Intelligent Disobedience is when an animal chooses to disobey an instruction for a reason beyond not understanding the command, not wanting to, or fear. It’s an action that can be highly desirable in some situations and breeds, while incredibly frustrating in others.
What it isn’t
Sometimes, the reason behind the disobedience is simple: “I don’t want to do what you’ve asked”. It becomes your job as the handler/owner/trainer to turn “I don’t want” into “I DO want”. You can increase motivation and affability through increasing the reward. After all, you probably wouldn’t want to clean someone else’s toilets for $1, but if someone offered you $1000 you’d probably change your mind. Find the reward your dog can’t resist. For some that might be a special toy. For others, that might be a piece of lunch meat or cheese. Whatever it is (as long as it’s safe for the dog), use it to build the drive to do what they’re asked.
Other times, the reason might be fear. “What you’re asking me to do is scary!” is a valid reason for a dog to balk at an instruction. Here, the reward might never be enough to do what you’re asking. If you’re terrified of heights, there may be no amount of money that could make you go skydiving. Fear based disobedience should be treated with empathy, with finding the threshold where the dog isn’t afraid and then gradually increasing exposure. It’s why you should start desensitizing your dog to fireworks through things like firework shows on the television instead of in the field by your house (and doing so as early as possible so that they’re prepared to manage the real deal come holidays).
What it is
“Intelligence” is the key word to understanding this kind of disobedience. It’s a choice the dog makes for a reason. It’s communication.
- Your dog doesn’t want to come inside when called, instead goes to potty and then comes inside.
- Your dog doesn’t recall to you, instead stays beside your significant other who then has a seizure
- Your dog is looking outside, barking occasionally, and doesn’t want to go outside or anything else. Shortly afterward, there is an earthquake and then your dog settles down.
- Your livestock guardian dog ignores you to stay with the livestock, or runs away from you after a predator.
There are many more examples, but the thread that follows through all of them is that your dog is making an intelligent choice to disobey an instruction. My service dogs do this all the time when I’m in a flare. I’m a very stubborn person about not taking my medicines. My retiring service dog will signal on me with a paw touch to say “hey, you’re going to flare, take your meds”. I’ll usually tell him to go away, because denial is a great but ineffective strategy. He’ll usually follow up with either a) going and getting my meds and shoving them in my lap or b) retrieving backup–either a human or my service dog prospect–to tell me to take meds.
Intelligent disobedience doesn’t mean your dog is always correct, or always gets to make the choice they want to. It becomes a dialogue between you and your dog, where YOU need to be making an active choice.
Do you want to listen to what your dog is trying to communicate? The answer should be yes! The next question is more challenging:
How do I shape what my dog is trying to tell me into what I want them to do?
Your dog should feel heard, and you’ll get a compromise. Your recall may not be instant, but your dog won’t pee in the house.
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