Why doesn't my dog respect boundaries?

Training your dog to respect your personal space isn’t always straightforward. It is particularly difficult if he’s been used to being up close and personal with you for many years. You will have to set some clear boundaries. You will also need to set a routine for him, so he knows he will still get the love and attention he needs. You may also need to make his personal space more attractive and channel his energy into something productive. If he’s just a puppy he should still be learning the rules and you could see swift results, in just a week or two. If he’s older and always been on the clingy side then you may need a while longer. You could need up to six weeks to fully kick the habit.

Dogs don’t respect us. It’s just that the concept of respect has never crossed their minds. Dogs simply don’t think in terms of respect. They think of “this works/this doesn’t work” and “that’s safe/that’s unsafe.” Dogs behave to create a consequence they want or to avoid one they don’t. In the end it really comes down to these motivations. So, when a dog is out in the yard sniffing all the things and you call them, they pause and do this simple calculation - stay out here or go inside. And they decide that staying out works better for them than coming in did. See, it’s all about motivation. They had strong motivation to stay outside and no motivation to come. Dogs are like us in this regard - they’ll stop spending their energy doing things that don’t pay off.

Abby is a super-friendly dog, she wags her body with her tail following close behind, but she had absolutely no idea how to respect personal space. She wiggled up on our laps, up our backs and almost literally climbed over us a few times while she was over excited. As Omaha’s dog behavior expert, I knew that some dog impulse control was sorely needed. Her advances were not requested, and I always say, its ok to do if you ask the dog to do it, if the dog does it without asking, that can be a problem. In Abby’s case, she was only high energy and invaded our personal space while excited. Helping dogs learn to respect boundaries is very important with an excitable dog like Abby. Introducing and enforcing rules, petting with a purpose, rewarding desired behaviors and increasing her exercise will all go a long way towards helping the dog develop self control. Another great way to help a dog develop some self control is to teach the dog to stay behind a boundary.

We see the dog loves the owner it just doesn’t take them seriously. If you had seen this person act in disrespectful ways for a long time, it will take a long time of changed behavior before you begin to believe the change. So to correlate to dog training the changes you put in place will need to be long term, and you will need to be consistent in the new behaviors. A day or two won’t cut it you will have to show that you’ve truly turned over a new leaf. To win your respect a key thing would be for the person to treat you respectfully. Creating fear in you would not make you respect the person. Respect and trust are tied together and so we must create an environment where there can be mutual respect. If you are your dog’s emotional crutch, or your dog is your emotional crutch, you aren’t starting out from a healthy place, for some reason it is easier to respect someone that creates some of this space. Creating some healthy boundaries that show you respect yourself is a great way to help your dog respect you, or for anyone you meet to respect you more. A major part of respect is being consistent and reliable. Talk the talk and walk the walk. So if you ask for something to be done, you’ve got to insist it happens.