Easy Training with Dog Psychology
Understanding How a Dog Thinks is Key to Training Habits & Behavior
Jan 13, 2009
Maybe you're not all that interested in dog training. You just want to know how to get Fido to sit and stay, or to stop chasing the neighbor's cat or barking at the doorbell. If you've done any reading about dog training, though, you've probably come across the terms "alpha" or "pack leader" - the real secret to making your dog listen and learn whatever you want to teach.
The Canine Mind: Dog Psychology
The most common mistake people make in training a dog is to assume that the dog is like a child. Your pet may be small and dependent on you for its needs, but a dog's mind is built differently from a human's. Most pet behavior problems can be prevented by treating your dog like a dog.
The Alpha of a Dog Pack
In the wild, dogs live in packs with a well-understood hierarchy. The pack leader or "alpha dog" eats first, gets his choice of mate, leads when the pack is on the move, and sits or stands higher than the subordinate members of the pack.
It would be completely unacceptable for a member of the pack to refuse to give way for the alpha or to growl when the alpha takes her food.
Because they're built the same way as wolves or other wild dogs, and because dogs can't act any way other than how they feel, these behaviors are equally unacceptable in a family pet.
Teaching the Way Your Dog Learns
If you want your dog to obey you, he or she must first understand that you are the pack leader. Only when your dog believes that you are alpha will you see consistent good behavior.
Cesar Millan, known as "the dog whisperer," says that dogs have three fundamental needs to keep them healthy and well-behaved. From most important to least important, these are:
- Exercise
- Discipline and
- Affection
Many dog owners, especially of small dogs, shower their dogs with affection while ignoring the more important need for exercise – in the wild a dog would be running for most of the day – and discipline, which would be provided in the wild by pack structure.
Teaching Your Dog to Think of You as Alpha
These simple habits will teach your dog that you are the pack leader:
- Always pass through doors and walk up/down stairs before your dog does.
- Teach your dog to walk beside you and follow your lead. Only the alpha leads.
- The dog should be seated lower than you. The alpha takes higher ground.
- The dog should never be allowed on furniture unless invited.
- Feed the dog after human family members have finished eating. (If you feed your dog at a different time than your dinner, get in the habit of munching on a cracker or something small but visible before you feed the dog.)
- Ignore puppy "complaints" such as whining or barking for attention. You decide when to go for a walk, not the dog.
- Your bed and other furniture is off-limits to the dog, but the dog's bed/crate/kennel, toys, and food dish are not off-limits to you. The alpha can take something from any pack member without being challenged.
A well-behaved dog respects not only its own alpha or master, but the entire human household. Children should be taught how to handle the dog so they, too, are respected as being dominant over the dog.
Reference
Fisher, John, Why Does My Dog… Ho MacMillan Publishing, 1992.
Millan, Cesar, Cesar's Way: The Natural, Everyday Guide to Understanding and Correcting Common Dog Problems. Harmony, 2006.
 |
