Stubborn Dog or Poisoned Cue?
Does your dog have a delayed or unreliable response to Come, Down, or other cues or commands? Do you see any stress signals, like lip licking, looking away, sniffing the ground, moving slowly, or yawning? These responses indicate the cue has probably been poisoned.
First, let’s go over the difference between a cue and a command.
A cue asks for a known behavior, which if performed is followed by a reinforcer— a treat, praise, sniffing, access to freedom, to a person, dog, toy, play, or whatever else is valuable to the dog in that context.
There’s a Reason Why
If the cued behavior doesn’t happen, with positive training there is no aversive consequence (“correction”). Instead, we try to assess why: what’s going on for the dog in that moment. Too excited or distressed? Over-arousal is not when we ask for a Sit. This is when dogs need movement, so we may need to provide relief and change focus by moving away, going inside, or finding a barrier to block the dog’s view.
If over-arousal is not involved, we may just need to generalize the cue by practicing in different locations and training more with distractions, starting at home and working up to those challenging situations. Duration and distance are two other components that may need more and better training.
The Obedience Model
Commands, a term originating from the original, military method of training, carry an implied threat: Do it or else. For instance, Come, may have been trained by pulling the dog towards the handler with the leash. Sit or Down may have been followed by applying downward pressure.
Even if he/she was rewarded with a treat after compliance, the command itself can become associated with something unpleasant, such as crate time, a bath, or the end of playtime at the dog park.
The typical emotional response of a dog trained with cues and positive reinforcement is happy, even joyful. Oh boy! A dog who associates a cue with only positive consequences looks very different from one who has experienced commands with physical compulsion or threats (like showing the water bottle or shake can, or taking a confrontational posture). This dog often reveals with his stress signals and slowness to respond that he is thinking Uh-oh or Oh no!
Equipment and Names Can Be Poisoned Too
A choke collar, prong collar, or uncomfortable harness can predict that pain or discomfort will be experienced sooner or later on the walk. That anticipation can set the stage for reactivity to other dogs, bikes, UPS trucks, and wildlife.
A collar or leash that’s used to deliver “harmless pops” (as some obedience trainers call them) can be viewed by the dog as a prediction that he will be forced to stand still or sit, even when he feels unsafe—for example in the presence of an unfamiliar scary dog or person. (This is what many obedience trainers do to address reactivity.)
The dog’s name too can be poisoned if it’s said in anger or followed by something unpleasant. That’s why it’s usually a good idea to change the name of a dog who’s been rescued or has an unknown history.
Ambiguity Causes Stress, Hesitation
A conclusion of recent studies is that when a command becomes ambiguous—that is, the dog is unsure whether it will be followed by a reinforcer or an aversive—the desired behavior breaks down and becomes unreliable.
Not recognizing those stress signals (above) and assuming a dog is just being stubborn can break down the relationship too.
For a dog to love learning and become more reliably cooperative, choose positive reinforcement, clarity, and consistency instead of commands and corrections—and avoid trainers who use those and may call their method “balanced” because they also use treats.
If you believe some (or all) of your cues have become poisoned, the good news is that you can simply change the cue or the equipment and start over with positive reinforcement only. Need help? Get in touch!
Copyright Lisa Benshoff 2018, updated 2026
