As a puppy parent, it can be extremely frustrating to spend your time and energy training your puppy, only to feel as though your puppy does not even hear you giving a command. One minute, you might think your puppy is responding exactly how you want; the next, your puppy acts as though it forgot all of the commands you have taught it up to this point.
Many dog owners believe that their puppy keeps running away from them every time they call it because it is being stubborn or simply doesn’t want to follow the owner’s commands; however, this is not the case. Almost all puppies do not purposely avoid responding to a command; they are most likely simply developing their own pace.
For this reason, it is important to take the time to learn the reason your puppy is not responding to your training commands. By learning the reason your puppy is not answering your commands, you can change your training style to suit what your puppy is capable of and provide your puppy with an environment in which to learn effectively. By having the patience and time to develop a good training relationship with your puppy, you can expect all puppies to one day become the great companions they are meant to be and respond positively to the commands of their owner.
Why Puppies Ignore Commands
Before you try to fix the problem of your puppy not responding to your commands, you must understand that puppies are still physically, mentally, and emotionally developing. Puppies have very short attention spans and limited impulse control; thus, they spend all their time learning about the world around them.
Therefore, what may appear as disobedience is actually part of a natural process of puppy growth. Often, a puppy will ignore a command because of confusion, distraction, fatigue, overstimulation, and/or lack of training for that environment at that moment. Understanding the reason your puppy is ignoring the command is the first step in correcting the behavior.
Make Sure Your Puppy Knows What the Command Means
One of the most common reasons why puppies ignore commands is that the puppy does not know what the command means. A puppy may know a command by demonstrating it correctly at home; however, it does not mean that the puppy can generalize this command to other places or situations.
An example of this is a puppy that accurately sits in a quiet living room but does not accurately respond to the command in a park with many distractions, including people, dogs, smells, and noises. Just because the puppy has learned the command to sit does not mean it can automatically generalize this behavior and command in other settings.
If your puppy seems to be ignoring your command, take your puppy back to the living room or a similar calm environment where there are not many distractions and work on this behavior again. Once your puppy has mastered this command without distractions, slowly introduce distractions that will not overwhelm or disrupt your puppy’s success.
Eliminate Distractions from the Environment During Training
Puppies find the world to be an exciting place, full of things like birds, leaves, people, other dogs, and smells that may be new to them.
Puppies will have training difficulties when owners expect them to concentrate and perform commands in environments that have too many distractions for the puppy’s current experience level.
The ideal location to begin training a puppy is in a location with minimal distractions. After a puppy performs commands in this type of environment, progressively introduce the distractions your puppy would commonly encounter. Moving ahead too quickly in this type of training can cause frustration for both the puppy and the pet owner. Young puppies are easily distracted from learning; therefore, training sessions need to be kept short (5 – 15 minutes) so that they can remain focused and interested in what they are being taught.
Puppies can become bored or overwhelmed after only a couple of minutes. This will result in less responsiveness to commands. Therefore, training sessions should be kept short to maintain the puppy’s engagement and reduce the risk of mental fatigue.
Ending training sessions with the puppy still engaged helps to establish a positive association with learning in the future and will increase enthusiasm to participate in training sessions.
Positive Reinforcement and Timing
Positive reinforcement is one of the most effective training methods. Puppies will repeat behaviors that result in something rewarding.
When your puppy demonstrates the correct response, reward them immediately with a verbal praise or reward (i.e., toy, play, food). Rewarding the behavior immediately reinforces and encourages repetition.
Consistency is key in the training process. If a puppy receives reinforcement for a particular behavior on one occasion and not on another, it will slow or eliminate their learning and cause variability in the response.
The closer and clearer a connection between the behavior and the reward, the more readily a puppy will understand the expectation of their owner.
The timing of rewards and praise is crucial during training. Rewarding immediately after the behavior has been completed is essential. If a reward is delayed, the puppy may not recognise which behaviour was the basis for earning the reward. In case you are teaching your puppy to sit on command, the best way to give them that command is by providing them with immediate and accurate feedback as soon as possible. If you were to give your puppy the command to sit and praise them 5+ seconds after they stood up again, they may begin associating standing with the reward instead of sitting.
Immediate and accurate feedback makes it easier for puppies to learn.
Don’t Repeat Commands
Many dog owners frequently repeat commands to their dogs and, as a result, end up unintentionally teaching their dog to ignore those commands. When a command is said multiple times, the dog may think the command is not important enough to respond to right away; therefore, they will wait until they hear the command multiple times before doing anything.
Instead of repeating “Sit, sit, sit, sit,” try saying the command in a single calm and clear voice and then allowing your puppy a moment to process the command. If your puppy does not respond after a reasonable amount of time, gently guide them back to the position of success rather than repeating the command many times over.
