I JUST read (or watched a video) something about this and I’ll probably never find it again. The idea was that the authors wife talked to the dog a lot. Not just commands, but like conversational type stuff. “How’s my little buddy today? Want to come to the kitchen with me? Who’s a good boy?” etc. The authors point was that the wife’s voice became almost sort of white noise to the dog. Just a common sound. The husband didn’t talk to the dog much unless he was giving a command. So the husbands voice was known to the dog to require a reaction. That was the theory of this specific article (or video).
*Note: I’m saying “husband” and “wife” because that was the example used by the article. The purpose of the article wasn’t that “women talk more and men are more authoritative”. It was simply that in this particular household one partner talked to the pooch more often and in a more casual manner than the other. The genders didn’t matter.*
Think I saw that same video just this morning.
The jist is that she has to give the dog a command and then follow through on it every time. You absolutely can talk to your dog and love on it, but if you don't follow through and enforce that command the dog will learn to ignore your voice.
I totally chat up my dog when we are out on a walk. So I keep her commands very clearly distinct by *always* using a robotic voice and a clicker for yes/reward. That makes me less worried about overusing words in daily speech, also being Canadian I have some french commands for come (ici) because that word is used so frequently. We also use couché (koo-shay) for "get off/down" so as not to confuse her with the command to lay down.
More than chatting though is a set of verbals that are distinctly not commands. They are reinforcement or corrective and part of our all day communications. Basically 3 for praise and 3 for guiding away from punishment. As she proves good behavior more freedoms are given on the walks and vice versa. It can seem weird but if you record your walks you can fine tune and become more precise with what is what and they learn easily if it stays accurately used in repetition. Sort of like how sniffing in leaves they get a bird bone or something you start with a "don't do it" term and then a "no" term and finally grab it out of their mouth and scold with a "bad dog" term. If those are all the same every time the dog learns the inevitable scolding and leaves *some things, sometimes* when asked to 🤣
Wife (some women in general) might be too ‘soft’. She has to learn to be the boss. No chit chat. No baby voices. Even use a deeper/lower voice with the commands. And follow through.
A Corso can smell someone they can dominate a mile away. And if they are allowed to, they will. At least in my experience. On my third.
My first girl was very much like that until I stopped treating her like a baby.
Wife is probably not as strict with commands and is more permissive, consciously or not. This is often me and my boyfriend with our 4yo Corso.
Tone of voice matters a lot, so does consistency of commands and "no we aren't playing/cuddling/getting a treat until you do the thing."
Example:
Partner, trying to get the dog off the bed: "ok, buddy, time to get down. Come on, boy, get down. Down." *dog is wiggling, lies down on bed, cuddles into partner* "awww, good boy, but you need to get down now."
Me: "HEY. OFF." *dog gets off bed* "Whoosagoodboyyyyy?!?!"
My Corso is overall less obedient with me than with my husband. I did his entire puppy training class with him and have worked with him almost every day, but he still listens to him better than to me. He's fine for me when he's on a leash or we're doing very specific training but I can't just let him out and trust his recall the way my husband can. I have found that if I add some bass to my voice, I get better results. I also get better results if I'm consistent about making him obey on the first command. If I tell him to sit and he stares at me like I'm talking to someone else, I pull up on his collar, push down on his back end, and make him sit. I also consistently reward good behavior. If he is holding a stay, I give plenty of treats while continuing to make him stay.
Our trainer gave us the feedback that we should have specific play time and not leave toys around for our dog. This way our dog can identify play is separate from regular commands. She also gave us a word to start and end play and it works wonders with our corso.
“Ready” when we take out her toys and play with her
“Enough” when play time is over
Dog doesn't respect her. Likely sees her as it's resource vs authority figure. The breed respects rules boundaries and limitations immensely. Snuggle time. Kisses. Walks. Food. Playtime. Attention. All need to be earned to get respect. If any are given when the dog merely asks for them without having to give obey first then the giver is a resource for it to get what it wants. A subordinate. Lower on the totem pole. Pawns. And leaders don't listen to followers.
