Who is really the boss in your home... You, or your dog?
If you've got more than one dog, which one is the top dog?
You need to know this.
We learned it the hard way... after one of our dogs got a bit out of line. Some 'experts' in the field taught us how to communicate to him in terms of dog packs and hierarchies and show him that we are the "Alpha dog" -- at all times -- not him!
As a dog owner, it is important to acknowledge (in front of your dogs) the dogs' own pack hierarchy.
It is also important that you make it clear to all dogs in your household that YOU are the real Alpha dog at all times.
To maintain control over your dog, you need to dominate every aspect of the dog's life.
Ways To Show Your Dog Who's In Charge
Three rules of thumb:
1. Your dog should never get anything for free.
2. Never let your dog dominate you.
3. Always reward your dog's positive behaviors and ignore (or deny rewards) for negative behaviors.
Ways To Prove To Your Dog That You're The Boss
(any time you and your dog are interacting)-
When you play tug of war, do not let your dog end up with the ball or rope when you are finished. - When you feed your dog, do not let him eat until you command him to come.
- Before you pet your dog, make him sit at attention first.
- Do not let your dog jump up on you in his excitement to see you. Instead, lightly "knee" him in the chest and make him sit before receiving any praise, a pat on the head, or a treat.
- Do not feed dominant-prone dogs from the table.
- Do not let dominant-prone dogs sleep in your bed.
- Before going outside, make your dog sit near the door first.
- Before putting on his leash, make him sit calmly first.
- Before entering or exiting the car, make him sit calmly first.
Another positive behavior that should be rewarded is "submission".
Signs Of Submission
(in the presence of people or other dogs)- lying their ears back on their head
- licking their lips
- repeatedly sticking out their tongue when approaching
- rolling over and lying on their back
- avoiding eye contact
- tucking the tail between their legs
- being in a playful position: front paws on the ground, rear end up in the air
On the other hand, any time your dog displays "dominant" behavior toward you, it should be ignored.
Signs of Dominance
(of people or other dogs)Remember, it is immensely important that you be totally consistent with your behavior and rewards if you want your dog to be consistent with his.
Here's another way to tell friendly behavior from unfriendly behavior in dogs.
How To Reprimand The Alpha Dog
As I alluded to in an earlier article about our Alpha dog who was overly protective of the Omega dog, there will be times when you must remind your dog who's boss.During those times when you must reprimand the Alpha dog, be sure to correct him boldly and forcefully -- just as he would correct the Beta dog! There should never be any question as to who is the real leader of the pack in this household.
Our Alpha dog is a 70-pound Black Lab/Golden Retriever mix. He's a handful, to say the least, and he could certainly pull his weight around here if we let him. Fortunately, due to early training when he was a puppy, and repeated "refresher courses", we've managed to maintain some semblance of control over him. For the most part, we can put a stop to any unwanted behavior with a simple "No!".
However, after we introduced a new puppy into our home (now 3 dogs and counting!), Destin became a little more strong-willed at times, and it would take a few repeated "No's" to regain control of the situation, followed by an immediate "sit" -- at which point we were certain that we had his full attention.
How To Get An Alpha Dog To Be Submissive
Sometimes, it's necessary to make it clear to the Alpha dog who's really in charge here... you! However, an Alpha dog may not always be willing to freely give up control of the situation on command.
In fact, a few times with Destin it became necessary to physically pull him off of the new puppy that he was being too rough with (otherwise known as "trying to teach the puppy to be submissive").
It's a natural behavior, but sometimes it just went too far, causing the puppy to whimper and/or belt out a series of loud yelps -- out of fear more than anything else.
Unfortunately, such whimpers and yelps would only heighten Destin's anxiety during those times, and his protective nature kicked into high gear and he became quite forceful toward the little puppy. As a result, we had to physically pull Destin off the puppy a handful of times.
As I said, Destin is a big dog. But this one trick has always worked like a charm...
Simply grab the Alpha dog by the back of the neck and hold onto that huge chunk of fur and skin while subsequently pulling him "up and back" and into a "sit" position. At the same time, hover over the Alpha dog, clearly showing who's the boss in this situation.
SOURCES:
Food Aggression: Why Dogs Do it And How To Fix It
Winning Your Puppy's Trust, Respect and Confidence
Humane Society's View Of Dog Aggression
Dealing With Canine Aggression
De-Throning The Canine King
4 Comments
Leave a comment
- Consumer Credit Counseling Service: Can Credit Counselors Really Help You Get Out Of Debt?
- Reasons This Old House Is The Best Magazine For Log Home Owners
- Frank Betz Craftsman House Plan: The Palmdale
- Before You Rent An RV...
