Theres a lot of talk about Leadership and how to dominate your
dog. Thats Not what we want you to think of in terms of
Leadership. Effective leadership is taking the role of the decision
maker, the food provider, the caretaker. As a dog owner you are
already making decisions for your dog on a daily basis. Such
things as when its time to get up or when your dog goes outside.
Simple everyday decision making should be second nature to
the dog owner but sometimes it isnt. Some pushy dogs out there
are making too many decisions of their own and most times
these are bad decisions.
A dog who barks and growls at everyone trying to enter the
home is taking on the role of leader. He is guarding his home.
Not your home. Not your family. But his home and his people.
This may sound like a good idea. Everyone wants to feel
protected and a dog who alerts to noises isnt a bad thing. But it
is your decision as leader to determine who enters your home. A
dog who feels he owns his castle is one step away from
correcting you or someone in your family for making a decision
he doesnt approve of.
To be a leader to your dog takes giving your dog some rules.
Not rushing the door and jumping on visitors
Not dragging you around on leash
Not begging for food
Staying out from under foot
No running through the house like a wild dog.
.....These are just a few.
Another way to show leadership is to put your dog on a feeding
schedule. Twice a day is good. Let him know the food comes
from you, the provider, and wait for your dog to be calm before
placing the bowl on the floor. Remove after 10 to 15 minutes
whether he is finished or not. He wont starve. And dont be
manipulated into coercing him to eat at each meal. Put it down
and walk away.
A good leader is also a good caretaker. This means you need to
look after the well being of your dog. Make sure his vaccinations
are up to date, his diet consists of a well balanced food, and his
grooming is attended too as needed. Exercise is also important.
As his caretaker it is your responsibility to see to his mental and
physical well being. A dog lacking in exercise becomes
overweight and has an increase risk of joint pain and other
health related issues. A dog who is lacking in mental stimulation
becomes a nuisance with constant need of attention. Frustration
from a lack of exercise, mental or physical, can manifest into
chewing, running around like he has no off switch, excessive
barking, or mouthiness.
To sum it all up.. A good leader is a good dog owner. Someone
who makes the right decisions for their dogs safely, health, and
well being.
Training:
It is never too soon nor too late in a dogs life to begin training.
Though the sooner you start the less time your dog has to
learn bad habits. Training creates good habits by giving your
dog something constructive to do in place of something
undesireable. It teaches your dog self control so your dog has
the ability to make good decisions.
Training gives your dog an understanding of what you want
from him. Its not about doing a trick to get some laughs. Being
able to call your dog back to you out of harms way goes a long
way in extending your dogs life. When we teach a dog to Sit or
Down we expect the dog to stay there until told otherwise.
Training takes time for your dog to understand. It also needs to
happen outside of the home around real world distractions. If
you only work with your dog in a class setting or in the home
your dog will likely not understand the command in a new
setting. Dogs dont generalize as we do. Thats why we have to
teach Sit in many different settings for the dog to truely
understand what Sit means. The same goes for all other
commands too.
Repetition, Repetition, Repetition. The more you work with your
dog the better trained your dog will be. Imagine a child learning
the alphabet. The child repeats it over and over and over until
they no longer have to think about it. It becomes second
nature to them. Give your dog plenty of training time until he
has a complete understanding of what he is learning.
How do you know when your dog is trained? Test. Look at your
dog and say his name. Now say Sit. Did he sit? How about
Down. Did he Down? How about from across the room. Well?
If your dog can do these and others on the first command
within a few seconds of asking then your dog has a good
understanding of the command. Now take it further and find
some distractions. Can your dog do the commands now? Yes.
Then find more difficult ones.
Training is never really over. Its an ongoing process and
relationship. If you give up on it, it will go away.
Management:
This is what we do to make things easier on us, the dog, and
the situation. Managing your dog can be crating him when
company comes to teaching a Place command so he stays on
his bed while company visits. Management can also be utilizing
training tools; such as for aggression, a Halti can be worn in
public to keep a reactive dog safe by controlling his mouth. A
tether can keep a puppy attached to you to make sure he
doesnt wonder off and pee. Management can also keep dogs
safe in a situation of a multi dog family. Crating may be needed
to while the owners are not home so no fights break out.
The better you manage your dog/dogs, the less likely bad
behavior will occur. Management doesnt replace training but
goes hand in hand with it. We need to be aware of what can
happen at any given time and use some sort of management
(a learned command, restraint, interference, confinement, ect)
to keep mistakes from happening.
What ever your dogs age Now is the time to be the adult in the
relationship. A dogs mind is as moldable as a childs. Give the
correct guidance and education and anything is achievable.
Teach your puppy or dog as much as possible and they will
grow into a well mannered companion that will be welcomed
everywhere.
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