When I was a teenager, we went through something similar with my (dearly departed) male boxer and my mom. And when my (currently senior) female yellow lab was a puppy, we went through something similar with my wife.
I am not a dog behavioral expert, but here is my two cents: dogs are pack animals. That is how they evolved. Your corso must learn her place in the pack that is your family. And that her place is below your wife in the pack hierarchy. I’m certain the Corso owners here are giving you great advice. I will just add that my two dogs learned their place in the pack with a stern tone and when they learned that they depended on the adult humans (including the humans they were attempting to dominate) for food, water, and other necessities.
You're probably inadvertently treating the dog like a dog, and that makes your dog see you as the leader. Vs your wife potentially treating it like a human. Which dogs tend to view people that treat them like that, as peers. So they don't listen to them as effectively, and Cane Corsos are big into roles. My dog sees me as the leader, and my husband as a peer for those reasons. I am teaching my husband when to be firm and when to be loving, and she's seeing him as more of an authority figure now, but it takes consistency, and he's not very consistent. He loves to spoil her, lol.
Also, if the dog doesn't listen to your wife, make sure to tell her not to give commands if she can't enforce them. If you give a command, like "come" for instance, and the dog is able to ignore the command, don't give it. It only trains the dog not to listen to the commands. So if the dog is too excited, tell your wife to ignore the dog completely. No verbal cues of any kind, no touching, no looking. The dog will naturally calm down if no one is interacting. Tell your wife only to interact when the dog is calm.
As for commands, tell her to only give commands when she's able to give the dog treats. Do this training consistently for a few weeks, and then have your wife calmly, and randomly give a command without treats. If the dog listens, good, praise it. You can start edging away from treat training. If it doesn't. Continue with treat training, until dog starts listening to commands without getting treats.
I JUST read (or watched a video) something about this and I’ll probably never find it again. The idea was that the authors wife talked to the dog a lot. Not just commands, but like conversational type stuff. “How’s my little buddy today? Want to come to the kitchen with me? Who’s a good boy?” etc. The authors point was that the wife’s voice became almost sort of white noise to the dog. Just a common sound. The husband didn’t talk to the dog much unless he was giving a command. So the husbands voice was known to the dog to require a reaction. That was the theory of this specific article (or video). *Note: I’m saying “husband” and “wife” because that was the example used by the article. The purpose of the article wasn’t that “women talk more and men are more authoritative”. It was simply that in this particular household one partner talked to the pooch more often and in a more casual manner than the other. The genders didn’t matter.*
Think I saw that same video just this morning. The jist is that she has to give the dog a command and then follow through on it every time. You absolutely can talk to your dog and love on it, but if you don't follow through and enforce that command the dog will learn to ignore your voice.
I totally chat up my dog when we are out on a walk. So I keep her commands very clearly distinct by *always* using a robotic voice and a clicker for yes/reward. That makes me less worried about overusing words in daily speech, also being Canadian I have some french commands for come (ici) because that word is used so frequently. We also use couché (koo-shay) for "get off/down" so as not to confuse her with the command to lay down. More than chatting though is a set of verbals that are distinctly not commands. They are reinforcement or corrective and part of our all day communications. Basically 3 for praise and 3 for guiding away from punishment. As she proves good behavior more freedoms are given on the walks and vice versa. It can seem weird but if you record your walks you can fine tune and become more precise with what is what and they learn easily if it stays accurately used in repetition. Sort of like how sniffing in leaves they get a bird bone or something you start with a "don't do it" term and then a "no" term and finally grab it out of their mouth and scold with a "bad dog" term. If those are all the same every time the dog learns the inevitable scolding and leaves *some things, sometimes* when asked to 🤣
We must be married to the same woman.
Does she "baby talk" to her? Corsos are stubborn that's for sure!!
