WHO’S THE LEADER OF THE CLUB?

BY JEFF CAMPBELL, My Best Friend Obedience

What do a successful business, a winning football team and a happy family have in common?  Two things; good communication skills and someone that can use these skills to lead the “team” in the right direction.  Leadership is a very important and constant thing in a dog pack.  Constant in that there will always be a leader, but the leader himself may change over time.

This pack leader or “Alpha” is responsible for a lot within the structure of the pack such as protection, allocating resources and even initiating play.  What we will be talking about today is how to communicate with your pack so that they know that you are the Alpha.

How do dogs in the wild demonstrate leadership roles and dominance?  The pack leader is the one that leads the pack down the trail to protect them from rival packs or danger.  The pack leader is also the one that initiates the hunt when it sees a prey animal to be taken down.  This animal then eats first because if he doesn’t survive then neither does the pack.  He then will dictate which animals will eat next and how much they will eat.  He will maintain this order through very vocal and what seems aggressive posturing.  The pack then returns to the den site to sleep.  The Alpha has the ability to sleep wherever he wants to.  Even if he has his own designated sleeping area, no other animal will sleep in his area. 

Now the hard part is to apply what we know about this wild behavior and see if there is a correlation at home.  If your dog bolts out the front door after a cat, begs at the table until you  feed him ,and gets a little growley if you try to move him from his favorite corner of the sofa then he may start to perceive that he is the pack leader.  The best way to demonstrate that you are the Alpha is NOT by holder your dog or puppy on their backs until they submit.  It doesn’t happen in the wild but may potentially get you bitten when the puppy gets older.  In the wild there is VOLUNTARY submission by the lower ranking member usually by lying on their back and showing their underside.  The best way to intill your leadership is by making your dog dependant on you in a couple of ways. 

• Make your dog wait for all humans to go through a doorway first.  This should be done with a leash on so you that no one gets run over.
• Don’t feed your dog first just so that they won’t beg at the table.  Give him a specific area to eat in and teach him to eat his meals when you provide them, not when they want throughout the day.
• If your dog is allowed on the bed or furniture, which mine are, make sure that it is when you say so.  That way they know it is your bed.
• Be the one that initiates play time.  There is nothing more annoying than a sloppy tennis ball placed in your lap when a date comes over.  When play time is over make sure you said so.
• Do obedience training.  There is no better way to give your dog confidence in your relationship than through a good positive reinforcement training program.

These simple steps will get your dog to start giving you the respect that you deserve.  The younger you start initiating these steps, there is a less likelihood for problems down the road.

Remember training should be fun for both you and your dog and it happens every time the two of you interact-- whether you are training them or not.