You Are Training Your Dog NOT To Listen The First Time

00:00 — Kati Peppe introduces a brief episode about a common mistake in dog training.

Speaker 1: Welcome to Off Leash and Unfiltered Trigger Warning. I'm Kati Peppe, delivering the Truth in Dog Training.

Speaker 2: Hey everybody, welcome back to Off Leash and Unfiltered. I'm Kati Peppe, owner of Diamond Canine Dog Training here in Southern Maine. Uh, short one for you today. This is gonna be a brief one. So I like to pepper these ones in. Um, I just wanna talk about one of the classic mistakes I see so many people making 'cause it drives me nuts. <laugh>, no, but really because I think so, so, so, so many people are not getting the results they could get by just making this one simple little tweak. So when I meet a lot of people, they're not providing the accountability that they should be with their dogs and no fault of their own.

Speaker 2: They're doing the best they can with what they have and the knowledge they have and the tools they have. Uh, but here's the thing, once you get the information, you get your hands on the truth.

Speaker 2: Finally, you get the information, you know what tools to use, you gotta execute it. So here's the mistake and people are trying, but they're, they're we're human. So we tend, we just overcomplicate things guys. You get simple instructions and by the time you're done with it, they're just, it's like you've just run 'em right through, uh, the washer and dryer, right? And you've just, you, you come out with something completely different <laugh> on the other end, right? It's like when you, you put your checkbook or something through the washer and dryer and it just does not come out looking the same.

Speaker 2: That's what happens with my instructions. <laugh>. They go in whole and they come out destroyed <laugh>. So let me take a minute and tell you what I'm talking about.

Speaker 2: So I say this all the time, right? We teach dogs what to do. We often use uh, reward, we'll use food if the dog's food motivated. We teach the dog what to do. We do tons of rehearsal, lots of practice, lots of reps. We put in the time we go to different environments, right? All this stuff, everybody should do that. At least when we're talking about like obedience stuff. Everybody should do that. But after you do that, like once your dog gets the rehearsal and they know what to do and they know what's expected, now you have to expect it, right?

Speaker 2: So I say that all the time. That's not news to most people. If you listen to me, if you follow my social media at all, you gotta have that accountability. You gotta have that standard. You have to expect it. You have to expect them to do it, whether it's payment or not.

Speaker 2: And there has to be a negative consequence that your dog cares about, frankly, that they care about very much. There has to be a negative consequence for just choosing not to do it. Okay? So that's not the news, that's not the piece I'm here to share with you. I think most people that know me, certainly most people that have used me for a trainer, uh, most people that have listened to me, they already know that piece, but they're still going wrong. Why is that? Well, this is why this is the thing I see all the time and even when I'm out in the world training, this is the thing that everybody questions me about.

03:00 — She says dogs need a negative consequence for choosing not to follow a command.

Speaker 2: 'cause they see me doing it and they go, well don't you? And it's like, no, and I'm gonna share it with you now. Okay? So that accountability has to come listen up. You ready for this? Here it comes. The first time you ask for something, that's it. <laugh>. That's it. So the accountability has to be provided the first time. So let me clarify when I say the first time you ask for something, I don't mean if the dog listens to you. I mean if they don't, right? So I, I'm gonna keep this very simple. We'll use the sit command because it's very simple.

Speaker 2: I tell the dog to sit.

Speaker 2: If they sit, we're all good, right? Good boy, good girl. Pet on the head, fantastic. If I say sit and the dog does not sit right and they've been through the training, they know what it is. They know how to do it. There's a negative consequence. No, I don't give them another chance. What is it with people wanting to give their dog another chance? It drives me nuts. You gotta stop doing that. So I want you to remove all of your human emotions and guilt and I would call it logic, but it's not logical at all.

Speaker 2: All of these things about what you think is fair, all these things that have more to do with you being nice than being effective. You gotta get rid of that stuff and just think about it from a logical perspective. Okay? So I can teach your dog to listen to you the second time if you'd prefer, right? Because that's what people are doing. Or the third or the fourth hell I can teach your dog to listen the seventh time, right? We'll teach your dog to count. And that's what people are doing. They are training their dog to listen to them.

