I hear it all the time: “Why won’t my dog listen to me? They listen to you!”
While it may seem like being a professional dog trainer and the owner of Impawsible Pups gives me some kind of magic wand or pixie dust, the answer is usually pretty simple: Your dog doesn’t listen to you because they know they don’t have to!
Why Does My Dog Listen to the Trainer but Not Me?
The relationship I set up with the dogs I work with is easily summed up in one sentence: I set the house rules, and I enforce them.
Too often, however, when it comes time for owners to enforce said rules, we look into those big brown eyes and see a sweet, helpless creature rather than the hunter and natural predator (whose closest relative is the wolf) that our dogs actually are.
Let me put it another way.
I have a pretty solid rule that my daughter should behave in public. For example, no screaming, no hitting, no throwing things off shelves. So, when she was a toddler and starting to test boundaries, it was my job to teach her. Some days this meant dragging her out of a store. Sometimes it meant making her clean up an object she had thrown. Every time, it meant she had to make amends for her actions. She had to apologize to the people around her.
Yet, when our dogs misbehave, more often than not, we make excuses for them.
Barks at the mailman? “She doesn’t like men in uniform.”
Lunges at another dog? “He’s scared of other dogs.”
Pulls on the leash? “Oh, they just LOVE to explore.”
For some reason, we don’t expect as much from our dogs as we do from ourselves.
Why Dog Training May Not Stick at Home
The problem then is that when we send them for training, they might learn the commands, and they might work beautifully for the trainer, but they already know the rules at your house, and they know they don’t have to follow them.
I can teach a dog all day long, but it’s important to remember that your dog is not a computer, and I can’t reprogram them. Dogs are living, autonomous creatures with their own wants and needs.
My role as a professional dog trainer is to make sure their basic needs are met while also providing structure and guidance. When I send them back home to you after a training session, I do so with guidelines to help reestablish and restructure your relationship with your dog.
How to Reinforce Your Dog’s Training at Home
These rules are relatively simple:
- Feed them on a schedule and make them sit before receiving food. Human translation: Sit at the dinner table.
- Sit and wait before going outside. Human translation: Don’t run outside and potentially into traffic (particularly for younger humans).
- Don’t let them onto furniture, beds, or an equal position to you. Human translation: Don’t walk on the couch or sit in Dad’s chair.
- Exercise your dog. Human translation: Exercise.
Does Your Dog’s Training Have to Be Perfect?
Is perfection expected? Of course not.
One thing to keep in mind is that your pup’s trainer has had a lot of practice building these routines into everyday life. With nearly 20 years of experience in the dog field, reading body language and responding in the moment have become second nature to me.
At home, you may be introducing these same expectations into your routine for the first time, and that takes practice, too. The goal isn’t to get everything perfect right away. It’s to stay consistent, keep working at it, and give both you and your dog time to adjust.
Get the Dog Training Support You Need With Impawsible Pups
Training doesn’t stop the moment your dog comes home, and you don’t have to figure out every challenge on your own. We’ve spent weeks (sometimes months) building a relationship with your dog, learning their quirks, and understanding what works for them.
If something isn’t clicking at home, reach out. We’re here to help you work through it, reinforce what your dog has learned, and keep moving forward together. Visit our website to learn more about our dog training services in Richmond, Virginia, and schedule a free consultation with our team.
