It is not uncommon for dog owners to experience frustration from their dog’s selective hearing, or rather, their dog’s tendency to obey your commands only when there is nothing better to do. Although it is certainly very annoying at times, it can be very simple and even fun to resolve!
Often the reason dogs develop selective hearing in the first place, is that at times we give commands to our dogs without really meaning them to do what we ask. For example, I might be in the yard and tell my dog, Pixie, ‘come’, when I’m about to go somewhere. Sometimes she follows me, sometimes she doesn’t and that’s fine with me at that moment. But when she is about to run away to bark at another dog and I say ‘come’, I really mean it and I want her to react NOW!
While I think it is great that we talk to our dogs, the result is that our dogs learn that we don’t mind if they don’t listen to us all the time, hence their selective hearing. But maybe you’re like me and at times you like to give your dog the freedom of choice. How can you train them to know the difference between you just talking, and you giving them a command that could stop them from crossing a busy road?
Step 1
You need to give your dog a nickname (if they don’t already have one). You will use this nickname before every command that is a ‘you choose’ command or optional command. My dog’s name is Pixie. I tend to shorten that to ‘Pix’ when I’m just talking to her and don’t particularly want her to do something.
Step 2
Assuming you have a few commands/cues in place that your dog obeys when there are no distractions, when you ask her to do one of them, decide whether you really want her to, or not. If you do, put her full name before the cue: ‘Pixie, come’. Praise her and give her a treat when she obeys. If you’re just talking to your dog because your dog likes it, only use her nickname before cues: ‘Pix, come’. Say this in a more casual voice and don’t wait for her to obey. Just do whatever you were on your way to do.
Step 3
As you can see your dog starting to understand that she must respond to full-name commands but only if she feels like it to nickname commands, start increasing distractions slowly so that she is used to doing what you ask anywhere and at any time. As is the rule with most dog training, start in the easiest situation for your dog and increase in baby steps to training around bigger and bigger distractions.
If you take her for a walk, maybe casually say ‘Pix, come’ as you start walking and after a few metres do a full turn and walk the other way saying, ‘Pixie come’. Because she was expecting to walk straight along, she might be surprised and stop dead and not want to follow you. But you said her full name which means ‘you must listen’. So, don’t give in to any stubbornness on your dog’s part. If you once let her have her own way when you’ve used her full-name command, you’re going to quickly be back where you started. Look at your dog when you want her to listen and be excited in your tone of voice. If you engage her, she’s more likely to engage with you. Once she’s walking with you again, praise her and give her a treat.
Apply these easy steps to every single instruction you give your dog from now on. Make sure that you don’t give up when you’ve asked for a behaviour that is not open to choice. It’s only fair to your dog to teach them exactly what you want and when you want it. No more confusion! They will pretty soon love listening out for what you’re going to say next!