That’s an interesting question, isn’t it? Especially when it comes to our dog’s behaviour. When we get that fabulous recall at the park in front of our dog friends, well, that’s obviously our great training that did that. But when we try to stop our dog from jumping up on guests, well that’s just our excitable, silly dog. He’s just too excited. That is the dog’s fault.
Most dog owners are all too happy to take the credit when their dogs do the things they like. But when they misbehave or don’t respond to cues, well, that’s a different matter. I am continually amazed at the incredible variety and creativity of the excuses people use to blame their dog when things go wrong. Why is it that dog owners are all too willing to duck responsibility and make excuses for their dog’s behaviour?
“He’s just blowing me off”
As an agility trainer, this is one of the excuses I hear most frequently from handlers who aren’t getting what they want on the course with their dogs. Ironically, in most cases the dog is responding perfectly to the handler’s body language. Unfortunately, the handler isn’t paying much attention to what their body is doing. They are relying instead on verbal cues that are obviously not trained as strongly as they thought they were. But rather than looking at the evidence in front of them, these handlers prefer to blame their dog.
“He’s just blowing me off”, they say in exasperation. The implication is that the dog heard their cue and even knew very well what it meant. They just chose to ignore it. As a student of dog behaviour, the stupidity of that statement is just staggering to me. What could a dog possibly find rewarding in irritating their owner?
It seems unlikely to me that a dog would avoid performing a trained behaviour regardless of the training method used. If the dog were trained using reinforcement, “blowing off” the handler would mean that they deliberately passed up an opportunity for a reward. Given the greed of most dogs, that seems unlikely. If the dog was trained using compulsion training, using corrections, “blowing off” the handler would mean that they have just earned themselves an unpleasant response for their disobedience. Again, not something that a dog keen on living a comfortable life would knowingly do.
“She’s just being stubborn today”
Another excuse I often hear is that the dog is being stubborn or defiant. The owners insist that the dog knows perfectly well what is being asked of them and they are refusing to do it. The argument here is that the owner is doing everything right, everything they are supposed to do and the dog is just not cooperating.
The unfortunate truth in many of these situations ends up being one of two things. It is possible that the dog has not been completely trained on the behaviour. So the dog is struggling to recall what it is they are supposed to do while the owner begins repeating the cue in a louder and louder voice and getting more agitated. This is rather like trying to order dinner from a French speaking waiter by yelling louder and louder in English. It’s not really helping but it is clear that you are getting upset. So, in addition to struggling to figure out what to do, the dog is thinking about the best way to avoid whatever unpleasant thing the owner is likely to do next.
The other more likely reason a dog isn’t responding is pretty simple. They don’t think it’s worth doing. Where would they get an idea like that? Well, from you, of course. Is this a behaviour that you trained with rewards? When was the last time you rewarded it? Many owners train and reward a behaviour until they see the dog respond correctly a few times. Then they assume the dog has “got it” and the behaviour doesn’t require any more rewards. Those who train with corrections have a similar problem. If the dog isn’t responding, what ever you do to “correct” the dog isn’t harsh enough for the dog to bother avoiding so they will just stand there and take it. Or perhaps your dog knows that you aren’t close enough to deliver that unpleasant correction effectively.
Bad to the bone
Some owners prefer to blame their dog’s bad behaviour on genetics. For some, they just got the wrong breed. For others, they must have gotten the “difficult” puppy from the litter. Some owners will even claim that their dogs are not trainable or need special techniques. I have even heard people claim that reinforcement based training won’t work on their dog because that particular kind of dog needs a “firm hand.” (By the way, reinforcement training works on sharks and bears.)
The truth of it is that genetics do play a role in the personality of any particular dog. They can define what an individual dog will find rewarding or unpleasant. But genetics should not determine whether or not a dog is trainable. If the dog is healthy, a way can be found to teach it. Dogs were, after all, bred to be companions for humans. Something they have been successful at for thousands of years.
All that finger pointing
Lots of people love the idea of having a dog. But once they bring that dog home they quickly find that they want less dog than they have. Owning a dog is easy. You can find puppies in your local paper for free. Teaching a dog is a different proposition. And that’s where things break down. Many owners think they have the skills to teach their dog only to find that what they thought they knew isn’t working at all.
That’s when the dog gets blamed. “She’s being stubborn.” “He’s blowing me off.” “She is a [insert difficult to train breed here] and won’t listen anyway.” It’s never that the owner doesn’t know enough or doesn’t have the skills or won’t invest the time or energy to train the dog. I suppose it’s a good thing for us humans that our dogs can’t argue with our version of the situation. They might have a very different view of things.
The Bottom Line
At the end of the day, if you have a dog living in your home with you, it’s your responsibility to teach that dog what they need to know. Period. Making excuses and complaining won’t train the dog for you and dropping them off at the shelter is just throwing the problem at someone else. Whatever problem you think you have with your dog, it can be fixed. But you have to take responsibility before that can happen.
Veterinary professionals are there to help you make sure that you have a healthy dog. Many behaviour problems are the result of underlying health issues. Making sure your dog is healthy should be your first step. Behaviour and dog training professionals are available in every community to help you learn about your dog and develop the skills you need to teach your dog effectively. Organizations like the Pet Professional Guild can provide recommendations for qualified professionals in your community.
But all of this is dependent on you, the dog owner, taking responsibility for the situation. You have brought a living, breathing dog into your home. You have an obligation to provide for your dog’s physical, emotional, and mental well being. That will take some combination of time, effort, and money to do properly. Blaming the dog is not an option.
I have met too many dog owners that should have just purchased a plush, stuffed dog toy for themselves. It would be less work and less fuss for them. Stuffed dogs don’t chew on furniture, they don’t misbehave, they don’t “blow you off.” Unfortunately a stuffed dog can’t give you the love and companionship that a real dog can. But those things don’t come for free. You have to live up to your responsibilities and stop blaming the dog.
Until next time, have fun with our dogs!
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Photo credits –
Waiting – Petr80 2007 From Flickr
Naughty – ejorpin 2008 From Flickr
Good Dog – L-W 2007 From Flickr
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