Make Training More Fun
Another reason dogs stop listening to their owners during training is that they have become bored with the repetitive nature of the exercises. For many dogs, doing the same exercise every day is no longer fun, and they tend to lose interest in it.
You can make your dog’s training sessions far more enjoyable and help maintain your dog’s level of enthusiasm by changing things up, introducing new games, switching up where you conduct training sessions, using toys as a distraction, and celebrating successes.
The more positive your training experience becomes for your puppy, the more likely they are to willingly participate in the training process.
Check on Your Puppy’s Physical Needs
While training, if your puppy is tired, hungry, thirsty, uncomfortable, or overstimulated, it will be difficult for them to stay focused on the training session. Therefore, before starting a training session, you should check to see if all of your puppy’s basic needs have been met prior to this session. Insufficient exercise can manifest as hyperactivity in a puppy, which may hinder him/her from concentrating on commands given by his/her trainer. Conversely, if a puppy exercises excessively, he/she may be too exhausted to concentrate on learning new commands.
The key to improving a puppy’s learning ability is to find a good compromise between enough exercise and enough rest.
Adolescent Development and Training Regression
Puppy development has many ups and downs, and some trainers experience difficulties while their puppies are going through a stage of adolescence, which typically happens within the period of 6 months to 18 months, depending on breed and the individual dog’s development.
At the stage of adolescence, puppies may have a tendency to forget things they learned in previous months of their development. Therefore, commands that were once mastered or were once reliable may not be executed correctly, if at all.
The age of adolescence is a normal part of dog development, not a failure of training.
During this time, dogs will experience rapid growth, hormonal changes, independence, and curiosity, all of which heavily influence their behavior.
Consistency when training and realistic expectations are vital for puppies during their stage of adolescence.
Avoid Punishment-Based Training
It’s easy to react emotionally and try to punish a puppy that refuses to listen. However, it does not help the puppy learn effectively because harsh correction methods cause more harm than good.
Using yelling, intimidation, or physical punishment can cause harm to the trust relationship between you and your puppy, resulting in increased anxiety for the puppy. An anxious puppy may either withdraw from the training process or make a negative association with training.
Instead of focusing on what a puppy did wrong or poorly, emphasise the creation of opportunities for the puppy to succeed.
The positive reinforcement of a behaviour gives the puppy a better chance of retaining the learned behaviour over time than that of punishing or reprimanding the puppy for not acting correctly. Building Relationships
Building Relationships
The easiest way to develop your puppies’ listening skills is through building a solid relationship with them. Dogs are more likely to listen to their owners if they trust and enjoy them as companions. Interactions outside of formal training sessions can greatly improve listening.
Bonding activities such as playing, walking, grooming, exploring, and sharing quiet time help build the relationship your puppy has with you. As the bond grows, the chances that your puppy will look for direction from you, as well as respond to your cues, increase.
Practice in a Variety of Environments
Your puppy may be responsive and obedient in your home environment, but may struggle when taken to new and unfamiliar locations. Therefore, training should ultimately take place in many different locations so that your puppy learns how to respond regardless of their environment. Start with low-distraction environments and gradually increase the level of difficulty. Training your puppy in parks, on quiet streets, and in pet-friendly stores helps your puppy generalize their training and build confidence, so your puppy knows that your commands are applicable to all environments and not just to one familiar location.
Establish Realistic Expectations
One of the main reasons for frustrations while training a puppy is a lack of realistic expectations. Puppies are developing and learning, and mistakes are expected to occur as part of their development.
Most young puppies will not obey on cue perfectly, and placing these expectations on them creates disappointment and unnecessary stress on both the puppy and the owner. Training is a cumulative process that takes repetition and patience; therefore, puppies typically progress at a slower rate than they would in the future.
Knowing When to Seek Professional Help
Although many listening problems can be resolved through consistent training, sometimes professional assistance may be helpful. If your puppy experiences persistent behavioral problems, has extreme fear, aggression, or anxiety, or has not focused or responded after several weeks of training, then consulting with a qualified trainer or veterinary behavior specialist may be the best option. A trainer or veterinary behavior professional can help identify any underlying issues as well as provide effective, customized training strategies that will help you properly train your puppy.
Conclusion
In most cases where a puppy refuses to listen during training sessions, the puppy is not being disobedient or stubborn; instead, the puppy may simply be distracted, confused, overstimulated, not trained sufficiently, or going through normal stages of development. By being aware of these possibilities, trainers can take a realistic approach to training and develop their puppies effectively.
The success of all training programs is built on clear and consistent communication, along with positive reinforcement between the owner and their puppy. Trainers can create an effective training experience by eliminating distractions, keeping their training sessions short and enjoyable, and practicing frequently. By using positive reinforcement, persistence, and encouragement, even the puppies that seem less likely to listen will eventually be transformed into confident, attentive, and well-behaved companions.