I'm sure we've all done it, tried it, and seen it before. We buy a dog. We bring the dog home. We invite the dog into the family. Then, we try and train the dog. What usually follows would actually be funny if we weren't living it ourselves. The dog barks, digs, bites, howls...does just about everything we don't want it to do. And more often than not, the problem can be traced to one thing you probably did from the minute you brought your new puppy home.
The biggest mistake dog owners make when training their dogs, and at any other time, is to treat them as though they are human and not a dog at all. That's it. And you know exactly what I'm talking about. Talking to them when they're a puppy like you would a human baby. Having conversations with them with the bizarre notion that they understand what you're saying. We've all done it. Now's the time to undo it.
Let's think about it logically for a moment. Dogs are descended from wolves. Wolves live in the wild, in a pack, with their own wolf language, rules, and hierarchy. The reason your dog doesn't respond to your training is because you aren't treating him or her like a dog. You are messing with thousands of years of evolution and probably confusing the heck out of poor Rover.
Here are a few things to try:
1) Ignore when you get home - When you come home and address your dog right away, all you are telling them is that you are not in charge. You are not the alpha dog. In the wild, the alpha dog basically ignores the rest of the pack when they reunite after being separated. Ignore the dog until they have stopped their routine for a few minutes and are calm, then call them over. You'll notice a big difference.
2) Don't leave out food - When a wolf or wild dog make a kill and are finished eating, they walk away from it and leave it. They don't have food laid out for them all the time. For the next while, put your dog's food dish down and when they stop and walk away, take it away. Then put it back the next day and do the same. He who is in charge of giving out the food is in charge of the whole pack.
3) Ignore 'Everytime' you part - In a dog's world, everytime you are separated is a time the top dog position is up for grabs. If you leave the room for any reason, be sure to ignore them for at least a couple minutes when you get back, especially if they start their 'missing you' routine.
Remember, your dog doesn't want to be the alpha dog, but in their world someone has to be. If it isn't you, they will try to take on that role themselves. Just deal with them a little more like a dog and less like a person and watch how wonderfully things turn out.
The Biggest Mistake Dog Owners Make When Training Their Dogs