Establishing Leadership within your Pack
What is a pack?
Dogs naturally live in packs. This is a social group where each member contributes to the pack; they hunt together, they defend the pack and their territory together and they even look after the packs young together. In order for them to live co-operatively like this they must live by a strict pecking order with an alpha pair in control at the top and the rest of the pack below in descending rank. The alpha pair are chosen to lead the pack as they are strong, confident, experienced and they make good decisions; they are responsible for the welfare and future of the pack and all lower ranking members look up to them and follow their lead at all times. It is for these reasons that the alpha pair are the only members of the pack that are allowed to breed, and this ensures that only the best qualities are passed on to the young. As a pack they must also communicate well with each other and the dog is the master at this; the tail, eyes, posture and ears are particularly expressive and the slightest change in position could completely change the message the dog is sending.
The pack leader is in control of the pack and its resources at all times, in particular the food, the territory and any possessions they may have. He gets first access to the food so he can take the best bits, after that the food gets passed to the lower ranking members of the pack. He is in control of all the possessions; in a home environment these would be the toys, a good pack leader will allow the rest of the pack to have occasional access to these but they will always remain his and he will have the right to take them back, without argument, at any time. The pack leader is also in charge of the territory, at home this is the house and garden, the leader will decide you can come in and who can leave, all lower ranking members of the pack should have his permission if they wish to go out. The pack leader also enjoys the privilege of having the best seat in the house, at home this will probably be the sofa and the bed.
If your dog thinks he is the pack leader he will rarely be obedient, no matter how much time you spend trying to train him, he may regularly take residence of the sofa or bed and refuse to get off when asked, he may steal food and personal belongings such as the remote control, mobile phone or shoes and growl when you try to take them back. He may great you mid-air when you return from work or shopping, he may soil the house and he may guard certain objects or areas of the house such as the door ways or stairs aggressively, and he may start to nip or even bite you. Any of these problem behaviours could occur for other reasons but if you are suffering from a combination of these you may have a dog which you have accidentally promoted to the top of the pecking order.
Establishing Leadership
So, what should you do? If this is the case then the situation must be reversed immediately. A dog that has been put in charge of a human family will not be a happy one, he will be burdened with the stress of leadership in an environment that he cannot possibly understand or control, if your dog is biting you then this certainly is the case as he feels out of control. Getting your dog to give up his position at the top will be a massive relief for him and he should give it over to you very willingly if you show him what a strong and confident leader you can be. There is no need for you to hit your dog, you don't even need to raise your voice to him, the whole process should be gentle and calm as you will see from the list of do's and don'ts below:
= Always feed your dog AFTER the family has finished their meal, do not give your dog human food during this transition period.
= Always make your dog ask for his food, a sit will do but you can choose any command that you are sure your dog knows. Only ask once and wait, if he doesn't perform then he doesn't get fed. Try again after an hour - be strong, a healthy dog will not allow himself to starve and he will soon realise that if he does what he is told he gets what he wants.
= Only allow him 10 minutes to eat his food, if he finishes before that then lift the bowl away immediately, if not remove it after 10 minutes whether he has eaten or not, he will have to wait until the next meal time.
= Do not allow your dog to greet your guests, he should be thanked quietly if he barks at the door when people come and then should be removed from the door so that you can let them in in peace, he should only be allowed to meet your guests when they are properly settled and he is calm.
= Do not greet your dog at the front door when you have been out. Ignore him if he jumps all over you and walk away from him, only greet him after you have greeted everyone else in the house and the dog is calm.
= Do not pay any attention to your dog for at least five minutes before you leave the house.
= Play with your dog, but do not leave toys around for him to have free access to, take the toys away and only get them out when you want to play, put them away after the game is finished. If your dog will not give up the toy then stop the game immediately and leave, do not fight with your dog for a toy.
= Do not allow your dog on the furniture, if he gets up, firmly tell him to get off and if he doesn't leave the room until he gets down. Do not allow your dog in the bedroom at all during this period.
= Do not loose your cool, he your dog is behaving really badly, turn your back on him and ignore him, if this does not stop him then leave the room and close the door behind you with him on the other side. Wait until he is behaving well before you go back to him.
= Remember, your dog must learn to earn all privileges; make him do something, such as a sit before he gets anything he values such as his lead on or a treat.
= Be patient, his behaviour will probably get worse before it gets better, but it will get better - much better.
= Seek help, especially if your dog is aggressive or you are not confident, you could end up making things worse.
Good Luck!
