Who Is In Control? The Dog Or The Owner?
Topics: dog training, puppy training, dog obedience training
It is common sense to think that people are in control of their dogs. We feed our dogs, walk them on a leash, tell them to sit and stay, and give them the love and affection they crave. But some dogs display dominant behavioral traits, insist on doing things their way and try to take power away from their masters. These are called Alpha dogs.
An Alpha dog is predisposed to be the leader of the pack and expect to be in charge. If your dog routinely tries to intimidate you or other dogs, is aggressive around food or generally disobedient, you probably have an Alpha dog.
Ultimately, well-trained dogs should believe their owner is the Alpha, not them. Some people think they can regain Alpha status over their dogs by being mean and aggressive. This can put even more strain on the dog/owner relationship and lead to more problems.
Here are some good ways for you to gain control over your Alpha dog once again.
Play games with your dog that encourage cooperative behavior. Fetch is a great example. When you throw a ball or stick for your dog to retrieve, the game can only continue if the dog brings the object back to you. This shows the dog that you are not an adversarial figure.
Do not play tug-of-war with your dominant dog. This game encourages adversarial behavior, pitting you and your dog against each other. And if your dog routinely wins tug-of-war matches, he is learning that he is stronger than you and that his teeth are powerful, which will encourage more disobedience and aggression.
In a pack situation, one of the ways Alpha dogs express their dominance is by eating before all other dogs. If you can, try to feed your Alpha dog a few minutes after you begin eating your own meal. This will teach the dog that you come first in the pack and encourage patience and obedience.
Do not be overly affectionate to your dog. One very common mistake people make with Alpha dogs is constantly petting, rewarding and using baby talk with the dog. Doing so gives the dog a very powerful message — that he doesn’t need to earn your respect and love. This will lead an Alpha dog to yet more dominant, disobedient acts.
Use your affection and attention as a training tool. As you teach your dog to come, sit, stay and heel, reward him with a moment of your affection for each success. Treats can be a powerful incentive too, but the best way to teach your dog is by using yourself as an incentive, rather than a treat that you can run out of. Dogs absolutely love our attention, and when you use it as a reward you will see definite results.
Use your dog’s sense of territory to show your dominance. Keep certain areas of the house off limits to the dog, and keep the dog off certain pieces of furniture. If the dog breaks these boundaries, show him that he has encroached on your territory. When you go through doors and thresholds, walk ahead of your dog. The pack leader always walks in front. By placing yourself in front of your dog, you will show your Alpha status.
Hopefully this article will help you sort out your dog dominance issues. Remember, the best way to teach your dog to respect you is to start young.
Bark Busters provide in-home dog obedience training for all dog breeds and ages in many cities across Canada and offers a written lifetime guarantee.
www.barkbusters.ca
Previous Articles Highlighter:
The Economics Of Vice Tax (1)
Also it is a social fact that smoking is more prevalent amongst poorer communities. Even if this wasn't the case, vice tax would still be regressive when considered as a portion of income.
Why Leasing Your Next Car Makes Better Sense Than Buying One! (2)
They can 'pay' the GFV and then by rights they will 'own' the car, so it is theirs to sell on, part exchange or continue to use. This is where some clients like to try to make some money back, by selling the car on for more than they have just paid for it, but this has the added inconvenience of having to advertise and deal with potential buyers of your car.
Success In Wholesale General Merchandise Markets - Boom! (3)
You want a hot sub-niche market, which is composed of a small group of people who are motivated and are willing to spend their money right now. These people are the ones who get online with the purpose of spending their money or using their credit cards for quality and pricing reasons.
How To Choose The Right Golf Wedge (4)
The loft of a wedge and the groves on the face of the club both work together to produce a spin rate, since the loft of a wedge is just another way of measuring the angle at which it hits the ball of off the ground, which in turn determines the trajectory of the ball and the amount of roll it produces.
A Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Reorganizes Debt, Stuctures Payments (5)
The trustee looks at the earning potential of the family, or the individual, and notes any obligations and living expenses that are needed and then decides on the amount the debtor will be able to repay over the course of the repayment plan.
Online High School: The Benefits Of Earning Your Diploma From Home (6)
These benefits are: Increased opportunities More courses are available on the online program than a conventional high school diploma offers. The students are able to choose from various disciplines that they would like to study.
5 Simple Steps To Join The EBay Affiliate Program (7)
Step 2: Once you have your CJ account, you will need to sign up for the affiliate program for eBay. You can do that by performing a search within CJ.
How To Find The Best Cell Phone Choices For Today's Kids (8)
There may be some issues, though, with ease of activation. For young children, the Verizon Migo is a good choice. It is especially well-suited for kids in the five to nine year age group.
Surf And Turf: Products For Your Pool And Patio (9)
It's debatable what type of smoke create the flavor, white smoke or the thin blue smoke, but some will use water to create a thicker smoke or use a smoker separately for a deeper taste.
Do You Call Yourself A Leader? Do Your People Call You THEIR Leader? (10)
How do leaders know what the right decisions are, that will lead their people in the right direction? Are there leadership books to tell how to develop the judgment required to make the right decisions?
Newer Articles Highlighter:
Make Breakthroughs By Creating A Culture Of Helpful Traditions (1)
There may be 30 customers in the store and 19 of them will be in line to return items while a single clerk works as slowly as possible. But wait in too many of these long lines and customers will buy somewhere else.
Golf Driving Tips To Help You Hit The Ball Farther (2)
This is a common misconception, remember that there are many players out there that have very thin builds and they hit the ball very far. How is this possible?
Why Oprah Came To Town And Cried (3)
We truly mean well. But you probably want to know why Oprah came to town and cried. It was because one mlmer had a dream. He dreamed that everyone was suddenly saying yes to his mlm opportunity.
Why Using Business Invoice Software Is A Great Investment (4)
However, this involves huge amount of cost. In order to cut down the cost and to maintain same sort of accuracy most of these companies are moving towards business invoice software.
Pay-Per-Click Advertising (5)
Get it right and you could be bringing in a ton of qualified traffic; get it wrong and you could be shelling out a ton of money. There is a very fine line between effective Pay Per Click management and wasteful advertising spend.
6 Steps To An "Altitude Adjustment" (6)
You might want to emulate their attitude. Step 4. Practice your new attitude. When situations come up, try on the new attitude and notice you react differently.
Out Of Pocket - Collecting Pocket Knives (7)
Nonetheless, counterfeit knives are all about the markings, the finish and the handle materials. Remember, a low-quality knife with a high-quality name or marking is almost always a fake.
Transportation Used For Going Back To School (8)
Some families find that they must fill up their gas tanks at least twice a week during the school year. The transportation that is used for taking them back to school each morning might be free of any extra weight in the truck that would affect its gas mileage rating.
Top 7 Mistakes Network Marketers Make (9)
When a prospect is told that an opportunity is "simple" and "easy", they expect their business to spring up around them without doing any work and they don't understand that they need to market their business in order to make money.
Making Your Business More Profitable (10)
Increasing profits is a matter of business review and then follow through with what you find within your business results. Just as building your business took effort and focus, maintaining business performance and solid profits takes just as much effort throughout your venture.