Scott Linden Outdoors

Beeper, bell, brush … it may not be disobedience as much as noise!

Next time your dog disobeys you, don’t jump to the inevitable conclusion. It may not be recalcitrance. He may not be stubborn. There’s a chance he’s not disobeying. Did you ever think he may not be able to hear your commands?

When I attached a video camera to one of my dogs, it was clear from the playback that there are vision challenges when looking to a tall human for direction. Thanks to the microphone on that camera, I’ve learned that it’s an audio circus down there, too.

Depending on who you believe, dogs hear up to ten times better than us. So, many of the annoying little pops and crackles we hear sound like a freeway accident to him. Think about what he encounters down there: tags jingling from his collar, or a bell, brush crashing, screeching wind, footfalls on dry leaves, maybe a beeper collar right behind his ears, his own panting. All might be overpowering your frantic commands yelled into that auditory chaos.

Or, your Lab’s ears might be hammered by a flock of Canada geese honking, or the churn of moving water as he looks to you for a line. Maybe there’s another whining dog in the blind, or at a hunt test there could be dozens of barking dogs staked out nearby. It’s no wonder dogs bungle their job once in a while … they can’t hear our commands for all the chaos at ground level.

If there’s doubt in your mind about whether your dog can hear you, why not add hand signals or a whistle just in case? Or, call his name and wait for acknowledgement before giving the command. Then you’ll be able to recognize the difference between disobedience and distraction, and he’ll be a better hunting partner.