So man’s best friend is ignoring you again. I can understand why it can be so frustrating when they don’t listen. Many dog owners are puzzled and frustrated when their dog won’t respond to their commands or refuses to listen. The fact is, there is no magical formula that will get your dog to obey you, but you’ll find that with some work and some careful consideration of both the situation and what you are doing about it, it is a problem that can be solved.
You need to think about what you are asking your dog to do. Most often it is when dog owners are asking their dogs to “come” or “heel” that their dog will decide to ignore them. Consider this when you are out with your dog.
How are you acting, and what emotions are you showing for your dog to pick up on? If you are angry or displeased, there is no reason that your dog will want to come near you, so remember that you should never call your dog to you for a reprimand.
To the dog’s mind, he is being being rewarded for coming with a scolding, and this will make him less inclined to come than ever. When you are calling your dog, make sure that you are speaking in an inviting way. For instance, when you call him, start bending down and opening up your arms, implying that you will praise him when he comes back to you.
What will you do when your dog ignores you? Will you go after them, upset with them them and tell them off? This will usually confuse your dog and will certainly cause undue stress because he will not be sure of what you ask of them.
He might even decide that the command to come is something that only brings him scoldings and displeasure. While in the end you might be able to train him in this method, you’ll find that this can give him some serious problems in the long run with fear and stress.
You must be consistent. Dog owners regularly use one or two words per command. The “Come” and “Here Boy” command may seem one and the same to us, but for the dog it can be confusing as they will try to latch onto one word in their memory. Remember this when training your dog.
Always use the same word and remember to use a friendly tone when using it. For many dog owners, if a dog doesn’t respond to a command first time, it can lead to frustration and will ultimately lead to the situation described above, so ensure that your dog wants to listen to you.
In some cases, the dog ignoring is something of a dominance issue; this is particularly common with very smart or stubborn breeds. Remember that for some breeds that constant training is required throughout their lives, so you may try to do some more obedience training.
This will ensure your dominance and will also remind your dog of the commands that you have taught them. It can be very dangerous to keep an ignorant dog so be sure that this type of behaviour is stamped out.