Speaker 2: The second or third time that they ask them to do something

Speaker 2: Because they do not provide accountability the first time that the dog ignores the command, right? So this isn't about being a bully guys, it's not about being mean, it's not about being militant, it's about making it clear to the dog. So you are lit. Like there's no other way to see this. You are literally teaching your dog not to listen to the first command, right? If you're not gonna correct your dog for ignoring that first command, then you might as well throw a little party for them. You might as well feed 'em and pet 'em on the head.

06:00 — Kati clarifies that accountability is about making expectations clear, not bullying or being mean.

Speaker 2: 'cause you are perpetuating that. You are encouraging it, you're allowing it to continue, right? And it might not be a big deal. I'm not saying your dog should be a robot. They should always listen a hundred percent of the time. The first time you say something. That would be nice, but it's not what I'm saying. I'm just saying you are sending that mixed message. You are telling your dog, when I make a command the first time, it carries no weight, there is no consequence. So you have to explain to me how that's gonna get your dog to listen the first time you ask for something.

Speaker 2: And I'll bet you you can't <laugh>. I'll bet you you can't, right? But that's our tendency. And everywhere I go when I'm working the dogs, you know, if someone stops to talk to me, they will ask like, well don't you give them another chance? Why would I do that? Why would I say, oh, it's okay. That was just the first time I asked. That one doesn't count. No. So it's literally up to you. Your dog will learn whatever pattern you present them with. I promise you they're the masters at figuring out what your pattern is.

Speaker 2: And so if the pattern is the first command is meaningless, the second command carries weight, then they will listen the second time doesn't mean they'll never listen to the first time. They probably will, especially if you have food, right? But you are providing that pattern that results in that training and, and that's what you get. You get a dog that listens to whichever repetition is going to carry the consequence and carry the weight and carry the accountability. So you gotta teach your dog whatever it's you want them to do. If you want them to listen the second time, the third time, fantastic good for you do that.

Speaker 2: But here we try to train dogs to listen the first time. So we, we come in right away with that accountability. Now that doesn't mean that I just light 'em up like the 4th of July. Immediately, like I said, we go through tons of training, tons of reps. We go to different environments. We use food, we use leash, we give guidance, we do all this stuff. We teach 'em the e-collar, we do the reps with the stimulation. We teach 'em what it means. It's all low levels. And then we start to turn it up a little bit and we say, well if I say sit and you don't do it, it's gonna start getting a little uncomfortable now because I need you to sit the first time I ask you to sit right?

Speaker 2: And you don't usually have to do that very much. 'cause dogs are smart, they learn fast and they go, oh, I guess I gotta sit the first time. Super easy, super effective, super efficient. Okay? But that's it guys. Like, especially if you're already doing like eco stuff with your dog and you're already like on that train, you're on the right track. Like you, you've taught your dog all these cool things and now your only problem is like that. You have to repeat yourself all the time.

09:00 — She says dogs will keep ignoring the first command when ignoring it has no…

Speaker 2: That's probably why. There are other reasons. There are other things that can go wrong. But most of the time, and almost all of my clients do this at first and I have to teach them, well that's because there's no accountability with your first request. And they all get it right away too. After I say it, they're like, oh yeah, it makes a lot of sense, right? But so do that. If your dog knows something already and you know they know it and you've done the reps, expect it, okay? Provide the accountability the first time. Don't give 'em that free pass.

Speaker 2: So if you repeat yourself and there's no accountability for ignoring that first one, then they're just gonna keep ignoring the first one because why wouldn't they? Doesn't that make total sense? Makes total sense when you think about the stuff, doesn't it guys? <laugh>. Alright, that's it for this one. Thank you guys for listening. Send me your questions. Kati, Kati at Diamond Canine dot com. That's C-A-N-I-N-E. Um, I look forward to hearing from you guys and seeing what you want to talk about. Uh, happy practicing in the meantime. And until next time.