- Does he demand attention and paw at you?
- Does he bark at you when he wants something?
- Does he get grumpy if he is on the bed or sofa and you want to move him?
- Does he push his way out the door before you?
- Does he lean into you and you move out of his way to make him comfortable?
- Does he drag you all over the place when on lead?
- Does he growl if you try to take a toy or a bone away from him?
- Does he come back to you when you call him either in the house or in the yard?
- Does he get aggressive with house guests?
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| If you are seeing any of the above your dog is not respecting you as the leader. What next? Start small. You will need to have a crate in the house or a baby gate. First understand that in a dog pack all resources are owned by the alpha dog or top dog.. that is you. Thus you own everything in the house, nothing is the dog's. Thus, the bed and all furniture is off limits, 100%. If the dog sleeps in your bed he now will sleep in his crate with a comfortable bedding. Each time the dog attempts to hop up, simply grab his collar and tell him off, and take him off then return to what you were doing |
| All the toys and bones are off the floor. They are yours. a buckle collar with a little tab at the end needs to be worn at all times so that you are able to direct the dog. Give no commands unless you can back them up. Do not tell your dog to sit unless you are ready to put him into a sit, never ask your dog to come if you are not able to get up and grab his little tab and bring him to you. One of the more passive ways that a dog tries to out rank you is to blow you off and ignore commands. Commands should only be given one time, if the dog does not respond then back it up. Constant repetition of a command sends a dog the message that come means come.. after it is said 20
times. |
| To instantly put a dog in his place there is no need to yell, shout or punish. In dog packs the alpha dog not only owns all resources and sleeps in the highest place in the den, but he also is the one to initiate all play or social contact. The other dogs do not approach him to play. Thus the very first step to moving your rank up will be a 48 hour social isolation. This means for 48 hours, completely ignore your dog. Feed him and take him out but do not talk to him or play with him or have any other interactions with him like grooming etc. If he comes and tries to initiate contact just turn your back and walk away. If he does anything naughty simply grab his collar and put him in his kennel for a time out and walk away. Soon you will notice that your dog is looking at you more, following your around more and trying to figure out what in the heck is going on. That is exactly what you want. The dog beginning to look to you like that is the first step to looking for leadership. At the end of this 48 hour isolation we begin doggy boot camp or "nothing in life is free" training. You can find much information on this by googling "nothing in life is free", there are many websites to give you more information on this. |
| In short, this program's goal is to make the dog work for everything he gets. If he wants to go out, he needs to sit, if he wants to have his dinner bowl set down, he must do a down stay and eat once you tell him ok. If he wants to be
pet, he needs to be on command. If he wants to go out he must sit quietly on lead and let you walk out the door and then call him. These simple steps are going to change your rank to the alpha leader role. Real leaders are not challenged. If the dog misbehaves.. social isolation is the answer. Grab his collar and with out speaking he goes into his crate and you walk away. Isolation from the pack is a far more effective punishment than yelling and screaming. Dogs HATE being left out. The message is that if they want to play they are playing it your way PERIOD. |
| Toys and bones are given and taken away at your discretion. Never walk away and leave the dog with the toy for the beginning. When you are done playing YOU walk away with the toy and put it away. If there is any resistance to giving these up, like a growl, he loses the toy for good. They are your toys and it is your game, not his. You pay for the dog food and the toys and the mortgage and he lives by your rules. |
| In the animal world there are no inconsistencies. The alpha dog does not decide that today he will let the other dogs misbehave because it is a holiday, or he is just not in the mood to enforce the rules. Inconsistency will do nothing but confuse your dog about his role in your pack and ultimately stress the dog. |
| Dogs want leaders, if there is no leader they will take it upon themselves to be the leader. Most dogs are not cut out to lead, they are cut out to follow. When there is a lack of leadership they are forced to make decisions that they would prefer that they did not have to make. You will find that if you do this right your dog will be more relaxed as he does not need to make hard choices. Inconsistency will shift the dogs role from follower to leader which will stress the dog out. It is very important that you hold tough on your rules. There is no special occasion where the dog is allowed to sleep on the bed just this one night. A rule is a rule. |
| What if your dog does not have a working knowledge of the basic commands? Well this is imperative. The basics that are needed will be the commands sit, down, come, go to your crate and stay. These are life skills, not tricks.
This means that sit is not something that your dog will only do for a treat. If you dog will only do what you ask if you have a treat in your hand, he has you trained, you do not have him trained. The most inexpensive and best solution for this is to find a local obedience club in your area and take at least 2 classes. Those trainers will teach you all you need to know and will give you the added benefit of getting your dog to work in a distracting environment with other dogs and people present. I have NEVER seen a dog go through two group obedience course and not become a much more enjoyable dog to live with. The classes will give you the base needed to become a fair and effective leader. If you do not train your dog, your dog has been given NO chance to succeed in your home and family. Dogs do not need lovers they need leaders. Learning to lead is the very best way that you can love your dog and insure that he can live with you in harmony. |
