Sighthound Training: Are Sighthounds Too Stubborn?

Bred to chase things and run fast away from you! Are sighthounds impossible to train? (Spoiler: not at all.)

photo by Steve Surfman

“Sighthounds are too stubborn.”

“Sighthounds aren’t smart enough to be trained.”

These are unfortunately statements I hear often, but they’re just not true. Yes, a sighthound is not a hyperfocused herding breed. They’re unlikely to be described as “eager to please.” That doesn’t mean they’re not intelligent, or that they’re “stubborn” – my least favorite word to hear when speaking about dogs and dog training! We’ll get into why I hate that word in a minute.

But let’s first take a look at what the sighthound was created for: chasing and catching fast-moving prey. In other words, independent, high-speed pursuits. Not working closely with their humans, but thinking for themselves and making quick decisions without constant human input. This means that sighthounds can absolutely be very, very clever – but they’re not necessarily naturally motivated to use that cleverness in collaboration with you.

Does that mean they can’t be trained? Of course not. The key is tapping into their motivation, maintaining consistency, and meeting them where they’re at.

For example, sighthounds tend to not like repetition because it bores them – and for the record I think this is totally valid. I’m bored by repetition too! So when I’m working with sighthounds, we mix it up. We do a few reps of the behavior we’re working on, mixed in with behaviors the dog knows really well and really enjoys.

Florence doing a “high-five” between working on going to her mat

We take brain breaks periodically – little opportunities for the dog to reset and process, and come back fresh and ready to continue working. (More on this in a future blog post!) We keep our training sessions short, something I recommend doing in general anyway. And we always end on success -- even if that means dropping the new behavior for now and instead cueing a behavior the dog already knows, so that we can make sure she’s ending on a win.

I see plenty of success with this style of training when I work with sighthounds. It’s not that they’re not intelligent or that they are incapable of being trained, it’s usually that the style of training people are trying with them just isn’t working out because it doesn’t tap into their motivation or properly support them through the learning experience. Positive reinforcement works beautifully with sighthounds, and they can absolutely thrive with it.

Evelyn working hard at a KPA workshop

Positive reinforcement training, in which Evelyn was set up for success at every turn, gave me an eager-to-train little sighthound who loves to work!

Now let’s look at my least favorite word: “stubborn.”

The definition of the word “stubborn” is “unwilling to change one's mind or behavior, even when it would be reasonable to do so."

So this implies that the dog knows what you are asking – fully understands it – and is choosing not to cooperate, presumably out of defiance.

This picture just does not match up with reality in my experience.

Usually, when we think a dog is being stubborn, what's actually going on can be a whole host of other things. Often, the dog is one or more of the following:

• Confused. She doesn't have a strong enough learning history for this behavior you're asking her to do.

• Under-motivated. Whatever reward you're offering isn’t worth the effort to her.

• Distracted or overwhelmed. Especially when in a new or busy location. Ever noticed it's harder to get your dog to sit at the park than it is in your living room?

• Stressed or emotionally shut down. Maybe she’s had prior experience with an unpleasant kind of training that’s impacting her now – or she’s had no experience at all with any training, and this is all very overwhelming to her.

• Still learning and/or struggling to generalize. She hasn’t totally figured out what you’re asking yet, and/or she hasn’t figured out what it means when you ask her to do this in a specific context.

• Dealing with discomfort or pain. A dog whose joints hurt isn't going to want to lie down on a hard surface. (And most sighthounds don't want to lie down on a hard surface to begin with because most lack the body fat to cushion them properly!)

When your sighthound (or any dog) isn’t listening to you, it’s time to get curious. Does your dog really know the behavior, in every context? Is there something causing your dog discomfort? Is the environment too distracting? Are you offering enough motivation? And so on. Chances are there’s something beyond your dog’s control that’s causing them to struggle to respond to you.

I think it’s easy for us to dismiss sighthounds as stubborn and untrainable because it means we can put it all on the dog, and it’s also very satisfying when you’re frustrated to blame the dog. I fully understand! I’ve been there – even though I know better, I’ve been in situations where part of me has wanted to blame my dog for not performing a behavior. Despite the fact that I know realistically, the reasons behind a lack of response are complex and varied. It’s just human nature. So I totally understand why people say, “she’s stubborn. She knows the behavior but she just doesn’t want to do it.” Or even, “He’s not smart enough to be trained.”

But the truth is more complex. The truth is every dog has training potential. Not every dog is going to be able to pull out lightning quick, flashy, show-stopping behaviors, sure – your greyhound isn’t going to outdo the border collies (except in a race of course!). But your greyhound can do so many amazing things if you just give her a chance. You have to meet her where she’s at, and build success from the ground up with simple behaviors first.

So no, sighthounds aren’t too stubborn, and they’re plenty smart enough to be trained – you just need to see them for the amazing, sensitive, quirky creatures they are.  

Looking for a trainer to work with your sighthound? Check out more info about me and my training style.