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A reluctance to perform may indicate your dog is injured or ill.

Handlers give commands, and dogs carry them out. That's the ideal, anyway, and the benefits range from good behavior to ribbons and trophies. With well-timed rewards, praise, and practice, any dog can learn just about anything.

But what happens when a dog refuses a command? Traditional trainers say a good handler prevents future problems by enforcing every instruction.

When Marsha Dominguez's Portuguese Water Dog, Jasmine, hesitated and then declined to perform, Dominguez did not push the dog further, although she did not know why. Three months later, Jasmine died, not long after being diagnosed with numerous tumors.

But what if the dog has a very good reason to refuse? And how can you tell? Acute or chronic health problems - from spinal misalignments or torn muscles to the development of disease - are commonly to blame for the onset of performance failures in well-trained and well-conditioned dogs. Handlers must be…

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