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Train Your Dog Using Proper Pack Leadership
from:Dogs are naturally pack animals, and instinctively they know
that for the pack to function properly there must be a pack
leader. If left on their own, dogs will work out this
arrangement themselves, by posturing and even fighting to
establish their position in the pack.
If a new dog is then introduced to the pack, the posturing and
fighting will begin again, so that every dog knows exactly where
he stands.
It is very important that we establish ourselves as pack leaders
for our dogs, especially with breeds that are already
predisposed to becoming dominant or aggressive.
The way that you interact with your dogs may be setting you up
for success or failure, so you need to understand the way that a
dog thinks, and how to modify your actions to place yourself
firmly at the head of the pack without being aggressive or
hurting your dog.
The first thing you need to understand is how a pack leader
acts. Dogs are very capable of reading our emotional and mental
states. If you are angry, your body language will relay that to
your dog and he will respond with cowering or attempting to
soothe or pacify you. They are masters of reading human body
language.
The pack leader must be calm, yet confident and assertive. If
you have seen Cesar Millan in action, you may have an
understanding of how this comes across to the dogs. You do not
act angry or aggressive towards them, in some dogs this might
even cause a defensive reaction which could be very detrimental
to your relationship.
To help put you in the right state of mind think of something
big that you've accomplished, something that you're proud of.
Maybe it was a goal that you've been working on. Something
difficult that you overcame. A challenge that you conquered.
Think of how that made you feel. Strong, successful, confident.
These are the emotions you want your dog to sense in you. Calm
strength and confidence.
You want your body to be telling your dog, "Hey, I'm a powerful
and confident pack leader. I make the right decisions and can
offer you a very stabile and happy relationship, so respect me
as your leader!"
This doesn't mean you need to start posturing and walking around
your dog with stiff knees, it's a subtle change in your body
language that the dog will pick up on and understand. The way
that you feel about yourself and your ability to be a good pack
leader will show through your body language and be picked up
from the tone of your voice! Your tone of voice is extremely
important.
The correct tone of voice for praising voice is soft, happy and
spoken in high pitched tones. When you are training or
commanding your dog to obey a request then your voice should be
firm and assertive, yet spoken in a normal tone. A correction
for bad behavior is a deep, powerful growled tone of voice.
If you had a bad day at work, if you're unhappy or just having
an off day than DON'T choose that time to work with your dog!
You need to go take a hot shower, and while you're in there
close your eyes and start thinking about the best thing that has
happened to you all year.
Think about your successes and the things in your life that make
you happy. See those things in great big pictures in your mind
and make those pictures bigger and brighter until the feelings
of success, strength and happiness start to fill your whole
body. When you are feeling strong, happy, confident and
successful, then you are ready to start training your dog.
You'll be in the right state of mind to accomplish a lot and
make your dog feel safe and happy.
A basic rule for pack leadership is setting boundaries and
limitations for your dog, both inside and outside your home.
Using a strong, firm, confident voice and body language, correct
your dog's mistakes by saying something like "NO!" or "BAH!",
whatever sound or word that you feel most comfortable using.
You must speak very firmly, holding your head and shoulders up,
your body upright and strong. Your voice should be deep and
powerful, a commanding growl.
Never use your dog's name as a correction, you will confuse him
badly. We often use names for calling or in praise, so using it
as a correction will add a negative connection to it in his mind
and may damage your relationship as well as future training
sessions.
I prefer to use a deep guttural "BAH" sound. The "ah" sound
becoming a very deep, resonating bark from deep down in your
gut. This is not a sound I use in my conversations with anyone
else, so when I do use it, my dogs know that I'm talking to them
and there is no confusion at all!
Your thunderous stomp should startle the dog into quickly
returning all for feet to the floor. Say your dog is about to
jump up onto the counter to sniff for food. This is a bad
behavior so you abruptly growl "BAH!" very firmly, from deep in
your chest yet loud enough that the dog can't ignore you. Speak
it sharply, abruptly and fiercely. It's a correction for bad
behavior and must be recognized as such.
If the dog proceeds to jump up, stomp your foot very loudly on
the ground and say "BAH!" again, with much more force. The dog
should quickly return all four feet to the floor. Anytime he
tries to return to the bad behavior you should quickly correct
him with a firm "BAH!" to remind him that it is forbidden.
Your stomp should be thunderous and frightening. As loud as you
can make it. But it should also be restricted to use only if
your voice commands fail. Use it sparingly. You want your dog to
listen to your voice, but for dogs that already see themselves
as leader you sometimes need a loud sound to startle them into
listening.
Dogs instinctively hate to be surprised. Surprises in the wild
usually meant sudden injury or death, so a loud bang or thump
will often make a dog jump out of a sound sleep and look around
for danger.
Don't use the stomp unless you find that your dog is simply not
responding well to voice command. You don't want to abuse this
natural instinct. Most dogs will hesitate when you bark "BAH" at
them, and that's exactly what you want to focus on. That
hesitation means they are mentally stopping, even for just a
second, to consider their role and whether they need to submit
to you or not.
Timing is crucial! You must correct your dog at the exact moment
the dog is doing the wrong thing so he can make the connection
between his error and your sharp correction.
If used properly your dog should start responding to your
corrections with signs of submission. You must learn to
recognize and interpret your dog's responses by watching their
body language.
A submissive dog will often carry his head down, ears loosely
back, and have his tail down. If you speak to them, or look
directly into his eyes, he may lick his lips, roll over or wag
his tail. Watch that tail however, a low set wagging tail is a
good submissive tail, but a tail held up high, even if it's
wagging a little is a bad sign.
Dominant body language towards you is not allowed and should be
quickly corrected. This type of behavior includes stiff posture,
staring with ears forward, baring teeth, growling or snapping,
hackles up, tail up, jumping up or standing over you.
If you're sitting and watching tv and your dog comes up and
starts staring at you while wagging its tail and maybe whining,
look right at it. If his ears go back and the tail wags faster,
he's not being aggressive, he probably just needs to go to the
bathroom or wants attention. A dog that firmly holds your gaze
with his ears pricked erect, and his tail motion somewhat stiff
or jerky in appearance, is a dog that is challenging your
authority or one that already believes he has authority over
you. That's bad! He's telling you he's the boss and that can't
be allowed!
You must be the pack leader so you must remain dominant.Dogs are
instinctively pack animals and even a well behaved dog may
occasionally challenge you to see if you are losing your
authority. If you don't remain consistent and always enforce the
rules your dog will start to push those rules to the limits and
will eventually start taking on a more dominant role, pushing
you back into a submission one.
Maintain your rules and your dog will live a much happier and
healthy life as a loving and responsive companion.
About the author: Bulldog Abbie
Dog owners can find additional free resources and information on our website http://www.bulldogabbie.com
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