Quote:
Originally Posted by Magnum
The most important thing about owning dogs is to put them in their place. They are the BOTTOM of your family (omega) and you, the owner are the top of the family (alpha). This is the pack mentality thats naturally built into the dogs.
You can do little things to show them their place, such as not allowing them in certain rooms of the house or upstairs (walking up stairs is bad for them anyway). Make sure they are the last into the house after a walk. Tell her to sit and stay whilst you get out uyour keys, letting everyone else in the family go in first.
Your voice must always be assertive when giving her instructions such as 'sit' and 'stay'.
Dont vary the diet with 'human food' such as real meats and vegetables. It will make them fat, and have nasty runny crap all over your garden. (that isnt to say they cant have the odd treat, just limit the treats)
There are always arguements about not leaving the dog in the garden, but these are flawed arguements. Dogs are best kept outside in a kennel because they will be healthier, their coat will thicken and this will help show them their place in the family. My dog has a kennel in the garden with a built in run where she sleeps overnight and in the daytime when no one is home.
Walking dogs off the lead is a great way to expell energy and socialise with other dogs. Just make sure the dog is ready and responsible to be let off the lead. One thing that really annoys me with other dog owners is the stupid ammount of protectiveness they have over their dog. My dog would run up to another happily waggin her tail, and the other dog owner will grab their own dog and shove it on the lead. This makes the dog feel restrained and is more likely to be violent because it has no where to go.
The two key things a dog needs is discipline and affection.
Be prepared for a lot of excitement and anxiety in the dog in the first week or so, and try to remember that the dog will read the way you act and can tell when youre anxious.
Try not to worry about it, because dogs are very rewarding pets with a little training  |
+1
Too many people do too much to try and train dogs and end up just giving confusing signals. Stay calm, be consistent in your discipline and only give affection when the dog is in the right, relaxed state to recieve it. Give affection at any other time and you'll just reinforce the wrong behaviour.
Not all of us keep our dogs outside (although it is their natural environment as Magnum says) but even when dogs do live in the house, they should never be given the free run of it. There should always be areas that are out of bounds and if you can have one room that the dog can stay in when you are out, that would be perfect.
It's all common sense really. You need to be the leader and the only way to truly achieve that is to stay in calm control and constantly remind the dog of her position in your house. I.e.....always at the bottom.
A very common misconception with pack animals is that the Alphas use force to assert their authority. They don't. Simple because they don't need to. Their body language and energy provide strong enough leadership. If you watch a pack of wolves about to go hunting, you will see them all going crazy going through the motions (similar to dogs about to go on a walk) but the Alpha male and female will stay perfectly calm and wait for the pack to calm down again, then leading away on the hunt.
If your dog gets excited when you get the lead......just stand and wait and totally ignore, after a few minutes, it will calm down and when you then put the lead on and go.....you'll be the one in control.
There's honestly so much to say though I couldn't possibly cover it all in posts.