communicate better: maybe we've repeated the cue too many times without a clear reward; or we haven't broken this behavior down into simple steps that our dogs can understand.

There are many more reasons why dogs are not 'stubborn'. But this is a good starting place. I encourage you to always take a moment to reflect on what might be causing your dog to behave in a 'stubborn' manner.