Why Can’t My Dog Learn a Behavior?

At Sit Means Sit in Madison, we often deal with dogs that have been deemed unable to learn certain behaviors. Indeed, owners bring their dogs to us because of this. In many of our conversations, we have heard owners wonder if their dogs are stubborn, stupid, dominant, or a combination of the three. And when owners get frustrated, these three options become very prevalent in their minds.

The truth is, dogs are a lot like people. Just like us, they pick some things up very quickly … and not others. We all have things we didn’t get right away, and we probably have things we still don’t get. The main issues that have dogs seeming untrainable are these:

• The behavior/task is not being communicated in a way the dog understands.
• The dog receives no indication of whether he is doing the task correctly or not, so he has no idea what he is doing.
• The dog physically cannot perform a certain behavior (for example – a dog with hip problems is going to find positions like “sit” uncomfortable).
• The environment is distracting to your dog.

At Sit Means Sit, we spend a lot of time putting ourselves in your dog’s place. We study the work of people who have successfully done the same. It is very important to us that we reach your dog where he is first, and that is why we have so much success.

Our dog trainers are here to help your dog understand what he needs to do. If you are having troubles, bring your dog in for a free consultation, and we will figure out what needs to be done. Call now!

Looking for info on dog training services in Madison? Learn more about our services here.