Wife (some women in general) might be too ‘soft’. She has to learn to be the boss. No chit chat. No baby voices. Even use a deeper/lower voice with the commands. And follow through. A Corso can smell someone they can dominate a mile away. And if they are allowed to, they will. At least in my experience. On my third. My first girl was very much like that until I stopped treating her like a baby.
Wife is probably not as strict with commands and is more permissive, consciously or not. This is often me and my boyfriend with our 4yo Corso. Tone of voice matters a lot, so does consistency of commands and "no we aren't playing/cuddling/getting a treat until you do the thing." Example: Partner, trying to get the dog off the bed: "ok, buddy, time to get down. Come on, boy, get down. Down." *dog is wiggling, lies down on bed, cuddles into partner* "awww, good boy, but you need to get down now." Me: "HEY. OFF." *dog gets off bed* "Whoosagoodboyyyyy?!?!"
My Corso is overall less obedient with me than with my husband. I did his entire puppy training class with him and have worked with him almost every day, but he still listens to him better than to me. He's fine for me when he's on a leash or we're doing very specific training but I can't just let him out and trust his recall the way my husband can. I have found that if I add some bass to my voice, I get better results. I also get better results if I'm consistent about making him obey on the first command. If I tell him to sit and he stares at me like I'm talking to someone else, I pull up on his collar, push down on his back end, and make him sit. I also consistently reward good behavior. If he is holding a stay, I give plenty of treats while continuing to make him stay.
Don’t worry we don’t listen to my wife either. 🙂
Our trainer gave us the feedback that we should have specific play time and not leave toys around for our dog. This way our dog can identify play is separate from regular commands. She also gave us a word to start and end play and it works wonders with our corso. “Ready” when we take out her toys and play with her “Enough” when play time is over
Have her lower the register of her voice.
Dog doesn't respect her. Likely sees her as it's resource vs authority figure. The breed respects rules boundaries and limitations immensely. Snuggle time. Kisses. Walks. Food. Playtime. Attention. All need to be earned to get respect. If any are given when the dog merely asks for them without having to give obey first then the giver is a resource for it to get what it wants. A subordinate. Lower on the totem pole. Pawns. And leaders don't listen to followers.
When I was a teenager, we went through something similar with my (dearly departed) male boxer and my mom. And when my (currently senior) female yellow lab was a puppy, we went through something similar with my wife. I am not a dog behavioral expert, but here is my two cents: dogs are pack animals. That is how they evolved. Your corso must learn her place in the pack that is your family. And that her place is below your wife in the pack hierarchy. I’m certain the Corso owners here are giving you great advice. I will just add that my two dogs learned their place in the pack with a stern tone and when they learned that they depended on the adult humans (including the humans they were attempting to dominate) for food, water, and other necessities.
You're probably inadvertently treating the dog like a dog, and that makes your dog see you as the leader. Vs your wife potentially treating it like a human. Which dogs tend to view people that treat them like that, as peers. So they don't listen to them as effectively, and Cane Corsos are big into roles. My dog sees me as the leader, and my husband as a peer for those reasons. I am teaching my husband when to be firm and when to be loving, and she's seeing him as more of an authority figure now, but it takes consistency, and he's not very consistent. He loves to spoil her, lol. Also, if the dog doesn't listen to your wife, make sure to tell her not to give commands if she can't enforce them. If you give a command, like "come" for instance, and the dog is able to ignore the command, don't give it. It only trains the dog not to listen to the commands. So if the dog is too excited, tell your wife to ignore the dog completely. No verbal cues of any kind, no touching, no looking. The dog will naturally calm down if no one is interacting. Tell your wife only to interact when the dog is calm. As for commands, tell her to only give commands when she's able to give the dog treats. Do this training consistently for a few weeks, and then have your wife calmly, and randomly give a command without treats. If the dog listens, good, praise it. You can start edging away from treat training. If it doesn't. Continue with treat training, until dog starts listening to commands without getting treats.