Establishing Leadership of your pack-
Christine Johnson, Dogs 4 Life Training and Wellness
There are some basic rules every dog owner should follow to ensure your dog knows their place in your human/dog pack. Dogs need to have a clear place in their pack as it is part of their instinctive nature. Dogs lacking in understanding of pack order makes for unhappy dog and an unhappy dog owner.
A lack of structure and a lack of house rules, signals to the dog that you are a weak leader and if given the opportunity your dog will take the lead position. This can cause an imbalance in the house when the dog is calling the shots. If your dog drags you on walks, barks repeatedly for attention, growls at you for sitting on the couch, or while their eating, or if your dog pee’s on your personal items, steals food from your hands, shoves passed you through a door then your dog has no respect for you. They feel entitled to your home and possessions, they do not see you as pack leader and this is how dominant dog behaviors begin.
A dog who questions his place in the household can cause destructive behaviors and become noncompliance; they will test the parameters of your rules. If you do not correct your Dominant dogs’ behavior it can grow into different forms of aggression: territorial, possession over food, toys, bones, and even people. A dog who knows his place in his human pack is a happy dog, they are more confident, stable and less problematic.
If you have a dominant dog you must apply rules and structure to your environment. Training of the foundational commands is a must, and then applying these commands to your house rules. Rules must be enforced and parameters must be set for your dog, this is best known as “Learn as you Earn”. The most important part of behavior modification is setting rules and training your dog.
The idea of Learn as you Earn is to change the relationship with your dog. Your dog needs to rethink his position and accept that you are ‘top dog’. This can be done without using force or intimidation; simply you need to be in control of all the things that are important to your dog, food, toys, and attention. Everything in and outside your home Belong to you!! Surprisingly this is a hard concept for some, but you must control all the ‘resources’ and your dog must say “please”. This is what begins to change the ranking order of your pack and sets a clear picture for your dog, that the “top dog” position is not available for them.
Knocking your dog down a few pegs: As mentioned, build a stable foundation of commands, sit, down, stay, come, no, and good dog. Bulling your dog into submission really doesn’t work and do you really want your dog to be afraid of you? Training is about being a fair and consistent leader, not aggressively towards your dog. I disagree with training methods that recommend stern harsh tones. I find it detracts from my effort, when the dog is reacting defensively or offensively to my training method.
For your dog life becomes a tradeoff, for example food, “Do you want to eat” Then you will sit and stay, that is the rule and there is no flexibility, failure to comply equals no FOOD.
These are some rules to incorporate.
1. Feedings must be at a scheduled time. Free feeding or allowing The Dog to Choose when he eats is not recommended. When you put his food dish down, he must wait until you give the "OK" to eat it
2. Keep in mind, a leader leads. Going for walks is a PRIVLAGE for your dog and it is their responsibility to walk nicely next to you. Do not allow your dog to sniff or eliminate anywhere he wishes, but where you allow him. This is what we call a pack walk and should be done daily.
3. Humans go first through a door or up or down the stairs. Dogs must follow after the leader and or after permission has been given. Again it is imperative to have a good training foundation, sit stays work very nicely as you set your expectations.
4. Tid for tat, nothing in life is free. An obedience command such as “Sit” should be given before any pleasurable interaction, play session, petting, feeding, walks or car rides)
5. The pack leader is the one who greets newcomers FIRST and then lets the rest know when it is safe to greet the newcomer.
6. If a dog is lying in your path, do not walk around the dog, either make the dog move or step over the dog, this is referred to as yielding.
7. Any attention given to the dog, including petting is given when you decide. The alpha seeks attention form the subordinates. No Petting when the dog nudges or paws you, this would be letting the dog decide and you will be reinforcing.
8. Games of fetch or play with toys must be Started and Ended by the Human.
9. Dogs must never be allowed to mouth or bite anyone at any time, including in play.
10. Tug-of-war must be controlled and is based on obedience. Take it, release, keep in mind these are games of power and you may lose the game giving the dog top status.
11. Dogs own no possessions, everything belongs to the humans. They are all on "loan" from the human family. You should be able to handle or remove any item at all times from the dog with no problems.
You can add to these rules as they apply to your family.
It may be difficult during this process to avoid emotions such as fear, anxiety, harshness or nervousness. This will escalate your problem as your dog feels an even stronger need to be your leader. Be calm, assertive, and consistent. This energy is the universal language of animals. Talk less, using more body language. This is your number one resource when it comes to communicating with your dog. Your dog will be happy and secure knowing he has a strong pack leader to care for him.
How to recognize the dominant tendency
Learn as you Earn Training Program
Dogs 4 Life Training and Wellness