- Fly Fishing Knots Used When Tying Flies
- Boy Dog Names: How To Choose The Best Name
- Classic Airstream Trailers - Always A Good RV Choice
- Salmon Fly Fishing Tips
- THE Guide To Greening all those School Supplies
- 10 Outstanding Private Schools Near Brentwood, TN
I have a wonderful golden labrador retreiver who I just adore & love completely.I always give him alot of attention like massages ,walking ,touching , cuddling together..!His behavior when ,I am horseback riding puzzles me ....is it possible that he is jealous of my physical contact with another animal ?
Hi,
I have two labrador cross puppies about 6 months old- 1 male 1 female (female is just 4 weeks younger). They are lovely and super friendly dogs who just love everyone and everything. I make sure to walk infront of them, to tell them to stay until I get to the top of the stairs, they wait until I tell them to eat etc... There really is one problem and that is the recall. When I let them off the lead and call them they often come back immediately and I give them plenty of praise and treats (they sit as soon as they come)... however, if there is another dog especially a small one, they see this as being much more interesting and just run after it and whatever I say won't bring them back (when they get bored they come back. this also happens when the male (neutered) chases the female one and pins her down.- I have tried running away from them, I have tried a long line, I have tried punishing them by putting them back on the lead and bringing them home (although catching them is often the hard part). The other day she chased a little dog accross the road - she didn't get hit but the other dog did. I am terrified it will be one of them one day but long to give them the freedom they deserve! All this does is make me reluctant to take them out/ let them off.I have also tried the spray commander... ANY IDEAS cause I am running out!? THANKS!
Sharon -
I wouldn't count on the neutering helping much -- if at all. For what it's worth, we noticed no difference in our two dogs' interaction or behaviors after neutering.
And while I'm certainly not an expert on this topic, from from what we have experienced firsthand with our 2 male dogs I can say this...
It's been just over a year now, and our older dog STILL tries to exert his dominance in aggressive ways under very specific circumstances: Usually, whenever there's food around (or the older dog THINKS there's food around or that the younger dog has gotten some food/treat that he didn't get himself) he will lash out at the younger dog very violently. It used to be toys, or bones... but now it's mostly just food.
After a year, we now know how to tell when it's about to happen (our older dog stops dead in his tracks and licks his lips before he charges), so we've learned that we just need to distract the older dog -- immediately -- in order to avoid the interaction.
Sometimes that just means stepping in between the two. Sometimes it's telling the older dog "Destin stop!!!!" in a tone that says the world will come to and end if he doesn't listen to us immediately. Other times it's just coaxing Destin: "Want a treat? Come here, Destin, come get a treat."
...Whatever it takes to "break" the fixation the older dog has on the younger dog at that moment.
Other than that, I would say you cannot EVER have the frequently-attacked male in the company of the other males unless you can see what they are doing at all times AND be within close enough reach to break something up the second it happens.
For us, we use baby gates to separate different rooms of the house. And crates are a lifesaver. They're not punishment... they're a way of life. A dog needs a safety zone, and for our younger dog, his crate is his castle AND the place he always knows he's safe if the bigger dog comes chasing him. Both of our dogs LOVE their crates.
Again, I'm not an expert here, but I'm just sharing with you what has worked for us in a situation that's similar to yours. Maybe you'll find something in there that will help with your dogs.
P.S. Do you know which is the alpha dog in your "pack"? If so, be sure to always respect that yourself when you're in the company of your other dogs. Otherwise, it confuses them & grays the lines even more within their pack. Your alpha dog should always get treats first, be fed first, get petted first, etc. Just remember, when it comes to training THAT dog, you must always be the "real" alpha dog and call all of the shots -- with meaning -- all of the time in your household.
Hope that helps some...
We have had golden retreivers for years and until last April we still had a male and a female retreiver who had mated many times with no success, which was fine, too. Then one day an American Bulldog visited and mated with our female retreiver and what do you know, Tazi had puppies! I've never seen anything like these dogs. They are great with me and my husband, but with each other, we have had major problems. We ended up keeping three puppies (2 males and a female) and everything was fine. Then one of the new owners brought back their male, because they were moving, so now we had 3 males and a female and trouble started which we attributed to the new member trying to assert himself in the pack. On New Year's Eve he really hurt one of our males and I had to take him for stitches, so my husband has a body shop and decided he'd take him to stay at the shop. Not ideal, but we thought it safer. Until today when for no reason we could see, the other two had a fight and the same male was hurt yet again by his brother. We're taking them all to be neutered and the female spayed, but for now we're just keeping them separated. What a nightmare this is! If the neutering doesn't work I don't know what I'll do. Any suggestions?