Are Spanish Water Dogs stubborn?

What "stubborn" actually means in dogs

"Stubborn" is one of the most overused and least useful words in dog training discussions. It's applied to everything from a dog that won't come back when called to one that refuses to settle on its bed — very different problems with very different causes.

What most owners mean when they call a dog stubborn is: the dog chose to do something other than what I asked. Several distinct reasons explain why a dog might make that choice:

• The reward isn't valuable enough. Every animal weighs costs and benefits. If the distraction (a squirrel, another dog, an interesting smell) offers more value than your treat or praise, the dog makes a rational choice. That's not stubbornness. It's economics.
• The command hasn't been trained reliably in that context. A dog that sits reliably in the kitchen but ignores the command at the park hasn't been trained at the park. The generalisation step has been missed.
• Inconsistent history. If "come" has sometimes been optional. The owner called, the dog didn't come, nothing happened. The command has no real meaning. Dogs are very efficient at identifying what actually has consequences.
• Genuine breed-typical independence. Some breeds were developed specifically to make decisions without human direction. Scent hounds following a trail, terriers hunting in burrows, herding breeds that work at distance. These dogs have a lower inherent drive to defer to human commands than breeds developed for close cooperative work.

The fourth category is what people usually mean by "stubborn" as a breed characteristic, and it varies enormously between breeds, including the Spanish Water Dog.

The Spanish Water Dog's independence level

Spanish Water Dogs are generally cooperative and willing to work with their owners. Their easy trainability means they tend to respond well to consistent positive reinforcement without the resistance typical of more independent breeds.

The occasions when a Spanish Water Dog appears stubborn are usually related to insufficient motivation (the reward isn't compelling enough for what's being asked), training inconsistencies, or a specific distraction that's simply more interesting than the command on that day. These are normal dog behaviours rather than breed-characteristic stubbornness.

Is stubbornness a problem or a feature?

It depends on the owner. Many people who own Spanish Water Dogs are deeply fond of the independence that comes with the package. A dog with its own agenda, genuine personality, and willingness to push back is often described as more engaging — more like a relationship than the unconditional compliance of an easier breed.

The problem arises when stubbornness intersects with safety or management issues. A dog that ignores recall near a road, won't settle in public, or escalates stubborn behaviour into refusal to cooperate with basic handling is a different problem. A real one. The breed trait doesn't create those issues automatically; they develop when the independence isn't managed through consistent training from the start.

The most successful Spanish Water Dogs owners tend to share a specific approach: they treat training as a permanent feature of ownership rather than something that happens in puppyhood and is then finished. An independent dog that isn't regularly reinforced for the behaviours you want will quietly drift back towards its own preferences.

Training approaches that work for independent breeds

Standard obedience methods designed for biddable breeds (repetition, praise, gradual reward reduction) often underperform with independent dogs. Here's what works better:

• Find the highest-value reward and use it. For many independent breeds, kibble isn't going to motivate them to work against their natural instincts. Find what this specific dog actually wants — high-value food, a particular toy, a specific type of play — and make that the currency for the hardest commands.
• Make training feel like a game, not a drill. Independent dogs disengage faster from repetitive drills. Short sessions (5–7 minutes), varied exercises, and unpredictable rewards maintain engagement better than predictable patterns.
• Build reliability before reducing rewards. A common mistake with challenging breeds is reducing treats too soon. The command needs to be so well-reinforced in so many contexts that the reward history carries it through distraction.
• Train in the environments where you need the behaviour. A Spanish Water Dog that sits perfectly at home may simply not understand the command applies in the park. Generalise every important command across different locations and distraction levels.
• Avoid confrontations you can't win. Issuing commands you can't reinforce trains the dog that commands are optional. Only ask for a behaviour you're positioned to follow through on. If the dog might ignore recall, don't call them. Walk over and retrieve them instead.

Patience, consistency, and what to actually expect

Realistic expectations matter enormously with Spanish Water Dogs. A Spanish Water Dog that's occasionally distracted or independently minded isn't a problem dog — it's a normal dog. The goal isn't perfect compliance in all circumstances; it's reliable behaviour in the situations where it actually matters.

Consistency is the single most important variable. A Spanish Water Dog that's trained enthusiastically for a few months and then let slide will drift back toward its defaults. Building brief maintenance training into daily life — 5 minutes of recall practice in the garden, a sit-stay at the front door — sustains reliability far better than occasional intensive sessions.

When to call a behaviourist

A qualified behaviourist (look for ABTC-registered practitioners in the UK) is the right next step when:

• Stubbornness has escalated to refusal, snapping, or aggression in response to requests
• You've been training consistently for 3–6 months with no meaningful progress on a specific issue
• The dog's behaviour is creating safety concerns. Near roads, around children, or in public
• You're unsure whether what you're seeing is stubbornness, anxiety, or pain-related behaviour (which can all look similar)

A good behaviourist works out why this specific dog is behaving this way and creates a programme that addresses the cause. They should ask about the dog's full history, observe the behaviour, and give you something practical to do. Not just reassurance that it'll get better.