The Most Difficult Dog to Train

Being a professional dog trainer in Austin for the past few years, I cannot count the number of times we have been asked, “What is the hardest dog to train?”  Now I’m guessing the person asking the question is expecting us to name a breed of dog that is typically difficult to train, but my answer to that question is certainly not restricted to one particular breed.  Sure, certain breeds have traits that may universally carry over and can be generalized to all dogs of that breed but that’s not enough to accurately answer the question.

My answer to the question is as follows:  The most difficult dogs to train are the ones that have never been told to do anything, ever.  Let me expand on that…

These are the dogs that have no boundaries in the home and are given free range over the furniture, the food, the toys, and the affection.  These are the dogs that have never been challenged mentally by any form of instruction, education, or self-control.  These are the dogs that have never seen a consequence to their actions that is meaningful enough to change the occurrence of further events reoccurring again and again.

These are the dogs that have never been made to do anything that wasn’t on their terms.  These are the dogs that have never been taken out of the home and socialized to new places, dogs, people, and other sights, sounds and smells.  These are the dogs that are allowed to fence fight, window bark, and carry on like lunatics at the end of the retractable leash.

Yes, the above listed behavior issues and circumstances can be improved, redirected, and in some cases eliminated.  However, these dogs have spent a tremendous amount of time calling the shots and doing exactly what they want, when they want, and how they want things to be done, often times for years.

Now enter a training program and all of the accountability, structure, boundaries, mental stimulation, leadership, and self-control that comes with it.  Why in the world would these dogs all of a sudden surrender their freedom and lack of rules and accountability that have been imposed in the blink of an eye?  Why would these dogs give in and easily accept this new way of life from their owner who, most likely, has zero respect from their dog and the dog could not give two s#!ts about their owner?

Working with dogs like these involves teaching them to think, it involves exposing them to structure and accountability, and and involves teaching that that escaping the situation no longer works.  Working with these dogs involves a lot of protest from the dogs, a lot of exploring their options to figure out how to get out of doing something and a tremendous amount of stress on the dogs.

These are the reasons why these dogs are the most difficult ones to train.  Not only is the training process about educating the dog, changing their state of mind, and establishing a new routines and expectations of behavior, but a successful training process for these dogs involve a complete life-style change for the dog and owner.  Effectively creating a life-style change for an owner can be extremely difficult to accomplish because the process will directly challenge some of the owners values, routines, beliefs, and interactions with their dog that originally contributed to the overall issues in the dog and relationship.

I don’t want to give the impression that there is no hope, because there is hope, I absolutely believe that.  It is often a long and bumpy road but these are the dogs that need training the most.

So what if parts or all of this article is loosely describing your dog, where do you begin?  My first and most valuable piece of advice would be to find a qualified dog trainer in your area that you feel can help you, your family and your dog.

Also try these 7 Steps for Improving Your Relationship with Your Dog, make sure you are avoiding these 5 Steps to Ruining a Dog, and make sure you are not living in a state of denial about the problem.

If you enjoyed this entry, don’t forget to subscribe to our dog training blog. You will be automatically notified as soon a new entry is made. Also be sure to check out our Facebook Fan Page and follow us on Twitter.